Possible move from Upstate NY to Ft. Myers, help! (Cape Coral: appointed, renting)

[DoulaSue]

I'll try to make this as short as possible. My husband has a potential great job offer in Ft. Myers Florida. We are a couple in our early 40's with two teens in High School. We currently reside in Upstate NY where the economy, property taxes, and lack of jobs in his field are forcing us to relocate. The pay scale for this job should set us up to be able to afford approximately $150K for a home, comfortably. I've done a bit of research and have a few questions, so when we do visit we will know which areas to concentrate on for housing, etc...

1. I've read that Ft. Myers Public High School is the best in the area, correct?
2. Currently, my kids walk to school which is about 2 blocks from our home. Are their decent, family friendly, low crime neighborhoods close to school in our price range?
3. Our lifestyle here consists of kids activities, and we spend our free time at local restaurants, seeing local music, etc... We have an active social life, and I'm worried that Ft. Myers may be a little low key for us. We enjoy beach bars, outdoor concerts, festivals, etc... will we be disappointed? We aren't the nightclub type, more like the Key West/Marina type.
4. We currently pay $7500 property taxes per year on our $200K house in NY (eek!). I know property taxes are much lower in FL, however, homeowners insurance seems outrageous. Wondering if we should consider renting a home to avoid the high insurance costs? We have two dogs that I will not part with, so renting may not be an option.
5. What are average utility bills in the Ft. Myers area? We currently pay around $300 per month in the winter for heat.
6. I understand there are high crime areas everywhere in the US. I wouldn't walk around downtown where we live at night, but the little suburb that we live in is safe enough that the kids can just walk to town with no worries. I'm looking for a similar type lifestyle in FL. Possible?
7. We own a boat, 36'. Might be a pipe dream to think of getting it there, but if we did, are marinas outrageously expensive? Any info you could share, or recommendations on mid priced local marinas would be appreciated.

That's it for now. Thanks for any help!
Sue

[hiknapster]

Don't bother looking for a neighborhood near a certain school. It won't matter. Lee County has School Choice which means you pick your top three choices for schools for each child and then the school system tells you where your kids will attend. There is a good chance it will not be one of your top three. You need to do a "Search" on School Choice on this forum. It is on this forum's blue toolbar, third in from the right.

Congrats on the job.

[freddyCF]

Originally Posted by DoulaSue

I'll try to make this as short as possible. My husband has a potential great job offer in Ft. Myers Florida. We are a couple in our early 40's with two teens in High School. We currently reside in Upstate NY where the economy, property taxes, and lack of jobs in his field are forcing us to relocate. The pay scale for this job should set us up to be able to afford approximately $150K for a home, comfortably. I've done a bit of research and have a few questions, so when we do visit we will know which areas to concentrate on for housing, etc...

1. I've read that Ft. Myers Public High School is the best in the area, correct?
2. Currently, my kids walk to school which is about 2 blocks from our home. Are their decent, family friendly, low crime neighborhoods close to school in our price range?
3. Our lifestyle here consists of kids activities, and we spend our free time at local restaurants, seeing local music, etc... We have an active social life, and I'm worried that Ft. Myers may be a little low key for us. We enjoy beach bars, outdoor concerts, festivals, etc... will we be disappointed? We aren't the nightclub type, more like the Key West/Marina type.
4. We currently pay $7500 property taxes per year on our $200K house in NY (eek!). I know property taxes are much lower in FL, however, homeowners insurance seems outrageous. Wondering if we should consider renting a home to avoid the high insurance costs? We have two dogs that I will not part with, so renting may not be an option.
5. What are average utility bills in the Ft. Myers area? We currently pay around $300 per month in the winter for heat.
6. I understand there are high crime areas everywhere in the US. I wouldn't walk around downtown where we live at night, but the little suburb that we live in is safe enough that the kids can just walk to town with no worries. I'm looking for a similar type lifestyle in FL. Possible?
7. We own a boat, 36'. Might be a pipe dream to think of getting it there, but if we did, are marinas outrageously expensive? Any info you could share, or recommendations on mid priced local marinas would be appreciated.

That's it for now. Thanks for any help!
Sue

Where upstate are you from? My wife and I are moving down from upstate NY to Cape Coral in October. No kids,and I don't have any info about schools down in Fort Myers or Cape Coral.
Lots of info on the boards here though. Good luck in your search.

[DoulaSue]

We are in a Suburb of Rochester. We love our life here in NY, but since he got laid off a YEAR ago (ack!), we've been struggling to find a job in his field. Summers here are perfect, but the 8 months of winter aren't much fun. We live near Lake Ontario so Lake effect snow is always a major issue.

Thanks for the tip on the school of choice, I will search the forum. Not sure I'm liking that idea too much, as my son is a Senior and my daughter is a Freshman, the move will be hard enough for them without having to worry about an undesireable school. Ugh. On the upside, my son only has this year left until graduation.

[BigMunch]

The schools down here are not even close to a NYS level, be prepared for that. Might be wise to let him finish school before you move him down .

[DoulaSue]

BigMunch, that's a consideration as well. I simply can't imagine taking him out of the only system that he's known in the early part of his Senior year! But, my husband also needs a job like, now. We could possibly find an alternative for a few months for him, we will see.

My daughter has been in our regions "gifted and talented" program since third grade, she literally gets 100%'s on her NY State tests. She's in 9th grade now taking college level courses for credit. I think we may need to consider private school for her if we moved to FL, but then there comes a point when the salary isn't worth the move if we need to spend $15K per year for schooling.

SUCH a hard decision.

[kroeran]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Don't bother looking for a neighborhood near a certain school. It won't matter. Lee County has School Choice which means you pick your top three choices for schools for each child and then the school system tells you where your kids will attend. There is a good chance it will not be one of your top three. You need to do a "Search" on School Choice on this forum. It is on this forum's blue toolbar, third in from the right.

Congrats on the job.

What about stepping north of the county line, like in Punta Gorda? Are Punta Gorda kids shipped out of town?

[kroeran]

Originally Posted by DoulaSue

BigMunch, that's a consideration as well. I simply can't imagine taking him out of the only system that he's known in the early part of his Senior year! But, my husband also needs a job like, now. We could possibly find an alternative for a few months for him, we will see.

My daughter has been in our regions "gifted and talented" program since third grade, she literally gets 100%'s on her NY State tests. She's in 9th grade now taking college level courses for credit. I think we may need to consider private school for her if we moved to FL, but then there comes a point when the salary isn't worth the move if we need to spend $15K per year for schooling.

SUCH a hard decision.

if she is that smart, maybe she can get a scholarship at one of the local private schools...if those exist? A weaker bell curve means even higher grades and potential for college scholarships?

You don't have a choice and have to take this job. The upside is that you will be living in paradise, especially if you are boaters. Marina berths are apparently going cheap these days - YC will fill you in on that.

rent and live small at first, keep your powder dry for some strategic moving around the area as you figure out the system and how to win the education challenge

if the kids are that smart and motivated, they should be able to figure out how to build a life and overcome the challenge of an iffy school, if that is unavoidable. Then there will be the challenge of focusing on schoolwork when its beach weather outside!

if you want to keep them in the area, start thinking healthcare careers.

[DoulaSue]

I will look into the scholarship options, great idea, thank you! Like I said, she is a freshman at one of our best local public schools, and in the same classes as her Senior brother and doing better than he is. I have a feeling that she would be several grades advanced in FL schools, not that I'm slamming FL schools but that does seem to be the case. I wish that her GPA would have some bearing on the Choice school that the county would put her in, but that doesn't seem realistic.

Marina berths here in NY (On Lake Ontario) are pretty pricey, would love to see how they compare to Ft. Myers. I will ask! Thanks

[kroeran]

I assume on the threads you will research parochial Catholic schools, Christian (Fundamentalist) schools, Charter Schools and home schooling.

If your daughter is extremely exceptional, thinking out of the box a bit, you may want to think about applying for a scholarship at a very expensive snooty Naples private school, and live halfway between the school and the job. Of course, you both would be investing a lot of time commuting in this scenario.