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I was in Naples for 10 years and it is not multicultural. Anyone with non-white skin works in service or landscaping. Yes some of the bank tellers are non-white but that's it. It's old white and rich.
Broward Co. would suit you socially, it has been multicultural for 2 generations or more, also Palm Beach County, where I grew up. Skip the Boca area, it's east coast Naples.
There is really nowhere on the east coast like California, Colorado is the nearest thing. Sarasota went for Obama so you might consider that area but probably not Tampa. Sarasota is youunger, hipper, greener, etc. Just stay away from Longboat Key (Naples-like but even older).
Sorry to come across as crass but that is what makes Naples paradise. Crime is low (relatively speaking) and the standard of living is high. There is nothing wrong with an all white community because we are happy hear.
If you want to be apart of the Obama crowd then stick with Miami, Tampa, or Sarasota.
i am just curious but why do you think he has the biggest house in fort myers? most communities have gates and almost all have sidewalks. any community with no sidewalks and dirt roads is not a accurate description of the area. the area is clique-ish in the beginner professionals early 30's range. this can be good or bad depending on your personality and age. my cousin came down here in his early 30's as a partner for a nextel store chain and opened several stores. he has made a lot of contacts and knows many more people than i. he since sold his partnership and bought 2 failing business' in fort myers and has made a good living with both. i have met people from all walks of life here and been in numerous cliques. there is a reason why people associate with those in there social caliber. i've had to golf with people i did not like or wanted to know because there were a part of cliques.
i am sorry to hear your experience was so abrasive. i would like to hear more about the areas you are referring to. i have found that once you get into the mid to later 30's age groups people are more open to others.
Hi there
I don't think he has the biggest house in Ft Myers, I was told that. There apparently used to be a restaurant named Dwyer's, which was sold and now is Ichabod. The Dwyer family is the same one that owns the I.T. wireless company in Fort Myers, it is in Fiddlesticks area. On a forum or on an internet article about Dwyer's selling, they mentioned that this Dwyer person is super rich and has the largest house in Ft Myers.
As for the areas I am referring, to I guess I can only speak for Fiddlesticks, and the Cypress/Six Mile something Walmart area.
I understand about the social caliber, but I know my social caliber and am accustomed to the type of person who fits it. Theoretically the people at this place fit it but I felt ignored and excluded. Again could just be that job, after all it was a family business. I don't know. Thanks for writing
"On most professional level jobs, the minorites were secretaries or worked in the cafeteria (with a few odd exceptions) and if you were a profl minority you found yourself hanging out with the cafeteria workers because you were marginalized by the "environment" there."
Who's fault is that though? You go to college, get a good job, no matter what color... everyone has the opportunity.
Yes everyone does, but some companies exclude people they don't want working there on the basis of race, sex whatever, even though it is illegal. And since it didn't happen so much in California, when I see a company like that nowadays it leads me to think there is discrimination in their hiring practices.
I am in my mid 40's as well and when i was a little girl, in NJ, I KNOW it was discrimination in hiring practices. But that was 25 years ago. Nowadays things are much better, and I was taken aback to see what appeared to be that kind of discrimination in that company nowadays.
Actually it was more that department. The other departments did have more minorities. I know with programming part of it is there are just more males doing it - I know that. I used to help hiring programmers. But at this co they were so "carbon copy" of each other in this one department.
Fiddlesticks is Old School here. I've lived here since '97, born in Atlanta, lived in New Orleans and worked in LA.
If you want upscale, Naples is your best bet. Look for newer construction and a gated community and you'll do fine.
Fort Myers used to be called Fort Misery, for a reason. Most of the people are from Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. A lot of them came down t care for their aging parents because they had no job and/or a big drug problem or were running from the law, or all of the above.
Zero Class. Very little taste. A lot of snobbery from the old timers. Everybody else watches too much reality tv, and god forbid you ever set foot in any of the clubs in downtown Fort Myers - underage drinkers and tacky tacky stripper-wannabe's.
And it goes down hill from there.
So I recommend taking the first job offer in any major market other than here.ood luck.
G
hey, thanks for the tip. What do you mean it is Old School. It used to be the upscale place but now it is not? Can you elaborate?
EVERY city and region is different in culture, food, social class, economic class, etc. Yes, Ft Myers sucks. Like most of southwest Florida, it really doesn't have a cultural and family history that goes back very far. No one sets roots there to raise a family. Drugs everywhere and it's too hot. The cops in SWFL will tell you... "South Florida attracts the transients of society." It's a nice place to visit, not live. Go back to LA, the home prices have dropped and will crash further in 2009-2010 with the new housing collapse... Option ARMs are to reset in those years. 50-70% of those will go into foreclosure. So pack your bags and drive back to Gangland.
Hi
Wel back to LA is not an option unfortunately. What happens with Ca though is that even with the crash, the areas close in are still looking at 600K prices. It just seems that Ca prices don't go but so low. "Low" for LA is 550K - for a standard "garden variety: house. We are professional people with good earning potential but we can't swing that.
Patchy doesn't even begin to describe it. You have no idea who your neighbors are. You could be in a gorgeous gated community and have a neighbor who is a drug dealer or be a victim of a home invasion.
People are just odd there. I had lots of friends when I lived up north. Lived in Fort Myers for 10 years and did not have one friend. Been up in Knoxville for three years and have made more friends than I could ever have imagined.
Sorry, brokerdave, but your age theory does not hold up. I'm 47.
Fort Myers is low rent. I've always wondered about anyone that likes it. Perhaps if you are a retiree.
Goldtaffeta, get out while you can.
Thanks for the info. You know, it's interesting because people said that about LA too. That it is "patchy". You could think you were in a nice neighborhood, and then go around the corner and it looks like gangland. Or, because the whole West is newer, you could be in a bad neighborhood and it doesn't LOOK bad the way bad neighborhoods tend to look bad in the east. (For example, East LA - there are many parts that look very nice - clean, etc. It is not run down looking. )
But Ft Myers seems even worse. I don't know. It's weird. At least in LA the truly truly bad areas are all pretty much set off - South Central and East LA. There are patches elsewhere but it still doesn't seem as bad a Ft Myers.
Goldtaffeta,
Your observations are good. I tried my best living in the Ft. Myers area for three years before I left. I was never able to get a handle on it either. I didn't hate it but found there was nothing I was able to attach myself to. Meeting people was easy enough but found establishing friendships was elusive.
I moved on before the real estate "crash" so I consider myself fortunate.
Exactly. I don't hate it either, I just don't feel like I can get a handle on it or "hitch" myself to anything. I do meet people as well but close friendships are difficult.
And again, LA is famous for "people are not friendly" "everyone in LA is lonely" "It is hard to make friends, and you don't know your neighbors." But the different thing about LA people is, I found out that they key is to JOIN things. Once you are in a club, job, association, or something with them, they ARE friendly. Like on a job, they are friendly. Or if you join a team, or take salsa classes, whatever, that is where you see them open up and get friendly. You just don't tend to make friends with neighbors or just naturally. But here, even on my job and my husband's team they are all standoffish and to themselves. I don't know.
I was in Naples for 10 years and it is not multicultural. Anyone with non-white skin works in service or landscaping. Yes some of the bank tellers are non-white but that's it. It's old white and rich.
Broward Co. would suit you socially, it has been multicultural for 2 generations or more, also Palm Beach County, where I grew up. Skip the Boca area, it's east coast Naples.
There is really nowhere on the east coast like California, Colorado is the nearest thing. Sarasota went for Obama so you might consider that area but probably not Tampa. Sarasota is youunger, hipper, greener, etc. Just stay away from Longboat Key (Naples-like but even older).
Hi Thanks for the info. I am glad you said that because the Tampa job fell through so my husband got the job in Tamarac. So we are looking for a place in Broward or WPB - within driving distance.
I just had a few interviews in Plantation and a few other places - one in Coral Gables (far but it would just be PT so I wouldn't have to make the commute every day).
You are right about naples. It is not multicultural at all. It is the rich people and the people who serve them - that's it. But - well - at least the time I spent with campagning for Obama, going into some of these rich people's houses for events etc., they were super nice. In general people were very friendly but my experience was very short. I love the restaurants and the parks though.
Sorry to come across as crass but that is what makes Naples paradise. Crime is low (relatively speaking) and the standard of living is high. There is nothing wrong with an all white community because we are happy hear.
If you want to be apart of the Obama crowd then stick with Miami, Tampa, or Sarasota.
Yep crime is low in naples. My husband's uncle told us - you can go walking at night - and I did. And I found the people friendly enough but I was not there long enough. It is beautiful and I loved the parks and recreation. But there are no jobs for people like my husband and me.
I don't want to be part of "the Obama crowd" (I know your post was not directed at me) per se, but I like it when there are a mixture of cultures - Indian, Russian, Persian, whatever - at least to some degree. That is how I am. YMMV
I am not a racist, but since crime tends to correlate with certains other things, sometimes race, I would choose against living in certain neighborhoods because of the crime, and probably statisticlly those areas would be disproportionately Hispanic or black. But it wouldn't be because of the race - it would be because of the crime.
That is another thing I should mention - it is not true that being all white is what make Naples paradise if you are talking about being a safe place to live. In S CA you can be in a multicultural area and it is not high crime. I lived in Sherman Oaks, Studio City, etc., and there were people from all over the world. And those areas are not high crime - they are nice areas.
If only home prices would go down in Ca I would love to go bk but I just don't see it happening. Taht's what makes it bad - you can't get any traction there unless you bought a house there in the 70's.
What does that mean? "and in the Walmart were people who looked - some of them middle class, and others who looked, shall we say, deep deep south - like with the comb stuck in the back of their hair? "
Who are you referring to?
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