looking at a possible job in naples,florida…wondering what the training is like down there. how are the roads for cycling? swimming in the gulf year round? cost of living? etc. etc. thanks john
PM Konaby2008. He lives there. From what he has said, it is quite good.
Naples is a wondeful place for year round training. Its the home town of Joe Bonness and many more great triathletes. They tend to be very welcoming to newcomers.
The Gulf is swimable most of the year. In the summer the gulf can actually be too warm. There are several pools with organized swims also. There are several bike groups ranging in speed and abillties. The roads are bikable and getting better. Running on he beach is the best. There is a huge, active runners club, Gulf Coast Runners.
Summers do get warm and humid, but the beach often has cool breezes. There are tris almost every weekend within driving distance.
Cost of living…Real estate is very high, but other goods are low. Plus there in no state income tax.
Not to hijack this thread, but I’ll be in Bonita Springs (which is like 10 miles outside Naples, right?) for the week after Christmas. I’d like to rent 2 road bikes for the week. Anyone know a good shop to do that?
Try Clint’s Bike Shop in North Naples. He doesn’t normally rent “good” road bikes, but he may be able to work something out for an experienced rider. If not, Joe has about a dozen bikes in our garage. Maybe he would lend you one. 
As with any community there are pro’s and con’s. After 3 years of living in Naples here are 3 of each from me:
Pro’s Great weather during the winter. It’s great to be able to ride year round and the only “white christmas” you will get is from the white sand at the beach. Proximity to the Gulf of Mexico is great. This is very convienent for open water swimming. As Support Crew mentioned, there is a great group of athletes (triathletes, runners, cyclists). The first 2 years I lived here I did not really take advantage of this, but this year I finally got around to knowing some of the locals and I am really glad that I did.
Con’s Winter is so great here that lot’s of people come here for it, which then brings lots of traffic. The rainy season during summer brings an afternoon thunderstorm most days. No hills to train on.
As far as cost of living goes there are caculators of the internet that you can find via google. Before I moved to Naples I used one to see if the increase in my income would be still be worth it with the higher cost of living. Obviously it did because I am here now.