Naples or similar for family? (Miami, Orlando: real estate, crime, neighborhoods)

[jlud]

Hello all and thank you in advance!

Family in mid 40s with kids from 18 to 8. We spent about 4 years on the Peninsula of Washington state on the sound. We absolutely loved the summer weather (75-85 with no humidity or rain) and the outdoor beauty including the orcas/mountains. The Covid times were tough and we disagreed with our state supreme leader on other issues such as crime and I elected to take a job with my same company in TN so we are living outside of Nashville in Williamson County but only since spring.

We love the safety and security this area provides, as well as upscale dining and shopping and unlike in the PNW our car hasn't even been broken into and we dont see any homeless people/camps. The schools are great, but super crowded as this area has also witnessed a population explosion that the infrastructure can't keep up with. We find the geographic beauty missing and really did not like the hot summer as we did not have our own pool and the community pool wasn't all that great. Simply put we are not long for this area and I have a 100% remote job as of a month ago so we are actively looking. Even if we put a pool in we dont drink much and I feel like so much around here is geared toward that.

This job will require no commute but I will need to fly all over the US and primarily Europe. My wife will not commute but will be managing the kids/schools/activities.

All this said, we are debating heading back up to the PNW to enjoy the scenery and weather but worrying about what shoe will drop next as they try to outdo California. We are also debating finding a place such as Naples that appears to be clean, safe, well kept by the ocean so we could still enjoy that not worrying about what the government will declare for tomorrow. TN is fantastic for not having to even think about politics because you dont have to worry each day for how the state is planning to extract more money from you to give away to others after keeping a portion for themselves.

Hopefully the extra honest tidbits of information will help to provide a bit more about us that could help narrow down the search. We want the beauty of some oceans, and if we are going to be 100 degrees and 100% humidity all summer id rather it be by the water with my own pool than sitting here sweltering with no breeze.

If we were looking for a 3,000 sq foot place or above with 4BR, triple garage, gated with great schools with a budget of up to 1.3 mil can we find it and how is the market currently? Looking online but that doesn't always tell the whole picture. Appreciate any suggestions and thank you again!

[FL_Expert]

Naples is a really bad place to live if you need to fly often as it’s far from every major airport. I suggest Jupiter or Boca Raton instead.

[tmozer]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

Naples is a really bad place to live if you need to fly often as it’s far from every major airport. I suggest Jupiter or Boca Raton instead.

Not sure of your definition of a "major" airport is but RSW has always worked for me and very convenient from the Naples area.

[Taz22]

Naples is a beautiful city and compared to the homeless camps and mountains of trash in and around Olympia, where we lived, it’s a different planet.

Your price point is a little small for everything you want, I was thinking of Coquina Sands and Pelican Bay, gorgeous communities with the best of everything in easy driving distance. Fortunately, there are a lot of very nice communities in Naples, my suggestion is to talk to a realtor who specializes in luxury propertie and see what’s available. I’m sure there are neighborhoods that check all the boxes.

Naples also has an airport, but RSW is a decent size and not too far away. You also won’t find the crime and squalor that sadly covers a lot of the PNW. Nature wise, nothing can compete with the beauty, but it wasn’t appealing to live there and see the steady decline.

Naples is a boom town, but real estate is expensive, so talk to someone who is familiar with the market. We’ve lived here since September, the winter is perfect. If it was the PNW, it would be cold, dark and rainy right now.

[wjj]

Regarding airports......I have flown 4 million miles in my life so far, based out of ORD. However, when we bought in Gateway 10 years ago I did (and still do) quite a bit of flying from RSW. Compared to most mid-sized airports, RSW is toward the top of the list and with the current expansion plan that is now under construction, it is only going to get better. It is already easy in, easy out.



If you travel extensively and have top tier elite status or invitation only status on one of the Big 3 or one of their alliance partners (I was AA Concierge Key for many years and Executive Platinum before that) you may run into issues if you want to stay on your elite status airline and fly nonstops. If you are a free agent flyer then you can fly nonstop to pretty much every major and many second tier airports. I believe there is only one nonstop to Europe from RSW - to FRA on Eurowings a few days a week so you would likely need to connect at one of the Big 3 hubs or drive over to MIA and fly AA to Europe. Most of my international flying was to Asia but NRT/DFW/RSW was an easy connection with plenty of options and backups. Note also that there are no airline clubs at RSW though a business lounge is part of the expansion plans (maybe a Priority Pass lounge?). Air Berlin did have a lounge in Concourse B but they are gone now.



I am in Gateway so just a 15 minute drive to RSW and I have never had a significant traffic delay. I would caution that driving up I75 from Naples to RSW could be a mess on some days. I75 can back up for miles if there is an accident and can spill over to the east/west roads you would use to get to I75. There are few north/south alternative routes.

[jlud]

Thank you all for the feedback and suggestions. It is very helpful, especially to have someone with PNW experience to compare.

Its funny a month or two ago and all my wife wanted was to go back to the PNW, but a trip to Destin recently got her thinking, and now since we got the new role (and push has come to shove so to speak) she is having second thoughts. If I can deliver an ocean in a safe, clean area with our own pool I can see her tolerating the heat in the summer.

[JPrzybylski07]

Originally Posted by jlud

Thank you all for the feedback and suggestions. It is very helpful, especially to have someone with PNW experience to compare.

Its funny a month or two ago and all my wife wanted was to go back to the PNW, but a trip to Destin recently got her thinking, and now since we got the new role (and push has come to shove so to speak) she is having second thoughts. If I can deliver an ocean in a safe, clean area with our own pool I can see her tolerating the heat in the summer.

There’s a big difference between Destin Florida and Naples Florida as far as weather is concerned. I’m sure you’re a smart guy and probably aware but it does need to be pointed out nevertheless. After personally living in Naples for 7 years full time I absolutely despise the heat, correction, the PROLONGED period of heat you see in SWFL.

At least in Destin you absolutely are 100% guaranteed a real reprieve every fall/winter/spring from the real heat where as in Naples there are some winters where the cool weather last only a week or two. Sure the humidity throughout the entire state this time of year is noticeably lower compared to the summer but any reprieve you get in Naples every winter simply isn’t long enough imo. It’s like a cumulative effect where the summers wore me down after too many of them. My first 3-4 summers in Naples were actually quite enjoyable, coming from cold Chicago it was paradise and a nice change to have tropical weather almost year round, but after the first 3-4 summers they started feeling longer and more oppressive each one. There is a reason most people with the luxury to do so are “snow birds” and don’t spend all year in Naples.

I’ve spent some time in the panhandle of Florida and considered moving there even. Currently been in Orlando for over a year now and even here has noticeably cooler winters than Naples winters. Once again it’s not that I have anything against Naples winters, they are in fact heavenly, but they simply are too short and don’t provide any real reprieve living their year round. So yes I would rather have a Naples winter than a Destin winter, but as far as living at which place year round it would still easily be Destin because you get considerably more variety of weather and a real break from the heat.

Winter: Naples
Spring: Destin
Summer: Destin
Fall: Destin

[jlud]

Oppressive does scare me a bit, I have used that word to describe the TN summer with virtually no breeze or even fun scenery to look at. I was down in the Orlando area last week and go there a couple times each winter/spring so can appreciate the cooler feeling weather.

Thank you for the perspective.

[JPrzybylski07]

Originally Posted by jlud

Oppressive does scare me a bit, I have used that word to describe the TN summer with virtually no breeze or even fun scenery to look at. I was down in the Orlando area last week and go there a couple times each winter/spring so can appreciate the cooler feeling weather.

Thank you for the perspective.

Apples to Oranges. Tennessee is definitely not in the same league of oppression heat as Naples. Tennessee you may have oppressive heat on and off about half the time between June-August, whereas Naples has oppressive heat 98% of the time beginning in June till at least mid October! I’m talking heat indexes of over 100 degrees literally ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY for about 5 months of the year. The only time in that summer period you won’t see triple heat indexes is if a tropical storm/hurricane is coming through. Like I said theres a reason the rich people who snowbird down there usually don’t spend their whole summer there.

If I had the choice between the panhandle and Naples, especially if I worked remote, it would hands down be the panhandle. Only big downside up there is you’re more direct in hurricane alley, but the beaches are nicer up there imo, no red tide, and the oppressive heat doesn’t last as long as in SWFL. I’m not trying to hate on Naples but the honeymoon phase for me there ended a long time ago and I see things more objectively because my personal horizons have been broadened significantly the past 3 years traveling around the country. The PNW is actually the last section of the country I haven’t touched but minus political talk it looks like it would be paradise up there if it didn’t get so cloudy 9 months of the year….

Whatever floats your boat though, I have a friend who said they would take a July Naples year round…. Yuck!

[movin1]

I lived in Naples for 5 years. I finally couldn't stand the weather there any more. I would say the oppressive heat due to the high dew point lasts at least 6 months if not more. And it rains every day. After Hurricane Irma, I moved to Las Vegas, the total opposite of humid. Dry heat suits me much better, I love it here. Nashville has lots of things to do, though nothing compares to Vegas for entertainment and restaurants. Naples is pretty boring unless you consider golf to be entertainment. How often can you NOT get in the Gulf of Mexico around Naples these days? Thought about rising sea level? Folks in Miami sure have. I won't touch on the subject of politics in FL.