Need Help Deciding (Naples, Golden Gate, Immokalee: bank owned, to rent, condos)

[mdh01]

My husband may be getting a job east of Naples. We are from Michigan, nuff said.....I am a business owner and leaving the running of the business to my partner. My husband and I are in our mid 40's. Where is a good place to look to live on a modest income, as I assume I will have a hard time finding a job from what I am hearing.

[RMD3819]

We need more information:
-Housing budget?
-School age kids?
-Where will he be working? The commute can be a killer.

Yes you will likely have a hard time finding a job. What field of work are you interested in?

[justNancy]

East of Naples? Are you talking about Immokalee? I just can't think of anything east of Naples. Golden Gate City and Golden Gate Estates are east of the City of Naples, but are still considered to be Naples. There's a town called Ave Maria in the middle of nowhere and then you've got a lot of farm land and the Everglades. Collier County covers a very large area, so you'll have to be more specific.

Also "modest income" is all relative. Some people I know make $10 an hour and get by and others make 6 figures and are struggling. We're not nosy people on City-Data...just need some facts. lol Based on the limited info, I'd say Golden Gate Estates. There are a lot of bank owned homes available, some under $100,000. However, it's not my cup of tea. Do you want to be near shopping? the beach? like acreage? condo or house?

(oh, yeah.....what's a job? )

[mdh01]

The address is Naples but it appears to be in the middle of nowhere on the map! (it is across from the Picayune Strand State Forest) We will find out later this week if he gets it so I'm trying to research the area. Would like to rent until we get a feel for the area, around 1,000/month. Possibly with his daughter who is just starting high school. We live in a condo now, so another would be nice, but are open to a house with a smaller yard. Since I don't know what I will decide to do (would like to take a short break from 50-60 hr work weeks) we would like to be somewhat near shopping, etc. Any suggestions?

[TANaples]

Picayune Strand State Forest: Florida Division of Forestry - FDACS

Golden Gate Estates. Big houses with a lot of property in that area.

[mdh01]

thanks for the info, will check it out. It can get very confusing!

[RMD3819]

I caught the location before you did your edit. Yes, it is in the middle of nowhere. If you don't live in the Estates it will be a long commute from anywhere.

There are no condos in the Estates.

I think your best bet is to look for a home in Golden Gate Estates. You are not really near shopping though. The positive is you would be commuting in the opposite direction of rush hour. Most that live in GGE work in Naples.

You are going to have to decide on the priorities of commute time, school location, and shopping convenience. IMHO there is no ideal spot that covers them all given your circumstances.

If it were me I would go in the middle of GGE. You would roughly be equal distance to shopping and work.

If you want to live closer to shopping I would start looking at the gated communities along Collier Blvd. Indigo Lakes, Verona Walk, Pebblebrooke are a few.

[mdh01]

now I will really show my confusion.....those are not in golden gate estates area? As nice as golden gate estates looks (from what I have seen on line so far), I am not much of a rural person. Although, everything else has been changing for us, why not this? LOL

[RMD3819]

Those communities are technically not in Golden Gate Estates, they are on the western border of it. You could call it the GGE area.

Generally the dividing line is Collier Blvd. Everything east of Collier Blvd (in that stretch of it-Collier Blvd is very long) is considered GGE.

There are plenty of suburban options if you don't want rural. The commute to hubby's work will be longer though.

[mdh01]

thank you so much for your help and your patience...we just found out today that he didn't get the job . As much as he wanted that job, he has a good one in Raleigh, NC (has been gone since March, while I try to sell the condo) so, I guess I need to start looking for good areas there.