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Old 08-06-2013, 02:03 PM
 
433 posts, read 844,673 times
Reputation: 279

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Quote:
Originally Posted by ReadytomovebackNorth View Post
I was like many of you, sick of the weather and rising costs of living up North. I had visited the Fort Myers/Cape Coral area for many years dating back into my childhood and always enjoyed the time spent here. The wife and I came to a plan of moving down here full time. We did our research and used City Data many, many times. I figured the negative people on here were nuts and just miserable no matter what. Was I ever wrong. Just a little under 2 years ago we bought a house in Cape Coral and loaded our truck with all of our belongings and left Chicago for what at the time we hoped for good. This November will be the 2 year mark and we have decided this was by far the biggest mistake we have ever made in our lives and I am going to tell you why.

We got a really good deal on our house, so there really isn't anything to complain about and the taxes are not to terrible. But they are kind of high if you really consider what you have and if you cannot homestead they are worse. $2400 a year is the proposed taxes for next year with the probable increase. That is for a 1700 sq ft home with a pool in the SE part of Cape Coral. Living here without a pool would be insanity. Now like I said the taxes aren't really too bad. When you find out 6 months after buying your house you are in a "special flood zone" and your insurance goes up $1500 a year it kind of stings. Also, home owners insurance isn't cheap, especially if you don't have a hip roof. So now were are at almost $4000 for insurance, plus our $2400 taxes. My insurance in Chicago......$400 a year and taxes were just under $3000. Southwest Florida loses this one.

Utilities aren't too bad either, until you get a $350 electric bill in the summer or a $200 water bill in the winter. Never have I ever gotten anything close to bills that high while living up North. Max heating and cooling bills in the dead of the summer or winter were well under $300 and never had a water bill over $50. Now lets assume your a/c breaks, when you actually find someone that shows up a few days later, they will give you a ballpark figure of what it "may" cost. At the end it is much,much higher. And they can do this, because they are one of the only 5 contractors in the county that actually call back and show up. Southwest Florida loses this one.

So you think, ehhh it gets hot and humid in St. Louis, Chicago, NYC, Detroit, etc how bad could it really be, heck it was 110 last week in Boston. Well I got news for you, you know nothing of hot weather till you endure/survive a summer in South Florida. That's right you survive, you don't simply make it through. The pavement gets so hot it will burn your feet through your shoes. You always enjoyed working on your yard and mowing your own grass while living up North, well you won't anymore, at least from May through October. Don't even buy a lawnmower, unless you are a small engine mechanic it won't last more than one summer. Oh so you got a little job you need to do in your garage, well you will be waiting until 10 pm unless you were born in the Sahara, because your garage will be around 120 degrees between the hours of 8am and 8pm. I have literally burned my hands on my steering wheel. Or you get into that mind set 90 degrees and 80% humidity 8 months a year is better than snow, ice, blizzards, etc......Nope it's not. You get a blizzard for a few days, it is oppressively and depressingly hot here for 8 straight months with dew points in the mid 70's it feels like its 100 every day. And if you do venture out to do yard work, you pick your poison. Either you melt in the sweltering heat and sun mid day or you get attacked by the no-seeums and mosquitoes big enough to saddle up and ride off into the sunset by waiting till it cools off later in the day, if you consider 85 degrees at 8pm cool, you will still sweat immediately upon leaving your air conditioning, but you have a little longer to work before the heat stroke sets in. The weather the other 4 months of the year just doesn't make the 8 months of summer worth it. Southwest Florida Loses this one too.

Alright so you have decided to endure the summer, because you own a boat and can park it in your backyard and go fishing anytime you want. You sure can, hope you like catfish. The fishing here has gotten terrible the last few years compared to what it used to be. The blue water is gone. It's now brown and disgusting. I won't even wade in it to do some cat fishing anymore. I also hope you enjoy complicated breathing, because the Red Tide seems to have turned into an annual thing that never really goes away during the winter. So dead fish on the beaches is a regular sight these days. You can thank the great planners of the Okeechobee Waterway and the constant release of nasty, fresh water it funnels into what used to be the crystal clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico, these days like looks like the nastiest cup of coffee I have ever seen. The disgusting water doesn't bother you? How about the $2 toll over a bridge that has been paid for 100 times over just to get to a beach to find out it may cost you as much as $15 to park? Still alright with that? You will find yourself amongst the best Lee County has to offer. Meth heads asking for spare change, foreigners with the I own everything mentality or the old people that have no idea what is going on or even what day it is. While dealing with these clowns you will be in water warmer than your bathtub, just imagine whats living in there! I will admit the water and beaches are pretty nice in the winter, but good luck getting to the beach or taking your boat out on weekends, there are people everywhere. Took two hours to get to Fort Myers Beach back in Feb. Learned my lesson, it's not even worth going. Southwest Florida loses again.

Traffic, empty buildings, closing businesses, horrible economy. Yes traffic in the Northern cities sucks. But I bet it doesn't take 10 minutes to go a half mile with no traffic at all. That is what happens here in good old Cape Coral. The original city planner must have been wasted, because the lay out of this city is nothing short of a joke and seemingly every road dead ends at some points only restart somewhere else. There is no method to the madness. This area has seen some of the highest increase in real estate prices in the country the last year or so, do you think that has helped the economy? No. There are vacant stores and entire strip malls everywhere, there is the occasional new Family Dollar, McDs or 7-11 going up, but that's it, mom and pop, get lost. And the mom and pops that are here have a hell of time keeping their doors open. I bet you are a skilled worker like a carpenter and really know your stuff. Hope you enjoy working for $10 an hour and competing with 500 people for every new job opening to rake in all that cash. If you aren't in healthcare or have management experience in some service industry plan on making minimum wage or close to it. Go ahead and tell the guy you are worth more than that, he will laugh in your face and show you a pile of applications and resumes thicker than any phone book I have seen. Wanna make good money? Work on Sanibel or Captiva during season. But expect to get a second job to cover gas and tolls. Bad economy, terrible pay rates, horrendous traffic during season, vacant buildings, no business growth. Southwest Florida loses again.

I urge anyone thinking about moving here to reconsider. It isn't what it seems. Many people have made the mistake and can't get out. Once you get here and start making that huge drop in pay, you will never be able to afford to leave!
Good riddance. I wish more Yankees were like you. The South would be a whole lot better off.

 
Old 08-06-2013, 02:06 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,041,268 times
Reputation: 13612
Great posts, you two. It's always been this way, someone doesn't like an area and then people jump all over them. I think it is very important to get all opinions, no matter the area. If everyone gets on singing the praises of the area then what is the point of the forum? However, I do know that a lot of people have already made their mind up, wherever they are considering, and they are just looking for reinforcement. It's why sometimes you'll see someone ask a question and if they don't like the answer they get nasty.

And I'm always bewildered by the heat remarks. I don't know how many times I've read some version of, "Well, I know it's hot down there but we have heat waves up here, too! Maybe it lasts longer down there but hey, it's not like I'm not used to heat!"

And if you come on and try to explain dew points, that the temp and humidity might be the same but the dew point can change the feel of the heat from "Man, it's hot" to "This is the gates of hell, what was I thinking?"

Yet the same people argue with you, bury your posts, do whatever it takes to undermine the fact that there is a very big difference how the heat feels in say Brick, New Jersey and Fort Myers, Florida.

But when someone complains that the heat wasn't what they expected they get "Didn't you realize it's HOT in Florida?"

Shaking my head...

Edit: Obviously I mean Sassy and Ellwood.

The above post is a great example of Florida Southerners' attitude as opposed to people in other southern states.
 
Old 08-06-2013, 02:17 PM
 
130 posts, read 276,342 times
Reputation: 91
I thought the OP made some valid points and it is certainly worth reading for those considering a move here. Not everyone likes the heat, humidity or other things. I like hearing both sides of the story, most definitely.
However, he did say stuff like "The original city planner must have been wasted, because the lay out of this city is nothing short of a joke" so I think it was the TONE of his post that people objected to. If you are going to say stuff like that, people are going to get defensive.
But I think the great majority of people who responded were respectful.
 
Old 08-06-2013, 02:29 PM
 
677 posts, read 929,406 times
Reputation: 1160
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissStateDawg View Post
Good riddance. I wish more Yankees were like you. The South would be a whole lot better off.

Thanks for proving my point.
 
Old 08-06-2013, 04:13 PM
 
191 posts, read 297,862 times
Reputation: 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissStateDawg View Post
Good riddance. I wish more Yankees were like you. The South would be a whole lot better off.
.

Sooo, I don't get it. I don't know if the OP is correct, partially correct, or whatever. I read through the entire thread to try and discern the truth of it. An OP like that can be useful when coupled with the follow up comments. Then I come to your comment. So you feel the OP is correct and therefore you wish more so-called "Yankees" would also be truthful and then leave the South, thereby making the South better off ?

.
 
Old 08-07-2013, 08:26 AM
 
Location: Meredith NH
1,563 posts, read 2,857,969 times
Reputation: 2883
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissStateDawg View Post
Good riddance. I wish more Yankees were like you. The South would be a whole lot better off.
Anyone from Chicago is definately not a yankee........yankee's are from New England
 
Old 08-07-2013, 01:43 PM
 
433 posts, read 844,673 times
Reputation: 279
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samiamnh View Post
Anyone from Chicago is definately not a yankee........yankee's are from New England
I consider anyone north of the Mason-Dixon line a yankee.
 
Old 08-07-2013, 01:45 PM
 
433 posts, read 844,673 times
Reputation: 279
Quote:
Originally Posted by 71 road runner View Post
.

Sooo, I don't get it. I don't know if the OP is correct, partially correct, or whatever. I read through the entire thread to try and discern the truth of it. An OP like that can be useful when coupled with the follow up comments. Then I come to your comment. So you feel the OP is correct and therefore you wish more so-called "Yankees" would also be truthful and then leave the South, thereby making the South better off ?

.
Yes I do. Why do people from the North and Midwest move to the south for cheaper cost of living, lower taxes, less government regulation, better economies, etc... Then complain that it is not like where they moved from. If we were like where you moved from we would be in same boat as New York, Detroit, cleveland, Chicago etc...
 
Old 08-07-2013, 01:49 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,041,268 times
Reputation: 13612
By the way, to a Southerner, a Yankee is anyone not from the north. To a foreigner, we are all Yankees or Yanks.

Further, Miss Dawg is apparently from California. Her "roots" are from Mississippi but she's really just a Yankee. And she's decidedly not from Florida. That must explain the rudeness, she's from Los Angeles.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/30704306-post5.html
 
Old 08-07-2013, 04:39 PM
 
Location: St.Charles, Missouri
31 posts, read 71,002 times
Reputation: 18
MissStateDawg your just not a happy camper. I hope your home has a pool so you can get relief from the heat. The pool does what it should do, just use it.

Its how we perceive things, its hard to see the whole forest through the trees
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