Moving to Cape Coral???? (Miami, Fort Myers: foreclosures, income, rental)

[jen27]

My husband and I and are two year old want to move to FL. We have a family member who just moved to naples about 2 months ago and loves it accept he cant find much work. I have been looking online and cape coral is more in my price range for renting a house but we have never even been to the naples area so we are pretty much taking a chance and i guess thats ok. we just want to try somthing different and make a life in a different place and want to be in nice weather. we are from NH and its so expensive to live here and we are sick of paying huge amounts for a tiny apt. i am a LPN (nurse) and he has a class A drivers lic. is there work around the area how far is naples from cape coral and is this a nice place to live it looks huge compared to boston and that makes me a little nervous.

[Roadrunner69]

Hi, I have lived in Fort Myers for over thirty years and it's not as bad as some make it out to be. Naples is probably about 30 miles or so south of the Fort Myers Cape Coral area. IMO Naples is a little more expensive but a little nicer maybe a little newer looking. For you it should not be hard at all finding employment, your husband may find it a little more difficult. After the building boom crashed alot of drivers lost they're jobs due to the lack of building. You put on top of that all the drivers looking for work I think an empolyer my take a person that knows the area over somebody that just moved here. But hey your going to get much better weather in the deal and wait till you have a big barbaque on Christmas day it is the strangest felling on your first one. I'm not going to suger coat it when you see what the wages are like you may get a little pay check shock but there are still some positives and maybe in a year or so things may be a little better around here as far as how it used to be. Good Luck and make an informed decision or you may waste your time and money.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by jen27

My husband and I and are two year old want to move to FL. We have a family member who just moved to naples about 2 months ago and loves it accept he cant find much work. I have been looking online and cape coral is more in my price range for renting a house but we have never even been to the naples area so we are pretty much taking a chance and i guess thats ok. we just want to try somthing different and make a life in a different place and want to be in nice weather. we are from NH and its so expensive to live here and we are sick of paying huge amounts for a tiny apt. i am a LPN (nurse) and he has a class A drivers lic. is there work around the area how far is naples from cape coral and is this a nice place to live it looks huge compared to boston and that makes me a little nervous.

There is a huge difference between Cape Coral and Naples. You can't compare the 2 cities. They're not even close! The only thing they have in common is that they are both in Southwest Florida! First of all, Cape Coral has 3 times the population of Naples. It's also much more blue collar, that is, if anyone still has a job. Naples is much more upscale. Naples is also directly on the Gulf of Mexico and Cape Coral is not. Naples also has trees.

There's a reason the rents on the Cape are low now. It's because it leads the nation in foreclosures. If you drive up and down the streets you will see lots of empty houses. North Port also has lots of rentals for the same reason. Why? There are no jobs! There are more rentals on my block than I've seen in 12 years.

Being in the medical field you might be able to find work, but don't expect to be paid what you get in NH. (I moved here from Nashua) If I said my income was cut in half, I'd be lying. It was cut a lot more than that! Getting any health benefits is also a challenge. I am not trying to be negative, just realistic. Lee County just published the unemployment rate for Feb and it is 6.1%. During the same period in 2007 it was 3.5%. Keep in mind that Florida depends on tourism and development, and the housing market has devastated a lot of industries. So there are a lot of people who lost their jobs in construction, including drivers. Also, stores have been shutting down. Several furniture stores shut and laid off the delivery crews. So those people are all looking for work. I know the other poster mentioned this, and if you have a little baby, you might not be in the position to take a risk. Just make sure you think this through before you pack up and get in your car.

Also, Naples is not 30 minutes south of Cape Coral. I live in Bonita Springs and it takes me 45 minutes to get to Del Prado. Sure it's possible to get from North Naples to Fort Myers in 30 minutes via I-75, but sometimes the traffic is horrible. There are times I just give up and turn around. You might want to visit a friend on the weekend, but I would never advise commuting from Cape Coral to Naples unless you have no other choice. It's a long haul and gas is expensive.

Cape Coral is one of the largest cities in the entire state (larger than Miami) so it can take 30 minutes just to get from one part of the Cape to the other. If you rent a house on the NW Cape, for example, it might take you that long just to get to get to Fort Myers. The closest area to So Fort Myers and Naples is the SE Cape but then you need to cross either the Cape Coral or Midpoint bridge everyday. Last week I looked at a house north of Pine Island road and it took me over an hour to get there and Naples is south of me.

I am not trying to discourage you, but I suggest you look for work before you move anywhere unless you can afford to live for several months. If you already have a job, don't move during a major economic recession.