Cape Coral/Ft. Meyers Area Relocation/Schools (Fort Myers, Marco Island: foreclosures, renters)

[hiknapster]

Wow. I'm just the bearer of bad news, tonight, it seems.

Latest unemployment rate for your area of Colorado: 8.1

Fort Myers/Cape Coral: 13.2

Table 1. Civilian labor force and unemployment by state and metropolitan area

[4kidsplus2]

Originally Posted by nattjazzz

Thanks everyone, there are many good reasons to go and some to stay. I appreciate all feedback, positive and negative. Is there a certain area best for kids? Is anyone familiar with the charter school? We don't go to our local school b/c it wasn't a good one. So, we open enrolled and got into a "magnet" school here in CO. But the drive is only 5 mins. and they had to accept our application, so it worked differently. Why does the county bus kids all around? I can't understand that.... I think Charter schools can be good. Come-to-swfl....can you tell me which area you are at and if it is good for kids? I have 4 kids and I want to go to the right area for a community feeling...if possible Are there organized sports? My kids play football, baseball, soccer and basketball. THX everyone....I can tell there are some good hearts out there in SW FL

I dont understand how the school afford to bus all over the place myself. They run like 3-4 routes a day. My kids got about their last choices which meant about a hour bus ride each day-each way. So we enrolled in a charter school for some of them. The BIG problem with that is the lack of busing- I live approx. 20 min. from the school and I have 3 1/2 hours a day wrapped up in taking and picking up my kids from school. Parents start lining up 1 1/2 hours before school is let out. Which I have now started to do. Was waiting 2-2 1/2 hours between the hs and elementary. Now my elder 1s walk to the elementary so I have a one wait and they dont have to sit in the LONG line that goes on for 8-10 blocks.

But the school seems to be good so far:}

[4kidsplus2]

oh and yes they have sports at the schools. My younger kids have brought home papers for football, soccer and hockey . So lots of activities going on.

Another drawback to the open enrollment is not meeting the kids in your neighborhood in school.

[kroeran]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Wow. I'm just the bearer of bad news, tonight, it seems.

Latest unemployment rate for your area of Colorado: 8.1

Fort Myers/Cape Coral: 13.2

Table 1. Civilian labor force and unemployment by state and metropolitan area

,

for sure see if hubby can land a job before you start decamping from CO...odds suggest your family will be in serious doodoo if you just pick up and leave without a job offer first

and find the job before you sign a lease or buy anything...the job could be in Naples, which is a long commute from CC

maybe look in the Panhandle, around destin

why are you moviing?

or go to Bismark ND, which seems to be on fire jobwise at 3.1%!!

[kroeran]

I wonder if schoolboards construct long bus commutes on purpose to reduce enrollment

[4kidsplus2]

Originally Posted by kroeran

I wonder if schoolboards construct long bus commutes on purpose to reduce enrollment

I dont know. When my kids got their last choices on schools because the others were supposedly full with waiting lists I questioned what they are going to do when all these empty house get filled. They told me those families just moved in with other families?!?! I still wonder what is going to happen when kids move into the empty houses, They need to start looking into the future and start building schools or adding on so kids can go to school in their own neighborhoods. The gas bill in this district has to be totally out there for as far as they bus. When we went to open house it took 35 min. to get there. And passed I dont know how many schools on the way.

[kroeran]

I assume the issue of school choice was to enable families to get into the better schools regardless of where you live or to mix things up so that poor kids have equal opportunity to kids in better neighbourhoods, with the result of the better off kids migrating to the fee based schools. The system gets the same taxes anyway, so they would think this is great....same money, lower class size...and it ends up being an indirect tax, wealth transfer and a two class system.

there is always the issue of unintended consequences and not thinking things through...they really should call it choice for school board bureaucrats - whenever you give bureaucrats this sort of power, the only criteria becomes the self interest of the school board administration..tail wagging the dog syndrome due to voter apathy

I am asking myself, what percentage of parents are peeved at this system? Why are you not doing something about it?

[DelawareLiz]

Thanks for starting this thread, Nattjazzz. My husband and I are also contemplating on moving to SE or SW Cape Coral within the next couple of years. Like you, we could sell our home and buy outright down there, no mortgage. The COL is very high where we live right now as well, and I do not feel we get much as "bang for our buck" here as we would down there due to our hobbies/interests.

We are also concerned about the school system, Chinese drywall, and employment in Cape Coral; therefore, I will be stalking this thread My son is in 9th grade and I am most likely just going to stay in Delaware for four more years until he graduates high school since the school he attends here is excellent. After reading posts about the schools there, I fear he will be placed in a less than desirable school and I do not want to put him through that. I'm a science teacher, and I also wonder if I would be doing myself a huge disservice by relocating to Cape Coral to become a teacher. I'm looking into other fields (science related) instead.
Looking forward to reading all the responses to this thread!

[stahltkd]

Originally Posted by beachliz

We are also concerned about the school system, Chinese drywall, and employment in Cape Coral; therefore, I will be stalking this thread My son is in 9th grade and I am most likely just going to stay in Delaware for four more years until he graduates high school since the school he attends here is excellent. After reading posts about the schools there, I fear he will be placed in a less than desirable school and I do not want to put him through that. I'm a science teacher, and I also wonder if I would be doing myself a huge disservice by relocating to Cape Coral to become a teacher. I'm looking into other fields (science related) instead.
Looking forward to reading all the responses to this thread!

Yes, you would be taking a major pay cut by working for the school system. My wife's family friend, whom currently works for a Chicago school district was looking at SWF school employment to be closer to her dad. She roughly makes 80k a year in Chicago, when told of her salary in SWF - about half of that.

We (I'm going into special education) don't go into teaching related fields for the money. Even at 80k in Chicago, times are tough. You would also be doing a disservice to SWFL by chosing another career path. The area NEEDS people to help change. If you decide that you want to become a lab rat here, who's going to help teach the future generations all the science you know?

The area will remain status quo for eternity if people do not believe in an area and transform it. Schools will not get better. People will still be grumpy at why they are paying for high taxes for getting little in return. Children will be less educated - easily susceptible to the "Crony-ism". The whole SWFL remains the tourism / vacation only spot that it is today.

But, we all have our choices and must do what is best for ourselves instead of looking at the whole picture and working together so we all can profit / get ahead.

[hiknapster]

I did some snooping last night because "121804" had once suggested that they may have stubbornly held onto School Choice because there might be some funding or incentive involved. I'm still not sure, but I think they get a large stipend to bus those kids all over creation. At least that's what I found last night. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it this morning.

Folks, also do not make the mistake that because you are smart, industrious northerners that you will get a job because the locals are stupid and lazy. The locals are transplants just like you and the unemployment numbers are very, very bad.

Don't assume that you will get a teaching position, bad pay or not, and don't assume that there is a job related to science unless it's the science of making coffee at the convenience store a few hours a day. It is a service related employment area and 13.2 unemployment isn't a number some bean counter in Washington made up. It may not be that accurate - it's probably a lot worse - but it's an indicator of how bad it is.