Fort Myres vs. Cape Coral (gated, price, communities)

[Donna-50]

I've lived in Cape Coral for years and love it. There are some nice areas in Ft. Myers also. I have quite a few friends that send their kids to FM Christian and love it. Mine go to public school and have no problems.

[Familyheart]

Thank you all for your help. More advise and opinions are more then welcome. I want to get as much info as possible before we move. Cape Coral is sounded better and better. I like the idea of being near the beach and "touristy" atmosphere, but being able to "retreat" into a quieter family oriented area that is safe for my kids to play in the yard. Does this sound accurate?

[Familyheart]

I would like to know more about the city water and sewer assessments though. Many houses I have been looking at have unpaid assessments. I don't want to pay 10-18k to have city water and sewer. Why is it so expensive? Do you have to pay it upfront or is it included in your annual property taxes and spread out over a few years?

[Jennifer823]

Originally Posted by Familyheart

I would like to know more about the city water and sewer assessments though. Many houses I have been looking at have unpaid assessments. I don't want to pay 10-18k to have city water and sewer. Why is it so expensive? Do you have to pay it upfront or is it included in your annual property taxes and spread out over a few years?

Hi, I have lived here in Cape Coral for about 5 yrs. (Lived in Naples before this!) Anyway, the city is in the process of connecting everybody to water and sewer. They are working in sections, and the farther north you are the later you will get the service for the most part. There has been a lot of controversy and problems with the process, and each area gets priced individually. A few years ago they were charging everyone over $22,000 for it, but since the construction industry has tanked in the last few years it is much less. The next area to be assessed is currently looking at about a $13,000 charge. There are a few ways you can pay for it. One, you can pay it all up front (not feasible to most of us) you can also add it to your taxes and pay for it each year till it's paid up. The third option is to defer it and not pay a thing for 20 years, when you will get the bill plus interest. These are the options currently, but they may change.

Cape Coral is not a bad area, but as a growing city it has it's problems. The housing market here right now is not so good, just as bad as the rest of the country I guess, but commercial growth is still here. We are having restaurants and shopping centers open all the time, which is great. Cape Coral used to have virtually NO shopping. It has come a long way!

If you have any more questions I'd be happy to help. You can also check out our local newspaper - news-press.com | The News-Press | Southwest Florida news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Southwest Florida, Florida (This is actually for all of Lee County, FL)

[jmfkmb49]

I agree that Cape Coral is not "redneck." It's just a suburban family town. South part of the Cape would be most convenient to Edison. There are a lot of great places to live in Ft. Myers as well. However, I prefer Cape Coral because there is less congestion...it's typical suburbia. I've lived in NE Cape Coral for 4 years. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the negative posts...it's 'the grass is always greener...' type thing to a certain extent.

[aphro23]

Originally Posted by TonyM.

cape coral seems so lifeless in terms of lush greenery and landscaping. Fort Myers feels more tropical imho

Tony,
I agree. Def. more Florida ish in my opinion. I am selling my condo at Bellmar at beachwalk if you are interested, 3/2/2, 1182 sq foot great location. Email me if you want more details aphro777@aol.com

[Jennifer823]

Originally Posted by TonyM.

cape coral seems so lifeless in terms of lush greenery and landscaping. Fort Myers feels more tropical imho

This is true, but only because the Cape is newer. When Cape Coral was developed, unfortunately the developers just came in and clear cut everything. Things are getting much more lush and green, and check out our parks! Have you seen Four Mile Cove?

Four Mile Cove is a city park right on the Caloosahatchee River, with a 6600 foot boardwalk through the mangroves. It's really a beautiful place!



You can see more about Four Mile Cove and other Cape Coral stuff here:

City of Cape Coral > Government > Parks & Recreation > Parks & Facilities > Environmental Parks & Facilities > Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve

We also have a lot of wildlife - burrowing owls, lots of bald eagles (I see them every day near my house) etc. I've even seen a fox on my driveway!

[Familyheart]

That looks like a great place to bike ride. I am really hoping that I will be able to enjoy a more active lifestyle with my family there. Cape seems like a nice family friendly place. Thank you all who have posted a response. More advise and opinions are still welcome (:

[Suncoast Guy]

Hi.

Cape Coral has many bike lines, big bike lanes as well. Choose SE or SW area, for those areas are the best. Fort Myers is too... crime-filled. If you need to go over there, you can use the bridges but I like most of the posters here would go Cape Coral.

Happy Choosing!

[Suncoast Guy]

Originally Posted by Familyheart

Cape seems like a nice family friendly place.

Yes, it is. But, in order to stay in the family friendly areas, you must be in the SW or SE section. IF you step into NE or NW section, you exit the family friendly area and enter the Oy Vey! Area!

Again, Happy Choosing!