Ft. Myers info (Cape Coral, Sarasota, Lehigh Acres: low income, transplants, real estate market)

[mulesgirl]

My husband and I (couple in early forties, no kids) are moving from Boston to the Ft Myers area this fall. We'd like some feedback on centrally-located safe areas to live. Or areas to avoid! We'll be visiting over Labor Day to check out rentals, so it would be great to have some info before we get there. We plan to rent an affordable condo and then decide where to buy. Also, how is the job market? I'm an accountant and hubby's in real estate. Thanks for any info or advice!

[bamboosmom]

Ft. Myers is a nice area. We are about 40 min. north of there.
The Downtown area is growing and Ft. Myers beach is really nice. The Cape Coral area is booming but has alot of problems right now with the drainage and road work. I wouldn't suggest Cape Coral. The older homes are getting flooded because the newer homes are built on higher ground and all the water runs off into the older homes properties. Now the city commissioners tell the homeowners "it's their problem" to get the drainage fixed. What kind of nonsense is that???
I would stay away from Lehigh Acres. Lots of trouble going on in there.
You always here something negative on the news about that area.
Just do your homework!!! Ft. Myers has its good and bad spots.

[mulesgirl]

Thanks bam, we have a friend in Bonita Springs who I'm hoping will help us get around some. I'm a "big city gal" so I know about crime in Boston, where to avoid. Bad neighborhoods here are easy to spot here, but are bad neghborhoods in FL all palm trees and pastels? Or dirty and run-down like in Boston's bad areas?

[bamboosmom]

Yup, I would stay away from the dirty looking areas. I am going to PM you!

[Nancy Lynne]

Where is a recommended place to live in FL as a single professional mom and my 10 year old son? We are coming from NJ.

thanks

[bamboosmom]

Check out the areas between Ft. Myers and North Port. There are still alot of good home choices available. Also rentals are available too.

[cc871]

mulesgirl...i am planning a move down into that area also... from nj...right now from the info i have i am leaning towards sarasota...i was wondering if there were any particular reasons you picked ft myers over other nearby areas.

[mulesgirl]

cc871 - We are leaning towards Ft Myers because of the Red Sox spring training! (Hubby's choice) There are alot of Boston transplants in that area. My sister lived in the Sarasota area years ago(Pt Charlotte, I think?) and she loved it. I've read good things about Sarasota too. Good luck to you (unless you're a Yankees fan that is)

[parrotnoise]

I wrote about my experiences (good and bad) in a separate thread I started called "My Ft Myers Experience," but here is what I can tell you. Housing cost has increased and it is a bit trickier to find the best bargains on good ones than before the 2004 hurricane due to a fair amount of rebuilding, but there are still good places all over the area.

The whole metro of Ft. Myers/North Ft. Myers/Cape/Bonita Springs etc is interconnected, so there are good and bad pockets in all of these areas. Unlike a city like DC, which has very obvious ghetto areas, SW Florida has little spots of a few blocks here and there in all parts of the cities. When choosing housing, make sure you do a good rundown on what areas back up to your prospective neighborhood. Before anybody blasts me, let me add I really ENJOYED Ft. Myers overall, but crime happened to us in the form of stolen cars in our "nice" neighborhood several times in only 2 years. Some of the apartment complexes do little more than give you "lip service" when it comes to security. A gate on our fence was constantly being jimmied and left unrepaired for weeks. That was the point of entry for criminals to our "nice" fancy community. It is easy to get swayed by palm trees and pools and forget that crime DOES happen here.

I would stay away from anything too close to Edison Mall (lots of low income housing and the "fun" that goes with it) as a general rule, but beyond that you will want to make sure you check with locals and form your own opinions. Neighborhoods can change dramatically in a matter of a few blocks. I'll echo the comments about Lehigh. Seemed like our radio news ALWAYS had a story about trouble every morning there. A few not so great parts of North FM too. When I was there, there was a lot of crime on stretches of Palm Beach Road and Bayshore. Cape Coral has a lot of little pockets that get problems too. The problem is, for criminals bent on stealing, the "good stuff" is in the nice areas. They won't find many nice cars to steal in the dumpy parts of town, so they go looking where the action is.

Having given you all of the bad stuff, I want to be clear that if I were offered another position in my business with the RIGHT salary (knowing what I do now about the ACTUAL cost of living beyond JUST mortgage or rent) I would come back to Ft Myers in a heartbeat. I loved the good points and only left due to a "dream" job offer. I have a lot of friends down there to this day.

[carnut]

Be sure to check the real estate market. If hubby is in real estate, now might not be a good time to come here.

this is a just a friendly warning. The RE market here is Nasty slow!