Fort Myers is probably the one place in Florida that I could spend the rest of my life and be happy. Even though I am not originally from Fort Myers, it is where I attended college and worked for a few years. I have always thought I had a laid back personality and Fort Myers is definitely a laid back town. 
Fort Myers is usually bit warmer in the summer, since the city is on the Gulf of Mexico. But Fort Myers has a balanced mix of beaches and wooded acres of untouched beauty. While this city is bustling during the winter months with older, retired seasonal residents, Fort Myers maintains its small town charm.
Florida Gulf Coast University, my alma mater, continues to shape the landscape of the area and is driving development. Educating nearly 30,000 students a year, Fort Myers is slowly embracing the university. It’s common now for restaurants and stores to represent the school mascot, Azul the Eagle and offering discounts for more and more students.
But part of the charm of Fort Myers is the calm beaches and beautiful sunsets. Fort Myers is near the Everglades, but it also is close to area beaches, offering the perfect balance. Fort Myers, despite being developed more and more every year, still has plenty of untouched land that is beautiful to drive through. It’s common to drive down one of the main roads, with hotels, businesses, and restaurants on both sides of the road, only to drive a little further to find empty land, sitting quietly amongst acres and acres of native trees . Some of the most well-known and abundant trees are the bald cypress.
Fort Myers is also the former homes of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone. This city is a rich with history. Nearby Fort Myers are smaller towns like Naples, Bonita Springs and Cape Coral. Each of these smaller cities have a local vibe and provide for easy access to beaches and nearby waterways.
Fort Myers will always be home to me. I feel such a connection to the area that I hope someday I can have a house there, allowing me to visit and spend time in the town that helped shape me into the person I am today. As I think about the city now, writing this article, I can picture the sound of crickets chirping the wooded fields surrounding FGCU. I can feel the dying warmth of the setting sun as it dips below the gulf. And at night, the cool night air invites any person to drive with their windows down.
Fort Myers is a great place to spend some time. And it’s a place that I will always call home.
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