Cape Coral? Bonita Springs? or Lehigh? (Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers: rent , jobs, houses)

[adavis21]

There are some nice areas off of Cypress lake/Daniels and down Island Park
Road off south 41. Gateway is nice too, just further out. As others have suggested, I'd rent and get to know the area. Cape Coral isn't for me, but some people really love it.

[paradiddle]

If I worked in North Fort Myers, Cape Copal I would consider Punta Gorda.

[NY62]

[quote=WendiG;217258]Help!
We are relocating to Florida in April. My husband will be working in the Fort Myers area, but i do not know any of these areas. One realtor told me the Ft. Myers was busy, crowed, high crime, and not very safe area. He swore the Cape was the safest, quietest and best place to be.
But i read one posting from here and this member refered to 'Cape Coral' as 'Cape Communist".
Another realtor swore that Lehigh is the best place to be.
Even my husbands new boss claims Cape Coral and Bonita Springs are the best places to live. help please.

How are the schools, my daughter will be in 11th grade next year, and would love any info anyone has about the schools. ]]]]]]]]]]]]\\\

Hi I just thought I would chime in a bit here. I am thinking about doing the same thing as you in the same area, I thought I would help you out with what I found out. The same people day after day on this board have the same arguments, this tells me they sit on there computers to much, there is so much negativity you would think they would give there houses away and go to where ever the perfect place is. Some dont even live there anymore . I found a gated community in cape coral to be the most attractive place for everything, I have kids so this was big for me. lehigh pass on , bonita nice area = expensive. punta gorda is nice in areas. You will find that in much of florida they were correct in telling you most areas are good and bad.I have friends in cape coral the biggest problem I see is the housing going in the toilet pricing dropping but that is good for you. My friend has kids in the schools, they went to the new high school ida baker and were very happy, they have great programs for getting ready for college. I am finding young people calling cape coral cape coma is this a bad thing I dont think so, to me it sounds boring , every teen I know thinks where they are is boring. Unless they are in a bad area then they say it is dangerous. You have to remember Florida is a transient state allways was and allways will be. your 11th grader will hate it no matter where you go, LOL. But if your daughter gets in florida state for college instead of some community college where you live now, she will love it. And the cost for residents is real low. You have to read these posts and take them with a grain of salt, these places have changed for the people that have lived there and they dont like it, they want it the way it used to be . But most places have changed in the last ten years . people want things the way they were when they were growing up but we live in a different world now. We have to learn to make the best of what we have now,not complain about it . You will have people putting up all kinds of newspaper articles about crime, we all could do the same in other states and it would look herendous. So fly down take a look at sandoval in cape coral I thought this place was very nice. That is what my research has found out. I know I will get blasted but this is a view from someone not living there but I do have family in cape coral,naples,punta gorda,port charollete,marco island, miami,st lucie,jupiter,lauderdale and some where else down there.

P.S. most complaints are about jobs in the area but you dont have to worry about that.

[floridamove2]

[quote=NY62;1316635]

Originally Posted by WendiG

Help!
We are relocating to Florida in April. My husband will be working in the Fort Myers area, but i do not know any of these areas. One realtor told me the Ft. Myers was busy, crowed, high crime, and not very safe area. He swore the Cape was the safest, quietest and best place to be.
But i read one posting from here and this member refered to 'Cape Coral' as 'Cape Communist".
Another realtor swore that Lehigh is the best place to be.
Even my husbands new boss claims Cape Coral and Bonita Springs are the best places to live. help please.

How are the schools, my daughter will be in 11th grade next year, and would love any info anyone has about the schools. ]]]]]]]]]]]]\\\

Hi I just thought I would chime in a bit here. I am thinking about doing the same thing as you in the same area, I thought I would help you out with what I found out. The same people day after day on this board have the same arguments, this tells me they sit on there computers to much, there is so much negativity you would think they would give there houses away and go to where ever the perfect place is. Some dont even live there anymore . I found a gated community in cape coral to be the most attractive place for everything, I have kids so this was big for me. lehigh pass on , bonita nice area = expensive. punta gorda is nice in areas. You will find that in much of florida they were correct in telling you most areas are good and bad.I have friends in cape coral the biggest problem I see is the housing going in the toilet pricing dropping but that is good for you. My friend has kids in the schools, they went to the new high school ida baker and were very happy, they have great programs for getting ready for college. I am finding young people calling cape coral cape coma is this a bad thing I dont think so, to me it sounds boring , every teen I know thinks where they are is boring. Unless they are in a bad area then they say it is dangerous. You have to remember Florida is a transient state allways was and allways will be. your 11th grader will hate it no matter where you go, LOL. But if your daughter gets in florida state for college instead of some community college where you live now, she will love it. And the cost for residents is real low. You have to read these posts and take them with a grain of salt, these places have changed for the people that have lived there and they dont like it, they want it the way it used to be . But most places have changed in the last ten years . people want things the way they were when they were growing up but we live in a different world now. We have to learn to make the best of what we have now,not complain about it . You will have people putting up all kinds of newspaper articles about crime, we all could do the same in other states and it would look herendous. So fly down take a look at sandoval in cape coral I thought this place was very nice. That is what my research has found out. I know I will get blasted but this is a view from someone not living there but I do have family in cape coral,naples,punta gorda,port charollete,marco island, miami,st lucie,jupiter,lauderdale and some where else down there.

P.S. most complaints are about jobs in the area but you dont have to worry about that.

Bonita Springs is very nice but would a lond drive to Ft. Myers. Cape Coral has a few nice areas but I don't like it. To check the news in this area go to NBC-2.com or the link I posted and see for yourself. Good Luck !

Southwest Florida news, entertainment, cars, jobs, real estate, weather, events, shopping | news-press.com - The News-Press

[thebigr]

If you are going to be working in the Winkler & Broadway area a friend of ours who is young and single lives in a brand new apartment complex called the Cove. It is not far from there and she had to pay a $200 deposit and $800 a month. I see a lot of signs everywhere for homes and apartments for rent and many good offers. One saying free rent for 18 months(would love to get the facts on that one).
In fact the girl living in that apartment complex is moving back to Michagan to be closer to family.
The area you will be working in is a very busy part of town, so traffic will be heavy. I would stay away from Lehigh tho, traffic is terrible during rush hour. One thing some Florida cities do is build homes and buisnesses first and roads later.
Not sure about renters insurance, I own a home.
I know one thing you will really like about moving here from the midwest, the sun shines a lot and the winter is the best.

[121804]

Originally Posted by NY62

every teen I know thinks where they are is boring.

So true I still only have a toddler, but as a middle school teacher now just how "awful" everything in life is for a pre-teen/teen no matter where they live. Life isn't realty shows on MTV

I would still be leary of Cape Coral just due to the serious growing pains that area is facing. Maybe in time things will adjust but I think it is a little of a risk if one has children. Sandoval does promote itself as a nice gated community with some ammenities that are geared towards family.

Punta Gorda is great if one does NOT have kids. The Deep Creek area of Punta Gorda is the section where the families live & it is seeing a lot of minor petty theft issues as of late & just a lot of overexpansion with some questionable characters. Lehigh...wouldn't touch that place with a 10 foot stick.

Though I am not a fan of Lee County schools, I have heard that Fort Myers is suppose to be a good high school. I may be wrong on this; it is just what I have been told by a few.

Most people we know who like it here & have children seem to be situated in Bonita Springs or certain areas in the south part of Fort Myers.

[Donna-50]

Originally Posted by floridamove2

I live in Cape Coral and the crime is very bad. Also the schools are not good. Some people will say anything to sell ! That list is from 2005 two years ago it might have been right. But ALOT has changed.

The report just came out. Schools are rated A or A+, can't get better than that. I live here now and my house is not for sale, and not a realtor which is what you will say next.

[NY62]

Originally Posted by Donna-50

The report just came out. Schools are rated A or A+, can't get better than that. I live here now and my house is not for sale, and not a realtor which is what you will say next.

I have researched and found the schools to be very good in the cape, there will be people in any district that will say they are bad. unless there is gangs and murders in the school I think it is who your kid is that makes it bad or good. If your child does well and is involved in school they will do well if they sit around smoking pot and getting in fights they will not, it has always been like that. Parents of pot heads say bad school while the parents of the captain of the football team think it is great.

[oeabel]

We live in Estero and, for the area, I think it is a nice place to live. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[FromSandiego]

We came from cali and moved to the Cape, I like it with very little complaints
such as the well water smell and the tolls, other than that , no complaints