When my husband and I moved to Naples Florida 15 years ago, I wanted to be a homeowner. I was tired of renting and wanted a place that we could truly call our own.

We got lucky with our very first-ever home purchase. Things that didn’t make that much of an impression on us then, we really appreciate now. For instance, we were fortunate enough to end up at the back of our community on a cul-de-sac. How is this important? We’re away from the main road and, therefore, traffic noise, and we are off the community’s main drag which adds to our privacy.

Ultimately, we love our house. It has a 3-car garage, which is a difficult find in Naples, and we have just enough space between our neighbors. Plus, our community fees are extremely low and yet we still have a modest clubhouse, a pool and two tennis courts.

But for many years we’ve toyed with the idea of condo living. It’s just the two of us, therefore, we don’t really need a house and the yard. We enjoy traveling and a condo would give us the convenience of just locking up and going. The question is … would we enjoy condo life? Could we share walls with neighbors? Would we survive with just a one-car garage or, gasp!, a carport? And what about the fees?

Ultimately, we think it’s time for a move, but before we put our home on the market, we’ve started looking around to see what, if any, condos or villas even interest us. Yesterday was the start of our search and surprisingly we did identify a few communities in North Naples that appeal to us. In fact, we’re excited about the prospect of possibly being able to live west of Tamiami Trail.

My reason for telling this is because whether or not we make this life change, I think it’s important to share our experiences with you. As a Realtor in Naples I’m always taking people out to search for their Naples home, but it’s been awhile since I’ve done it for myself. Not only that, but we’ll be getting our house ready for market, which also will be a huge task. As we take each step, I’ll share our process and maybe it will give you some insight into home shopping in Naples and even a look into the selling process, too.

Let’s see where it takes us!