Estero (Fort Myers, Country Club, Bonita Springs: for sale, salons, city hall)

[FrankieDNY]

Hello,

I am looking for some information on Estero. I have heard many positive things about the areas and I was wondering what everyone's opinion on it were? Do you feel it's a safe place to raise a family? How is the cost of living? Are there jobs? Etc......

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you and have a great day!

[jdub2447]

Estero is right outside Fort Myers, the place I've grown up. It's a nice area. It's basically South Fort Myers. There's not much to do outside of shopping/eating out/going to the beach (just like everywhere else in SWFL), but it's a nice area to live and raise a family. Cost of living has come down recently like everywhere else. However, the job situation is pretty dire in this area. Unless you're a specialist that has lots of experience/education/high demand for your service, jobs are hard to come by these days....

[LewLew]

I hear that Estero is the next upcoming area. You would most likely work in Naples/Bonita or Ft Myers living in Estero. Lots of medical plazas, but otherwise, not a lot of work in Estero.

We are selling our home in Estero, and for what you get, it's a steal. The one reason we bought here was the size of the home, the quality, and the land. We have 1/2 acre that we fenced in, and have a custom built home with lots of extras. The house is 2300 sq feet and we are selling under 300K. The tax appraiser reappraised our house, and still has it at 300K for property taxable value. Therefore, as you can see, you can get a great deal, and live in an area that is not overly populated yet.

Most of the area is in a B flood zone as well, which will save you on property taxes. We really like the area, as it is still convenient to all of Ft Myers.

[tjstrain]

zip 33928 great place to live. short commute to everywhere. Since there aren't a lot of older communities there/here, you don't have quite the low rent districts that bring in the rif raf. But it's not far away. Lots of new housing, malls, supermarkets, banks, you name it, it's being built now in Estero. No Hospitals, but walk in emergency care units also.

[pervinder]

Originally Posted by LewLew

I hear that Estero is the next upcoming area. You would most likely work in Naples/Bonita or Ft Myers living in Estero. Lots of medical plazas, but otherwise, not a lot of work in Estero.

We are selling our home in Estero, and for what you get, it's a steal. The one reason we bought here was the size of the home, the quality, and the land. We have 1/2 acre that we fenced in, and have a custom built home with lots of extras. The house is 2300 sq feet and we are selling under 300K. The tax appraiser reappraised our house, and still has it at 300K for property taxable value. Therefore, as you can see, you can get a great deal, and live in an area that is not overly populated yet.

Most of the area is in a B flood zone as well, which will save you on property taxes. We really like the area, as it is still convenient to all of Ft Myers.

hi LewLew..i'm going to be relocating to the Fort Myers area within a year...am undecided about area to live , in a house ..i see that you have yours up for sale ..is it still for sale ? .. i would like to discuss this further , if it's still on the market ...you could perhaps send a Direct message to me ... i do not have a Realtor , as yet.. i see that SoFlGal is on your list of friends , but i beleive that she does not cover the area of Fort Myers [ and south of it ]

[justNancy]

Interesting comments. I'm chuckling at the "up and coming" comment after living in Southwest Florida for about 15 years. Yes, there's been quite a change in the past decade. But it's still not much of a city, that is, unless you think of golf course communities and large shopping malls as "up and coming." However, Estero is in a very convenient location only 20-30 minutes to Naples and 10-15 minutes to Fort Myers. There is also a very nice outlet mall called Miromar Outlets and a large arena where there are events like ice skating shows, concerts and hockey games. Many superstars have performed there as well.

When I first moved to Bonita Springs in 1996, I thought of Estero as the area of cows I passed on the way to Fort Myers. It was mostly undeveloped except for some communities like Country Creek, Breckenridge (right on the Estero, Ft Myers border) and The Vines (now called Estero Country Club) which are all nice communities. Then the housing market exploded and some very exclusive developments changed that small town image. West Bay Club was one of them. Miromar Lakes came next. (and several in-between) Suddenly, everywhere you looked there was construction. The population of Southwest Florida soared and suddenly Estero went from a tiny town of about 5,000 to over 9,000 by 2000. I think it's now about 38,000 although there are higher estimates. Keep in mind that many people in Florida only live here for a few months and the population increases substantially in the winter. This site shows the year-round population vs the total population in months like Feb & March. Estero, Florida demographics

However, as much as the population has grown, AFAIK Estero is still unincorporated with no municipal boundaries, and I do not believe Estero has a City Hall or Police Department and is governed by Lee County. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Estero really doesn't have a town center or downtown area. Bonita Springs also has no downtown area, although there was a major project planned, but the developer backed out due to the poor economy. Much of Florida is like this, however, where the main gathering place is a shopping center or mall.

One newer development in Estero that is very impressive is Coconut Point. It is huge and looks like a town by itself as you're driving up route 41. There are many stores and restaurants as well as salons and movie theaters. There is a Barnes & Noble, Panera Bread, Starbucks and World Market. There is also a very nice Hyatt Regency across route 41.

One of the prettiest state parks is in Estero. I always feared that developers would destroy the natural beauty around us. If you're visiting the area, I highly recommend you go to the Estero Bay Preserve and go canoeing on the Estero River. (wear insect repellent!) It's amazing how many people have lived in Florida for years and have never visited a State Park.

Hope this helps. I'm starting to get homesick.

Good luck!