Ft. Myers vs Wellington and/or Jupiter (Palm Beach, Sanibel: home, schools)

[ang08]

We could be in either of these places. I'm very familiar w/Palm Beach county, at least the Wellington and Jupiter areas. Can anyone compare them for me as far as quality of life, housing, cost of living, traffic, overall feel or anything else you can think of? I'm not familiar with the Ft. Myers area or SW Florida at all. We are a family of 4 with two elementary kids. Work from home, love the outdoors.

[jillbeachbound]

I have a friend who lives in the Wellington area. She complains about the traffic all the time. In my opinion, there is a BIG difference between the West coast of FL and the East coast of FL. The East coast feels more built up to me and of course you have the rougher ocean waves. The West coast has a different feel. Lots of canals, white sand beaches w/ the Gulf waters not being so rough. I have two kids that just love to hunt for shells on Sanibel (one of the best shelling beaches in the world). As far as prices, my friend has a home in Wellington that she paid over $600K for three or four years ago....it's now worth in the $400Ks. It's a lovely home that backs up to a preserve, but not on any type of water. I think you can definitely get more for your $ in the FM/CC area....especially now. Schools are a different matter. Lee county uses a method of "school choice" (check out previous posts)....I believe Palm Beach County uses regular districts. The Wellington area schools are very good and my girlfriend is very happy with them. We are planning to move to the FM/CC area this year and I can't wait to be a full time resident! Good Luck with your search!

[rikoshaprl]

I think the people are friendlier on the west coast than on the east coast.

[crystal75]

The west coast is waaaaaaay better