Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Fort Myers - Cape Coral area
 [Register]
Fort Myers - Cape Coral area Lee County
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-28-2015, 05:33 AM
 
12,016 posts, read 12,632,464 times
Reputation: 13420

Advertisements

If you do buy at least get a good security system and lock yourself in at night at turn it on, as well as a surveillance system and a gun or two.

I went to look at houses in that area, but I don't like the fact that most are well water and septic.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-29-2015, 07:17 AM
 
Location: New Jersey/Florida
5,815 posts, read 12,574,596 times
Reputation: 4409
Default lock yourself in at night at turn it on, as well as a surveillance system and a gun or two

I don't want to live like this. I read this story, horrible. Killed the guy and tried to kill the wife. Wonder if they caught the criminals, or is this the norm around there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-29-2015, 09:00 AM
 
12,016 posts, read 12,632,464 times
Reputation: 13420
While I agree that you should avoid Lehigh Acres, it is an isolated incident that can happen just about anywhere. I would think that they targeted the family for a reason, maybe they had a business and had cash at home.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-30-2015, 01:35 PM
 
30 posts, read 59,468 times
Reputation: 18
Try the Estero area or Bonita Springs,...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2015, 05:44 AM
 
10,746 posts, read 25,870,594 times
Reputation: 16022
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikezak View Post
Try the Estero area or Bonita Springs,...

Bonita has sketchy areas as well. Estero is a better choice. S Fort Myers has some nice areas, but San Carlos Park is NOT one of them.

A Dr was recently murdered in her Bonita Springs home...that's an isolated incident. Lehigh has no isolated incidents unless it happened in a home in an 'isolated' neighborhood.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-04-2015, 08:04 AM
 
Location: CT
3,440 posts, read 2,506,447 times
Reputation: 4639
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squeamish View Post
Lehigh Acres is a notably bizarre place even by national standards. When I was a kid, I collected maps and was given a map of Fort Myers. What are these insanely extensive square miles of platted streets that don't seem to have many people? In 2004, I was in FL for other reasons and went out of my way to drive around Lehigh because I was fascinated by these endless mostly-empty streets. At that point, it was just streets, jungle, and nice, upscale houses. A mere few years later, I started reading about the ghetto element moving in, and that makes it even more perplexing and unusual, particularly within the same decade or so that many of the houses were built. That almost never happens. Someday I want to go back and see how it has changed. Even though I understand the market forces that caused the ghetto element to move in, I'm still at a loss for how it could happen so fast. Very highly unusual and fascinating, but most importantly it must be horribly frustrating for the poor people who bought into it before the change with no way of knowing or predicting that it would get worse...and fast.
It was from all the properties that were abandoned when the RE bubble popped, when you risk nothing on a down payment and the bank still loans you the money, you're not walking away from any equity. Since LA isn't an incorporated town, no dedicated police patrols or law enforcement to protect property and the vagabonds just moved in. It was criminal what the lenders did, and Lehigh Acres is one of the results, and who pays for it? Everyone who pays taxes. From the banks who demanded that the government pay for their mistakes to the politicians who signed the check to them, absolutely criminal. I agree with you, its terrible for the people who paid cash to buy their slice of paradise and now its a nightmare. We bought a building lot there and basically lost most of the value in it, but at least we've been able to absorb the loss.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-04-2015, 12:56 PM
 
Location: Chicago Area and Ft. Myers Beach area
81 posts, read 97,230 times
Reputation: 154
Does not seem that long ago when anyone could be a lot for about 2k.
I checked it out after the RE bubble and the prices were crazy cheap. An example would be a new 3br masonary Ranch with inground pool and cage for around 65k. I have never seen an area that had miles of roads, and thousands of empty lots platted and single homes scattered everywhere. There were many unoccupied homes, and so many that were occupied appeared to house some unsavory characters. I'm told that the geographical area of Lehigh is larger than many counties. Several years ago the New York Times wrote a very interesting article about the history of Lehigh Acres and the possibility that it may never recover from its current blight. I genuinely feel very bad for the folks that bought their retirement homes there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-09-2015, 12:35 AM
 
Location: on the edge of Sanity
14,268 posts, read 18,832,424 times
Reputation: 7982
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kim in FL View Post
Bonita has sketchy areas as well. Estero is a better choice. S Fort Myers has some nice areas, but San Carlos Park is NOT one of them.

A Dr was recently murdered in her Bonita Springs home...that's an isolated incident. Lehigh has no isolated incidents unless it happened in a home in an 'isolated' neighborhood.
Naples also has crime. In fact, one of its wealthier communities was repeatedly victimized by violent home invasions. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but some people on City-Data unjustly knock areas they don't live in and mention isolated incidents that could happen in their own back yards.

Each city has a mix of neighborhoods. The best thing is always to rent for a while to get to know the different cities before making a long-term commitment.

By the way, speaking of Bonita vs Estero, most people can't tell when they've left Bonita and crossed into Estero. The Hyatt Regency has a Bonita Springs address, but Coconut Point, which is across the road, is in Estero. People will insist that The Brooks is in Estero, but most of its very exclusive communities are in Bonita Springs, like the multi-million $$ homes in Shadow Wood.

There's a very odd attitude about Bonita Springs that I've been hearing for 20 years from people who live in Naples. For example, if you dare to mention that Barefoot Beach is in Bonita, someone will point out that it's in Collier County (which is true) However, I lived in Lee County and could go out my door, walk down Bonita Beach Road for 10 or 15 minutes and be on Barefoot Beach. Go figure.

Sorry, but I had to vent.

One thing to keep in mind is that some Estero and South Fort Myers neighborhoods are directly in flight paths of planes flying into RSW. We're all different when it comes to noise sensitivity, but I know people in Naples who aren't too happy about the airport noise and that airport is much, much smaller than RSW.

I don't like Lehigh and never did. Even without the crime, the area is too hot & muggy since it's inland and doesn't benefit from the breeze other SWFL areas get from the Gulf of Mexico.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-09-2015, 06:00 AM
 
10,746 posts, read 25,870,594 times
Reputation: 16022
Quote:
Originally Posted by justNancy View Post
Naples also has crime. In fact, one of its wealthier communities was repeatedly victimized by violent home invasions. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but some people on City-Data unjustly knock areas they don't live in and mention isolated incidents that could happen in their own back yards.

Each city has a mix of neighborhoods. The best thing is always to rent for a while to get to know the different cities before making a long-term commitment.

By the way, speaking of Bonita vs Estero, most people can't tell when they've left Bonita and crossed into Estero. The Hyatt Regency has a Bonita Springs address, but Coconut Point, which is across the road, is in Estero. People will insist that The Brooks is in Estero, but most of its very exclusive communities are in Bonita Springs, like the multi-million $$ homes in Shadow Wood.

There's a very odd attitude about Bonita Springs that I've been hearing for 20 years from people who live in Naples. For example, if you dare to mention that Barefoot Beach is in Bonita, someone will point out that it's in Collier County (which is true) However, I lived in Lee County and could go out my door, walk down Bonita Beach Road for 10 or 15 minutes and be on Barefoot Beach. Go figure.

Sorry, but I had to vent.

One thing to keep in mind is that some Estero and South Fort Myers neighborhoods are directly in flight paths of planes flying into RSW. We're all different when it comes to noise sensitivity, but I know people in Naples who aren't too happy about the airport noise and that airport is much, much smaller than RSW.

I don't like Lehigh and never did. Even without the crime, the area is too hot & muggy since it's inland and doesn't benefit from the breeze other SWFL areas get from the Gulf of Mexico.

Go ahead and vent away...nothing wrong with it. However, I've lived in Lee County for almost 35 yrs now...I do know a little bit about it and how much it's changed.

I wasn't bashing Bonita, but there are some sketchy areas in Bonita...hell, this whole county (and Collier) has sketchy areas. You just need to avoid those areas

Lehigh, back in the day, was an up and coming residential city. It was suppose to be another "Cape Coral", but its location sucks. Its out in the boonies, not close to anything and it's ugly.

When the city of Fort Myers tore down the public housing project (can't remember the name for the life of me) a huge percent of those residents were shipped to Lehigh with housing vouchers in their hands. The landlords in that area scooped these vouchers and residents up and never looked back. I know plenty of people, LEOs included, that lived in Lehigh at the time and they all got out shortly after. The drugs, the noise, the shootings, the crime it all skyrocketed when these 'residents' moved in.

The real estate bubble didn't help matters either. Those who bought homes they couldn't afford in Cape Coral and Fort Myers found themselves living in Lehigh because the prices are do darn cheap.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-09-2015, 06:24 AM
 
Location: Iona
47 posts, read 52,405 times
Reputation: 43
I think the start of it was zoning areas for multi unit, duplexes, so close to single family houses. Seems when you're cruising around and you see one duplex, you will see many of them next to single family homes. Never should have allowed zoning this close to residential. Same thing just south and all along Cape Coral Pkwy, you will see the same thing on a smaller scale. These areas are run down and not an inviting place to purchase a property or live nearby. Maybe if the zoning allowed them but only so many per square mile back in the day...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Fort Myers - Cape Coral area
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top