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Old 11-07-2010, 10:45 PM
 
4 posts, read 40,701 times
Reputation: 11

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dont come anywhere near Miami Dade or Broward County! I live in an area thats touched up too!!! When you get here in Miami, you'll know what I'm talking about. They shoot AK-47's for fun. The other night, they shot three lady's for nothing! They robbed them, then left them to die! It was too late for them. Miami is messed up!!! 20 million times worse than anything in FLORIDA!!!! They killed 2 kids a year ago from a drug shoot out! Miami is just to come and visit a week or less, then haul ass!!!! They will murder you and your girl if they see you with a map!

 
Old 11-08-2010, 02:19 AM
 
Location: on the edge of Sanity
14,268 posts, read 18,825,160 times
Reputation: 7982
Quote:
Originally Posted by faithfulFrank View Post
I love debating Theistic Epistemology and Christian Apologetics....but we must stick to the topic.......the good and bad of Ft. Myers......

Frank
Wow, impressive! I thought the most common religion in Florida was monosyllabism.
 
Old 11-12-2010, 02:40 PM
 
Location: Toronto, Ottawa Valley & Dunedin FL
1,409 posts, read 2,728,942 times
Reputation: 1170
So are there nice areas in Ft. Myers that aren't gated, are reasonably central and don't cost an arm and a leg?
 
Old 11-12-2010, 08:19 PM
 
Location: Fort Myers FL/ Ottawa ON
1,210 posts, read 3,269,302 times
Reputation: 494
Toronto! I am so jealous...you got those direct flights right into SWF. Best I can do from Ottawa is direct into Tampa in-season only. I will actually be in TO next weekend.

So Wwanderer, have you been to the area before? I strongly advise not locking on to one artificially defined area such as Fort Myers, which is a city within Lee County, which is one of 3 counties in SWF...unless you are moving there for a specific job or something. Think in terms of SWF being one metropolitan area, like the Toronto region. Start with a one or two week vacation, drive around, a lot.

What's the hang-up with gated? My advice is that unless you really know what you are doing and are intimate with local conditions, you should not go with non-gated, especially in Fort Myers, which being a real American city, has the best and so called worst of neighbourhoods, sometimes in very close proximity. If gated is a hang up, maybe think more in terms of Cape Coral or further south. Gated in FM is just fine, especially in the Daniels Corridor.

What do you mean by "central"? Do you mean near the action? restaurants and shopping? There is the historic downtown, then Daniels @ Tamiami Trail as focal points and the next would be Coconut Point in Estero, then Naples 5th Avenue.

What is your comfort zone for price? There are $10m dollar homes along the river and $40k walkup flats in the burbs? After Toronto prices it will take some time for you to reorient to seeing what sells for 600k in Toronto listed for 150k in SWF.

Please check out the FAQ if not done so already and let us know what your experiences are, turn offs and turn ons, what are your interests (beach, boat, golf, tennis, nature, kayaking, bicycling, arts, dog racing, body piercing ; - ) )?
 
Old 11-13-2010, 01:27 PM
 
Location: Toronto, Ottawa Valley & Dunedin FL
1,409 posts, read 2,728,942 times
Reputation: 1170
Thanks, I will check out the FAQs when I find them (there's a lot of reading to do on this board.)

We're coming down for 4 days just to look around. Been through the SWF area before once, but briefly; I know the central and east coast better, my mom wintered around Daytona for many years.

We're looking for a snowbird spot for the winters. No rush, we don't expect to buy in that short a time, believe me. Looking for something under $100K.

I have been poring over the MLS listings for everywhere from Naples to Tarpon Springs, so I am beginning to get a feel for what money can buy. We're not looking for much, a little place, not far from water would be nice, but walkable. I don't expect Toronto, but neither of us does the suburbs. I love parts of rural Florida, believe me, but don't want to live there

So the "gated" thing for me means isolation and suburbia I guess. And lack of safety generally--I don't want to live in a place where people are fearful.
 
Old 11-13-2010, 02:18 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,033,362 times
Reputation: 13612
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wwanderer View Post
We're not looking for much, a little place, not far from water would be nice, but walkable. I don't expect Toronto, but neither of us does the suburbs. I love parts of rural Florida, believe me, but don't want to live there
This might be a bit harder to find than you realize. Florida isn't very walkable, in general, and has the worst rate of pedestrian and bicycle accidents in the country. You'll have to settle for a subdivision community, and even most of those don't have sidewalks. The South isn't big on sidewalks.

When looking for something similar to Toronto but near the water, Tampa comes to mind, but crime is going to be sky high, compared to Toronto. And the vibe is nothing like Toronto, but it will have some city amenities.

And anytime you start getting near the water it is expensive as I'm sure you've noticed.
 
Old 11-14-2010, 09:37 AM
 
Location: Fort Myers FL/ Ottawa ON
1,210 posts, read 3,269,302 times
Reputation: 494
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wwanderer View Post
We're not looking for much, a little place, not far from water would be nice, but walkable. I don't expect Toronto, but neither of us does the suburbs.

So the "gated" thing for me means isolation and suburbia I guess. And lack of safety generally--I don't want to live in a place where people are fearful.
I don't think walkable near the beach anywhere in Florida for under 100k is doable - unless maybe there are some deals on the pan handle due to the oil spill.

I spent most of my life looking for that mythical beach town and where it does sort of exist, they start at 300k for a small apartment for what you have in mind....

- South Beach
- Naples
- Palm Beach
- Gasparilla - more of a small quaint tourist/beach town

in order of urban intensity

Often there is a "nice" town, but the beach is a couple or a few miles away, like St. Augustine or St. Petes downtown or Tampa, or the town that is at the beach is way past its best before date, like Daytona. Anyway, anything north of Lake Okeechobee is useless for reliable pool weather in the key months you need to escape winter.

I once took a hard look at Galveston Texas, which had some great century homes within blocks of a great beach, which they were pretty much giving away, but Texas is cold three months of the year, catches those mid-continent cold fronts (so gets much colder than Florida locations at the same latitude), which is not what you want for a second home or snowbirding, and I correctly assessed the risk of a hurricane as being too high, given what happened. Being within walking distance of the coast means you have the risk of storm surge and the certainty of high insurance costs.

I think for 200k you might find something small on FM Beach which has a grocery store that is across the road from the beach. The closer to the pier, the more blue collar beach-towny it gets. I like it, but my wife does not. Depends on your snob factor. No Starbucks (to my knowledge), if that tells you anything. As you drift down the coast, the near-beach prices skyrocket, and its very sub-urban until you get to Naples, which is barely urban. There is also downtown FM, but no beach nearby, and is close to iffy neighbourhoods.

North, I think its pretty much an urban or beach hotel wasteland till you get to Sarasota, and there the quasi interesting stuff is inland, though I have yet to see an urban core in Sarasota. I adore St. Petes historic downtown and bordering century home neighbourhoods, but it is bay side and you need a car to get to the beach 5 minutes across town. Tampa bay is however scary from the point of view of worst case storm surge risk, if a hurricane hits it at the right angle one day.

The other direction to go in, given that the real thing either does not exist or has a million dollar price tag, is to go with ersatz New Urbanism, like Seaside, Celebration & Baldwin Park in Orlando, or my neighbourhood, Paseo. Seaside is the only one directly on a beach, but has become expensive and is up on the cold panhandle. Orlando has a number of choices, but is an hour from the beach, but getting there is easy from Toronto and its a good location for getting short term rental income 4 seasons.

ok, I will shut up now
 
Old 11-14-2010, 04:35 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,033,362 times
Reputation: 13612
Quote:
Originally Posted by kroeran View Post

The other direction to go in, given that the real thing either does not exist or has a million dollar price tag, is to go with ersatz New Urbanism, like Seaside, Celebration & Baldwin Park in Orlando, or my neighbourhood, Paseo. Seaside is the only one directly on a beach, but has become expensive and is up on the cold panhandle. Orlando has a number of choices, but is an hour from the beach, but getting there is easy from Toronto and its a good location for getting short term rental income 4 seasons.

ok, I will shut up now
No, don't shut up. That's close to dead on, in my opinion. My only quibble is it is NOT that much colder just north of Okochobee. I lived in Orlando through two winters and didn't find it to be much different than Fort Myers, if at all. I suspect that when you visited Orlando you encountered unusual weather.

Paseo is a great walkable community, but it is probably not going to be what the poster has in mind as "urban," it still is at least 35 minutes to the beach, under the best of circumstances, and I don't think there is anything over there going for $100,000?
 
Old 11-14-2010, 08:19 PM
 
Location: Fort Myers FL/ Ottawa ON
1,210 posts, read 3,269,302 times
Reputation: 494
Quote:
Originally Posted by hiknapster View Post
No, don't shut up. That's close to dead on, in my opinion. My only quibble is it is NOT that much colder just north of Okochobee. I lived in Orlando through two winters and didn't find it to be much different than Fort Myers, if at all. I suspect that when you visited Orlando you encountered unusual weather.

Paseo is a great walkable community, but it is probably not going to be what the poster has in mind as "urban," it still is at least 35 minutes to the beach, under the best of circumstances, and I don't think there is anything over there going for $100,000?
sure, but generally people start out with an intention that does not line up with reality, as we all did, and then they have to start making tradeoffs and maybe preparing to shell out more than they expected.

I get your point, but just because some says they want to spend 100k, or be 15 minutes from the beach (harking back to that other post), I am not going to limit my advice to their limited and unrealistic opening comments.

by the way, last trip down I did test the driving time, and it was 15 minutes from the gate to the bridge, with no crazy driving, just following traffic! I have no idea why google maps says its 35 minutes, which is closer to how long it takes me to get to Naples.

the thing is I fully get the urban thing, and for SWF a lot of that type ends up at Paseo, which does have a relatively urban density and vibe compared to most other areas. Its mostly urban people, very dog intensive (who doesn't have a dog!), with a smattering of "alternate lifestyle" dudes that feel totally comfortable with the culture of the place, which is an indication of something.
 
Old 11-14-2010, 11:22 PM
 
Location: on the edge of Sanity
14,268 posts, read 18,825,160 times
Reputation: 7982
Quote:
Originally Posted by kroeran View Post
I don't think walkable near the beach anywhere in Florida for under 100k is doable - unless maybe there are some deals on the pan handle due to the oil spill.
Regarding "walkable" and "near the beach" I do agree the choices will be very limited.

So much depends on what's important to the buyer. I know several people who live in quaint 800 sf cottages or singlewide mobile homes in FL because they like an area and are willing to give up the luxury home or townhouse to live near the beach. It's a personal choice, not much different from anywhere else. Of course, if you have a family, then you really need the space, and a yard is always nice for kids. However, people in other states often commute well over an hour to get to work. I mean, when I lived in Boston many years ago, a 1 room efficiency near Faneuil Hall cost more than a 3/2 house in many suburbs. It's all about supply & demand and, of course, "location, location, location."

Just an additional thought ~ when I first moved to Florida I got a kick out of the ads that said "on lake" and the house would be overlooking a drainage ditch. I guess everyone wanted to say they moved to Florida and bought a house on the water.
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