Please tell me about raising kids in Ft. Myers (Miami: real estate, 2013)

[know2walk]

Hello everyone,

My husband and I really need helping figuring out if we should move to Florida or not. We had found the perfect place we wanted to move to---San Diego—until we found out about the awful air quality .
We have a toddler and would like to live in a place where we can enjoy the outdoors year around(I know it gets really hot, but considering we live in a place where its either 40F in the winter and 90F + in the summer, we can’t be outdoors at all, so Florida is a major improvement).
We started looking into Florida, but have come across a lot of negative posts regarding raising kids there (crime, etc). We are interested in Ft.Myers, Broward County and Palm Beach counties.
We would be very appreciative if you could help us with a decision… Visiting is really not the same as living there and we are scared to make the wrong decision.
Please let us know if the criteria we are looking for is possible in Ft.Myers? If so, which area or neighborhood would you recommend for us?


1-GATED community (I’m sure there are many of these, just putting it out there)

2-Excellent private school close by

3- VERY pedestrian friendly (able to walk in safety to shops, café, bike to beach)

4- SAFE. I worry a lot about this one because I am getting the idea that in So.Florida, there are good neighborhoods surrounded by bad ones—in other others, if one leaves the bubble, one might see gang activity, etc.

5- Health conscious surroundings---people jogging, organic, healthy or even vegan eats close by

6- An area that is not often evacuated during hurricanes

7- You are going to laugh at me but any areas where there are less alligators and snakes? LOL. I’m terrified of them! Will I see them more if I live in one of those intracoastal waterway homes?

8- Price range is around $1M

9- We work from home so commute is not a problem.

10- How would you compare Ft. Myers to palm beach county and Broward counties. Is it slower? safer? more (or less) family oriented?

** We are also a multi ethnic family---so we would like a place where we would feel comfortable.


THANK YOU!!

[ghoefer]

Uh...really? I have lived many places around the US and sincerely doubt anywhere meets 100% of that list 100% of the time. Just taking item 6: no place in FL meets that requirement. We DO have the occasional hurricane (none in 2013) and no place here is "safe" from a huge storm. SE Florida is much more urban and diverse than SW Florida -- but it's 2013: complete freedom from crime ended in Mayberry, circa 1956...oh wait. They had police too.

Free advice: if you can afford a $1mm house, buy a couple of tickets and come wander around. See what works for you first hand. Best wishes.

[Kim in FL]

I agree with what posted above, you need to come down here and spend some time...maybe 3 weeks or so. Do a lot of driving, talk to a lot of locals, read the local papers, watch the local news. I'd like to say talk to a real estate agent, but they'll lie to your face in order to make a buck; you'll get more accurate info here or from the locals.

You need to make your list a bit shorter...or less demanding....you won't find perfection here

[nhkev]

With the exception of a hurricane. Sanibel hits about every box

[Samiamnh]

Originally Posted by Kim in FL

I agree with what posted above, you need to come down here and spend some time...maybe 3 weeks or so. Do a lot of driving, talk to a lot of locals, read the local papers, watch the local news. I'd like to say talk to a real estate agent, but they'll lie to your face in order to make a buck; you'll get more accurate info here or from the locals.

You need to make your list a bit shorter...or less demanding....you won't find perfection here

I have to disagree that a realtor will lie to make a sale.Most realtors are pros and value their reputation......If you give a good realtor the list from your original post,they will do all the legwork for you and will have properties ready for you to examine that fit your criteria.
Not to say that you shouldn't do some of your own homework......just saying I've had good luck using realtors.
BTW,I have no connection to the real estate business.I am a restaurant owner from NH that happened to use a good realtor to find our home in Cape Coral.
Good luck.

[luvtobewarm]

If your price range is around $1M, I'm sure you can find something somewhere in Fl. We are also an integrated family. We have spent a lot of time all over Florida and have never have found it to be a problem. Actually...never a problem anywhere where you find decent people and your price range indicates you will.
I also am terrified of snakes. Our house is not on a canal. I talked to many people who have lived in Cape Coral for YEARS and rarely saw a snake. The first week we were there, my husband saw a snake in our backyard. Just a small, harmless one. OH well. I've made peace with the fact that I will probably see them. I have seen them in WI. Make sure the cage around your pool/lanai is secure and you can feel comfortable outside. Not sure how much the canals matter for snakes, as people who live inland or in rural areas (particularly near swamp land) say they see them frequently. A couple of the areas we researched, people reported seeing snakes on a daily basis. We crossed them off our list! Those were mainly new communities further inland, where the wildlife lives.
Since you have a young child, I would start by finding the schools that meet your criteria. Anywhere you find a good, private school you will find good families/communities around them.
The Miami/Ft Lauderdale area is definitely "big city". Freeways, traffic, crowded. Not my style. But with your budget and because you work from home, you may find a nice area to live in. Not sure how the big city life impacts raising children.
We wanted to find a home farther inland, away from the worse hurricane damage, but ended up closer to the beaches because I love the beaches and think I will visit frequently. After we live there for awhile, we will re-evaluate. If I find that I am not going to beaches that often, then we may move further inland to higher ground where insurance is cheaper and storm/flood damage may be less.
You say you work from home, so why not rent a place? Perhaps an annual rental in a central location. You can use that time to research schools and areas to live in.

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by Samiamnh

I have to disagree that a realtor will lie to make a sale.Most realtors are pros and value their reputation......If you give a good realtor the list from your original post,they will do all the legwork for you and will have properties ready for you to examine that fit your criteria.
Not to say that you shouldn't do some of your own homework......just saying I've had good luck using realtors.
BTW,I have no connection to the real estate business.I am a restaurant owner from NH that happened to use a good realtor to find our home in Cape Coral.
Good luck.

We have to agree to disagree then because agents will not tell you what areas are 'good' or 'bad' (legally they can't) however, they can just filter those areas out, many don't, they want the sale.

[meekocat]

Originally Posted by luvtobewarm

If your price range is around $1M, I'm sure you can find something somewhere in Fl. We are also an integrated family. We have spent a lot of time all over Florida and have never have found it to be a problem. Actually...never a problem anywhere where you find decent people and your price range indicates you will.
I also am terrified of snakes. Our house is not on a canal. I talked to many people who have lived in Cape Coral for YEARS and rarely saw a snake. The first week we were there, my husband saw a snake in our backyard. Just a small, harmless one. OH well. I've made peace with the fact that I will probably see them. I have seen them in WI. Make sure the cage around your pool/lanai is secure and you can feel comfortable outside. Not sure how much the canals matter for snakes, as people who live inland or in rural areas (particularly near swamp land) say they see them frequently. A couple of the areas we researched, people reported seeing snakes on a daily basis. We crossed them off our list! Those were mainly new communities further inland, where the wildlife lives.
Since you have a young child, I would start by finding the schools that meet your criteria. Anywhere you find a good, private school you will find good families/communities around them.
The Miami/Ft Lauderdale area is definitely "big city". Freeways, traffic, crowded. Not my style. But with your budget and because you work from home, you may find a nice area to live in. Not sure how the big city life impacts raising children.
We wanted to find a home farther inland, away from the worse hurricane damage, but ended up closer to the beaches because I love the beaches and think I will visit frequently. After we live there for awhile, we will re-evaluate. If I find that I am not going to beaches that often, then we may move further inland to higher ground where insurance is cheaper and storm/flood damage may be less.
You say you work from home, so why not rent a place? Perhaps an annual rental in a central location. You can use that time to research schools and areas to live in.

We're renting a house on the canal in Hancock in Cape Coral. We've seen several large snakes swimming across the canal. Haven't seen any gators but the neighbors have told us they are there. It's a fresh water canal so you're bound to see them. We've also had a couple of iguanas sunning themselves on the seawall. You don't mention lizards, even with a cage you will find them all over the place. My cats think they're toys. Oh and also frogs. We had also originally planned on the SE side but figured out very quickly that it's too fast of a lifestyle but we can go to SoBe any time we want to. We have a friend who lives in a very nice gated community close to Fort Myers Beach but alas not a walking neighborhood. The other posters are right, give your criteria to a real estate agent, they'll find something for you. Be very aware though, they cannot steer you away from "certain" neighborhoods or toward them, that's a violation of the fair housing act.

[know2walk]

Thanks everyone. Any pedestrian friendly areas you can think of?

[hiknapster]

No pedestrian areas. Not places where you can walk to the beach. Well, maybe Fort Myers Beach but I wouldn't raise kids there. There are not a lot of sidewalks in the South, even Florida.

Less snakes and gators? Stay out of Florida. Period.

Excellent private school? No. Maybe someone will give a suggestion but I feel that private schools in Fort Myers/Cape Coral are not good at all. There are some decent public schools. Sanibel's elementary school is excellent and in that sense, Sanibel would work. (It evacuates a lot, however. Saying there haven't been any hurricanes in 2013 is like saying that sometimes the clock doesn't hit midnight. It still does and often.) Also, Fort Myers High is good, but thanks to School Assignment, you may not get that school. It's a lottery system, more or less.

Safety? Ha! I don't think any of those counties has great crime statistics. Well, Cape Coral does so I take that back.

Check stats on City-Data. Hit the link on the photo on the left-hand side, top of the page. You'll see what I mean.

Healthy lifestyle? Meh. There is some of that but it is mostly retirees in the area and the majority of them are not that health conscious. Think very-budget-minded seniors.

The other coast might be more of what you are looking for, if you pick the right community. More well-heeled. But once again, hurricanes, gators and snakes.