NAPLES - Golden Gate Estates - is this a good or bad area? (rentals, houses)

[D-R-B]

Did someone ACTUALLY say the word "investment"?..........

What happened in Florida from 2000-2006 will never happen again.

If it does-it will all come crashing down....AGAIN.

Proximity to plentiful good-paying jobs and good schools are 2 factors that contribute to an area's health and growth. IN GENERAL, Florida has neither.

The west coast (especially Ft. Myers and Naples) is in big trouble. There is not a single local economy that can support these crazy prices. Rampant buying and selling and/or "flipping" does not create REAL VALUES. Some people make "quick money" and many get screwed.

Florida already had huge problems before the real estate boom and now is just a big mess that will last a LONG TIME.

Florida (especially Naples) has an economy that consists of retirees, tourists, and snowbirds. It has always been that way, and it will probably never change. Keep in mind- retirees, tourists, and snowbirds don't need to work for a living when they are here.

I wouldn't touch Naples with a 500 ft pole. Not unless you are retired or just have a ton of cash in the bank (which you will blow through so fast down here it will make your head spin) Happens all the time.

Also, I don't think Golden Gate Estates is near the water (I could be wrong). If that is the case, the HEAT and CRAZY HUMIDITY for most of the year will be oppressive. I live in the Tampa Bay area- inland Naples would be unbearable.

[RMD3819]

Nam-

GG Estates is HUGE. The further west you are the closer you will be to the grocery store. The easternmost parts are very far (in my opinion) from shopping.

I think it is safe for kids but it is very spread out. The Estates is not touristy and there are few snowbirds. It is the blue collar area of Naples.

Schools-In general Florida schools do not get high marks. Maybe someone else can comment specifically on schools in GGE.

Do you have a job lined up here?

[TANaples]

Golden Gate Estates is in East Naples. It is not near the water.

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by RMD3819

Nam-

GG Estates is HUGE. The further west you are the closer you will be to the grocery store. The easternmost parts are very far (in my opinion) from shopping.

I think it is safe for kids but it is very spread out. The Estates is not touristy and there are few snowbirds. It is the blue collar area of Naples.

Schools-In general Florida schools do not get high marks. Maybe someone else can comment specifically on schools in GGE.

Do you have a job lined up here?

in all of Collier County. Schools The schools in this area have a high percentage of students classified as needy and non-english speaking. I worked in Golden Terrace Elementary, which is the southern part off Golden Gate Parkway, over the summer. The area was nicely kept and very quiet. At least in the daytime, all I saw were little kids outside playing. Yes, they appeared to be Hispanic. The houses seemed to be fairly small, older, with not much property. We once went to an auction in the northern part. In this area, the houses were much larger with a LOT of property.

When I first moved here over a year ago, all I heard on the local news was about grow houses in Golden Gate. I never hear that anymore. Maybe it is changing. I don't know.

[nam9706]

i work in ft lauderdale only on weekends the drive is not bad at all plus i have a home in ft lauderdale to stay in on saturday, my husband owns his own business. I WAnt somewhere with alot of land i certainly cannot get that down here in ft lauderdale. that's why i've been looking at up there. not to mention i have 4 huge dobermans that need somewhere to run. the foreclosures up there are incredible. so i was just curious as to WHY

[blank check]

I used to have a girlfriend who lived in the Golden Gate area. She was a hippie and it seemed like every one else in the area was to some degree as well... Even my girlfriend's parents never gave up the pot habit, and I knew another mom who would do cocaine with her son.

There are a lot of contractors and rednecks out there as well. Rule of thumb- most of these people would never survive in most of Naples' HOA-obsessive compulsive communities

[Linn310]

There are foreclosures all over the country. Do not let that deter you. However before buying any reasonable homes, remember that taxes have not gone down...neither has insurance.

[EstatesResident]

Hello FreeandClear!After reading all these entries, I would like to give you my honest opinion as a resident of the Estates. I moved here at the end of 2005. We are a young couple with 2 toddlers. We moved here from the Windy City. With that said, the Estates is a very rural and a very big area. We looked all over Naples for a home that was worth the money at that time. We found thousands of gated communities with beautiful homes, but the privacy is not there. The homes are too close to each other, they all look similar and that is not what we were looking for, so we looked in the Estates. Back then prices were very high, but what we got for the money was completely worth it. Our house is on a big lot on the NE end of GG Blvd (main street), we are as far as you can go on that road . Since we came from a big city, driving 30 to 40 minutes to work it is not a big issue to us, we are use to that. The big grocery store is 15 min away, but you can find a few small shopping areas 5 minutes drive and they are currently building a Walgreens very near by. The drive to the beach will depend on what beach you would like to go. The shortest drive is 35 to 40 minutes. Some of the individuals are correct about their posting regarding the type of people you find here. It's a very mixed area, but then Florida is that way not just the Estates, so if you are not use to that, you won't like Florida or the Estates. The crime rate is not as bad as it sounds, the problem is that there are some areas that owners like to keep very secluded and hidden with all the wild, so I think this in any area will call for crime. Grow houses are very common in rural areas, because of the growth of GG Estates, I believe it's getting harder to have a grow house and so those people are quickly moving out. There are several new schools and very few are considered "A" schools, but then there is a great choice of private schools and you can always try a different public school, but you will have to drive your kid there. The amount of available homes for sale IS alarming, but the reason for that is the fact that builders got too greedy and started to built homes like making popcorn, so after the market collapsed, those houses are just there looking for an owner, then banks got also too greedy and gave loans to people that could not really afford those homes, most of those people were hard workers that work for those greedy builders, so they found themselves without a job and they had to abandoned their new homes. There are great things about living here: privacy, big lots, lots of room for your dogs and kids to play freely (if you have a fence, I do), you can turn your house into an “all year” vacation home, you have the room just need the money . And now the bad things about it: because it's wooded and wild, the maintenance of your lot and house is a lot more than a regular home, you have to keep up with insect control like fire ants (you can always pay someone), you need to maintain your water system because it’s not city water, keep up with the grass, hope that your neighbors are as good as you keeping up with their property. I hope this information helps and if you asked me if I would move here again, I would say yes. I enjoy seeing my kids run around the property following each other. I enjoy the smell when I come out in the morning or even at night, I love the sound of the trees when the wind blows, I enjoy the sound of the birds in the morning and the best part it's looking at the stars at night, the area is dark because it's not so industrialized with big street lights, only soft lights, so you will notice how different the sky looks at night Florida, not just the Estates is very different has very different people and it takes time to get use to it coming from a big city. Good luck and if you decide to move here, look us up, we are always looking for new friends!! one more thing: Wild fires, I experienced the first one this summer just about a block away from my house, the rumor is that people couldn't afford paying their house, so they wanted the insurance money, very sad!! So if your lot is well maintained and have sprinklers installed, and you don't intentionally start a fire, you are good. I think most of the wild fires that had started in the past are near the Natural Park at the end Sounth of Everglades Rd. That area will get very dried during the summer, so don't buy around there, that is a no brainer!!

[GatorBite]

Some of the posts relating to the Golden Gate Estates area are comical in a way, especially coming from someone who live in Tampa and has never lived here. Please comment on what you know, the Tampa area, you're giving the Estates a bad name due to your falsehoods.

I have lived in Naples my whole life and lived in the Estates several different times. The most recent in 2004 when I built a new home on 2.5 acres and am not too far out.

Let me give you a little history on this subdivision, which is located in Naples. Golden Gate Estates is located in the eastern parts of Collier County. This is in no way considered "East Naples" as one poster claimed. East Naples is an entirely different area of Naples.

GGE is approx. 112,000 acres in total and was developed in the early 60's. At one time, this was THE largest subdivision in the world.

Potential customers were flown in from all parts of the country to be shown the pristine Florida lifestyle. People were shown property that was not in GGE but the more developed areas of Naples, but what they were deeded was a lot in GGE that may or may not be swampland. Many were scammed, and many bought sight unseen.

Thousands acres in GGE which is located south of Alligator Alley (I-75) was purchased by the state for restoration and turned into a state forest called the Picayune Strand State Forest, which is beautiful by the way.

Between 2002 and 2005 property values in Naples went through the roof, and especially in GGE. What once sold for $5,000to $10,000 an acre in the 80's & 90's was now going for $100,000 an acre and higher (depending on the location). Growth in the area spiked and new homes popped up everywhere. Then the bottom dropped out and prices have fallen back to what they were in the 80's & 90's.

So yes, there are a lot of foreclosures but that doesn't make it a bad place whatsoever. There are foreclosures all over this country in every type of community.

The schools in Golden Gate Estates are excellent. My younger son attends Cypress Palm Middle (brand new), which is an "A" school and my other son attends Palmetto Ridge High which is I belive is a B school. Three are 7 public schools overall in the Estates and all are good.

Some folks on here are confusing Golden Gate City with Golden Gate Estates, which are 2 completely seperate communities, no comparison. The schools in Golden Gate City are pretty bad, and more crimes there too.

EstatesResident had a great post and am glad he loves the Estates as much as I do. Most people move to the Estates to breathe, stretch your legs, meaning you have the acreage to do that and your neighbors aren't 5 feet from you. Heck you can have horses, cows, etc out here!

It's a great place to live and raise your family!

If anyone has any questions about the Estates or the rest of Naples let me know and I'll try to answer them for ya

[RMD3819]

Estates Resident and Gator-two thumbs up for the balanced, accurate posts about life in GGE.