Lehigh Acres/Fort Myers

[Suncoast Guy]

Originally Posted by LovingCapeCoral

vpuffin

My hubby did a ton of research and selected Cape Coral. Schools are great, low crime, reasonably priced rentals and homes to rent or purchase. As everywhere, there are some rougher areas in Ft. Myers so be careful, but in Cape Coral the "roughest" areas seem to be by the duplexes, and even then its not too bad. We rented a 3 BDR 2 BA home w/2-car garage for $895 to get a feel for the area before we bought. If you need to be near Ft. Myers because of a job, try the SW Cape. You will have three bridges to FT. M. to choose from and one (Cleveland Ave.) has no toll. I have heard bad things about Lehigh and the newspaper seems to report more crime over that way. Anyway - good luck!

There are some duplexes in SE Cape Coral, and one of my family members lives very near those duplexes, and has for 12 years and has never experienced a problem. Cape Coral's biggest problem area is NE Cape, where construction is big. Those areas have experienced the most crime, my thought would be at the construction sites themselves where they have copper and what not. But, for the most part, Cape Coral is a safe place, and I think that the people there are incredibly nice. I would recommend CC to anybody who was/were looking into moving to Southwest Florida. Best city in SW Florida, as far as crime goes. Good Luck to anymore thinking of moving there.

[BeerWolf]

Originally Posted by Suncoast Guy

You both are correct.

From what I remember, Lehigh Acres was built up to be a place for Chinese people to live back in the 1970's. The prices were low, and the place was dumpy. That still is the case today, only it's turned into a place where most of the minorities live. Vandalism & Crime is a big factor in Lehigh. Lehigh is one of the most crime ridden cities in SW Florida, and I don't care whatever stats you look at, Fact proves that crime is a real problem in Lehigh. Stay Away from Lehigh, there are plenty of other places to live.

Thank you! We moved to Lehigh from Washington state last year for job reasons. We had to do all our research on line and find a rental to live in quickly. We ended up renting in Lehigh since they had all these brand new homes for rent that looked nice on line. We wanted to get something in Ft. Myers or Cape Coral. But at that time, nice rentals were few and far in between, unlike now. We found a brand new home with a pool in SW Lehigh. We flew in and signed the lease and then moved cross country. We knew from day one we had made a mistake. I just can't express how miserable we were living in that desert ghetto! We were afraid to leave our house because it could be robbed while we were away. It did get vandalized a couple of times and they even stole our security sign out front! Set off fireworks on our front porch in the middle of the night... scary stuff! A bunch of the vacant homes within walking distance where vandalized with broken windows and stolen A/C units. One had it's door kicked in and the inside was trashed... and these were all newer homes.

We found a place to rent in SW Cape Coral and moved as soon as our lease ended. Even our rental agent expressed her sorrow in placing us in that hell hole called Lehigh.

But now, life is great in Cape Coral! Nice neighbors and so close to everything we could want! Shopping, restaurants, beaches and we are going to get a boat soon.

There is a reason why Lehigh has cheap rentals and homes for sale!!! Once again... I say AVOID!

[bgcty1]

If you are looking for a place to live with your child, avoid Lehigh like the plague. Lehigh Acres is a pit, it is quickly sliding down the scale, shools are sub-standard, alot of troubled youths from troubled homes. I moved from Lehigh to Fort Myers this year, and I have to say I cannot regret. The school system is set up in zones, Lehigh is in the East Zone, these are the troubled schools. If you want honest advice, look to move somewhere else completely, Lehigh is a pit, and I would not recommend it to anyone.
quote=vpuffin;5834291]I am looking to relocate to the Lehigh Acres/Fort Myers Area within the next 4 months. I have a 5 year old who will be attending school. She will be in the 1st grade when we move. I am trying to find the best place to live for her and my family. Any suggestions?!?! [/quote]

[famv5]

Wow....is all I can say. Are we talking about the same Lehigh Acres that we moved from in 2005????? Holy cow!!!

We lived there for three years and moved in 2005. We had a new house built and had no problems at all living there. It was quiet, in fact. My son attended Sunshine Elementary which was a nice school Never had any murders or crimes that we were aware of. Yes, there were the common crimes of vehicle theft, burglary, etc., but that is really everywhere.

I'm just shocked to read how it "apparently" is now. Wow! I'm really thankful we moved when we did. For one, we moved at the peak of the housing market and made out like bandits. Now the houses are not worth half of what they were then. If it is true about the crime there I'm glad not to be around that.

It's just truly shocking to read because it was a quiet little town that was just developing when we lived there.

Sad to hear it's falling apart.

[mark7246]

can anyone give me information about utility company, cable and phone in Lehigh Acres?
Paharleycouple@verizon.net

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by famv5

Wow....is all I can say. Are we talking about the same Lehigh Acres that we moved from in 2005????? Holy cow!!!

Well, I know this was posted in December, but I think you just got your answer. Obama has selected Lehigh to visit on Tuesday. I don't think this type of publicity will help people sell their homes, however.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/us/08lehigh.html?em