Young family moving to Naples...need advice (Tampa, Orlando: to rent, sex offenders)

[Moving To Naples]

We are a young family (I'm 35, my wife 32 and we have a 5 year old and a 3 year old). We currently live in a big city in the Northeast and are thinking about moving to Naples in the summer of 2017 and would like some advice on it all. We would like to have a more quieter lifestyle where the kids can still enjoy themselves and have a nice upbringing, without the big hussle and bussle of a big city.


After searching and visiting the area, we have really liked Stonecreek as a place to call home. Never really seen Stonecreek in real life though, just through GL Home's website and brochures, etc. We would like to have some opinions on Stonecreek & GL as a builder. I believe Stonecreek is located in Laurel Lakes, Oakridge & Gulf Coast for schools, so I believe this is a good school zone? What about being family-oriented? I want to ensure my wife and kids will be happy to be in a place not only like Stonecreek, but Naples as a whole. I certainly do not want them to feel lonely.


Is Naples an overall good place to live and raise a young family? I have seen posts about the number of sex offenders in the area. Can anyone elaborate on this? Is Naples safe for not only my kids, but for us as a family?


Anything anyone can say about Naples, Stonecreek & other communities, schools, and anything else a person thinking of moving to Naples should know, would be so much appreciated.


Thank you so much!!

[movin1]

Lots of threads here on Naples city-data forum re: your questions. Do some searches re: GL and Stonecreek, kids in Naples etc.

We live in Riverstone (GL Homes community which is 98% completed just south of StoneCreek). Lots of young folks and children here.

GL is considered one of the best community builders and offers decent quality for the price. We go up to StoneCreek to walk our dogs because it is relatively undeveloped at this point and we can let them off leash without fear of cars.

Construction pace seems to have slowed, so not sure how long it will take to finish that development.

Good luck with the move!

[AstridinNaples]

Riverstone & Stonecreek are both very family oriented, GL Homes did a great job here .
The Resort clubhouse in Riverstone is just amazing , large pool area , spa and pool cabanas.
Tennis , basketball , shaded toddler play ground , gym and more ...

I live in the area since 6 years and I would recommend this place specially for families.
School district with A rated schools . Veteran Memorial Elementary , Laurel Oak Elementary,
North Naples Middle school , Gulf Coast High school .

There are 30 listings in Riverstone available at the moment .

To live in Naples, specially North Naples where all families are moving , is safe and a very great opportunity to enjoy a healthy environment, meet international cultures , find tons of kids entertainments and endless sun & beaches . Very good health system is available.
Surrounded by incredibles nature it's a wonderful place to life . Naples is a quiet cozy manageable small town without the stress of traffic jams. Furthermore, a good starting point for excursions to the many attractions in Florida as the major theme parks in Orlando and Tampa, Cape Canaveral, nature reserves and Indian villages in the Everglades or the Keys

[movin1]

Good time to buy now in Rivertone. Our neighbors are moving and they have decided to rent their house instead of selling it because houses aren't selling, there is too much inventory. Seems to be some good deals to be had.

[RMD3819]

What is your housing budget?

Where will you be working? You need to factor commute issues in your plans.

[Sweetbottoms]

I am still baffled why young families choose to move to a retirement community that does not cater to families in any way. There are many threads on this and opinions from young families on the area vs those with no children or children in college or older. If you're over 50+ I'm sure the area is great. If you're not be aware you are moving to an area that fights every step of the way for schools not to be built, for families to be pushed out of neighborhoods so they can convert it to 55+ and lack of anything culturally including real museums. The talk of the town in season is what restaurant gives the best senior early bird special... Good luck..

[CH183]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

I am still baffled why young families choose to move to a retirement community that does not cater to families in any way. There are many threads on this and opinions from young families on the area vs those with no children or children in college or older. If you're over 50+ I'm sure the area is great. If you're not be aware you are moving to an area that fights every step of the way for schools not to be built, for families to be pushed out of neighborhoods so they can convert it to 55+ and lack of anything culturally including real museums. The talk of the town in season is what restaurant gives the best senior early bird special... Good luck..

Sweet bottoms, why do you feel the need to bash Naples? I understand you feel strongly one way but I feel your views are heavily negative. I don't disagree that Naples' general population is more is older but all one has to do is to see the average/median age of he population to see that. I think it's only fair that you should highlight some of the positives of Naples as well so your overall comments are more balanced and people would take them more serious. I grew up in Naples in the 90s and I can tell you that Naples is way more family friendly now than it was 20 years ago. I have not lived full time in Naples in nearly 20 years but I do go there 1-2 times a year and in fact I am moving my family back to Naples to raise my 3 kids his summer. The OP of this tread, if you have any questions on Naples please drop me a PM.

[movin1]

I have been reading and posting on this forum for a few years since we moved here. Obviously, Sweetbottoms does not like Naples anymore or what has happened due to the growth here. It seems to me that she ignores all the good things and just complains about what she thinks the problems are.

Though I have only lived here for a few years, I see a very diverse age group. Yes there are a lot of old folks, but there are a lot of younger folks with children too. The demographic is changing.

There are a lot of great things here given the relatively small size. Naples Zoo, The Botanical Gardens, Artis-Naples, The Baker Museum, lots of art galleries, great beaches, very good restaurants etc. I see families with children everywhere I go. It's easy to get around and most everything you want or need is not far away. Traffic sucks in season and the drivers are horrible, but it's nothing like any big city.

I lived in a nice University town (Champaign, IL) for most of my life and have spent a lot of time in big cities (Chicago, New York, LA). I like Naples better than most places I have been and I have been in France, Italy, Spain and Australia as well as most of the USA.

Naples is high end, it can be expensive, but low property taxes and power bills help offset the cost of living. I have more disposable income here than I did in Champaign because my monthly nut is less. Not everyone can afford to live here, but that's true of a lot of places. There is not a lot of diversity in jobs here, but that is changing too.

There are not a lot of bars or live music venues featuring rock or country bands but there are some. It does not seem like a great place for single folks in their 20's or 30's who want to party and stay up to the wee hours of the morning. Having lived in a college town most of my life, I don't miss that.

I can find negative things to say about most any place I have been, but I see a lot of good here including 6-8 months of the best weather in the country and no State Income Tax.

I hope Sweetbottoms finds a place she is happy, it's obvious it is no longer Naples.

[Sweetbottoms]

Originally Posted by CH183

Sweet bottoms, why do you feel the need to bash Naples? I understand you feel strongly one way but I feel your views are heavily negative. I don't disagree that Naples' general population is more is older but all one has to do is to see the average/median age of he population to see that. I think it's only fair that you should highlight some of the positives of Naples as well so your overall comments are more balanced and people would take them more serious. I grew up in Naples in the 90s and I can tell you that Naples is way more family friendly now than it was 20 years ago. I have not lived full time in Naples in nearly 20 years but I do go there 1-2 times a year and in fact I am moving my family back to Naples to raise my 3 kids his summer. The OP of this tread, if you have any questions on Naples please drop me a PM.

You coming back 1-2 times a year vs living here full time is completely different. I grew up here in the 80's and 90's when the traffic and overall place was much more tolerable. Now it's become a constant mad house of traffic and people year round in a place that was not made to accommodate the sheer amount here. We have people in Bonita fighting about a highschool being put up and we have more communities for 55+ than family friendly ones. Housing costs is so out of control we are in the midst of losing teachers and cops again like in 05-06. We have some of the highest housing costs in the state and way above national average. This isn't s place to bring kids for any kind of opportunity for them in their future.

[Barbie1981]

Hello,
I would like to know how is living in Naples now? Is it more kids friendly than a few years ago? I would like to live in a place with beach an not as crazy as the cities... Opinions?