Which areas in Fort Myers have low crime? (Cape Coral, Naples: rent, cheap house)

[MovingOnAgain]

Hi - We will be moving to the Fort Myers area in a few months. We are looking to buy a cheap house. We don't care as much about the condition of the house (we plan to fix it up) as we do location. Fort Myers has higher than avg crime statistics. Can anyone give me some insight as to which areas are OK, and which have more crime? Can you break it out by zipcode or areas? Thanks in advance for your help.

[mytimenow]

search the Lee County Sheriff's site -- you'll have to google it, I don't know it. I believe they have crime statistics for the various areas of town there. You could also check the local paper's website -- it's the Fort Myers News Press

[LewLew]

I would say Ft Myers East of 95 has the highest crime stats. Right now, Cape Coral is ranking higher than usual on petty crimes and burglary (mainly due to all the empty homes). There are pockets of 33919 that are not great, and an area far west on Gladiolus (not sure of the zip) is not good.
Other than that, you can expect relative safety. As with any area, just be smart when you are out alone at night. Lots of Ft Myers is full of gated communities. However, gates do not keep out crime, and are relatively easy to get into unless there is a guard. Remember that they only deter and don't feel a false sense of safety b/c of them.
33908 towards Estero is good. There is less crime the further south of downtown you are. Close to Estero there are very low crime stats. 2 cops and the Fire Chief live on my street. It's still Ft Myers as Broadway cuts into Estero.

[MovingOnAgain]

Ty, myytimenow for a quick response. I did google the Sheriff's office. Here's the link: http://www.sheriffleefl.org/
I might be a bit slow here but it didn't help me. It does have one section: "Incidents by location" where you can type in street name & it will tell you police reports on that street. However, for someone from out of town, it is difficult to interpret. Similarly, the newspaper reports a lot of crime but it doesn't tell me what the individual areas are like.
I did find a lot of crime statistics on the Ft. Myers police site but that is for the city as a whole, not by area.
So.... I am asking for an informal opinion, from those who live there, which parts of the city are safest?
Thanks again.

[MovingOnAgain]

Ty Lewlew. That's really helpful. In our price range, it won't be a gated community, lol. A lot of the cheaper houses are in 33905 and 33916. Is one area safer than the other?

[Roadrunner69]

Hey Moving, try 33907 alot of nice places in the Villas neighborhood and centrally located to everything. LewLew where is 95 I think you may have meant 75 and I think the crime is higher west of the interstate. Look around the Villas elementary school there are older homes that would be lower fixer uppers. Stay away from anything in Pine Manor (Crime Manor) very high crime area in the same zip but on the other side of US 41.

[tjstrain]

try 33928, 33967 Estero and the southern most area of Ft Myers. Watch out for monthly fee if your looking in communities with homeowner associations. Come down, rent first so you get to know the area. We did that 10 years ago, and damn glad we did. Rented for 10 months until the perfect house, price and location came up.

[LewLew]

Originally Posted by LewLew

I would say Ft Myers East of 95 has the highest crime stats. Right now, Cape Coral is ranking higher than usual on petty crimes and burglary (mainly due to all the empty homes). There are pockets of 33919 that are not great, and an area far west on Gladiolus (not sure of the zip) is not good.
Other than that, you can expect relative safety. As with any area, just be smart when you are out alone at night. Lots of Ft Myers is full of gated communities. However, gates do not keep out crime, and are relatively easy to get into unless there is a guard. Remember that they only deter and don't feel a false sense of safety b/c of them.
33908 towards Estero is good. There is less crime the further south of downtown you are. Close to Estero there are very low crime stats. 2 cops and the Fire Chief live on my street. It's still Ft Myers as Broadway cuts into Estero.

I aplogize; I did mean 75, and actually Lehigh has very high crime stats. Our realtor also told us when we moved here, not to go east of 75 whether it be by Ft Myers or Naples. You pay more for homes the closer they are to the beach; but I do know that doesn't mean less crime.
33908 is still my choice, and covers a very large area. MovingonAgain, I'll pull up those zips and let you know.

[LewLew]

Originally Posted by MovingOnAgain

Ty Lewlew. That's really helpful. In our price range, it won't be a gated community, lol. A lot of the cheaper houses are in 33905 and 33916. Is one area safer than the other?

What is your range b/c I wouldn't recommend either of those areas really. I guess I'd say 33905 might be slightly better than 916.
33912 has some good deals and is relatively ok as well.
Good luck to you. Go to this site, and you can search on all zips with little maps, and a list of all the areas. I think you have to click on Search for a Home.
www.newhomefever.net

[MovingOnAgain]

Ty Lew Lew. Great site.