Cape Coral-- Why do so many people speak negatively about it??? (Sarasota: mortgage, real estate)

[joe aloha]

I have been on this forum for several weeks my initial reaction back in mid February was geez! I would not touch the area with a 10 foot pole! negativity abounded however I am glad to see over the recent weeks that some very happy with this area have come in to give a more balanced approach. From an outsiders perspective you guys do not know how good you got it in Florida.... really

I can also understand the nay sayers such as fire med and the like as to where they are coming from. Your taxes for example prior to 2006 were basically non existent in comparison to my area and other areas I have researched. Southern Chester county area in Pa,for example, averages taxes 4 to 8 thousand dollars a year! Even in your worst times down in Florida you do not even come close to those rates for houses between 199 to250 thousand.You have witnessed increases over the last year that you were not used to but still your taxes are substantially lower than the rest of the country. Unemployment, originally your unemployment was WAY below the national average and now it is still below Pa's unemployment but higher than what you have been used to. Crime, is rising in areas you were used to that was not rising. Crime and development go hand and hand but again your picture of a state spiraling out of control in crime wave after crime wave is just out of sync with reality.

Your state will be one of the first to bounce back from current problems.Any investor can see that and already there are signs that investors are taking a second look at this area in particular. It is still considered one of the fastest growing job markets in the country.Will it be like it was during the heady times of 2003 to 2005? Probably not, but long time natives should be thankful for that.As far as I am concerned I will be there next year.I have been sending resumes out for only 2 weeks and already have gotten several responses.

Salaries are lower than what I initially expected but so is your cost of living, your housing prices are just unbeatable. I do not understand why some of you have given advice to rent when people with relatively liquid assets and moderate savings can live close to a mortgage free existence. I am prepared to become a Bucs fan as well as an Eagles fan(after all you took one of our best quarterbacks from us) you also have the most beautiful cheerleaders in football . I will be coming down in April to look for myself into neighborhoods we have highlighted which include fort myers, Cape coral, sarasota, tampa, bradenton. manatee county, new port richey and a few others! Any opinions on those areas would be greatly appreciated.

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by joe aloha

I have been on this forum for several weeks my initial reaction back in mid February was geez! I would not touch the area with a 10 foot pole! negativity abounded however I am glad to see over the recent weeks that some very happy with this area have come in to give a more balanced approach. From an outsiders perspective you guys do not know how good you got it in Florida.... really

I can also understand the nay sayers such as fire med and the like as to where they are coming from. Your taxes for example prior to 2006 were basically non existent in comparison to my area and other areas I have researched. Southern Chester county area in Pa,for example, averages taxes 4 to 8 thousand dollars a year! Even in your worst times down in Florida you do not even come close to those rates for houses between 199 to250 thousand.You have witnessed increases over the last year that you were not used to but still your taxes are substantially lower than the rest of the country. Unemployment, originally your unemployment was WAY below the national average and now it is still below Pa's unemployment but higher than what you have been used to. Crime, is rising in areas you were used to that was not rising. Crime and development go hand and hand but again your picture of a state spiraling out of control in crime wave after crime wave is just out of sync with reality.

Your state will be one of the first to bounce back from current problems.Any investor can see that and already there are signs that investors are taking a second look at this area in particular. It is still considered one of the fastest growing job markets in the country.Will it be like it was during the heady times of 2003 to 2005? Probably not, but long time natives should be thankful for that.As far as I am concerned I will be there next year.I have been sending resumes out for only 2 weeks and already have gotten several responses.

Salaries are lower than what I initially expected but so is your cost of living, your housing prices are just unbeatable. I do not understand why some of you have given advice to rent when people with relatively liquid assets and moderate savings can live close to a mortgage free existence. I am prepared to become a Bucs fan as well as an Eagles fan(after all you took one of our best quarterbacks from us) you also have the most beautiful cheerleaders in football . I will be coming down in April to look for myself into neighborhoods we have highlighted which include fort myers, Cape coral, sarasota, tampa, bradenton. manatee county, new port richey and a few others! Any opinions on those areas would be greatly appreciated.

I am in Cape Coral, I really like it here, I would live here over Fort Myers or tampa any day. I like Sarasota too, it's pretty nice there, I lived in Bradenton on the border of Sararota, and in a nice area. There are some not so good areas of Bradenton, but very few bad areas of Sarasota. Sarasota is more expensive to live in. For example, this house I rent in cape coral is $875 a month, 3 years old, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, and a very good owner, he takes rediculously good care of this place. In bradenton, I was looking there too before I decided to stay here in CC, the houses were $1000 and up, nothing less. Even Duplexes were $1000 and up. Here, houses are $700 and up. Duplexes $600 up.

North Port is nice too. I just prefer Cape Coral.

[NYBill]

Welcome Joe Aloha. It's finally nice to see someone with some reason and thought instead of just plain old one sided bickering thus creating a negative atmosphere.

I hear from some of my old buddies from Long Island NY and the cost of living there is out of site. The taxes they pay for a postage stamp size property and a 2 level 2200 suare foot home are about 11K a year. Then if you own a boat add the price of a wets slip and winter storage plus the added cost of wineterizing the boat and shrink wrap. Add another 5-8 k depending on boat size and location. That is just a bill at that point.

Here I keep my boat in the backyard with a brand new dock and lift and even if my taxes went up because of these items it becomes a write off because of the taxes rather then just a bill like paying rent.

There is no perfect place IMHO but this is not as bad as some seem to make it.

Your statements about growth and crime hit the subject right on the head and couldn't be anything more true but some just don't get it.

Good luck in your search and don't let the nay sayers sway you in your search.

OH BTW I am still a NY FOOTBALL GIANTS~~~SUPER BOWL CHAMPS fan !!!! I still can'e believe they still won it all.

Cheerleaders don't make the difference....LOL.

[hiknapster]

Taxes are more because housing is higher than before.

Southwest Florida was worth it because it wasn't expensive to live there, even though most employment was found in service jobs that don't pay very well. It was a great place for retirees that sold their northern homes and bought low down there.

There is a lot of blame to go around: investors, politicians that let growth go unchecked, developers, people that expected that the worth of their house would keep going up, but it all comes down to greed.

Now, if you can fill a need in the area, you can make a living, and if you can low-ball a real estate deal, then go for it.

But don't be fooled by prices that are lower than where you are coming from. That house that you buy for $175,000, may be worth $150,000 next year, and less the year after.

And get opinions from all sorts of people. A retiree that had a great-paying union job up north is not going to have the same perspective as someone that tried to eek out a living in the area.

Perspective matters wherever you go. The guy from Detroit thinks that Cape Coral is paradise, and I can see his point. But if you are use to low-crime, good pay, excellent schools, the place may not seem that great.

That's okay. There are trade-offs wherever you go, no place is perfect and your heaven may be my hell.

Feel free to completely disregard my advice. My feelings won't be hurt.

In fact, if any of you move there and make a go of it you are helping my family. Believe me.

[ChrisA70]

I remember 3 years ago it was build, build, build... sell, sell, sell... People were buying blocks of condo's and reselling them at a $20,000 profit 2 weeks later. The property I was working/living at sold for a crazy amount, 1 year later it was worth half. They were going to buy it up, sell it all as condo's then CRASH!!! The area was flooded, and you know the rest. They are back to renting them out. I know of at least 10 properties that did the same around here. All back to rentals. If I stand out in the front of my house I see 7 houses for sale, and 2 for rent. And that is from where I stand in my driveway, I am definitely not saying it's paradise here. I was in paradise in Massachusetts until it got cold, then I came back here. I hope you aren't confusing me with a guy from Detroit. Now that is a crime ridden hell a friend of mine told me.

My mother bought her house in 2001 for $115,000 with a pool and a huge pool inclosure, 6 year old house then, BARGAIN. It was worth $285,000 in 2005 at peak time. NOW.... $170,000.

i wish I could have brought my daughters school here from massachusetts, because this one here is already on my nerves. Schooling is way better up there. Who knows someday I will most likely be back up there, cold or not. My daughter will not go to the high schools here, trust me....

Other than thay I do like it here.

[hiknapster]

BacktoFLigo: I know which one is the guy from Detroit. I didn't realize you are from Mass. So am I.

Our daughter had just entered Kindergarten in Lee County, when I decided to leave. I hate the "School Choice" deal. I thought it was such a farce, but others are happy with it. I suppose it depends on what school you got.

I was really thinking about this, after I posted. You know, not all residents were idiots. My husband's best friend is hurting, too. He's had his house for about 12 years and has been married even longer. He's an auto mechanic and his wife has worked for WCI Communities for years and years.

In 2004, they decided to have a baby and build a beautiful pool and enclosure. They financed it for about $35,000. Now, WCI Communities is in the toilet and she is probably going to lose her job. He works on the trucks for a company that installs electrical in new homes. They are about to go out of business.

They'd love to sell and move away, but houses are just not moving.

It's fine to get the perspective of a retiree that is deliriously happy, but to hear from people that use to live there and couldn't make it work, is probably valuable. Maybe my husband and I are just losers. Maybe we were smart to move out in 2005. Who knows.

All I know is I never regretted the move. Not once.

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

BacktoFLigo: I know which one is the guy from Detroit. I didn't realize you are from Mass. So am I.

Our daughter had just entered Kindergarten in Lee County, when I decided to leave. I hate the "School Choice" deal. I thought it was such a farce, but others are happy with it. I suppose it depends on what school you got.

I was really thinking about this, after I posted. You know, not all residents were idiots. My husband's best friend is hurting, too. He's had his house for about 12 years and has been married even longer. He's an auto mechanic and his wife has worked for WCI Communities for years and years.

In 2004, they decided to have a baby and build a beautiful pool and enclosure. They financed it for about $35,000. Now, WCI Communities is in the toilet and she is probably going to lose her job. He works on the trucks for a company that installs electrical in new homes. They are about to go out of business.

They'd love to sell and move away, but houses are just not moving.

It's fine to get the perspective of a retiree that is deliriously happy, but to hear from people that use to live there and couldn't make it work, is probably valuable. Maybe my husband and I are just losers. Maybe we were smart to move out in 2005. Who knows.

All I know is I never regretted the move. Not once.

When I left Florida last summer I got to that leaving Florida sign, "Welcome to GA" I said "Goodbye Florida" I said I would never come back only to visit my mom and stepdad. I was happy to get away from here. I loved it when I got up there, minus the liar we rented an apartment from when we first got there. LONG STORY. We ended up finding a really nice apartment after all near my hometown. The end of summer was great, fresh air, cooler, real pine trees anda sense of refreshment. Fall was awesome, we even had days in the 70's until November, i took a million pictures of the fall colors... THEN. It started snowing, at first I was so happy to see snow, then snow storms 2 times a week, ice storms. COLD. My mother in laws arthritis started killing her. The job I got up there, which paid about $365 less per hour was ok, great people, but the company went steeply downhill(it's a major candle company). I worked for them 10 years ago, and it was great back then. There were not many jobs paying well there. Nothing in my line of work at all. I got cabin fever, more discouraged with the gray, dead, winter. So I began thinking I missed it here. So we came back.

I don't like the school system here, AT ALL. School choice is so so. We got our first choice which was "good"... Still don't care for the teacher. Florida is trying to bring up thier ratings in schools, by pushing the kids. 2nd graders doing what I did in 3rd and 4th grade, not cool. I sometimes think I should have just dealt with the cold, and stayed there for my daughters schooling sake. But even she was hating the cold, the kid hated 3 layers of clothes!!!

You aren't losers, you just made a choice to get out. Was I a loser to come back? I'm gonna make best here, then if it doesn't work, we will go someplace else. I do miss New England.

Where in Mass. are you from? I am from Northampton, the wife is from Stoughton.

[hiknapster]

I was born in Southbridge. Graduated from Oxford High. I was a reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette for 10 years.

I miss New England, too.

I love the food. Who knew that the rest of the country didn't eat that kind of food, too?

I miss the people. That was the worst part of living in southwest Florida. Let's face it, the place is not full of northeasterners. You and I know where most people are from the area, and I just didn't jibe with those people.

I like it in Tennessee just fine. I found it to be a big improvement over southwest Florida, but still, it is not the northeast.

I don't know how long you lived in Florida, before, but the weather got on my nerves just as much as the northeast. I couldn't take going out at midnight and have sweat dripping off my face. And generally, I run cold, but that was just too much heat.

I lived with New England winters for 34 years. I would take that over south Florida, any day, but that is personal preference.

But I can't afford to go home, either. Housing prices are through the roof there.

At the end of the day, jobs, housing, schools, crime and people drove me out of Lee County.

I'm interested in this forum because of family and because, honestly, it was such a bizarre place to live, that I want to see what is happening. Sort of like watching a car crash aftermath.

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I was born in Southbridge. Graduated from Oxford High. I was a reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette for 10 years.

I miss New England, too.

I love the food. Who knew that the rest of the country didn't eat that kind of food, too?

I miss the people. That was the worst part of living in southwest Florida. Let's face it, the place is not full of northeasterners. You and I know where most people are from the area, and I just didn't jibe with those people.

I like it in Tennessee just fine. I found it to be a big improvement over southwest Florida, but still, it is not the northeast.

I don't know how long you lived in Florida, before, but the weather got on my nerves just as much as the northeast. I couldn't take going out at midnight and have sweat dripping off my face. And generally, I run cold, but that was just too much heat.

I lived with New England winters for 34 years. I would take that over south Florida, any day, but that is personal preference.

But I can't afford to go home, either. Housing prices are through the roof there.

At the end of the day, jobs, housing, schools, crime and people drove me out of Lee County.

I'm interested in this forum because of family and because, honestly, it was such a bizarre place to live, that I want to see what is happening. Sort of like watching a car crash aftermath.

Nowhere in the US can touch the taste of New England food, especially the PIZZA, CHINESE FOOD, AND SEAFOOD!!!!

Housing prices in the Northeast? Well in Western Mass. there are lots of them for sale, like here. The prices have fallen there too. Mostly because nothing is moving there either. My brother is one hair shy of foreclosure up there, has the house up for sale to save face, it has been since Oct. ONE person looked at it. It is a REALLY ice house in South Hadley too.

Give me 2 months and I will be pulling my hair out with the heat here too... I really hate going out at 6 am and its 80 degrees. I don't know... There is no perfect weather place.

I know my daughter will not be in Florida schools from 7th grade up, OR EARLIER...

I don't really associate with my neighbors. I have met a few good people here over the last 13 years, but they are from everywhere else, Iowa, Indiana, Mass., Michigan, Tenn., N.C., N.Y., everywhere but here.

[hiknapster]

First of all, I am so sorry about your brother. That stinks.

I like the weather where I am. There are actually four mild seasons. Once a year, we get a dusting of snow. It's melted by the afternoon. Spring is glorious. There's flowering trees in the woods! It's amazing. Summer is doable, compared to Florida. The leaves turn in the fall, just like New England.

Education is better than southwest Florida, but not New England. There are a lot of uneducated people, and that can be tough to deal with. Of course, it was the same way in southwest Florida.

People are nicer than any other part of the country that I have dealt with. However, they can be superficially nice. I've dealt with a lot of people that think nothing of lying to your face, all the way smiling at you.

Jobs pay just as badly as in Florida. The only difference is that there are jobs here, just not a lot. That may be the same as the rest of the country, at this point.

Housing prices are holding. They are still affordable, but started going up in the past couple of years. Now that the market has crashed, not many people are moving to Tennessee. That is fine with me. I would prefer that the crowd not follow me.