Moving to Fort Myers !!! (Cape Coral: crime, home, tornadoes)

[hiknapster]

I came from a small town in Mass, so a big city like Orlando was kind of overwhelming. Still, I loved it!

This was back in 1996. I moved to Fort Myers in 1998.

I'd take Orlando over Fort Myers, any day.

It had jobs. It had museums, Lake Eola, and the Orlando Magic. I thought it was very pretty. Often, it took my breath away.

It was kind of bizarre that the city, itself, closed down after hours and on weekends, except for the clubs. You couldn't actually shop for anything on a Saturday morning.

I loved the Southern influence. That's where I learned to love sweet tea, a concotion I had never hear of, before.

You could see the Orlando of days-gone-by back then. Residents could have cared less about the "rat" as they so unaffectionately called Disney. Orlando was a thriving city, more-or-less. The natives were resentful that tourists flocked to Lake Buena Vista but had no idea that Orlando was "The City Beautiful." No local that I knew would ever think of going to I-Drive.

But you could also see the drug culture, and OBT taking hold.

From what I understand, that took over. And over-development, too. And they slammed up against each other. A very bad thing.

I cry for Orlando. I was lucky to know it, for however fleetingly, back "when."

[ladygentleheart1025]

Whats Fort Myers area like? I've lived in Fort Myers for the last 35 years. over the last 5 years, so many changes have evolved. Skyrocketing real estate last year made many of the people who were long timers here move. Whats left with the high costs of fuel? Along with the influx of Hispanics who don't appreciate what we have given them?

Before you throw stones, I'm not saying that's all of them. WE have lived in Lehigh Acres(13 miles east of Fort Myers) since 1999 coming from Cape Coral(Land of the Newlywed and Nearly dead). One trip to our Walmart here on a Sunday will cure you from ever going to Walmart again. Hispanic snotty nosed kids opening packages in the store, trash all over the parking lot, very long lines at the register with that chicken chatter going on and even conversations with English speaking hispanics who can't stand the Columbians and Guatemalans?

Nice day at the store, IF you can find what you want in a sealed package. 2 weekends ago the Sheriffs department conducted a clean up operation for drug houses and illegals. out of 85 arrests, 9 Marijuana operations were closed and 70 of the 85 people arrested were DEPORTED!! Thats a heck of a margin...Needless to say, our house is up for sale. Not all of Fort Myers is that bad, but if you don't have the cash for a $200,000 or higher house,nice car and all your expenses, your chances of living in a great area with kind people is pretty slim....

Sarasota has maintained that artsy image, Arcadia is rebuilding if you like that small town feeling, but knowing what I know about here? Alabama and Tennessee is looking better everyday.

[LostFtMyers]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

First of all, I did lived in south Fort Myers. If you have to live in a gated community to enjoy an area, it's a sad state of affairs.

But here's the rub. I don't consider south Fort Myers "very nice." I do consider Tennessee to be great. Rednecks? I guess you didn't step out of the gated community too often, did you? I'll take polite rednecks over mean rednecks any day.

Oh, and I've lived all over Orlando, too.

hiknapster have you or anyone else ever stop to think why rednecks are ruder in Ft Myers area than they are in TN? My guess would be because us rednecks from Ft Myers area know we have been invaded by people who shouldn't have ever moved there. You have all the people from NY, PA OH and MI moving in and thinking they own the place pushing us who are from there to the side thinking we aren't smart enough to know what's best. They have trashed all the places up there so they come down to Ft Myers doing the same. And I suppose because we are a Right to Work state, we don't have the big bucks needed to step in and say STOP!

It's the same as if somebody from NY decided they were going to move into your home and tell you how things should be. You would get rude real quick if that happen. TN hasn't had that happen yet on the same scale as Ft Myers has. TN people are a proud people same as people who grew up in Ft Myers like myself. And to compound the problem the people from places like that think they need to be rude to get what they want, when they really don't have to be. I found myself being rude to some people, I guess because I constantly felt invaded by unwelcome invaders.

When I was growing up Ft Myers was the best place to live, it was wonderful growing up there and the local government back then only had to look over at the east coast to learn what not to do. Sadly those people are long gone now. Now you only have those who don't care about anything other than filling their wallets and allowing over building with out the infrastructure to support it.
There are more houses sitting empty than there are people living in houses and they still continue to build more?.?
Fort Myers has been lost.

[TKramar]

Originally Posted by homeCMGrown

um i'm pretty sure i picked the WORST website ever to look at before moving to florida. i mean do you guys just hate your lives so much that the only thing you have better to do is try to convince other people moving to florida that they will hate their lives too? like i said before, there are going to be positive and negative aspects of any place you chose to live and it's what you make of it...if there are so many negatives for all of you why did you chose to live there?

Sshh....we're trying to keep OTHER people out of Florida, we secretly love it!

[firemed]

Originally Posted by TKramar

Sshh....we're trying to keep OTHER people out of Florida, we secretly love it!

Thats funny! I have been here all my life and I can't understand why people think we just bash the state. But what the hell, come on down and bring your check book!

[gmaduro2]

I lived in New Jersey my whole life before moving to Fort Myers. I tell anyone that wants to move over here to get ready to be overwhelmed by some of the dumbest people I have ever met. Not only is fort myers filled with dumb people it is filled with racist rednecks, illegal immigrants, and drug dealers. I dont understand why these rednecks care so much about people invading "their land" when Fort Myers has so much land that isnt being used. Being that I live in a good part of Fort Myers I would advise anyone just to move out of Florida. There is no work over here while prices are going up. Atleast in a city like New York or Boston finding a job is fairly easy.

[ohiost8]

hi all! This is an interesting thread and website, and I welcome all input, the good, bad and the ugly. Ever since I was young I've had wanderlust, and always thought there had to be someplace better than the little town I grew up in outside Dayton OH (and believe me, there is). I always wondered why anyone would want to live in die in the same 20 mile vicinity, like my parents will. My good friend "susan" lives in a nice, sleepy suburb outside of Cincinnati. She has lived there her whole life. She is missing out on so much, isn't she??? Anyway I went into the hotel biz, which is a great place for people like me, in it's heyday you could go from place to place like gypsies if you wanted. in 2004 I finally fulfilled my "dream", my husband and I (also a wanderlust kind of person), moved to Tampa FL. Yes, I did research, but you can research anything and find 100 people or websites or booklets telling you how wonderful an area is. 3 1/2 yrs later, we left. Now I see why people would want to live and die in the same area. A sense of community. What I found in Tampa is that, when everyone is from somewhere else, there tends to be a lot of disinterest. Disinterest in the local sports teams (talking high schools, kid sports), disinterest in mom and pop stores (which is why the big box stores do so well), disinterest in finding a trash can so as to not pollute your "home". I'm not from here, why do I care? When you are in your home town, you look at strangers in a grocery store as a friend you just haven't met yet. When you're "not from here", strangers are just that. Strange. I never encountered such rudeness, such a general lack of caring in the people around you.

We've since moved back to the midwest, to that "sleepy little suburb" that my friend "susan" lives in. I had forgotten how friendly midwesterners were. And "susan", I kind of envy her. She has friends who she's known since she was a baby. I have lots of friends too, and can travel the countryside and have friends in many, many places. But few here, though I am working on it again.

Why am I posting here? Well, perhaps it is the water sign in me (scorpio), but I am so drawn to living near water (right now it is the creek in my backyard, or the Ohio River nearby), but I really want a place where I can go on vacation with the kiddies and be near the beach. I want to be a snowbirder in my old age. I have been watcing real estate in Ft Myers for about 6 months now. After reading these posts, I am not sure I have found "the place" now. I don't want another Tampa FL.

[ohiost8]

<<PS..be prepared for lovebug season [May & Oct]. Those are the nasty bugs that are in the pic.[/quote]>>

ok, lovebugs aren't "nasty bugs". Fire ants, those are nasty bugs. They swarm and bite in seconds.

Lovebugs are ANNOYING to be sure, but they don't bite. Ever. They're a little bug that has slowly migrated up to florida from central america, they reproduce (and that is ALL they do), then die off. They will destroy the paint on your car, but they won't hurt you.

[c4sythe]

hello all , anyone familiar with the coral waters apt. moving from chicago with a job lined up and curious about the area . any input will be appreciated . iona area also would be helpful

[NJ~LuLu]

My husband and I first came upon Cape Coral back in 1988. We traveled all over flordia, NC, SC and Ga. We love the water, would have loved to have bought waterfront property, but just could never reach that dream. We vacationed in Sanibel, Ft. Lauderdale, Key west, Miami, Sarasota, Tampa, Pt. Charlotte, Pt. Richey all the while in the back of our minds looking for a place we may want to set up roots for retirement, not to mention Arizona, Maine, NH.
We Chose Cape Coral, Florida. We bought in 1988 across from what is now Coral Woods shopping center, we have seen this "city" grow in leaps and bounds. We had the New press delivered to our home in NJ along with the Breeze so we could keep in touch with the happening of the area. (no internet) Veterans Pkwy did not exist along with the Mid point bridge that may have passed through our sea walled lot in the SE.
Cape Coral pkwy ended before Chiquita, dirt roads or no roads. The South West area opened later.
I will say the infastructure back then was to us amazing, they had this town planned out. However, the peeps who ran the whole shabang, well check into the history.
It was a very community feel that they called the City of Cape Coral.
We thought it was a big town with big ideas. Well, today we have a big town with big city problems, a new Mayor and half a council with old and new ideas. Much work to be done. Our children are grown, we have no concerns in that regard, except for the fact that all the years we worked hard, money we saved to build our home in the cape is now worth half. So do we stay and support the town or believe in the negative and take our loss and run for the hills of NC or Tn. We choose to stay. Most of the people we have met have come from somewhere else, this redneck stuff, well as of now, I don't have a shot gun mounted across the back window of my suv or hubbys p/u.
So life is what you make it, fire ants are a fact, love bugs, I have yet to see one of those big palmettos! You just adjust and learn about your new surroundings, visit the library. I want to believe the economy will rebound in time, if not, hey I will just be another bumper sticker: instead of the ones saying spending my kids inheritance now, will be Hey Kids, do what we had to do when we diden't get any inheritance