Southwest Florida Living

Florida’s growth rate has been phenomenal for decades and projections for continued growth have not yet been revised sharply downward. In recent years the rate of growth may have slowed but experts whose job it is to monitor population trends say that the net population of Florida is still on the increase. For information on Florida’s growth trend see “IS FLORIDA SHRINKING?”.

As I’ve watched real estate prices fall and inventories rise I began to wonder if the projections for growth in Florida had  changed. As a resident who loves the Florida lifestyle I can’t comprehend how someone would not wish to live in the “Sunshine State”. I’ve listened to so many people argue the demographic shift of an aging America would guarantee continued growth.

I believe that the current slower rate of growth will eventually tick back to a faster rate as Americans retire. Many, who have worked their entire life with the dream of retiring to a place where almost everyday the sun shines, will realize that they can’t put off the move forever without giving up on their dream.

In the mean time this pause in rapid growth and sudden rise in energy prices may be just what Florida needs. For years  Floridians have struggled dealing with all the negatives that comes with developing along the coast and wetlands. Growth has  growth ideals have been elected to local governments. Higher energy prices may have the effect of making urban living a desirable alternative to living miles away from the urban service area, ending pressures to build in currently undeveloped areas.

In the 1920’s John Nolan developed a blue print for urban development. Nolan’s design concepts were used in St. Petersburg and Venice. I live in Venice and have come to appreciate Nolan’s design concepts.  See my blog entry “Will people shop for ‘green’ communities”. Since the 1990’s towns like Seaside and Celebration have been developed that are models of New Urban design. Florida’s growth management philosophy in the second half of the 19^th century has been to balance development of urban areas while preserving the natural. To that end the State of Florida has purchased more than 5 million acres for preservation.

Limiting the footprint of development will have the desired effect of preserving the natural Florida that has caused so many to refer to Florida as paradise. The undesired effect will be the escalation of land values in the urban areas. Unless the estimates of population growth are drastically revised we will see 8 million people move to the Sunshine Sate over the next 20 years!

I can’t begin to predict when the growth rate will ramp up again, but even with high energy costs  Florida tourism is still brisk. Many experts are chalking it up to “stay-cationing” and foreigners taking cheap vacations. I think there is an additional component. People at or nearing retirement are visiting to find the area that most appeals to them for retirement. Recent residential property sales from Sarasota to Cape Coral seem to show that many are finding southwest Florida stills fits the bill of “Paradise Found”.

Boating in Southwest Florida

Florida is famous for beaches, golfing, and fishing. Outdoor activities of all kinds can be enjoyed year round. Of all the ways we have to enjoy life here in Southwest Florida boating is on the top of my list.

We have a flats boat which is a light weight fishing boat with the ability to float in very shallow water. It has a soft ride and will provide a comfortable ride even on windy days. With a four stroke outboard you can have a conversation at cruising speed without needing to shout.

With our boat I can explore much of the vast waterway system that makes coastal Florida a special place.

One of our favorite day trips has Johanne and I launching our boat out of Indian Mounds park in Englewood. This Sarasota county park has a very nice 4-lane boat ramp with ample parking. From the ramp it’s a short ride to stump pass. We like to  beach the boat on the Manasota key side of the pass. You never know what you will experience at the pass; the last time we were there a group of manatee was resting on the bottom in about 10 feet of water just off shore. The water was gin clear that day and the manatee stayed around coming up for air every 10 minutes.

From the pass we head to Stump Pass Grille for a late lunch. Going to a waterfront restaurant is always a joy.  This spot is a treasure, outside dining under a tiki hut with the waters of Lemon Bay lapping on a riprap seawall. Most days we can watch fishermen wading the flats. It’s not uncommon to see dolphin. We have a standard order; seafood chowder and two orders of wings. One garlic and one hot. The leftovers go into our cooler and it’s back out on the water.

Boating is a year round activity. It’s easy to shake up the trip, with boat ramps all over Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. The inter-coastal provides a marked highway and with the numerous bays, rivers,  harbors, islands and the Gulf you can create you own favorite day trip.

With run-a-way energy costs, will there be a new paradigm in how cities and communities are designed? Will we see more of a shift to town center design? I’ve read a bit about “Traditional Neighborhood Design” and “New Urbanism”, these terms referring to a holistic approach to designing cities and communities. Co-locating where you work to where you live and play. Will (Do)home buyers place community design at the top of their wish list? Will promoting your market areas “green” and “livability” features help sales? Can suburban sprawl be adapted to a town center to buoy slumping rural sales?

I live on the Island of Venice in southwest Florida. When my wife and I moved here we never gave a thought about the “green” neighborhood design. We moved here because we love the beach and boating. We were attracted to the small town feel and the mature vegetation.

When I first moved to the street I live on, I noticed that my neighbor walked the ½ mile round trip to the grocery store. Another neighbor walked to the newsstand to buy their paper every morning. I never gave it a thought really. On the beach one day a women stopped me and asked how much further to Sharkysbeach-front restaurant. I told her that it was no more than ¾ of a mile, she continued her walk.

We routinely tell people just how easy it is to walk to downtown shops and restaurants, most homes measure the distance in a number of blocks.

Now with $4.00 gas, I have come to appreciate the wisdom of John Nolens original city design. I have equipped my bike with saddlebags, and instead of jumping in the car to do errands I ride my bike. Because everything is so close it really doesn’t take that much more time. I’m noticing that I’m not alone in my new way of shopping.

As I started thinking of my town as a green place to live it dawned on me that I don’t heat my house, my annual energy bill is about $1200 or $100 a month. I know it’s just the 2 of us, but still I think that’s way low compared to other areas.

Florida is considered by most people as a hot place to live, but reason tells me that it’s easier to cool a house than to heat one. The typical afternoon high in the summer is around 90. Most people are comfortable with indoor temps around mid-70s. So at the extreme your attempting to change the indoor temps about 25 degrees. While if my memory serves me well, winter temps have overnight lows in the mid 20’s (or lower) so most people are attempting to affect the inside temps by about 40 degrees. For 6 months out of the year I live with the windows open and no A/C or heat.

Yeah I’m convinced, Venice Florida is a “green” place to live, and this year it’s a key feature I use in selling my town.

Its summer here is southwest Florida. It’s time for some of the best fishing of the year. Year round the fishing is great. But summer brings “tarpon season”. Last year I became addicted. If you’ve never hunted tarpon you may not understand.

Last year I caught my first tarpon. I have had tarpon on the line before but never successfully battled one to the boat. My first tarpon was over 100 lbs. That’s when the obsession began in earnest.

I spend many mornings in my quest. I search the waters for rolling tarpon, hoping to place a lure or bait in front of the pod. Most days the tarpon beat me. They find my weakness and exploit it.

I use braid with a fluorocarbon leader. Early this season I lost tarpon as the braid cut through the leader during long runs. My support group at Fishin Franks in Charlotte Harbor suggested that I double the braid. So I’ve made the modification and double the last 3 feet of my braid using a spider knot. Then connect the fluorocarbon to the doubled braid using a uni to uni knot.

Then I started losing tarpon on the jumps. I’d been tying my hooks and lures using a uni-knot. After a series of radical jumps I’d find that my line came back without a hook or lure, just a little pig-tail. My knot had unraveled. I’m now using a palomar knot for my hooks.

This season the only tarpon I’ve gotten to the boat is a little 80 pounder. But the season is not over.

Tarpon migrate just off the beaches here in Venice during the early summer. They are found in Boca Grande pass in huge numbers. Charlotte Harbor and the rivers feeding it will hold some tarpon year round.

If you fish and want the experience of a life time, you must come here and try this amazing fishery. Call an area guide that specializes in Tarpon you’ll avoid the learning curve I’m going through.

I’m one of the lucky one’s. I live on the Peace River just out side of the city of Punta Gorda. Each morning I walk out on my dock to appreciate the boundless wild life that inhabits this area. Because I love to fish, this trip to the end of my dock always includes a few casts.

Today is a typical fall day when the morning temperature is in the low 60’s with a light breeze out of the north east. The river’s color is lightening as the summer’s fresh water flow is practically none existent.  The water clarity is good and as I look down I see that the shallows are full of schooling glass minnows. I hear the popping sounds behind me of predators feeding. Based on the size of the splash I conclude that the predators are lady fish.

I retreive a rod already rigged with a small silver spoon and make a few casts into the area that I saw the feeding activity. I was right, it was lady fish. On one of the retreives I was able to see snook following my lure, but they were only curious.

A couple in a flats skiff pulls up to a dock several houses down from me. They throw out an anchor and start chumming with white bait (a common practice is the area). Almost immeditately they are rewarded with snook bites, from my vantage point, the fish were under the slot and quickly released.

As with most mornings real life calls, it’s time to feed the dog and begin the day’s labors. I walk back to the house watching a great blue heron wading outside the shore grasses taking his share of the glass minnows.

Welcome to Venice Florida Living a blog about the Florida life style.