Must Know Information (Cape Coral, Naples: houses, purchasing, pros and cons)

[wrowe62]

Hello Folks, my wife and I are looking at an existing business in the area (to purchase). We would then move to Cape Coral from North Dakota. We don't have any kids coming with us, we do have two small dogs a total weight of less than 10lbs.

What are the must knows of the area ? What does the area need ?

[ghoefer]

Must knows? In regards to what...kinda of a broad question. Houses, businesses, culture? What does the area need? I'd go with In & Out Burgers, but I'm from out west.

[don1945]

Yep, you covered a whole lot of areas there. Not sure what the weight of the dogs had to do with any of that so maybe you might expand a little.

One thing I might mention is that Summer is generally not the ideal time to open any new business because you have to survive until season comes in late fall, but since we don't know what kind of business you are considering, that is just general info.

Don

[wrowe62]

Well, let's put this a little more to the point.

What if anything must a new person to the Cape Coral community know. The type of business we are looking at is Family Entertainment our proposed name Billy Bob's Backyard.

What areas for residential should we avoid ? Gators in the canals ? Fears for small dogs ? What is traffic like ?

IF you were to tell a new person to the community something - what would that something be.

Wayne

[sunshinewi]

I'm not an expert on Cape Coral, but we spent a couple years looking for a place to live after retirement and chose the gulf area. I'm a little confused. Why are you asking about traffic? If you are considering opening a business in Cape Coral, haven't you been there visiting? Traffic is heavier during the winter months when all the snowbirds are there. Some will tell you traffic is awful. Some will say traffic is a piece of cake. All depends on their particular perspective.
I would tell anybody that is looking at moving to spend some time in the community and get a feel for it. That will answer a lot of your questions. The bottom line is everybody is different and some people love the area, some hate it....all for various reasons. There are some very lengthy threads about the pros and cons of Cape Coral and general information if you look.
As far as dogs...I have heard that all dogs should be leashed. Walking in preserves or near water or nature may not be a good thing for small dogs. I would think down a well populated street away from water would be OK, but I have no experience in the matter.

[rikoshaprl]

Billy Bob's Backyard? Yes I think the business will work. Come on down.

[swimmy40]

What the neck are you gonna put in Billy Bob's back yard. You could put it near the Shell Factory you would get along great. As far as Cape Coral maybe look in the north side of Cape Coral. It's a little more rural. North of Cape Coral.

[wrowe62]

Swimmy40

We plan on having activities for families to enjoy themselves while playing outside. We also plan on having league competitions so that those that like being the best can show off.

The location is somewhat chosen for us as we would be purchasing an existing business.

[swimmy40]

Oh ok that kind of business sounds kind of cool. what kind of League competitions are you going
to have
Cape Coral is very family friendly in my opinion. As far as the gators if you mess with them they are gonna mess with you. They just kind of come out of the water and Sun themselves for a while and usually they don't bother you.

[Sweetbottoms]

Originally Posted by wrowe62

Well, let's put this a little more to the point.

What if anything must a new person to the Cape Coral community know. The type of business we are looking at is Family Entertainment our proposed name Billy Bob's Backyard.

What areas for residential should we avoid ? Gators in the canals ? Fears for small dogs ? What is traffic like ?

IF you were to tell a new person to the community something - what would that something be.

Wayne

Any body of water will have gator and snakes. Lakes canals, backwaters of the gulf, retention ponds etc. If its water they're gonna be in there. Small dogs can and will be eaten by the gators when they get to close to the ponds. People make the mistake of walking their dogs near the water and they will quite literally be snatched off the leash in some instances. Happens usually yearly and we hear of the one macho who tries to wrestle it out of the gators mouth. In golden gate in Naples the panthers snatch them out of the yards. My husband has has several of those calls for 911.

Sunshinewi had it right, you either love or hate Cape Coral. Its commonly referred to as Cape Coma by a lot people in SWFL. Not much there but some strip malls and homes. My sister lived there for a while but left because she too didn't like it. You'll have to drive anywhere for any kind of actual entertainment and people from Ft. Myers and Naples, unless they have some business in Cape Coral aren't really going there.