Moving to Southwest Florida

Southwest Florida is the Gulf Coast stretch anchored by Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Naples — the part of the state most out-of-state buyers picture when they imagine canals, barrier-island beaches, golf communities, and warm, dry winters. It runs from value-priced inland communities to some of Florida's most prestigious coastal real estate, and two themes cut across all of it: Florida's no-state-income-tax advantage on one side, and elevated flood and wind insurance on the other. The job of these pages is to help you place yourself on that spectrum — by budget, by lifestyle, and by how much coastal risk and cost you're willing to carry.