Cape Coral-- Why do so many people speak negatively about it??? (Fort Myers: public school, colleges)

[Compression]

Originally Posted by travelblue

sitting in my 30 year old Lazy Boy , watching my 25 year old floor model Tv , while in my Garage awaits my luxury sedan (sans automatic anything ) .. and I do have a beautiful view from my patio , and I thank fate everyday that I live here !
By the way .. there is not 1 (one) freakin' foreclosure in my neighborhood

Hope you werent losing your temper over anything I said
If you had read my post, you would see that you fit my profile of those that would be perfectly happy here. See that part about being established here for a while?......My own lifestyle is definatly several levels below what you describe as your own....As far as there being no foreclosures in your neighborhood....well, with over 10,000 foreclosures in Lee County for calandar year '08, so far, it's almost a dead certain conclusion that you're missing one or two of them somewhere very nearby.Look closer....

[Suncoast Guy]

Originally Posted by endlessdel42

the people are rude. the drivers are frightening. there are no jobs. there is no culture. it is downright desolate. i have never lived in a worse place and i have lived in a good number of places across the country

I disagree with you 100%. I lived in CC for a long time and still have a few family members that live down there. I can tell you that the people in CC are very friendly compared to some other cities. The town has low crime and a lot of people like it and feel safe. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but I believe that CC has a lot to offer people.

As for the drivers being frightening, welcome to Florida. It's that way all over the state.

['noer]

I usually pass right by stuff like this and never post, but I stumbled across this and couldn't help myself.

Sometimes we learn by others mistakes, and if I can prevent one family from going through what I did, my taking time to type would be well worth it.

I'll start with the fact that I have lived on the cape for four years and I LOVE it here. Sadly, it was the worst financial decision I ever made for my family - lessons learned................

The cape is a great place to live if you like the lifestyle. I love the lifestyle. I'm a boater and fisherman, so this is about as close to heaven as it gets. Schools are decent, not as good as a few years ago, but still good. Shooping is good, if you are willing to drive 30 minutes if you can't find it on the cape. I can't say about nightlife.....my idea of nightlife is camping on a secluded island on the gulf.

Lessons learned and a couple hints if you are considering reloc to here:

- Timing is everything. We bought in '05, which was the worst possible time. Got stuck buying in an overinflated market and the associated overinflated property taxes and insurance to go with it. Properties are now fairly reasonable - just be careful to not get caught on the upswing.....it's not just the increased housing prices that get you, it is the increased taxes and insurance.


A few tips from someone who learned the hard way:

- study the homestead exemption/save our homes. Your purchase price is not what you are homesteaded at. That bit us hard as our property was re assessed just before homestead kicked in and we ended up with an 8K trim notice (an increase of 6K/year)

- study the tax/millage rates of all the counties around here. Many have clauses saying they can raise millage rates if they need to. They have decreased revenues right now because of the lack of construction/impact fees etc.........

- On the cape, assessments are a BIG deal. Try to find something that is already hooked up to city water and the assessments are already paid.... Assessments are in the thousands, so it can be quite an impact

- Bigger lots (double, triple) cost more in taxes... Not as important now as it was when I bought in 05, but that 8K trimm notice HURT

- Find out if the house you are considering to purchase has a hurricane related claim. The claim stays with the house (not the owner) forever. This bit me - prior owners filed claims after Charlie and I got stuck with a 5K increase in insurance because of it - I have NEVER filed a homeowners claim and got stuck with a 6K per year insurance bill on a 300K house....jeez

- Job market is really bad on the development/construction side. Many of my friends have left because they can't find work. Service industry is still there, I would imagine. Realtors have started to focus on foreclosures, and there are a few starting to sell........ I guess it depends on what you do for a living....

Bottom line, circumstances are different for each person.
Just do your research

[Mrs. P]

[quote=jeffabb;3538127]The thing with the Cape is it is a suburb. If that is your thing, then this is a peachy place to live. Also, the medium age has to be up there (or at least it swings up in the winter with the blue hairs). IMHO the pros and cons:

Pros:
Cheap place to live for the weather and crime levels
Plethora of canals if you are into boating and water access
Opportunity for service businesses to seniors and snow birds
Opportunity for elderly to make friends due to the influx of seniors


Question for you. What kind of service businesses are currently established for "seniors and snow birds"? Are those services still hiring?

I'm just looking for a possibility of an 8.00 to 10.00 an hour job, I don't need more than that.

Thanks

[sabina815]

I go there every 6 months to see my parents, I was raised there and moved away a year ago to get away from the slummy aspect of it. The whole place has turned into a dump, and if you dont live in a dump you live near one. Cape coral looks like a meteor hit it and always had for at least 20+years, there has been no improvment whatsoever. The crime is horrendous and I cant wait fo rmy elderly parents to get out of there. The Hispanic population has devoured a once old florida hometown, its gone. And its sad, if your moving there buy a gun and learn spanish.

[Suncoast Guy]

Originally Posted by sabina815

I go there every 6 months to see my parents, I was raised there and moved away a year ago to get away from the slummy aspect of it. The whole place has turned into a dump, and if you dont live in a dump you live near one. Cape coral looks like a meteor hit it and always had for at least 20+years, there has been no improvment whatsoever. The crime is horrendous and I cant wait fo rmy elderly parents to get out of there. The Hispanic population has devoured a once old florida hometown, its gone. And its sad, if your moving there buy a gun and learn spanish.

I have to disagree with this mostly. The whole place is not a dump. Sure, there are areas that look dumpy, but that isn't the entire city, and EVERY city has it's dumpy and not dumpy areas. The crime isn't bad for a city of it's size, and there isn't much of it.

The only thing I can agree on is the Hispanic population. That is growing all of SW Florida, whoever it isn't as bad in Cape Coral as it is in Lehigh Acres, Immokalee, or Miami, so count your blessing in Cape Coral.

Overall, Cape Coral is a good city. Little crime, not much fear in Cape Coral, it's a great place!!

[cpslaughter]

I live in Cape Coral. I believe this is a great location that is ruled by an oppressive City Council. You get the same feeling when you visit a theme park. Now that they have got you tightly secured within their borders they will milk you for every penny possible. The massive police presence is unable to do anything about home invasions. There is beautiful landscaping while the school children hold class in trailers. I got a great deal on the house, but any equity will be stolen by the Utilities Expansion Project.

[giffordo]

Please paragraph your blog if you want it read,thx

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by giffordo

Please paragraph your blog if you want it read,thx

This is not a blog. It is a private forum.

Who are you directing this comment to?

And welcome to the forum!

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by sabina815

I go there every 6 months to see my parents, I was raised there and moved away a year ago to get away from the slummy aspect of it. The whole place has turned into a dump, and if you dont live in a dump you live near one. Cape coral looks like a meteor hit it and always had for at least 20+years, there has been no improvment whatsoever. The crime is horrendous and I cant wait fo rmy elderly parents to get out of there. The Hispanic population has devoured a once old florida hometown, its gone. And its sad, if your moving there buy a gun and learn spanish.

You are a bit off I say..... Where the heck did you live in the cape? I lived off Pelican and that area made me feel like I was at home, Ya, the NE part up near NFM is pretty blah, naturally, because it is near Fort Myers a dump in itself, but not ALL of the cape, pull your head out of your..... Someone needs a hug....