My Fort Myers Story (good And Bad) (Cape Coral, Estero: credit, loans)

[parrotnoise]

I am currently in the midwest due to my career, but spent 2 years in Ft. Myers, Florida. Due to the nature of my job I saw almost every part of the area. For those interested in moving there, I will attempt to give you ALL of my experiences in a nutshell----both good and bad.

We moved in early April which is nearing the end of "SEASON." After Memorial Day weekend, the traffic and "snowbirds" tend to die down quickly. By then you are looking at 90 plus temperatures almost everyday anyhow.

WHAT I LIKED about the area: I greatly enjoyed all the restaurants. In the phone book, there are PAGES of every kind of food imaginable. If you love GREEK or ITALIAN cooking for instance, you will find many choices in various price ranges. Sanibel and the Beaches offered plenty of fancy and button down places to check out as well. Many were half inside (in AC) and half "open air" so you could choose. I enjoyed the fact that almost everybody was from someplace else, so there was little of that "outsider" feeling that you get in many other states. The shopping was decent with hundreds of specialty store. For example, if you liked collecting "salt water aquarium fish," there were many stores that specialized ONLY in that. There were pet stores that leaned toward dogs or ones that leaned only toward exotic birds. You could find it all there. The drives along the beaches and down McGregor with the palm trees were hypnotic in the off season when traffic was lighter, and I used to purposely get up early on my days off to enjoy this or to walk the beach. Collecting shells on Sanibel was fun and we had every imaginable bird wandering through our apartment complex. My parrot used to talk to them. As far as general quality of life and making friends, it was a very fun time. We lived within 15 minutes (off-season) of either Bowman's Beach (where we got engaged) or Ft Myers Beach.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE.

Housing is expensive and I would imagine has gotten WORSE since the hurricane a couple years ago. Our rent for an apartment was almost $800 a month plus another $150 or more in utilities way back in 1999. We were in one of the "better" complexes in Ft. Myers, but we still had trouble. My wife's car was broken into twice and outright STOLEN right from the carport TWICE. The second time we never got it back!! (They sawed through the club on it) Mind you, this is in one of the "BETTER" neighborhoods. We both had excellent driving records and both cars were PAID FOR, yet insurance with ALLSTATE was HORRENDOUS!!!! Security on most apartment complex grounds is a joke. Don't be too easily swayed by the manicured lawns and multiple pools. The "trash" will come through at night in some of these complexes and take what they want. Use a club even in daylight around Ft. Myers or you may come back to broken glass where your car should be.

I never saw as many 13 and 14 year old girls pushing baby carriages around any mall as I did at Edison Mall. That doesn't say much for family upbringing to me. I never was witness to a violent crime, but the area certainly had it's fair share of them. Plus you should ALWAYS carry some cash, in case you need to hit a toll bridge across to "Cape Coma" as it is called.

Driving deserves a seperate section but briefly:
It was not that bad in the summer and early fall. However in "SEASON" the same 15 minute drives I mentioned earlier became tedious creeping HOUR to HOUR AND A HALF crawls across the Sanibel or Ft Myers Beach causeways. Once you are on the islands, it is always a challenge to PARK. Many times you will pay $5-$10 to be crammed into a private lot if you are in a hurry. During season, there are so many old people who are (Sorry, but TRUE) TOO SENILE to be NEAR a car, let alone DRIVING. I have seen more crazy accidents and "near-misses" caused by the "cotton-tops" of the world here than anyplace in the country. But, DON'T EVER get started on the subject of "re-testing" them down here. You'll start a war of words that you'll never win.



The women are gorgeous, but if you are single and drive anything less than the latest sports car or a luxury car, you won't stand a chance. Money and status talk, and this is not an area to be "poor" in. A lot of people get in trouble with PAYDAY loans and EZ finance companies when they are short on cash, and this is as bad as borrowing from a loan shark. For the most part, most jobs down here pay in "sunshine." That is to say, if you are used to making $50K a year elsewhere and living nicely, it will be tougher to find that kind of job and the money will not go as far here if you do.

[FromSandiego]

Thanks for the story..I would say its a good and bad story, ups and down

[FedUpInFtMyers]

Originally Posted by parrotnoise

I am currently in the midwest due to my career, but spent 2 years in Ft. Myers, Florida. Due to the nature of my job I saw almost every part of the area. For those interested in moving there, I will attempt to give you ALL of my experiences in a nutshell----both good and bad.

We moved in early April which is nearing the end of "SEASON." After Memorial Day weekend, the traffic and "snowbirds" tend to die down quickly. By then you are looking at 90 plus temperatures almost everyday anyhow.

WHAT I LIKED about the area: I greatly enjoyed all the restaurants. In the phone book, there are PAGES of every kind of food imaginable. If you love GREEK or ITALIAN cooking for instance, you will find many choices in various price ranges. Sanibel and the Beaches offered plenty of fancy and button down places to check out as well. Many were half inside (in AC) and half "open air" so you could choose. I enjoyed the fact that almost everybody was from someplace else, so there was little of that "outsider" feeling that you get in many other states. The shopping was decent with hundreds of specialty store. For example, if you liked collecting "salt water aquarium fish," there were many stores that specialized ONLY in that. There were pet stores that leaned toward dogs or ones that leaned only toward exotic birds. You could find it all there. The drives along the beaches and down McGregor with the palm trees were hypnotic in the off season when traffic was lighter, and I used to purposely get up early on my days off to enjoy this or to walk the beach. Collecting shells on Sanibel was fun and we had every imaginable bird wandering through our apartment complex. My parrot used to talk to them. As far as general quality of life and making friends, it was a very fun time. We lived within 15 minutes (off-season) of either Bowman's Beach (where we got engaged) or Ft Myers Beach.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE.

Housing is expensive and I would imagine has gotten WORSE since the hurricane a couple years ago. Our rent for an apartment was almost $800 a month plus another $150 or more in utilities way back in 1999. We were in one of the "better" complexes in Ft. Myers, but we still had trouble. My wife's car was broken into twice and outright STOLEN right from the carport TWICE. The second time we never got it back!! (They sawed through the club on it) Mind you, this is in one of the "BETTER" neighborhoods. We both had excellent driving records and both cars were PAID FOR, yet insurance with ALLSTATE was HORRENDOUS!!!! Security on most apartment complex grounds is a joke. Don't be too easily swayed by the manicured lawns and multiple pools. The "trash" will come through at night in some of these complexes and take what they want. Use a club even in daylight around Ft. Myers or you may come back to broken glass where your car should be.

I never saw as many 13 and 14 year old girls pushing baby carriages around any mall as I did at Edison Mall. That doesn't say much for family upbringing to me. I never was witness to a violent crime, but the area certainly had it's fair share of them. Plus you should ALWAYS carry some cash, in case you need to hit a toll bridge across to "Cape Coma" as it is called.

Driving deserves a seperate section but briefly:
It was not that bad in the summer and early fall. However in "SEASON" the same 15 minute drives I mentioned earlier became tedious creeping HOUR to HOUR AND A HALF crawls across the Sanibel or Ft Myers Beach causeways. Once you are on the islands, it is always a challenge to PARK. Many times you will pay $5-$10 to be crammed into a private lot if you are in a hurry. During season, there are so many old people who are (Sorry, but TRUE) TOO SENILE to be NEAR a car, let alone DRIVING. I have seen more crazy accidents and "near-misses" caused by the "cotton-tops" of the world here than anyplace in the country. But, DON'T EVER get started on the subject of "re-testing" them down here. You'll start a war of words that you'll never win.

The women are gorgeous, but if you are single and drive anything less than the latest sports car or a luxury car, you won't stand a chance. Money and status talk, and this is not an area to be "poor" in. A lot of people get in trouble with PAYDAY loans and EZ finance companies when they are short on cash, and this is as bad as borrowing from a loan shark. For the most part, most jobs down here pay in "sunshine." That is to say, if you are used to making $50K a year elsewhere and living nicely, it will be tougher to find that kind of job and the money will not go as far here if you do.

Thank you for starting that thread and for your post. It gives everyone the opportunity to hear once again what it is REALLY like to live here. It really is a strange area that sometimes words just can't seem to even begin to explain, but you did a good job.

[davisdudes]

. Yes you gave a Good and Bad reviews, but that is just your view. I have lived in this area for 25 years; I have lived in Fort Myers and Cape Coral too. Yes bad comes with growth which has exploded in the last 15 years. These areas are not bad you can still have somewhat of a small town feeling, maybe not for long but there are plenty of people who moved here to get away from rude, self-centered people. There is a feeling of we are in this together. It is expensive to the point of demand; growth causes the prices to increase. It is slowing down a little. I have raised three children here, and they all turned out to be good, smart adults. Work here centers on the service businesses, i.e. restaurants, shopping and small private owned businesses. This area could use a big business that needs a large work force. There is alot of family activities here; we have alot of parks and sports. Yes it gets hot in the summer but we have pools, beaches and air conditioning. Our winters are to die for. You can wear shorts and sandals year round. This area is paradise to many people who live here. And yes we have our problems but so does all areas. We welcome all people but when growth happens faster than our governments can keep up, this cause problems with traffic congestion and similar problems. Have a great day from Paradise

[Donna-50]

I don't know, I guess I must be going to the wrong Edison Mall. Been here since 1993 and love it. Paradise!!!

[Chromedome]

on the ball with that one.

basically, if your old have lots of money and like quiet then this is the place for you.

if your young, depend on a well paying job for your income and are looking for any type of culture or 'urban-ness' then stay the hell home cus fort myers doesnt have it. this place should be the posterchild for sprawl.

if you just graduated college and your trying to start working for decent wages. plan on being broke as hell unless you own your own business. and thats no guarantee either.

but thats just my perspective as a 20 year old college student.

[FLANATIVE1]

Out of curiosity, what kind of jobs are people looking for? Ft. Myers has great opportunities to practice medicine. I couldn't think of a better location to start a business. I've seen publishing firms, law firms, tech oriented businesses, etc. What kind of jobs are people looking for? Also, I have never had a problem with crime. Most crime in this city is brought on by the individual himself (drug deals, gangs, etc.) or it is a matter of who your neighbors are (a problem every city deals with). To blame crime on the city is unfair. Also, a lot of people complain about lack of "culture", well we have Barbara B. Mann Hall which sees all major theater performances. We have many art galleries (Patio 33, Alliance of the Arts, and a ton of galleries on Pine Island). A HUGE art district is planned for Estero. What other culture or
"urbaness" are you looking for? I know Ft. Myers isn't a cultural "hub", but we have a lot more things to do than most people give credit for. I'm not bashing anyone. I have lived here all my life (though I travel a lot) and am just interested in what other cities have "urban wise" that Ft. Myers doesn't.

[Lisa_from_Debary]

I have been watching the condo market there, I had been thinking once I am done with nursing school about purchasing one in a gated community, my daughter and I can use it for vacation but rent it out to the snow birds for good money...the prices were pretty reasonable.

[FLANATIVE1]

I just wanted to post a link to this article about the planned art district south of Ft. Myers:
The News-Press: Arts & Theater

This is about art on Matlacha:
The News-Press: Arts & Theater

There is the River and Blues concert in downtown Ft. Myers, Edison Pageant of light (one of the biggest celebrations in the Southeastern U.S.), shrimp festival on Ft. Myers beach, Cape Coral Block party, Latin Fest, concerts at Germain arena, hockey at the arena, arena football (They might have sold that team but I'm not sure), golf capital of the world, and much more. Lee County has quite a bit to do. Also, a list of nightclubs:
EnVie
Bamboo
Fusion
Indigo
Dwyers (Irish pub/lounge)
Ricochet
Sky Bar (lounge/bar)
Junkanoos
Brick Bar
Jazz Bar (Sanibel)

If you look for stuff to do, you will find it. Unfortunately if you are under 21, you will have to make your own fun. We have movie theaters, shopping, plenty of service jobs for teens, multiple beaches, public basketball and tennis courts, parks, the Skatium, Sun Splash, and other activities. If people would spend less time complaining about lack of things to do, and instead started looking into it, they might be surprised at what they find. Sorry about rambling, this is a topic that gets me heated. Also, I want to add that these are all in Lee County. Areas like Cape Coral and Lehigh can get boring, but to say all of SW FL is boring is kind of inaccurate.

[Chromedome]

Originally Posted by FLANATIVE1

O
"urbaness" are you looking for? I know Ft. Myers isn't a cultural "hub", but we have a lot more things to do than most people give credit for. I'm not bashing anyone. I have lived here all my life (though I travel a lot) and am just interested in what other cities have "urban wise" that Ft. Myers doesn't.

its really hard to explain, its the atmosphere and 'feel' of an area. it also has alot to do with how an area is designed also.

by urbanness i mean being able to WALK places and use adequate public transportation instead of driving everywhere. sidewalks in front of your home so that you can walk to local businesses instead of driving from stripmall to stripmall,corner stores within neighberhoods instead of gas station stores on main road, having a true city center where all kinds of people hang out and interact with eachother kids playing outside with other kids from the neighberhood etc

think downtown miami, southbeach or to an extent even downtown ft myers.