Debbie and I chose Southwest Florida and Manasota Key, in particular because of its laid back Florida lifestyle. We didn't want to fight traffic in Florida. We chose Gulf Breeze because of its bold Gulf front location. We are directly on the sand and we have beautiful panoramic Southerly, Westerly, and Northerly views of the Gulf and it's sunsets from four different balconies. We can see the sunrise over Lemon Bay from the easterly balcony. You can walk to the local restaurants and night life, yet our beach is uncrowded and very family oriented. If we want a hot dog we can walk to the hotdog stand or cook it on our grill allowing us to eat and snack on our beach. The grandchildren can play on the beach playground near our home. Groceries and a wide variety of services are located just over the causeway, but we don't leave the island for days as we have fresh fish sold locally and convenience shopping right here. There are no tolls to pay to come to the island and you leave your cares and the traffic to others. There are no traffic snarls here and you can ride your bike easily to anywhere on the island. We are close to Venice, Sarasota, and Naples, but Miami, the Everglades, Busch Gardens and Disneyworld are close enough for the kids to visit. Best of all we have fabulous wild and sea life so near. Walk the beach for miles as you view dolphins play just thirty feet off shore and beautiful shells by the hundreds appear at your feet. The Sea Turtles come each year to nest and the beach owners take their journey and nesting to heart. Beautiful birds of so many species come due to the natural surroundings of the isle. We came to relax and leave the world behind and we do! We hope you love this island as do we.