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* I used to hang out in Miami Beach during the coldest months and occasionally in the spring, but as I got older I realized that the Fort Myers Beach/Naples area was more my speed. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time in southwest Florida and have run into a ton of people I know or who know me. I also have quite a few friends and family in that part of the world. The area is just loaded with Illinois snowbirds and transplants (and subscribers and blog and column readers).

* The Question: Do you have friends and family in southwest Florida, and how are they doing after two successive hurricanes?

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 2:23 am

Comments

“Do you have friends and family in southwest Florida, and how are they doing after two successive hurricanes?”

None that I know of. (All my snowbirds went to the south west.)

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 6:30 am
None, we are an Illinois family and have been since the 1950’s. We like it here and actually tend to head north on vacations more then south.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 8:03 am
I’m thankful that my Florida friends (Gulf coast) and family (east coast) are all OK.

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 8:39 am
My parents moved there. I used to visit often while they were alive. I checked on my brother, who lives in Ft. Myers; he’s doing ok.

Comment by a drop in Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 8:42 am
friend with a timeshare who keeps in touch with one particular bar down there. have not heard yet. friend north of tampa is far enough north that the side of the storm was ok for them. her power was out from the last hurricane but she’s fine now. the sights were terrifying watching last night.

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 8:46 am
I have a condo in the Iona area. Some landscape issues after both recent hurricanes but power is on and condo itself looks fine. Hopefully elevator is on & working soon.

Comment by Way south of I-80 Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 8:50 am
Mrs RNUG has an aunt and their daughters family in Bradenton. The aunt got a flight out to Arlington before Milton hit. The daughter and family rode it out and continued their tradition of hosting a hurricane party. Note: they were not in a mandatory evacuation area, plus have a new home supposedly built to withstand 135 mph winds. They are fine, no obvious damage to either house, but without power like almost everybody in the area. Helene missed them completely.

We have friends in the Carolina’s; actually supposed to have been there this week but cancelled our trip because they are in the area damaged by Helene. They are all on high ground and fine except no power for 5 or 6 days, and the really rural one was without water since no power for the shared well. Another friend on the Florida / Georgia line lost power and some trees out of their grove from Helene, but no house damage.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:01 am
Adding … pictures from the Carolina’s are devastating; we’ve regularly visited most those towns that were wiped out

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:04 am
Friends, family, and former colleagues from work.

The election is less than a month away. Ballots in Florida just started getting mailed to voters. Imagine the impact this has on running a vote by mail operation or a voter protection operation when you consider that a missing mail in ballot means casting a provisional ballot and consider how much authority the State’s governor now has in some of this process.

Some folks I know are very worried about the national ramifications of this storm’s impact could be.

Comment by Candy Dogood Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:09 am
A friend of mine fled north with her family and pets. She checked in this morning: she can’t get home because the roads are impassable, but her house is intact and even has power. So happy for her.

Comment by Nick Name Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:09 am
My co-worker has a condo in Ft. Myers Beach but he’s here now.
What hit harder for me was the deluge in East Tennessee. My college buddy was evacuated by helicopter from the hospital where he works.

Comment by Proud Papa Bear Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:18 am
Looks like my other reply got hung up.

Yes to Milton, in Bradenton. They are fine, no home damage, no power.

Helene affected friends in Georgia and the Carolina’s. All are fine; no flooding / damage at their homes, all were without power for many days.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:29 am
My best friend from grammar and high school and his wife live in the Tampa Bay Area. They evacuated to Jacksonville the day before yesterday.

Comment by Retired SURS Employee Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:34 am
I have lots of friends that moved south.
The ones in central Florida seem fine. Strong winds and lots of rain, but no serious damage.
A few that live along the coast lost power, but have limited damage.
Waiting to hear from a few that were in the path of the hurricane. Usually we all keep in touch. Hoping they are ok.

Comment by Back to the Future Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:39 am
My brother rode it out in St. Pete’s on the 23rd floor of a new high rise. No power, no water.. but he’s safe.

Comment by Mr. Big Trouble Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:40 am
Very close friends in Tampa. They lost power but otherwise no damage, thank God.

Comment by New Day Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:52 am
My sister has a second home outside Bradenton. They evacuated, have heard from neighbors that some roofs are blown off, power lines and trees are down. Their home took damage from flying debris, but is intact.

Comment by Lincoln Lad Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:53 am
No family in Florida since my grandparents passed away, although they wouldn’t have gone south until after Christmas anyhow.

Rich, to your anecdote about Miami vs. Ft. Myers: I’ve heard that Midwestern snowbirds tend to move to the Gulf side of Florida, whereas East Coast snowbirds end up on the Atlantic side. Seems there’s some kind of subtle cultural pressure that keep us seeking out “our own kind.”

Comment by Benjamin Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:54 am
I can tell you that my bank moved there! Or rather, opened a branch, to continue servicing long term clients with a familiar brand.

Comment by We've never had one before Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:56 am
I don’t know. My dad’s family has spent winters down there for generations, but my uncle no longer speaks to me because he’s a Trump supporter and wants nothing to do with “libruls.” His word, not mine.

Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 9:59 am
The lack of reasonable insurance and what now feels like annual hurricanes caused my parents to sell their home and leave the area.

Comment by Metroeasterner Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 10:03 am
Yes, I do. I have not heard from any of these persons as of late and hope that they are safe and well.

Comment by Gravitas Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 10:12 am
My wife’s uncle’s home was in the main target area. He was part of the northern long lined highway exodus. He is fine. Home seems to have survived OK.

Comment by zatoichi Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 10:19 am
= Seems there’s some kind of subtle cultural pressure that keep us seeking out “our own kind.” =

If your family or friends are in a particular community, it’s natural to want to move near them. Someone from your village emigrates, gets a job somewhere, writes home to say, “you can get a job here”, that’s where you go.

I wouldn’t call it “cultural pressure”. It’s just normal immigration patterns.

Comment by JoanP Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 10:26 am
My father and grandparents moved from Chicago to Orland in the 1960’s. My father is now in the process of moving to South Carolina where his new house was hit by a fallen tree caused by Helene. He’s done with Florida. Cost of living including insurance, “too many out-of-staters”, and political environment has become too much for him.

Comment by CLJ Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 10:26 am
Update from Tampa: House standing, no flooding, no power, tree down. They feel very lucky.

I don’t know the finer particulars of their situation, but I do believe our friends are among those going without homeowners insurance. They were looking at staggering premiums and figured they would roll the dice for the five or six years they needed to live there (relocated by work).

Florida holds no interest for me. Happy in the Midwest. My only dream is to “summer” in upstate Michigan. I want out of hot, humid Illinois summers.

And given that it’s going to be 103 again today in Phoenix, I also want nothing to do with the Southwest.

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 10:31 am
I have a long history in the South Beach/South Miami area. Population definitely skews towards New Yorkers (They called jeans “dungarees!”) In all four years of college only had ONE hurricane party - had the party, but no hurricane.

Anyhow, we have friends 10 mile northeast of Sarasota. They’re all good, except no internet.

Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 10:42 am
Yes. My son lived moved to Tampa three years ago, but returned (to Chicago last Christmas). Two of his WIU buddies still live there. I have another family friend in Tampa, and two in Punta Gorda.

Comment by H-W Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 11:01 am
PS - I cannot say how they are doing right now. Power outages.

Comment by H-W Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 11:02 am
My Mom rode it out at Freedom Village in Bradenton and is fine. She’s in assisted living and they had boarded up the windows and had folks in the hallway during the worst but were outside of the mandatory evacuation area and had.generators.

Comment by ArchPundit Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 11:03 am
I have three siblings in Tampa area. I saw them last weekend at a wedding in Illinois. Previously, they lived in Michigan, Colorado and Illinois. They all moved to Florida because they are Trump supporters and sick of being around woke. All they kept saying was things like Fauci needs to be in jail, keep FEMA out of Florida, the worse gov in America is in Illinois, global warming is an hoax, etc. It was nauseating to be around them.

Anyway, to answer your question, they are doing fine. And if they weren’t, they wouldn’t admit it.

Comment by Lurker Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 11:05 am
A lot of folks I know down there are from Springfield and although they seem to have a sort of deer in the headlights aura, they are hanging. Many have left temporarily. But then, my buddy who grew up in Port Richey and later moved back to Florida could do videos on how to approach this. He has been tracking and prepared and knew just how to react to the situation.

Comment by levivotedforjudy Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 11:17 am
Tons, though I worked for a company out of Ft Lauderdale.

some places, typical damage. most left town if they were not in high elevation spots in FL.

Tampa, Orlando, etc, most evac’d north. Looking for info and details now on when to return (need gas, power etc, to come back.

Comment by Ron - In Texas Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 11:27 am
My godparents are snowbirds in Fort Myers and luckily they’ve reported they didn’t even lose power.

Comment by Tony DeKalb Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 12:39 pm
Sister in Sarasota. Seven miles from Siesta Key and one block outside of evacuation zone. House has “hurricane proof windows, roof etc.
Lost power obviously but only a verry messy yard and a filthy exterior. Very grateful.

Comment by don the legend Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 12:56 pm
Hear a lot about skyrocketing homeowners insurance.

Wonder if any of the above respondents have any actual insight on this issue?

Comment by Mason County Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 1:22 pm
Good afternoon. We are in southwest Florida and compared to Ian two years ago we are lucky. Had no major damage and no power outage at our home. Just four houses down they are without power. We prepared for this hurricane and had plenty of food, ice, gas and beer. Got the generator ready and set up. It was a long night and very windy.

Comment by Club J Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 1:35 pm
Folks here may remember longtime Shedd Aquarium EVP Roger Germann. Roger is now President and CEO of the Florida Aquarium in Tampa and was quoted in the NYT today on how hard it is to protect the animals in their care and their caregivers as a hurricane approaches:

***

Nearby in Tampa, at the Florida Aquarium, officials made the decision Wednesday afternoon to send all staff home, based on Milton’s strength on the ground and its expected track, according to Roger Germann, the aquarium’s president and chief executive.

“Everyone is standing down,” Mr. Germann said around 4 p.m., noting that the aquarium lies right on the water. “We will not have an overnight rideout team,” he said. “We boarded the place up and secured it, and they are headed home before things get crazy.”

The staff has left all animals well fed, he said, and plans to monitor the premises for flooding using the camera system — as long as power holds up. Earlier in the week, sensitive corals were evacuated to safer locations in Florida and Georgia, and some animals, like penguins, were taken to upper floors.

“It is hard, don’t get me wrong,” Mr. Germann said.

Comment by Cap Fax Alums in FL Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 1:53 pm
Parents (God rest their souls) bought a house in Naples to winter from Chicago. Brothers and I have been fighting ever since on selling it. Market not great but I didn’t want the repair bill if Milton had shifted a little south into Collier County.

Comment by Slugger O'Toole Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 2:04 pm
My sister winters in Brooksville. But, she decided to stay at her home in Michigan until the first week of November this year to get past the hurricane season.

Comment by Cheswick Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 2:13 pm
My cousin in Vero Beach suffered some flooding but ok. — and then his house was directly hit by a tornado. Alive and well, at least

Comment by Walker Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 2:19 pm
I know some people that moved there, but am not in touch with them. I hope everyone affected by the hurricanes is okay.

Comment by thisjustinagain Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 3:11 pm
A jazz guitarist buddy of mine lives in Pasco County just north of Tampa had 100 mph winds. He elected to stay, and things ok a few power qliches and internet outages but seem to be good. Said he will assess Tampa area tomorrow. I think De Santis did a super job of being prepared. He had the personal for power and line work ready. How much they can do remains to be seen.

Comment by clec dcn Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 3:49 pm
We live in Venice, FL about 20 miles from Siesta Key. Rode out Milton in our home last night with 100 mph winds. For people who have never been in a hurricane think of it as being in a tornado for 8 hours.

Comment by Stones Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 4:10 pm
Five siblings and their kids and grandkids in Bradenton and Palmetto, along with my childhood friends throughout the area. Have heard from all family and they’re good - some minimal damage but no flooding. The island I grew up on was mostly spared a second flood and hadn’t even managed to get all the debris from Helene, but they’ve seen heavy damage from the wind. One of the old fishing piers with a restaurant at the end is simply gone, another more modern pier that was rebuilt after maybe Ian and seemed indestructible lost about 1/4 of the dock/pier walk. Lots of destruction in trailer parks as well. Nothing like what we’re seeing in Siesta Key and Venice where it made landfall. The surge was wild - seeing houses that are buried up to the roofline in sand.

Comment by Kelly Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 5:20 pm
Thanks for asking, Rich! I have my son-in-law‘s mom and dad in the Naples area as well as my very best friend in Bonita Springs. They are all doing well as the storm pass just north of you. What a scary time for you. I did not know you spent time there!

Comment by Allknowingmasterofraccoondom Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 7:33 pm
Oh my goodness, that was me using speech to text….

Comment by Allknowingmasterofraccoondom Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 7:34 pm
Lots of bass fishing buddies (Fishing Camp owners) in the area…lots of damage to structures but thankfully no injury/ deaths as yet.

Comment by Dotnonymous x Thursday, Oct 10, 24 @ 7:58 pm
I’ve got a friend in Sarasota and another in Ft. Myers, both of whom stayed put during the hurricane. The one in Sarasota lost a couple of screens on her lanai, but no damage to their home. The one in Ft. Myers lost power for a little bit, but that’s it. They were very lucky.

Comment by ??? Friday, Oct 11, 24 @ 9:09 am