Considering Relocating to Naples
 

I had a job opportunity come up in Naples, fl. I wasn't looking to move to Florida, but I really like the company and the area seems nice. I have made a handful of trips down there in the last few months. I currently live north of Detroit where there is alot of great fresh water boating to be had. From reading this forum it looks like there is plenty of boating in the area too so that isn't really a concern. Although I have never boated in salt water. Are there any fresh water rivers or canals with gulf access in the Naples area like there are in fort myers?

Home prices are definetly higher than Mi but they seem to have fallen a ton compared to their highs. So it could be a good time to buy perhaps?

As a single 29 year old male am I going to be surrounded by retirees? Is there much of a younger population?

Thanks,
Paul

If you are a boater you will have the time
of your life boating in gulf. Check out fort
myers offshore club for the fun runs we
have once a month.
Rick

You will love the boating in the gulf. I take my boat back and forth between michigan and flordia and have my most fun in the south. As for salt water it is much harder on the boat and the daily cleanup after a day of boating is much longer but who cares it beats dodging icebergs in April.

What is the company?

lots of old people -YES

middle of summer time is best time to buy, all the buyers come down during winter, so summer time there's not alot of activity. naples (collier county) has much higher taxes (property). i think things are still going down, and from the poeple i talk with we're in for alot of commercail foreclosures. Bonita area is about 40% un-occupied.

insurance for on-the-water is alot higher also. might wanna think about renting for a while, theres plently of homes.

as for naples, depends on what your looking for.
do you want to use a marina? do you normally ramp launch? are you looking to keep your boat on a lift?

I have been instructed to keep the company name confidential as nothing has been finalized yet, buts it's a manufacturing company.

I plan on renting for 6 - 12 months then looking to buy. A place with gulf access would be nice that is why I was curious if there was any fresh water gulf access available in the area. Currently I have an older 26' baja that I restored last year, but I don't plan on using it in Florida. I'm planning on upgrading to a newer 35-38' offshore. Is there much of a market for older (it's a 1988) clean fresh water boats down there or would I be better selling it in MI?

Can you tell me if it might be a Medical Device Manufacturer? If so, I dont know the company personally, but my moms company up in CT is a contract manufacturer for them, and from what I understand, they are doing OK. I work in a similar type of Medical device manufacturer over here in West palm Beach, and although things slowed down a bit last year, we are extremely busy right now.

Scrappy: Renting for 6-12 months makes a lot of sense. You can figure out what and where you like.

Naples is a great place to live. There are a lot more seniors than you might run into in Michigan. Watch yourself at red lights and stop signs. For some reason, we have a high incidence of people running them.

As for boating, the gulf is great. There are lots of destinations between Everglades city and Sarasota. As for your boat, sell it up north. It was mentioned that salt is hard on a boat. If you are selling it here, people will assume it has been here since 1988. You will have difficulty generating any interest in a 1988 boat here.

Taxes may be higher here than in Michigan but Collier is no higher than other locales in FL. You're paying property taxes and sales tax, but no income taxes.

Although this year has been the coldest I have seen it, I'm not packing my bags to move back up north.

Best wishes on your new job. I wouldn't give it a moments hesitation.

TC.

I'm 28 and love SWFL. I am a bit biased... being from FL (grew up in Fort Lauderdale/Boca Raton). I went to college in Boston and had to come back to FL - cold and dark at 4PM is not for me.

There is plenty to do around here... especially in the S. Fort Myers, Estero area... even parts of Bonita and Naples. Of course, my family is down here which makes a big difference. It is really, really hard to beat Gulf boating. Plus, it is 78 out right now... in what has been one of the worst winters in FL history.

Well, it's been a long process, but I finally made it down to Naples. I moved down here about a month ago and have been staying in a hotel, but I should being moving into a condo I'm leasing on Nov. 1st.

I don't have a boat down here yet, but I'll be stopping by the naples bay resort on Saturday. Looking forward to meeting some people.

If you want to meet some FMO members you are welcome to come with a few OSO guys on Nov. 27th run on my boat.
The club has a PR that weekend.

Will get you out on the water and see some of the sights and meet some local boaters.

Lots of room on my boat !

for BEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Welcome,

here is a little video from the cabbage key run last saturday, my boat is around the :26 second mark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcJn92joEsM

Welcome also! We are also in the video that was taken last weekend. I am 29 also and moved down here 5 years ago from Minnesota. If you like to boat it is a great place to live. If you dont like to boat then you will hate it here. I had a friends move down last year and they lasted about 6 months becasue they had nothing to do ( they were not boaters). It is much slower pace than anyplace I have ever been but once you get us to it it can be alot of fun.

I am an engineer for a company in Bonita Springs and we are always looking for engineers. There are only a handful of comapnies in naples that do any manufacturing (1 aero space company, 1 diesel injection company, 2 medical companies, and maybe a couple others).

Friggen yougn's, yer makin' me feel old at 40:drink:

Which one of those companies do you work for Don? I found out today we will having a layoff soon, I am near the top of the food chain(Q.C. Supervisor for a Medical Device MFG Co.), and should be safe for a bit, But my wifes family does have a vacation place I could crash at in Bonita during the week if I had to relocate:evilb:

I work for Shaw development

Parker is the Aero Space Company (Use to be a Division of Shaw)
Arthrax is Bio Medical
Anova (I think that is spelled right) is a Bio Medial Valve Company
Hanes is the Diesel Injection Company

[QUOTE=rchevelle71;3233813]Friggen yougn's, yer makin' me feel old at 40:drink:[QUOTE]

40 is still considered young on this coast!

Cool,

thanks for the names, I knew of Arthrax, my mom is a manufacturing manager for one of their contract manufacturers up in CT, I'll check the others out, dont really want to move, cuz my house aint worth squat right now, but I suppose I could commute if need be.

[QUOTE=Maritime_Eng;3233821][QUOTE=rchevelle71;3233813]Friggen yougn's, yer makin' me feel old at 40:drink:here I am over the hill, but not quite ready for century village yet, but I feel like a Perv, every time I go to Lauderdale, or South beach after dark:eek:

[QUOTE=rchevelle71;3233843][QUOTE=Maritime_Eng;3233821]LOL. Hell, Amanda and I feel old everytime we go the south beach!

[QUOTE=Maritime_Eng;3233850][QUOTE=rchevelle71;3233843]:lolhit:

Hey scrappy always looking for someone to go boating with.Just a 250 Stingray but i can show you the backwaters from Bonita to Wiggins and back up to Ft Meyers.

Hey rchevelle next time you come to town give me a yell.

You and me run about the same speed so i think we will be safe.I hate to beat you with a Stingray bowrider but i know you will squash me out in the Gulf if there is more than a 1 foot chop.

Will do,

Now that my trailer is fixed, I plan on coming over more often, problem is sometimes finding a place to store the boat for the night, as I dont think I can leave it at the condo:eek:

May bring a friend with a 20 foot action with a 280HP outboard along next time, so you should be fine with the chop:evilb:

We can keep it at my gf house or my buddies house anytime.Both houses are only 2 miles from Bonita beach. Where you stay when you are in town?

My in-laws just sold their beach house off of Bonita Beach road last year, and bought a condo closer to Naples, I dont remember the name of the place, but it is off Vanderbilt.

Scrappy: Welcome to SWFL. We should be arriving to Naples Bay Resort around 12:30. We should be meeting a few Marines to hand of our Toys for Tots and then wander around the Stone Crab Festival. Look forward to meeting you.

Tom

Paul. We received your FMO membership application today. Welcome to Ft Myers Offshore and thank you for your support. Please tap me on the shoulder Saturday and say hello. It will be a great opportunity for you to see what FMO is about and what a great group of people we have in the Club.
All the best, :)
Bob

Catastrophe, thanks for the offer! I am suppossed to be in PA that weekend, but I might look at rescheduling my flight to come in Friday night so I can make it. I'll Let you know!

Tommymonza, I'll PM you my number. I'm free most weekends.

If all goes well, Nov. 1st I will be moving into a condo in Naples Park right by Wiggins Pass. I am pretty tired of living out of a hotel room.

Thanks all for the warm reception. Looking forward to putting somes names to faces tomorrow.