Naples Florida.

It's pretty. Nice beaches. Midwestern rich Republican.

Used to have a surprising amount of fairly good French restaurants. A really good Persian resto as well.

R1 pretty much nails it. Some serious money in that town. On any given day, the upscale mall (there is a DeBeers store there!) will have million dollar cars in the parking lot.

Nouveau riche answer to old money Palm Beach. Everyone builds their fantasy home without regard for zoning limitations. Nice place to visit though.

Plenty of old, established Midwestern wealth as well, r4.

Stinks like dead fish. Red Tide.

A friend of mine from high school lives there in what is pretty much a mobile home. On the water, no less.

You mean a houseboat, R7?

It's a poor substitute for Palm Beach. The people with money there are Ford dealers from the Midwest, as opposed to the Fords who live in PB.

Very, very rich. As others have said wealthy Midwesterners retired there while wealthy Jews retired or moved to Palm Beach.

The red tide is very bad on the west coast now, but I don't know if it's reached all the way down to Naples.

R9 I took a look at the housing prices and I don’t think even Ford dealers could afford it.

No, we're talking serious money. It's obvious from the properties along the water and from the quality of the shops and restaurants on the main street.

r7's friend must live outside of Naples, off the highway.

Retired porn fave Girth Brooks used to live in Naples when he was shooting porn. He's in LA now getting his MBA at Pepperdine.

It's the city where Jeb Bush knowingly allowed the 9/11 hijackers to train for flying planes.

Mission Accomplished!

I live in Naples. It is a horrible place to live. You wouldnt want to even visit.

Dead fish. Stinky water. Miami nuts are playing their stupid music loud on the beach.

It is just nasty.

The last time I was there was1982.

Where are you from originally R15?

California native. Water is too cold

I always run into Judge Judy and Roslyn Kind there.

It's the pickle ball captial of the US. I can't wait to go to see a pro tournament there!

It’s beautiful, clean, quiet at night, people are friendly; many restaurants, botanical garden is impressive. Red tide is usually north, but you should research it if anyone traveling suffers from resp problems (ie asthma, allergies) b/c it can swing down to Naples and ruin a day at the beach.

Ooooh! I used to love Naples, FL !

The Ritz Carlton there was so nice. I went there many many years ago, though, I doubt they've dropped their standards.

Sanibel and Captiva are heavenly, although Sanibel is now a mob scene compared to the 70s and 80s. We used to stay there in the winters and drive down to Naples for shopping and nice dinners.

Sanibel is part of Naples?

No, Sanibel's farther up the coast but an easy drive away.

Old Naples (downtown) and Marco Island are very nice. There is nothing really to do if you're under 40.

Even in Fort Myers there is little to do. All of Southwest Florida is like a suburb. If you want nightlife, in Florida, you have to go to Miami or Key West, perhaps Pensacola at Spring Break.

I lived in Naples, in my 20s and outside of being expensive it's boring. But if you're just looking to sit back and relax on the beach and do nothing, it's great.

Agree, all those places are magnets for retirees--just not the kind who ride adult tricyles and have early bird dinners. They are home to fairly sophisticated people. (Not Ft. Myers, which is pretty dreary)

We would not even visit the gulf side (= the wrong side)

The gulf coast kind of grosses me out . Red tide, oil rigs leaking, deplorable, you can have it. I did think Sarasota was kind of nice but again the less wealthy cousins of Naples

I guess you can play golf...do you belong to a club? Alligator Ally will take you over to Miami pretty quick and a short boat trip will take you to Key West.

[quote]It's the pickle ball captial of the US.

Any city that has a lot of retirees will have lots of pickled balls.

The only person I know there has a billion and a half.

There's more gay guys in Sarasota.

Lots of Republicans and good Persian restaurants. The Repubs may not like Middle Easterners, but they’ll still eat their food.

Boooring if rich. Boring midwestern rich people who live simply. But pretty sunsets and nice beaches. Spent time in Sanibel/Captiva - not Naples but close. Got really boring. I wouldn’t choose to live there but nice for straight retirees who aren’t looking for action. Expensive too. I think I’d go farther north to St Pete - a little more action, gay bars, cheaper. But the red tide thing is really scary - if that continues the whole west coast of FL could take a hit price wise.

R14, a few also trained in Deactur, Ga .2 used to go to my Starbucks.

If you were 60 and looking for a place to go to escape midwest winters, would you pick Naples over PS or PV? I keep searching for some place to spend a few weeks each winter. I've been to PV many times (going again in December and March) and like it, especially the beach and the sunsets over the bay. I've been to PS a dozen times but get bored and feel landlocked. Any suggestions for someone who enjoys eating out, occasionally hitting the gay bars with friends, hiking and generally being outdoors.

Wouldn't pick Naples at any age unless I was straight. And rich.

^^I'm about the same age and looking for same things---quiet but not TOO quiet. I suppose there will be compromise with anything you choose.

red tide has only been bad this year generally hasnt been a problem in the past. Olde Naples is where the downtown area is and it is nice and upscale upscale, altho not quite worth avenue in Palm Beach. Naples is more new money and its mid west money like others have said. There has been a lot of tearing down of quaint older beach homes near the downtown area and they are putting up or have put up mega mcmansions everywhere. The new architecture is second rate and looks like an upscale suburb anywhere, giant spaces vaguely reminding you of shopping centers. They like to use a lot of columns and marble or travertine everywhere.............a big difference also is in Naples when they pluck down 10 mil for their new mcmansion they often skip the decorator and the places show horribly on the real estate sites as a result. Having said all that there are powder white beaches everywhere and old naples at least has a lot of canopies of old trees everywhere. Its probably heaven for your 70 year old wealthy widow wintering there from Peoria or wherever.

Thanks so much for your feedback everyone! This is going to be a very useful thread during my time there. It sounds too expensive for me but since I'm staying with a friend at least accommodation is free. Are there any decent art galleries to browse?