Southwest Florida

[1] Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally considered to put it south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee, and mostly north of the Everglades and to include Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties.

There has been a major real estate boom focusing on downtown Fort Myers (high-rise residential condominiums); southern Lee County (commercial development and high-technology); eastern Collier County (residential development); and eastern parts of Bradenton.

Numerous efforts in recent years have been made to reduce development and preserve open space and recreational areas.

Agricultural harvesting in Southwest Florida employs approximately 16,000 seasonal workers, 90 percent of which are thought to be migrants.

It is also very common for incorporated municipalities to contract county services in order to save costs and avoid redundancy.

[4] Southwest Florida is served by several major highways, including the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and the Interstate 75 freeway, both of which connect the area to Tampa to the north, and Greater Miami–Ft.

[5] Greyhound Lines serves several locations in Southwest Florida, including Bradenton, Fort Myers, Naples, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Sarasota.

The region also hosts general aviation facilities at namesake airports in various locations including Immokalee, Buckingham, LaBelle, Arcadia, Marco Island, Punta Gorda, and Venice, as well as at Fort Myers' Page Field, Placida's Coral Creek Airport, Everglades Airpark near Everglades City, and the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport straddling the line between Southwest Florida and the Miami metropolitan area.

SeaPort Manatee provides a full range of port services for commercial, industrial and cruise ship purposes.