Naples Information Thread (Palm Bay, Melbourne, Sarasota: rentals, how much, lawyers)

[Rachael84]

Originally Posted by HockeyMom72

I liked Gainesville better than Naples. Lived there for about the same time I have lived in Naples. Happy now?

Well, you had told me that the lifestyle was a lot slower than NY. Now that there are tons of NYers in Naples, the pace of life is probably quite a bit faster than when you were in Gainesville 30 years ago. But you probably would take cooler weather with a slower lifestyle, I'm guessing.

[imagardener]

In a nutshell-the homeowners association. We've been here for 10 years and it was a friendly place until recently. Then a small group of people have made it very unfriendly, taking over the board, hiring attorneys to "update" the bylaws (increase their power, fine owners, etc).

We've looked all over Naples and guess what, it's happening in many communities. Naples is kind of a weird place. Lots of people pretending to be rich, driving Mercedes and BMW's, jamming the Costco to get free food and cutting you off in traffic to get somewhere a minute sooner.

Lawyers LOVE homeowners associations because they get paid from owners dues and no one ever complains. It's a lifetime income stream, especially if you get a half-dozen HOA's going. It pits owner against owner for the smallest infractions (wrong plants, truck in your driveway, wrong kind of mailbox, your garage door not rolled down).

We're headed somewhere else in SW Florida. We still love the area but need to be around more normal people. I'm not going to tell you where (don't need any competition) but have looked at Melbourne/Palm Bay (not for us but nice for older retirees or people really into boating), and been to Bradenton-Sarasota (expensive real estate but nice area).

I grew up on FL east coast and prefer the west coast. Florida looks like a big state but if start to get picky about exactly the kind of house you want (non-HOA!!) and where you want to live-- it's not all that big. :-)

Why have HOA's taken over Florida? It's cheaper for towns to let the developer set up mini-towns with their own police state. That way the real police only have to come in for murders, etc. I can't wait until we're relocated in a regular neighborhood where you wave at your neighbors and stay out of their bizness.

I suspect REAL Floridians aren't the problem, it's these d**n northerners who come down and want to throw their weight around. They want POWER and CONTROL. Blehhhhh.

So tell me--where do you LOVE in Florida--I won't tell.

[HockeyMom72]

Originally Posted by imagardener

In a nutshell-the homeowners association. We've been here for 10 years and it was a friendly place until recently. Then a small group of people have made it very unfriendly, taking over the board, hiring attorneys to "update" the bylaws (increase their power, fine owners, etc).

We've looked all over Naples and guess what, it's happening in many communities. Naples is kind of a weird place. Lots of people pretending to be rich, driving Mercedes and BMW's, jamming the Costco to get free food and cutting you off in traffic to get somewhere a minute sooner.

Lawyers LOVE homeowners associations because they get paid from owners dues and no one ever complains. It's a lifetime income stream, especially if you get a half-dozen HOA's going. It pits owner against owner for the smallest infractions (wrong plants, truck in your driveway, wrong kind of mailbox, your garage door not rolled down).

We're headed somewhere else in SW Florida. We still love the area but need to be around more normal people. I'm not going to tell you where (don't need any competition) but have looked at Melbourne/Palm Bay (not for us but nice for older retirees or people really into boating), and been to Bradenton-Sarasota (expensive real estate but nice area).

I grew up on FL east coast and prefer the west coast. Florida looks like a big state but if start to get picky about exactly the kind of house you want (non-HOA!!) and where you want to live-- it's not all that big. :-)

Why have HOA's taken over Florida? It's cheaper for towns to let the developer set up mini-towns with their own police state. That way the real police only have to come in for murders, etc. I can't wait until we're relocated in a regular neighborhood where you wave at your neighbors and stay out of their bizness.

I suspect REAL Floridians aren't the problem, it's these d**n northerners who come down and want to throw their weight around. They want POWER and CONTROL. Blehhhhh.

So tell me--where do you LOVE in Florida--I won't tell.

I can completely agree with that one. We moved from a small condo in a poor area to one where people are constantly flaunting how rich they are. I was more comfortable among people who were REAL and struggling over those who have to tell everyone they meet how well off they are. Actually, the people who I thoroughly enjoyed being around were a couple who were native Floridians and of Mexican descent. They were just basic PEOPLE. You know what? The people who really ARE well off do not need to tell anybody else. Duh?

Phoney Naples. Yeah, I know what you mean.

[avamarie]

Just wondering, why do you like the West Coast better? What is the difference? I am thinking of moving down there.
Thanks!

[CJFlorida]

Those northerners pay the majority of the taxes which go into national defense. Many also do or did the high stress jobs that are vital to the country yet require aggressive people to do them.

We are all in this together. The country can not function without mellow midwestern farmers, aggressive northerners...all of us. Different functions require different personalities.

[imagardener]

I don't want to dis the East Coast because there are many nice places there. The only way I can put it is you "feel" it when you like a place.West Palm is just too busy, too many elements fighting against each other (old, young, foreign, local, snowbirds, criminals, crazies, druggies.) Like Carl Hiassen the writer says, all the nuts roll downhill to Florida.
The west coast is influenced more by the Midwestern tourists who are more easygoing than the Northeast tourists that the east coast gets. I'm from the northeast and NY and NJ people can be harsh compared to Ohio and Minnesotans.

For now I'm sticking with the southwest of Florida but the real secret is central Florida. Those people aren't talking, hoping no one catches on. :-)

[**NoodLes**]

Originally Posted by imagardener

For now I'm sticking with the southwest of Florida but the real secret is central Florida. Those people aren't talking, hoping no one catches on. :-)

Ha! Central Florida. You're kidding right?

[CJFlorida]

Originally Posted by **NoodLes**

Ha! Central Florida. You're kidding right?

I wasn't going to comment. Central Florida has nothing I want. Give me SE FL, SWFL....heck I'd take the panhandle before central FL and I hated living in Pensacola.

[SoFLGal]

I like the North Port area, just north of Fort Myers and south of Sarasota. The beaches are close by, lots of places to go fishing, not much traffic, affordable housing. You still have the benefit of the Sarasota county school system without the higher prices of Sarasota. It's a great place to raise a family.

[Magnulus]

Naples? You could have easily been talking about Central Florida. Everybody here is in a damn rush to get everywhere. There could be an einsatzgruppe at their destination ready to fill them with bullets and dump their bodies in unmarked graves, and they'd still rush through traffic to beat you there by a minute.

And flaunting wealth? Orlando is full of people living off credit and sporting bling. People with wheels more valuable than cars, or that Mercedes that is on lease. To top it off, you might be nearly beaten to death for a 3 dollar shelf (not joking here, this happened not too far away yesterday).

Sorry, this kind of self-centered behavior is no longer unique to South Florida.