high violent crime rates in fort myers?!! that's totally bogus!!! (Miami: credit, estate)

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by ArleenonMarco

We just looked at a community - gated Emerson Square in Ft. Myers..It looked really nice...is it really unsafe there?

It looks like those are near Island Park. No. It would be safe there.

Good, gosh, they are still building houses!

[Lauderdale954]

Originally Posted by Catchsnook

Ranked 4th in Florida. We used to be #1 but 4th aint bad. The police do a hell of a job.

#1- Coral Springs
#2 Port St. Lucie
#3 Miramar
#4 Cape Coral
#5 Pembroke Pines
#6 Hialeah
#7 Hollywood
#8 Clearwater
#11 Fort lauderdale

Dont worry....Be Happy

This is flase info...Miramar, Hialeah, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale DO NOT belong on this list, not even close to the top 10 safest cities in Florida.

[justNancy]

I haven't read all 8 pages of comments, so I apologize if what I write has already been said. I've lived in SW Florida since 1994 and, although crime is on the rise, I feel safe living here.

When I lived on Sanibel Island I only had to worry about running into an alligator. Fort Myers has a lot of crime like any city, but it's concentrated in certain areas or pockets. Still, it isn't a place where I'd walk around late at night by myself (and I'm from Boston!) There is a lot of crime near the downtown area and some people have been attacked at the mall, although they've beefed up security quite a bit. Common sense should tell you never to walk to your car alone at night wherever you live.

I've lived in Bonita live near the beach for years and, although I haven't seen a lot of crime, my home was burglarized once, but that's it! Of course, after that I didn't have anything to steal. Also, I don't have a garage and my car alarm has been set off once or twice at night. One night I ran out (which was a stupid reaction) and saw someone take off in a car. The next morning I noticed there were scratches around my gas tank, which is puzzling since it's locked. I'm not sure if they can be pried open. I always take my cell phone and GPS out of the car. I mean, who would even think of worrying about a gas tank of all things?

I was also surprised by the statistics I've seen on crime in Fort Myers. I worked in South Fort Myers for several years and never had any trouble. Bonita Springs also has a bad rating, so I don't know what they're using to get to these numbers. Supposedly, they're based on the police reports filed it these towns.

Someone wrote that the police here do a great job. That hasn't been my experience, but I won't elaborate except to say they don't seem to care, that is, unless you're rich. Maybe they're just too busy handling gang violence in the other parts of Lee County and have to prioritize.

My suggestion is to check out the Crime Beat section in the Fort Myers News-Press on a regular basis. Also, the sheriff's office might have a crime map that shows the various crimes committed and the neighborhoods with the highest incidents.

Keep in mind that Florida is very diverse. In one neighborhood you might have a mix of old shacks, trailers and million dollar homes. Someone here mentioned $150,000 houses. I haven't seen any single family homes in Bonita Springs or Naples for that price. In parts of Bonita or Naples Park you might find a small older home for under $200,000 but the same money will get you a brand new $1,800 s.f. house on the Cape or in Lehigh, although they're very different cities.

To people who have never lived in Florida, one thing I learned about is "deed restrictions." Some people don't care for them, and I never thought I'd want to be told what I can or can't do with my own property, but I now welcome some rules. I mean, who wants to buy a nice home and have next door neighbors who park cars on the lawn or raise chickens?

Good luck!

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by ArleenonMarco

We just looked at a community - gated Emerson Square in Ft. Myers..It looked really nice...is it really unsafe there?

Very nice Centex community if I'm not mistaken. As I wrote in my previous post, there are sections of Fort Myers that have more crime than others. That's in one of the better areas. Of course, you still have to use common sense wherever you live, but that's in the very far South section of Fort Myers near Estero.

[hiknapster]

Cape Coral is ranked fourth for cities of 100,000 or more of population. Those are 2006 stats.

I have the 2007 stats for all of Florida.

For those that don't want to weed through the link, Cape Coral crime is up 5.6 percent from 2006 to 2007. Fort Myers is up 7.7 percent and Lee County is up 6.8 percent.

Lee County cleared 17.4 percent of their cases, which doesn't surprise me. I was not impressed with them.

http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FSAC/UCR...2007annual.pdf

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Lee County cleared 17.4 percent of their cases, which doesn't surprise me. I was not impressed with them.

Many of the people who were committing crimes on the east coast have moved to this area. I saw a funny article about Florida. It said if you took a model of the United States and tipped it just a little, all the scum runs down to the bottom and trickles down the peninsula of Florida.

Gee, and I thought most of the dirt got stuck in Tallahassee!

[southgeorgian]

got a house for sale in south ga. soon

[iamgod]

End the American Drug Prohibition.

when fascism comes to america it will wrapped in an american flag. --huey long

it's been here for decades folks. it was the test bed for ending America as it was founded. now it all one juggernaut.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition: LEAP - Cops Say

Milton Friedman: YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. YouTube - Broadcast.

get an education! or... you may be done with history but history ain't done with you!

finally, look for 'Vices are Not Crimes' here: Works Lysander Spooner

John Mccain's military record:
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/mccain_post_card_word%5B1%5D.pdf]record (broken link)

[jmfkmb49]

There is a lot of crime in Ft. Myers and a lot of drug houses in Lehigh, but unless you hang around with those types of people and/or live in shady areas, you really shouldn't worry about it. You have to look at how many of the VIOLENT crimes are random acts...I can't imagine there are very many.

[Big House]

Is there a forum on Charlotte County - Punta Gorda?

Is there a crime problem there?