Meet the New Neighbors

Homebuyer connected with some folks who have transplanted themselves to our little chunk of paradise within the not-so distant past. And we asked them to share not only the reasons that brought them here, but what they've learned since arriving..

Greens dream

When you ask Larry Lattanzio how he discovered Naples, Florida, the New York native and former Los Angeles resident quickly answers: "The golf."

Lattanzio, an avid player with a nine handicap, says Naples' reputation as a golfing mecca stretches all the way to California. "For someone like me, who really loves the game, it doesn't get much better than what you find here," he says.

Lattanzio notes that Naples is also greener and more lush than the L.A. neighborhood he left behind five years ago to move here with his wife, Adriana and daughter Talya. "It's clean, it's quiet, and it's a good place to build my business," he says.

Through that business, Lattanzio helps keep Naples green and lush. His Nightscenes Inc. specializes in landscape design and installation. A veteran home builder, he began working with lighting systems as the lighting engineer for rock musician Alice Cooper during the his 1975 tour.

Today, the 54-year-old businessman and his family live in Palm River, an established community with large lots and massive oak hammocks. Lattanzio especially likes that their home is located on a cul-de-sac. Palm River is not a gated community, he says, but it's designed so well that there is little cross traffic for Lattanzio to worry about when his daughter plays outside.

"We're literally three minutes from the beach," he says, "and in Naples, everything is close to your home." He's also a big fan of the city's theater, orchestra and edining. "It's like a little New York here," he notes. "This is a great place to live."

Coming home again-to Florida

New Fort Myers residents Dale and Sandy Tucker are no strangers to Southwest Florida. The 60-year old couple from Dubuque, Iowa, spent at least parts of their winter vacations here over the past 15 years.

"Our children live east-one here in Tampa, the other in New Jersey-and we liked the idea of being closer to them," says Sandy. "Visiting back and forth wasn't easy."But family wasn't the only reason they settled here. For Sandy, a homemaker, and Dale, former president of Dubuque's Eagle Window and Door Company, it was the search for the perfect retirement home-a search that turned into a one-and-a-half year journey. After Dale retired, they looked at places from Wilmington, North Carolina, south. "We found some wonderful places in Savannah, but it snows there in winter, and we've had enough snow,"says Sandy.

In Florida, they found a climate that suited them both. All they needed was the perfect home. At first, they tried the East Coast and then Sarasota, where the homes in their price range were mainly in newer neighborhoods. The Tuckers were searching for more established landscapes, and they found that at The Forest, a gated golf-course community in Fort Myers.

"The Forest is probably the friendliest community we've ever lived in," says Sandy. And she should know-the couple has moved 15 times during their marriage.. "A lot of Mid-western people live here, so it was just like coming home to us."

Along with two golf courses, the community also offers tennis programs for all ages. The Tuckers live in a 15-year-old four-bedroom home that was custom-designed and built with distinctive architectural extras like wood-pegged kitchen floors and handcrafted cabinets. The original owner had such a passion for horses that the front doors are carved with equine shapes.

And they love the climate every bit as much as they expected. As Sandy points out, they've even learned to appreciate the rare cold day. "After all," she says, "you know it's not going to last until March."

A prescription.for quality of life

For doctors David Ratcliffe and Jacqueline Royce, relocating to Sarasota has been good for their practices and quality of life. Best friends in medical school at Miami's Nova University, they had eventually parted ways to intern and practice their separate specialities.

Ratcliffe, a general surgeon and emergency medicine specialist, headed to Tampa and then Florida's Panhandle. Tampa was too urban for his liking and the Panhandle was too rural. "I was the only surgeon for 50 miles in any direction, and it got to be too much," he says. "I was spread pretty thin, and always felt exhausted. Besides, I wanted to get a little closer to a more cultural environment."

Meanwhile, Royce, a plastic surgeon, had been practicing in Philadelphia when she decided it was time for a change. "My parents live in Miami, and I wanted to be closer to them," she says.

Ratcliffe, 41, began to look at Bradenton and Sarasota, and quickly found his skills were needed at Manatee Memorial Hospital. A free spirit, he wanted a home on the water in a quaint, established area with no gates or model homes. He found the idyllic home with a guest house tucked away in the Indian Beach/Sapphire Shores neighborhood of Sarasota. Situated on a cul-de-sac on Sarasota Bay, the renovated '50s-built home is nestled in a stand of trees and has a dock for his boat. "I really liked the look of the area here," he says. "Every home is different. There are homes from 100 years old to two years old." Plus the neighborhood was friendly and perfect for walking his two "Heinz 57" dogs.

So when Royce, 37, who is also a passionate owner of boxers, relocated her practice to Sarasota after discovering the demand for plastic surgeons, she had the perfect dog-friendly place to stay while she got settled. "I love it here," she says. "I love the water and the city of Sarasota, its shops and restaurants." And it's a great place to walk dogs, she adds.

Afternoons with eagles

Geri and Bill Green knew they would move to Southwest Florida when Bill, 67, retired from his chemical engineering job in Aurora, Ohio and Geri, 63, retired as an events planner for Nestle Inc. But where? At first, they tried Naples, where they had been vacationing for years, but decided they wanted something more rural. Then they heard about Riverwood, a gated golf course community off State Road 776 in quieter Port Charlotte.

Although neither is a golfer, Riverwood offers the nature they love, along with other country club amenities, like a fitness center they frequent several mornings a week. Luckily, the same Centex model they coveted in Naples was at Riverwood-a 1,765-square-foot, two-bedroom home with a beautiful great room and large kitchen. 'It's perfect for us," says Geri. "We've always done everything together and I can be in the kitchen and he can be in the living room and we can still talk."

The nature-loving couple are avid gardeners and bird watchers, and they've discovered a whole new world in Southwest Florida, including orchids, staghorn ferns, otters, sandhill cranes and eagles. "We can sit on our lanai in the late afternoons and see a variety of birds, including a family of nesting eagles," says Geri. "They fly very close to our house. They certainly are a majestic sight."

Best of all, they're less than an hour from Naples and Sarasota, where they have friends. "We're secluded, but it doesn't take any time at all to get to the Philharmonic in Naples," Geri says. "We thought we'd give Florida a try for five years to see if we wanted to keep a home in Ohio. But now, every time we go back to Ohio we can't wait to get home. We're staying here."