Scrappy

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

bajarick

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

bill63

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.

rchevelle71

iTrader: (1)

What is the company?

skaterdave

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?

Scrappy

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?

rchevelle71

iTrader: (1)

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.

MegaByte*3

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.

jswfl09

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.

Scrappy

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.