Naples vs. Sarasota/Siesta Key? (living, children, to sell)

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Thundarr457

The area of Naples where we were looking was loaded. All I am saying is check the area before you buy its free and here is the link:

https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/of...HlW92LMCagN4Rm

As far as sex offenders goes Naples has more per capita approx 91 to 1 than Jacksonville which is 399 to 1. Must be the warmer weather attracks them.

If you think that all of the Naples zip codes add up to 20,000 people you're mistaken. Your number is just for incorporated Naples. The population of unincorporated Collier County, which includes North Naples, etc. is 300,000.

[Thundarr457]

Originally Posted by markjames68

If you think that all of the Naples zip codes add up to 20,000 people you're mistaken. Your number is just for incorporated Naples. The population of unincorporated Collier County, which includes North Naples, etc. is 300,000.

I was quoting the figures from this website. All anyone needs to do is put in their prospective address in the website I mentioned and decide for themselves.

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by kgfrazier

My husband and I are 65 and 55 respectively, pretty active, and are seriously considering relocating to or at least snowbirding to central west Florida or southwest Florida, specifically Sarasota County (with a current yen for Siesta Key), or Naples (probably north Naples, west of 41 and south of 100th).

We currently live in Colorado, love it here, but are tired of winters and love the beach (and my husband loves golf). Hence, we currently are unsure if we want to completely retire to Florida or just keep our home here and join the snowbirding crowd.

Our housing budget is between $500,000-1,000,000. Buys good v. good house in 'Naples'/Collier County, buys even more house in Sarasota County. But, buys little to OK on a 'beach' or with water view, and probably would have to be out of Collier County...Siesta Key is beautiful, but houses are pricey, condos not cheap, and even if mort free one has to consider some 'Cane/flood coverage.
In a perfect world, we'd have a water view, and at least live very close to a beautiful beach, and have access to PUBLIC golf courses. You will have a difficult time getting on courses in season, eg Nov through April, anywhere in SW FL, as a walk on. GOOG'ng Public Courses brings up lists in both C and S Counties, but the true Public courses can be counted on one's hand. While many courses provide for non-members to play, the tee times are limited, and green fees/cart in season are what they are.
In the tropical summer, May through October, one can get on nearly any track, when one wants to.

While we definitely are not big night lifers anymore (we tend to wake up with and go to sleep with the chickens), we do appreciate access to a good-sized airport, and cultural events such as concerts and theatre. Naples area has RSW, which isn't ORD or DEN, but has decent flights. Sarasota County has SRQ which has limited flights and many with stops/connections. TPA is ~ hour from most parts of Sarasota County, as is RSW from same.

Lots of 'cultural events' in both Naples metro and Sarasota metro areas. We lived 9 winter seasons in Naples, last two winter season in Sarasota. They are slightly different, but both have lots of TTD, stuff, eats, museums, 'culture', etc. Sarasota simply has ~ 25% less traffic on any winter season day.

I'm also very fitness minded, so good gyms and other places to join fitness classes are important ot me, as is access to organic and other healthy foods, including grocery stores and restaurants.
Many communities that have SFH or condos will have some kind of fitness ctr, et al. Every one of us geezers here in SW FL waddle to the 'gym' a few times a week. Lots of stores, grocery/specialty and dozens and dozens of restaurants in both Collier County and Sarasota County. Living on S Key is not handy for some of your needs and wants list, esp in season, due to traffic.

We've visited a few times, and intend to visit a few more times, but information from folks on the ground like you all is absolutely invaluable.

We'd be amenable to renting for 6-12 months prior to buying, to ensure we make a better choice when we do buy. Good choice...maybe do a 3 month shot in C County and a 3 month shot in S County, repeat for Season for vs long, hot summer. Several months of summer will also give you a feel for full time vs seasonal.

Our biggest concerns about Naples are its isolation/distance from a major city/airport, whether it's too conservative for our pretty casual and live and let live Colorado selves. As well, the comments I've read about health care being less than stellar concern me. I do have some issues in that regard that necessitate access to really good health care practitioners, a need which could become even more of a priority in the future. As above, 'Naples' is 30 min to RSW, Sarasota is 1.2 hrs to RSW, and < 1 hr to TPA. Unless you are still travelling for a living, I don't see either place and any area airport as a problem. Health care, the little I have had to use, is fine. I don't dwell on/worry much about what specialist I might need next year/next decade, but both N & S have first rate medical situs, imo.

Sarasota, of course, is a bigger city and some aspects of that are appealing. As well, Siesta Key just seemed wonderful to me -- so close to the city yet sort of an eclectic, beautiful, gulf front community with walking access to the beach.

Any thoughts or advice from those of you who know both areas, and could offer some insights or food for thought would be so deeply appreciated!

Simply my 50Cts...
GL, mD

[kgfrazier]

Hi, mD, your comments are extremely helpful. Thank you very much.

[kgfrazier]

Also, mD, I just noticed that you live part-time in western NC. I was born and raised in eastern NC, but have lived in Colorado most of my adult life (have moved away twice for work, but always manage to find our way back here).

[kgfrazier]

Sorry for the repeat posts -- regarding health care, I'm not trying to be a worry wart or borrowing trouble -- I have an extremely specific and real health situation that makes it imperative that I have access to excellent health care.

[motordavid]

kgfrazier,
Born and raised in Detroit, got transferred to NYC in my mid 20s, (mid 1970s), and never looked back.
Bailed early, built a house on a Mtn ridge at ~ 5,000 elevation here in Western NC, and moved from NY to NC just after 9-11, coincidentally.

Have done 9 winter seasons in a SFH in North Naples golf community, and then moved winter season north to Nokomis area for past two seasons.

No expert on either N or S, but spent a lot of time in both, including looking at lots of houses in both counties...

CO is one of my fave states, esp the higher elevation/lower populated areas. We have done a half dozen m'cycle trips and a couple of road carving car trips through CO.

Health care: no doc or medical fan, but I would rec'd asking your local specialist for recommendations for your specific situ via specialist Docs in N or S area.
GL, mD

[lynnc99]

Chiming in here...let me add a few thoughts.

Single family home prices in Naples/Collier County are on a rapid rise so your budget won't go as far as it would have a year or two ago. You'll need a stellar realtor - I can recommend one if you haven't made a connection yet.

We live on a public golf course, Arrowhead Golf Course, which gives us a beautiful "back yard" that we don't have to tend to! Saturnia Lakes and Heritage Greens border the course and are well within your price range. From there, you are 8 miles to the beach and 3 freeway exits from RSW.

We have had good results with medical care but took direct recommendations from friends and coworkers, and have fairly simple medical needs. Still, the list of "must do" medical procedures seems to grow every year! (We are 60 and 65.)

Naples is fairly conservative but even in 5 years we have seen some changes as "old money" fades away. Where I see the limitations are in the lack of independent book stores (only one is Sunshine Books on Marco, which is more gift-y and less literary) and lack of an independent movie house. (Still, Silverspot offers a fair assortment.) We also would wish for a bit more on the live music (acoustic, blues) scene.

Every time I drive up to Sarasota, I end up feeling overwhelmed by the traffic. Naples has traffic, of course, especially in season, and our share of Snowbird drivers. Lights are long and it takes a while to drive around town. But that said, Sarasota just seems a lot busier.

If shopping is your thing, Sarasota has a brand new mall. From Naples, I prefer driving north to Coconut Point Mall instead of the local (older) Coastland Mall for mainstream stores. Waterside Shops is beautiful high end shopping, and Mercato is great for nightlife and fun - less shopping than you might imagine there.

Naples has Whole Foods and Trader Joes as well as a local Food and Thought market and restaurant for your organic needs, as well as several vegan friendly restaurants. You will find a number of fitness clubs and gyms in town but a number of neighborhood associations offer exercise classes in their community centers.

According to 'Dr Beach" - two of the 10 best beaches in America are in the Naples area - Delnor Wiggins and Barefoot Beach. I love the expanses of open beach, even just at the end of streets downtown. It's just...there! Easy availability even just for 10 minutes.

[relocatingtonaples]

As above, 'Naples' is 30 min to RSW, Sarasota is 1.2 hrs to RSW, and < 1 hr to TPA. Unless you are still travelling for a living, I don't see either place and any area airport as a problem.

As someone who travels 3 or 4 times a month on business, I completely agree with this. I don't exactly travel for a living, but I've traveled a lot and still travel regularly. RSW is a very easy airport to travel to and from.

It's not just flights you have to consider.

Consider also the size of the airport. The walking you have to do once you get inside huge airports, not to mention having to wait for/embark on trains and buses for distant terminals, is a major downside (as someone who's walked hundreds of miles in airports lugging a carryon bag -- trust me on this).

Parking is another issue. In some airports you have to allow 45 mins just to find a parking spot and get to the terminal, versus 10 minutes in a smaller airport.

Rental cars and distance to/from the terminal is yet a different issue. You can spend a half hour taking trains and buses to remote rental car facilities -- or you can walk across the street at RSW. Oh, and if you forgot to get your checked bag and have to run back to the baggage claim to get it (as I once did at O'Hare) you ARE going to miss your meeting.

Getting to the city/end destination from the airport and vice versa is another issue (think about the convenience of direct on-off ramps -- the new direct ramp from I-75 N is a tremendous timesaver). Try getting to DC from Dulles ...

Then there's the cleanliness of and overall comfort of the terminals (or lack thereof). Some airports like some of the terminals at JFK and LaGuardia feel like third world countries, the facilities are so rundown and filthy. Midway the last time I was there was another one so crowded it felt claustrophobic. You can barely find a decent place to sit in some airports, and forget about finding a working charging station for your mobile devices. When people are standing in line waiting to find a spot to sit on the floor to hook into a wall outlet, you know it's bad.

Then there's security lines and restaurants and restrooms. And I could go on.

All things considered, the Ft. Myers airport is pretty convenient and good. It is much more enjoyable to travel out of RSW than two dozen larger airports I can think of.

[Joey Falcon]

Originally Posted by Thundarr457

My wife and I are in a similar age group and strongly considered Naples. We even went so far as to almost buy a home until we found it was surrounded by sex offenders of which Naples has quite a few. .

Well, unless you have minor children living with you, you should not care about sex offendors.