CRIME IN Ft Myers (Cape Coral, Sarasota: for sale, real estate market, sublease)

[tipsy247]

After reading through this forum, I am often seeing posts claiming how high the crime is in Ft Myers. I have visited once, granted it was a very short visit, but apparently I was in nice areas. Would you say Sarasota is a safer place to live than Ft Myers?

[brianjb]

They are about equal. If you are coming from a bigger city or different area, then both of those towns may seem quiet to you.

[tipsy247]

That's interesting, as there are so many posts saying how great Sarasota is and little mention of the crime. I would not be so naive to think a city the size of Sarasota would not have it's problems, but Ft Myers seems to get quite a bit of negative reviews. I am coming from a quiet area in the southwest so either city wouldn't be too quiet. Being 57 yrs old I still don't feel I could be where I'm the "kid" on the block.
Thanks

[brianjb]

What you are going to see in SW Florida is that there are a few different groups of people. One is retired, and know how other parts of the world work. There is another that has never left SW Florida, and they think that it is riddled with crime because of the occasional break in, rape, murder, etc. I don't want to diminish the impact of those things on those involved; but they happen everywhere.

I don't think that any city in SW Florida is scary or bad...Ft. Myers, Naples, Marco Island, Sarasota, Bradenton, etc. Sure there are bad parts and crime...but there is bad areas and crime in the nicest zip codes in the world too, right?

[brianjb]

You're 57, so I'm not going to insult your intelligence. But I recommend taking a trip there and try to stay 3-4 days. Stay the weekend and a couple of weekdays. Go to different areas at different times of day. That would allow you to see what it is really like at different times of the day. If you are interested in a specific neighborhood, drive around it during the day and in the evening on a Monday and a Saturday. Don't just go during the day. What if all of the thugs are sleeping during the day, and the neighborhood is full of idiots walking around wreaking havoc at night or the evening?

That is sound advice no matter where you want to live.

[hiknapster]

Stay out of Lehigh Acres, Dunbar and Pine Manor in Fort Myers, anywhere from the mall north to downtown and you will avoid most crime.

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Stay out of Lehigh Acres, Dunbar and Pine Manor in Fort Myers, anywhere from the mall north to downtown and you will avoid most crime.

Does sarasota have any areas that are as bad as dunbar?

[angelo kournianos]

I thought about retiring maybe in Ft. Myers or Las Vegas as my main residence being single and 61. I am retired with no kids on Federal Pension. But, crime in Ft. Myers per capita surprises me. In Vegas you live in gated community but I do not want to be with just old people. I currently live in Denver suburb of southeast Aurora and maybe should just stay here. Mountain air and summres are great and I travel overseas during winter cold months. Note-Depending on your personal situation it might be better to Lease/Option in this real estate market with option to sublease for sale property. This could be very profitable to you and not having to deal with banks. This is a cookie cutter in making money. Young, poor, no credit, etc.

[wjj]

I think there are a number of factors to consider when looking at the crime stats, especially per capita crime. We had been coming down to what we called the Fort Myers area since 2003 and had been looking for a second home for a number of years. The crime stats also caught my eye because everywhere we had been looking seemed quite nice and safe. We finally bought a second home in one of the gated communities within Gateway which is quite safe. We have a Fort Myers address, but Gateway, and its thousands of residents, is not in Fort Myers. And therein lies the issue.

We come from the Chicago area and when we hear people talk about the crime in Fort Myers, we do roll our eyes a little. A few weekends ago, there were 50 shootings, 14 fatal, in Chicago - just over a single weekend. Yet, Chicago is considered by most to be a safe city as big cities go as long as you avoid the bad parts of town. Anyone who comes from a major metropolitan area knows this. There are parts of every good sized city that you simply avoid. No big deal. There are without a doubt, bad parts of Fort Myers, but they are known and the vast majority of the crime is centered there. Just stay away from there and enjoy the safe and very nice areas.

I was surprised to learn that Fort Myers, which is the county seat of Lee County, is actually very small - only 65,000 people and a farly confined city limits. That is smaller than many of the suburbs around Chicago. Compare that with Cape Coral that has around 170,000 people and a vastly larger geographic foot print. But many of the high crime areas are within those confined Fort Myers city borders and with such a small population base, per capita crime figures sky rocket. That is because many safe and higher end areas, like Gateway, that have Fort Myers addresses are not within the Fort Myers city limits and so that population and low crime rate never hits the Fort Myers stats.

I know there are some unicorporated areas that go the other way too - high crime and not safe - e.g., Lehigh. But again, know where they are and just avoid them.

[brianjb]

Good points wjj!

I love Chicago. You're right it does feel safe; but I don't go to the bad parts of town.

Ft Myers is the same...bad people tend to stay in bad parts.