Where to live in Southwest Florida? (Cape Coral, Tamiami: for sale, apartment complexes, rentals)

[cinder26]

I was hoping someone could give me some advice as to what it is like to live in Southwest Florida, and which city would be most appropriate for me.

I am 23 and recently landed a job with a company located in Estero, FL. I have lived in Berlin, Germany for the last year- obviously I do not want to move directly into a retirement community which would be a hard transition from Berlin. I understand there are several cities right around Estero, including Bonita Springs and Ft. Myers. Income would be between 40-50k so I will have to keep costs in mind as well.

Simply, where would be a good place to look for an apartment keeping the community, costs, and commute to and from work in mind? Any new apartment complexes that are reasonably priced? One community that would have a much higher percentage of younger adults around opposed to a retirement community? I have never even been to Florida before, so I would appreciate any information I can get. Thanks!

In addition: what is the traffic like down there?

[Nirvana-Guy]

I'd say nowhere in South FL! Move to Central or North Florida. South Florida just sucks... it is unsafe and expensive.

[summers19]

Estero is a nice area. You may want to look for an apartment around the Florida Gulf Coast University area. You'll be around younger people and the rent will be more afforable. FGCU is fairly close to Estero.

[Jon F Moss]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

I'd say nowhere in South FL! Move to Central or North Florida. South Florida just sucks... it is unsafe and expensive.

congratulations on your job! Please ignore this silly suggestion

[djmanu]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

I'd say nowhere in South FL! Move to Central or North Florida. South Florida just sucks... it is unsafe and expensive.

He just said he's young and do not want to go into a retirement community ...
If you like to party, South Florida is for you!

[jim09091]

I'm 25 & I live in Bonita Beach (Bonita Springs). This whole area is changing and although there are a lot of retirees and older people there is also an influx of younger people beginning to move into this area.

The old trend was that when people here would turn 18, many would stay here and be forced into low paying service industry jobs. The others would leave to attend schools in different parts of the state or out of state. They would usually then take a job around that area and wouldn't come back here until they were older.

With the changing area, tremendous growth, money and improvements in education, more and more companies are opening offices here and the jobs are getting better (depending on your field). In turn, many companies are now hiring and paying more than they used to which draws in younger people.

Areas making up SW FL include Cape Coral (150,000 people or so), Fort Myers (city limits - somewhere around 60,000 but many areas outside of the city limits are unincorporated and called Fort Myers so add an addt'l 100,000 people or so), Lehigh Acres (not actually a city and technically unincorporated Lee County - has somewhere between 50,000 - 75,000 people), Estero (2006 local estimate of 25,000 people with an extra 15,000 or so during the winter, Bonita Springs (45,000 people or so year round with an extra 20,000 during the winter), Naples (you will see Naples listed technically as a town of 25,000 people BUT the whole area north of the town to the Lee County line is called Naples and has Naples mailing addresses - although it is technically unincorporated Collier County. This area is somewhere around 300,000 people but grows an additional 125,000 - 150,000 or so people during the winter months), Marco Island (15,000 people or so) and the islands of Sanibel & Captiva (around 6,000 people with an additional 15,000 or so in the wintertime).

As you can see, these are some decent numbers for a place that was not really known about 20 years ago. The metro area itself is over a million now and that has brought a lot of new national retailers into the area.

If I were to recommend a place to you it would be Estero. It is FGCU (Florida Gulf Coast University which has over 8,000 students and is growing exponentially) plus there are two new area outdoor malls (Coconut Point & Gulf Coast Town Center - both have lots of restaurants and both have new, large movie theatres). Estero also has access to two major north-south thoroughfares (Interstate 75 & U.S. 41, also known as Tamiami Trail). The Germain Arena hosts hockey games (our local team is the Florida Everblades) and various concerts. Also, the airport is right in the area (Southwest Florida International - brand new terminal, has all the major carriers and about 7.5 million passengers per year).

The area has a lot of beautiful places and areas and of course the main draw is the weather! For example, this weekend it is supposed to be clear, sunny and around 90. We have ample beaches (although parking can be tough) and lots of bays. I'm into boating so I spend most of my weekends out on a boat either in the bays or out in the Gulf of Mexico.

I will tell you the area is not cheap. There has been a building boom and although the market for sales is soft, prices are up compared to 10 years ago. Rentals used to be abundant until everyone began to convert theirs to condos and put them up for sale. Now, you are beginning to see growth in rentals as people who can't sell their homes or their investment homes/condos for the price they want are renting them out and waiting for the market to rebound a bit.

You really have to see the area and spend some time to see if you will like it or not. It is not for everyone and you will hear some people complain and say they hate it here. There are some disparities between rich and poor, young and old but you will have that in any diverse area that has had huge growth and economic change. I have lived in many places (SE FL, GA, MA to name a few) and have lived in places from a 4,000 person town in Massachusetts to downtown Boston and places in-between. I am from Florida and FL has always been my real home. I loved Boston when I lived there but I did not like the weather, I had no family up there, etc and it wasn't for me.

Good luck, if I think of some more I'll post with some links.

(By the way, I hate everything about Central and North FL. Everyone has their opinion - I did not like it there but then again I lived in GA and did not like that either).

[Arrgh]

Jim09091, that was a great post. I live in SW Fl, moved from NYC 6 years ago and love it. To the young man moving down here, there are plenty of places that are fantastic. I am not exactly sure where Estero is but I can strongly recommend, Sarasota, Venice, or Nokomis. Many of these towns use to be called " Gods' waiting room " but have seen a big change in demographics over the last few years. With an income of 40-50K you do very well for yourself.

[Donna-50]

I agree with Estero also. That is a perfect place for young people.

[JSnFla]

estero is a very nice area....some beautiful new homes and condos around there....bonita beach is great as well

[sickfromredtide]

Originally Posted by Arrgh

Jim09091, that was a great post. I live in SW Fl, moved from NYC 6 years ago and love it. To the young man moving down here, there are plenty of places that are fantastic. I am not exactly sure where Estero is but I can strongly recommend, Sarasota, Venice, or Nokomis. Many of these towns use to be called " Gods' waiting room " but have seen a big change in demographics over the last few years. With an income of 40-50K you do very well for yourself.

I lived in Venice for 10 months and couldn't wait to get out and back to Key West. Its still called God's waiting room, thats all I heard when I was there. I'm in my 40's, there was no one on my block under 60 and the town pretty much shuts down after 9pm. But it is a beautiful place. Estero is not a retirement place, I have friends that have lived there for over 5 years and they love it, they are in thier 30's.