Moving to Fort Myers area from NJ (Country Club, Cypress Lake: apartment, rentals)

[drrusel]

Hi,
I am looking to move to the fort myers area due to a job offer. I have a few questions and would appreciate any advise anyone would be able to provide. I have a two year old and one on the way. My I want to eventually purchase a house in the estero or fort myers area.

1. What are the best schools in the fort myers area including estero. (both private and public)
a. prechool
b. elementary
c. H.S.

2. At what age can you put a child in preschool in Florida.

3. Where is the best place to rent a short term apartment until I purchase a home. (I prefer gated communities in both fort myers and estero area)

4. What are property taxes like in these areas?

5. What are insurance rates in these areas?

6. I need to purchase a car is it better to purchase a car from Florida or before i move- from NJ?

7. How is car insurance rates there

8. What are the restrictions in car tints?

9. What are good excutive gated communities in these areas. I am looking to spend around $500,000

[mbtrom]

Your questions depend so much on where you will be working. Fort Myers is very spread out and you may want to be close to work. You should definitely focus on family-oriented communities. Only some have a lot of children. Gateway in Fort Myers has lots of kids but it is near the interstate. Public schools are not very good. The word is that Edison Park is one of the best elementary but Fort Myers has school choice and you may not get in there. As for private, many of the schools are religious-based and it depends on what you follow. Non-religious private schools are Canterbury, Noonan Academy and Crestwell. I think pre-K is 4 years old. Most of the private schools have full-day pre-k programs. Hope this helps a little.

[mbtrom]

Also, you may want to rent a small house instead of an apartment. There is so much available down here because of the market. Many people would be willing to do month-to-month rentals. Car insurance will be cheaper then NJ. we pay about $1000 per car but it depends on so many factors. Property taxes are probably much cheaper then NJ too. They depend on the assessed value of the home multiplied by the millage rate. Look at the website for the town you are interested in to get the rate.

[Obxnc7]

We also moved a short time ago to Fort Myers. I have researched schools a lot. If you can at all afford it, go private. There is no comparrison between the public and private schools in this area in my opinion. There are some private schools that are not religion based, but a lot of them are. The other poster said that Noonan is not religion based, but I believe it is. You can go the Catholic route there or a Christian route that doesn't teach Catholic doctrine. (They have two different religion classes, but faith is taught in the school.) The public schools are in debt, and from what I have been hearing are going to cut music, art, and most extra-curricular acitivites for next year. I'm not sure if this is a for sure thing, but I know there has been talk of it. The charter schools are OK, but in my opinion very big and chaotic at times. Pre-schools start at age 3 or 4, but I don't think they are required by the state. If you are searching for a particular type of school, I would be glad to help. Do your research though....we are on our third school since moving here. But as the saying goes....the third times always a charm!

As far as living goes....Gateway is nice. It is in Fort Myers and it is near the interstate, but it's not like the freeway runs through your backyard. There are gated communities in Gateway. Paseo is also gated in Fort Myers and very nice. There is a development called Marsh Landing to the south of Fort Myers, I belive in Estero or Bonita, that I have heard good things about. Good Luck....we enjoy it here...don't let some of the posts discourage you.

[drrusel]

Thank you for your response. As far as school goes I am looking for my 2 1/2 year old for a few days a week- any reccomendation is welcome. As far as communities- is this a good time to buy? If so how much less is the actual selling price from the asking price.

[drrusel]

private schools are ok.. as long as they are good. I would like to stay away from religious base schools.

[Obxnc7]

It all depends on where you live. Canterbury school is not religion based. I believe it runs PK through 12th grade, but you will pay a hefty price to attend there. I'm not sure at what age they start pre-school, or how much it is, but as you get into elementary and high school, you are looking at big bucks to send your kid to school there. I have checked it out and it looks good...but it seems like a heck of a lot of money for what they offered. People do have a lot of good to say about it, but when I checked into different competitions throughout the county, such as math day, science fairs, ect. I noticed that not many of their students placed. I have found some of the older private schools in the area to be a bit out dated, but they seem to hold good reputations. There are two Christian schools that are PK-12th grade that are excellent, but you may not be interested if you are trying to stay away from religion. Just remember to look for a school that is growing, and has up to date textbooks and technology, and offers a solid curriculum all around. In my opinion, the Christian schools offered the hardest and most competetive curriculum for my child. They also offered a lot of bells and ringers that the other private schools did not, and they had very nice building and campuses. The Brown Academy is new and located in Gateway. It is for birth to I believe Kindergarten or 1st grade. It is new, and state of the art and apparently has a good bit to offer. (Library, gym, swimming pool, music room.) They use a hands on approach a lot which is good for young kids. Not a lot of paper work for them, but they do discovery play. I have heard good things about them. They offer dance, gymnastics, karate, swimming, and a lot of other acitivites for children beyond the normal. They are not religion based, but celebrate all holidays. Once you know where you are going to live, you can narrow it down, based on how far away you want to drive.
I believe houses are going for a lot lower than the asking price. That is what I am hearing, anyway. Put in a offer....down here, you just never know.

[suzannef]

The best place to live in Fort Myers is toward downtown called the River District, near the Edison/Ford Winter Estates....zip code 33901. BEAUTIFUL area, safe, family friendly, within biking/walking distance to golf course, tennis court, pool at the old Fort Myers Country Club which is now public. The Edison Bar/Restaurant is the neighborhood spot, think of Cheers - really. VERY pleasant living around here. More character, charm and historic than the brand new/cookie cutter communities.

The top two elem schools are here - Edison Park Elem & Allen Park ELem. The top high school in Lee county is Fort Myers High - absolutely amazing and again, this is all within the River District. Check out the homes West of McGregor Boulevard - wonderful neighborhoods and within your price range. Doctors, lawyers, dentists, top business execs all live in this area. You will find that the majority of the families in this area use the public schools - Edison Park, Allen Park, Cypress Lake Middle, Fort Myers High. Not as many go for the private schools, even if they can afford them.

Excellent preschools: Bright Beginnings, The Learning Tree or First United Methodist downtown.

Good luck!

[independent man]

As someone considering a move to the Ft. Myers area soon, I'm finding the River District of Ft Myers the most interesting in my research. Coming from New England, you get used to seeing and living in good architecture. From what I can tell this describes the historic areas around downtown and then south along McGregor Blvd. The home prices, while not as low as many of the newer areas, do seem surprisingly reasonable for what you get. Also, downtown looks terrific, if still a little deserted.

What are the down sides (if any) to buying a home in the River District? Traffic? Noise? Or is it as nice as it looks?

[hiknapster]

I have always liked the area because I'm from New England and prefer older homes, which are few in southwest Florida. Knock-down-and-build is normal and makes me flinch.

However, that area does lay next to a high-crime area and there are issues. It needs to be said.