Where to move, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Fort Myers??

[ChrisA70]

I lived in 4 of the cities mentioned, and ALL have traffic that will drive you crazy, especially Naples... That is the worst for traffic. I'll take the Capes traffic any day over Naples, Bonita or Fort Myers.

I don't see the cookie cutter houses? Like Naples is not full of them!!! You must sell only in the areas you quoted as "respectable"... Unfair comparison...

Illegal immigrants are everywhere around here, even though I agree Lehigh is nowhere I would ever live.

Originally Posted by brokerdave

well fort myers, estero, bonita springs, and naples are respectable places to live and are close the to beach. once you get to cape coral (traffic with drive you crazy and the cookie cutter homes are ugly and the view of the county is something out of a movie) or lehigh (lots of drugs and illegal immigrants). north port is nice near the gulf, but then again so is everything.

which county holds the record for most single mothers with babies in the USA? i forget.

[marie3]

I had some pretty harsh things to say about fort myers, and charlotte cty in general FOR YOUNG families on my other post. I didn't mean to sound so negative, but that is how my life here is. Punta gorda IS VERY QUAINT and has the cutest little historic key west style houses, and it has a cute shopping area called Fishermans Village where I buy all my shoes at a great boutique there. Yes, I would RETIRE there, But I could not even imagine raising children there. I raised my kids in cinci and they are still there and I'm going back. Rich with diversity and culture and so much to do. Fun life I had back in those days. If I were able to buy right now in florida and could be a "snowbird", I just made a comment to my husband yesterday when we were in Estero, "love those condos" "love this area". It's in between Fort Myers and Naples, and $300000 condos are now going in the low 100,000's. Great little houses too! It's really, really nice area and now it is really, really affordable. The absolute best malls I have ever seen, restaurants, beaches everywhere near by, easy access to hospitals and just about everything. If you can't find it in Naples, you can go to fort myers because it's in between. I know the the local college Florida Gulf Coast has record numbers in enrollment in Estero and they have built just in the last year, tons and tons of restaurants and shopping for the students. Take a look at the real estate there now, because it is rock bottom from what it was just 1 year ago. Well worth looking into. In fact, we are looking there ourselves for a condo to rent.

[LovingCapeCoral]

We love Cape Coral, and the access to water and beaches. You may want to rent a year and then buy, although there are great deals right now. My dad is looking at a currently lived in, 3 BDR 2 BA home in mid-Cape with 1700 square feet and pool for 98k. The cape portion of lee county schools rate mostly A's and B's on the state system, and we are impressed by what we have seen (my daughter is in eighth grade). Compared to the excellent level school system my daughter attended in Ohio this is great and the buildings are brand new.