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Hello everyone-
I am moving to the cape coral / fort myers area soon- just not sure where.
I come from NY (Long Island)-and am weary of the pace, weather, cost of living etc.
I have a few questions: Is the san Carlos park area of FM decent?
what are the nice things about each area (CC vs. FM) that you can tell me about? what are the draw backs?
I am married with grown kids but still working as a nurse so I will most likely be able to get a job - my husband is a hardware computer technician and AV technician- what is his shot at getting work there?
Is cape coral a foreclosure "ghosttown"- someone told me that.........
We are really looking for a nice place to live, not too expensive as we can outright buy a house under 200K, and that I can actually know my neighbors..........what area would you suggest ? All opinions are welcome and would be appreciated.
the southwest area of Fort Myers is the best. Why FM though? The population is mostly older people. I visited in July 2005 and it is def. a ghost town in the summer and that's when the RE market was BOOMING..............
I'm considering charlotte, NC . I hate NY!
You need to come down and see what the area is like. Jobs are very hard to find right now so have money set aside till you can find work. We came from NY and are moving back as soon as we can sell. Florida is a great place for a few weeks but its no New York !
Cape Coral is good in the SW and NW areas, SE is ok, I do not like NE... FM is good in the Mcgregor area, SW area is good, but at all costs avoid ANYTHING north of Colonial Parkway, anything in the Dunbar area, Martin Luther King Blvd, Palm Beach Blvd., Pine Manor, Harlem heights, all ghetto areas.
I feel safe on the cape.... I am sure someone on here will tell you that Cape Coral is horrible, ugly, flat(as if the whole state isn't), and he loves Estero, and Fort Myers is the best. He is a real estate agent and has some issue with the cape... Don't take his word for it.
It is hard to find jobs here, there is about nothing around. Everything is closing, or cutting hours. It's no longer cheap to live here.
Have you lived here before? Spent a few weeks here? If so, I strongly suggest you come here first for a week or 2.
I am leaving FL. in 3 weeks, after 14 years, it's time to go home, it's nothing like it used to be down here.....
First of all Cape Coral is NOT a foreclosure Ghostown....If your interested in the Cape North Cape is where you will probably find the majority of the abandoned foreclosed homes..I live in the SE Cape its ok...I have seen my fair share of foreclosure signs in our neighborhood but most seem to sell...foreclosures seemed to pick up on my street and the one's surrounding us when they started bringing it the water system...Nothing like throwing a wrench into a already strapped ship...but luckily they must have gone on the market priced right as most have already sold...Their is one for sale sign up on our street and its not because of foreclosure...Only one empty home that someone has kept maintained and two homes with the owners still living in them, no signs of leaving in Lis Pendens (could be they worked out a mod with their banks) Their are nice areas and bad areas all over Lee County just check out the areas throughly...
Yes jobs are very hard to get right now...but your a nurse so I don't imagine you will have any problems. Check out Lee Memorial Health System online for jobs..Unlike Anyplace else we have only one main hospital system..I think their is one other small hospital out in Lehigh...so if you don't like them you don't have too many choices...I actually worked their years ago and I do think its a great place to work....but be prepaired even as a nurse you won't make the wages you are probably making where you are now...
It's not so cheap anymore...Home prices became outragous (Purchased my 1300 sq ft home in 2001 for $85,000 appraised in 2006 for $256,000 if that tells you anything) but prices are starting to come back down to earth so if you are going to buy here I would say do it now whille people are desperate to get out of their homes as their are deals to be had...Everyone complains about property taxes mine aren't that bad...$1300yr with my homestead the taxed value is $165000..My step mother on long island St James NY said her property taxes are about $9000/yr...we don't have an oil bill to heat our homes I understand thats quite the choker...we have an electric bill which gets pretty high in the summer months...but we have a pool and keep our home cool by most standards usually taps out around $360/month and gets as low as $175 in the few cooler months we have...(I also must ad that their are some things I can do to lower my bill just haven't had the extra money) all in all it probably balances out...
I agree with the previous poster come down and spend a couple weeks here if you havn't already...Its nothing like Long Island...drive around see what traffic is like (come in the winter when its at its peak) explore the areas you are interested in and then do a price search...You shouldn't have any problems finding a decent home under 200K...Check the Sunday paper for job postings...
Its a fairly transient area so neighborhoods don't have the same feel as they probably do where you are from they change quite a bit more rapidly... but I have found my neighbors always to be quite friendly....
I moved to FL from LI in 1983 and only went back once. Cape Coral is still nice and we do have our share of foreclosures but at least in my area I have only seen 3. One a brand new house that wasn't all the way completed and one I assume is a foreclosure because the grass is about 3 ft high. There is a foreclosure on our street but the grass gets mowed every week. Most of my neighbors have lived here at least 10 years except for 2 houses that I assume are rentals because I don't know the people there.
I personally don't like San Carlos Park but you may. Come down and look around and see what will fit you and your families needs.
Don't think you will have a problem getting a job because the hospital is always looking for nurses.
Another thing I wanted to add is that you shouldn't have a problem finding a house for $200,000.
My family is from Long Island, so I know what you mean. I have lived in Cape Coral for about a month (moved from Ohio), but do not know about San Carlos Park. I live in NW Cape, and it is about 50% built. It is quiet up here, and I love it! Cape Coral was being aggressively built when the downturn hit, so there are some empty houses, but I would say that on my street there are six houses and none are empty (there was one but a nice lady from NY is moving in this week). We have two behind us, but there has been people looking at them in the last few weeks. A lot of people are looking at North Cape because they houses are all newer (last five years) and a great deal right now. My dad is looking at a house for 98k, 3BRM w/pool and 1700 square feet in the NW Cape that is lived in and in great condition. There are foreclosure houses out here, but there seems to be interest in those and I expect that sitution to get better.
I am also a Human Resources Director at a nursing facility. If that interests you, check out HCR Manorcare's website (the only corporately ran one I know). If you are an RN try the Lee Memorial Health System - they own all of the local hospitals. You should not have a problem finding a job (LPN or RN) - just make sure to get your liscene transfer started quickly. As far as your husband goes I can't say as I am new. There are larger companies in town like Chicos that may be able to use him, and of course check city (Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres), county (Lee and Charlotte), and state websites for related openings. Also, Lee County has a great Job and Employment Center that may be able to help him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyrnwriter
Hello everyone-
I am moving to the cape coral / fort myers area soon- just not sure where.
I come from NY (Long Island)-and am weary of the pace, weather, cost of living etc.
I have a few questions: Is the san Carlos park area of FM decent?
what are the nice things about each area (CC vs. FM) that you can tell me about? what are the draw backs?
I am married with grown kids but still working as a nurse so I will most likely be able to get a job - my husband is a hardware computer technician and AV technician- what is his shot at getting work there?
Is cape coral a foreclosure "ghosttown"- someone told me that.........
We are really looking for a nice place to live, not too expensive as we can outright buy a house under 200K, and that I can actually know my neighbors..........what area would you suggest ? All opinions are welcome and would be appreciated.
San Carlos Park is a very run down high crime area, I would avoid it all costs.
Cape Coral is very very congested during rush hour and you have to pay a toll to enter and leave the bridge (unless you have a sun pass which costs money of course) and get off the island. There is also a lot of flooding there during rainy season and when storms hit. Crime is also on the rise in Cape Coral.
Not a ton of technical jobs in the area, although the healthcare industry is huge down there.
For under 200k you would have to look at foreclosers or a smaller home in a not so nice area. Houses are still pretty expensive down there despite the shift in economy about 3 years ago when the housing market fell flat on its face down there.
If you could afford it, I would choose Estero over Fort Myers/Cape Coral area. You will want to avoid Lehigh Acres at all costs as it has turned into a drug and war zone. I would suggest Naples but it is very very expensive and the commute to Fort Myers during "season" would be hell.
The diference from New York is that in Florida nobody is in a hurry to do anything and customer service is obsolete down there. It is hot and humid all year long ( you will wear shorts during Christmas). and you have 3 seasons...rainy, dry and tourist.
I lived down in Florida for 23 years so I am speaking from experience. I moved to Georgia about 3 years ago but still have family there that gives me updates.
I respectfully disagree. I have not seen very congested streets in Cape Coral and only had to slow down by about 5 mph in rush hour on the way back from Fort Myers - and this is no where neary as bad as NY traffic I experienced first hand (lots of family in NYC area). The tolls on the way back into the Cape, and Cleveland Avenue Bridge has no toll. The toll is only two dollars, and if you go off peak and use the sunpass or leeway pass you get a percentage off. According to the statistics we researched when we moved here crime is still low, and while the sothern parts of the Cape flood more easily I have not experienced that in the north Cape. I do not know anything about San Carlos Park, and I have heard Lehigh Acres is also high crime. The heat and humidity during the summer is comparable to Ohio during the summer, and while I understand I have not lived here as long I look forward to shorts in December.
There are some nice non-forclosure homes in Cape Coral for under 200k and they are nice size too. Look at online listings and you will see there is very affordable, spacious housing in nice areas. A few years ago it would have been hard to find a decent house under 200k, but I personally have family looking and I know there are decent houses under 200k.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyberguy
San Carlos Park is a very run down high crime area, I would avoid it all costs.
Cape Coral is very very congested during rush hour and you have to pay a toll to enter and leave the bridge (unless you have a sun pass which costs money of course) and get off the island. There is also a lot of flooding there during rainy season and when storms hit. Crime is also on the rise in Cape Coral.
Not a ton of technical jobs in the area, although the healthcare industry is huge down there.
For under 200k you would have to look at foreclosers or a smaller home in a not so nice area. Houses are still pretty expensive down there despite the shift in economy about 3 years ago when the housing market fell flat on its face down there.
If you could afford it, I would choose Estero over Fort Myers/Cape Coral area. You will want to avoid Lehigh Acres at all costs as it has turned into a drug and war zone. I would suggest Naples but it is very very expensive and the commute to Fort Myers during "season" would be hell.
The diference from New York is that in Florida nobody is in a hurry to do anything and customer service is obsolete down there. It is hot and humid all year long ( you will wear shorts during Christmas). and you have 3 seasons...rainy, dry and tourist.
I lived down in Florida for 23 years so I am speaking from experience. I moved to Georgia about 3 years ago but still have family there that gives me updates.
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