Looking for Home in Naples (Golf: HOA, neighborhoods, school district)

[Porschestuff]

Hello,

We are looking at permanently relocating to the Naples area and are looking for some general information regarding different communities.

We are a younger couple (early 40's) with 2 children 9 & 12 years old.

looking for a gated golf community with the following specs.

Younger demographic preferable.
Ability to keep own golf cart and use on course (AVID golfing Family)
Tennis and fitness are a big thing to us.
Beach access would be nice, but would consider joining a beach club.
Looking to spend 1.5M-2.5M for home.
4+ bedroom
Pool/spa
Golf or water views.


We are looking, but having trouble finding the right fit.

Clubs we are considering are Quail West, Grey Oaks, Mediterra, Pelican Marsh.

Any advice (pros/cons of these clubs) or any clubs we are missing out on our list would be greatly appreciated.

In advance many thanks for your help.

[Beth Mone`]

Hi

Maybe I can help a little. The hardest part of your search will be to find a neighborhood with kids for yours to play with. Are you planning on public or private schools?

There are many great neighborhoods within your range. As a rule of thumb, the closer you stay to the coast, the better the climate (less rain in the Summer). You might call Premier Properties in Naples and check with them on locations. If you're considering private school, you could check with them to find a good demographic for kids. I don't know if the public schools would release that information

Good Luck in your search.

Beth

[motordavid]

I have only chased the ball at GO,QW,& Mediterra several times with friends that invited me, so I have little knowledge on 'living there', esp with a family. I think I would enjoy living at any of the places you mentioned, but all are a bit out of our price range, unless I lived here in SW FL full time.

GO & QW do not seem to me to have much 'family' population, as in M&D and kids, vs grandparents/older adults with visiting grand kids, but that is just anecdotal on my observations.

All the communities you mentioned are top notch in terms of housing cost, amenities, clubhouse, etc., and all are very pricey when it comes time to 'join' as a golf member, vs just living there.

My wonderment would be the walk by your kids, or car ride by you the parents, to the outside gate for the school bus, and would there be other children for your kids to play/hang out with in your neighborhood or even community-wide?

But, a first class list of 'areas' to consider, imo.
GL, mD

[Porschestuff]

Thanks to all for the replies.

I haven't done alot of research into the public vs. private school as of yet. We come from a pretty advanced public school system in PA. Any thoughts on the quality of schools in the Naples area?

thanks again.

[RMD3819]

Originally Posted by Porschestuff

Thanks to all for the replies.

I haven't done alot of research into the public vs. private school as of yet. We come from a pretty advanced public school system in PA. Any thoughts on the quality of schools in the Naples area?

thanks again.

I agree with Beth and MD.

Those are all very nice areas. I would caution you to check the financials of the HOA or club you join. Even the big clubs these days are having trouble.

Those communities are mostly made up of retirees and snowbirds. There are not any family friendly areas that meet your other criteria so some compromise will be necessary.

Schools-I'm from PA also and you will be shocked at the difference in education systems. Your kids will be ahead of their public school counterparts, probably by a year or two. If you do a search you'll find a lot of threads about this.

In your income level I would go straight to private schools. I am nowhere near your financial bracket and I sent my kid to private school.

[Jo48]

The general rule of thumb is that NORTH Naples is where the younger families are. Of the developments you mentioned, Pelican Marsh probably has the most families, but anywhere that is a golf community you are going to see a lot of retirees and snowbirds.
As far as the public schools, Collier is in a state of flux right now. The school district was downgraded from an "A" to a "B" this year. There is a new Superintendent who just started this year. Many of the principals at the highest ranked schools were switched to other lower performing schools. If you can afford it, look into private schools at least for a few years. Yes, the public schools here are not what they are up North. I agree with just about everything the other posters have said.

[Beth Mone`]

Here's a couple of private schools in Naples
The Community School of Naples
Seacrest

Good Luck

Beth

[new2naples]

Originally Posted by Porschestuff

Thanks to all for the replies.

I haven't done alot of research into the public vs. private school as of yet. We come from a pretty advanced public school system in PA. Any thoughts on the quality of schools in the Naples area?

thanks again.

The schools in Florida are awful. We moved here from Ohio in August and my daughter is in Honors classes in 9th grade at Gulf Coast High School and she is repeating work from 6th and 7th grade. Approx only 30% of the kids this year passed the EOC and Fcats. In Ohio the passage rate was always 93%-98%. Pretty pathetic! The teachers do not need to have a Masters degree ( required in Ohio) nor do they require a degree in Education. Basically I could go teach Geometry right now because all you need to have is a Bachelors degree in basket weaving and pass an actual Geometry test to teach it. Ridiculous right? I don't know how private schools are but they have to be better than public. Good Luck

[travellight27]

Quail West is a long distance from the beach. Grey Oaks is an older crowd. Of all of them, Pelican Marsh has the most families. Pelican Marsh also has a great location. Close to Whole Foods, Super Publix, Mercato, as well as the beach. The Community School of Naples has the biggest program and facilities of the private schools. They have some athletics.

[aprilbutterfly]

The public schools here will almost certainly disappoint you. There are definitely some that are better than others, but even the best ones are not very impressive, at least in my opinion. Beth recommended the private schools Seacrest and Community School, which are probably the top two. This does not, however, mean that you will be pleased with the academics. I would recommend touring both schools, as they have very different cultures, and that will also give you a chance to ask questions.

Florida also has a free online virtual school. I don't know how you feel about that, but here is the link. It is supposed to be excellent.

Florida Virtual School Full Time

I don't know anything about golf, but I do know a lot of families live in Pelican Marsh.

Good luck!