The truth about Cape Coral/ Ft Myers SWFL Area (Bonita Springs: HOA, house)

[TANaples]

As long as I am served in a timely manner, and my food arrives the same and hot, I could care less if I am greeted with smiles, honey, sweetheart, or will you marry me.

Too many people here think they are priviledged, living in paradise, and on year round vacation.

[TedTLPN]

Originally Posted by TANaples

As long as I am served in a timely manner, and my food arrives the same and hot, I could care less if I am greeted with smiles, honey, sweetheart, or will you marry me.

Too many people here think they are priviledged, living in paradise, and on year round vacation.

Ultimately you are right, food timing is the most important element of service.

BUT

When things go wrong, having someone with a personality and a pulse can make a 'gee I can't wait to tell my friends how horrible it was' experience a 'gee the place sucked, but at least there was someone there who made it better (and maybe worth giving it a 2nd chance) experience'.

[hiknapster]

I have no idea why we are even "discussing" restaurant service. NHKev wrote a post describing his day "working" in Lee County and it really is not true. He's an investor and stands to gain by writing posts about how wonderful life is in Lee County. Really, he is on vacation.

[121804]

Originally Posted by TedTAce

Ultimately you are right, food timing is the most important element of service.

BUT

When things go wrong, having someone with a personality and a pulse can make a 'gee I can't wait to tell my friends how horrible it was' experience a 'gee the place sucked, but at least there was someone there who made it better (and maybe worth giving it a 2nd chance) experience'.

Nope, a smile doesn't make crappy food any better nor would i go back b/c the wait staff was pleasant...

BUT

it does make a patron feel somewhat pleased to acknowledge long wait; cold food; weak drinks, etc.

One of the worst places I've ever ate at plus wait staff was some mom & pop Italian restaurant off TTrail in PC. We thought "Hey, parking lot looks crowded. Must be good." It was god awful. The crap they serve at Disney comes in at a close second (and hey, kudos to Disney for raising their prices. Nothing like paying $80 to stand in line).

With the cost of going out to eat plus the lackluster quality of most restaurants, we have a tendency to stay home more than not.

Food timing is vital but the front of the house has to carry through on their end. Sometimes the hostess/host can upset a patron which just leads to a bad table of which it is impossible to please. I've had couples fighting with each other; people on cell phones the entire evening; kids throw food & the parents say "Can you get someone to clean that up?" Yeah, after that & the other 1,000 things that go on in an evening, it's hard to greet every table as if they are presenting you with diamonds and pearls.

Poor service is not an excuse, but to make it sound as if there is NO reason why someone who lives in SWFL should even have an ounce of worry/problems/attitude, etc., that's funny.

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by nhkev

Chris you totally missed the point and yet you get it perfectly- I'm not bragging what I am saying is that whether i'm on vacation or not I still try to enjoy what life has to offer and this post of yours is exactly what I'm talking about ... I know you don't like florida and prefer the north , My point is if you moved up north and did none of the things you mentioned you like doing what would be the point of being there.

The point of being up there would be because I went there because I WANTED to be there. I was there this past fall/winter, did those things I posted. I returned to FL ONLY because I was struggling with money, had a hard time finding work, and something came up here in FL because a friend referred me. I never wanted to be here again, only to visit. I had big plans up in MA to go camping, offroading, fishing, hiking, this summer. But I am here, and some of those things are not happening here, camping in FL in the summer is suicide, unless you have an RV, then it's not really camping... Hiking? Nope... walking on a flat surface is not hiking. When I say offroading I mean driving my 4x4 through the woods on trails and such. Florida is a giant swamp, so that is out for me. My excitement is coming home from work and watching TV all summer. I am out in this hell heat all day, and when I get out of my truck at home, I do not want to see outside until the next day. So what makes me want to be here, nothing really. Working, my family, making sure we eat, have a home, my daughter is happy. That is my life. Sitting in here watching TV is not a fun life. When I was up north I was outside more in the 10 degree weather than here. And to set it straight I do not love freezing cold either.

I do TRY to find things to do. We grill out almost every night. Work on my truck as long as I can until the H&H get on my nerves. I just don't like to go outside until.... say, November.... Living here and visiting are 2 worlds apart, sorry, but it's the truth as 121804, TANaples, and hiknapster say. Yes Yachtcare too..... THEY have lived or live here. Vacationers have no right to defend what they don't know about...

[SWFL_Native]

Wow you guys have really taken this thread into a bunch of different directions...

Here's the real truth about SWFL for the newbs to the area.

1) Yes the economy is bad for now; Keep in mind that our area was recession proof for more than three decades. During the early to mid 80's and then again in the 90's when everywhere else was hurting we were still growing. Then came the influx of absurd investment, development, and capital in the 2000s and here we are.

I would argue that this is a good thing and am glad people are getting hurt with their misallocation of resources. There was never a sustainable solution to have 35-40 of our employed population in the real estate/development business.

2) If moving to this area where is the best place to live? I would argue that there are two primary corridors in Lee County that offer the best mix of convenience, amenities, and safety. 1 is the Daniels corridor primarily between Plantation & Gateway. The 2nd would be Estero to Three Oaks area. Both offer a nice mix of centrality to work / life mix (restaurants, shopping, movies, work).

3) Is Cape Coral and Lehigh really that bad? IMO yes and more so for Lehigh. Having gone to high school in the Cape I can say that it is basically a bedroom community. The average population is a mix of very old people, young families, and the Miami spillover crowd. Lehigh is has been heavily influenced over the past three years by Brown town (closing of Michigan Ave projects) and the Miami spillover / Haitians as well.

[michele8]

Mike, you are so right about Cape Coral! But you forgot to mention one of CC's most beautiful and prestigious communities, Cape Harbour, Cape Harbour - A Yachting Community It's a yachting community where most homes are waterfront and right now, with the present housing situation, a home that used to be more than a million dollars can be picked up at half the price or less! Compare that to a similar home in Naples that will cost 2 or 3 times the price. I never could figure out why.

[tommy-105]

michele8, you wouldn't be a real estate agent by any chance, would you?

[kroeran]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

2) If moving to this area where is the best place to live? I would argue that there are two primary corridors in Lee County that offer the best mix of convenience, amenities, and safety. 1 is the Daniels corridor primarily between Plantation & Gateway.

check out Paseo up penzance/palimino off Daniels, my neighbourhood

[Ruby24]

Originally Posted by mytimenow

You weren't around when the city had some of the dumbest laws in the country like you weren't allowed to have a fence in your own back yard higher than 4 feet; you could not park your personal pickup truck in you very own driveway. If you had a custom van, you could not park it in you own driveway

Just a quick comment --- many of the developments in SW Florida were oroginally concieved as "deed restricted", whether they be single family subdivisions, condos or homeowners associations in Ft. Myers, Cape Coral or Naples. These deed restrictions even though they were written in eons ago, are often still in effect. They can govern everything from what type of home goes on the lot to what type of vehicle can park in the driveway. I know in my neighborhood you can't park commerical vehicles and fences can only be a certain height. Anyone living or thinking of living in SW Florida needs to check those things out with their realtor or attorney before they move into any neighborhood.

Personally, I only want to live in an area that has deed restrictions. I want my neighborhood to have an attractive appearance. I don't want my property value affected by my neighbor having his car parked on their lawn, basketball hoops on the street and using unsightly fencing.

There may be some rules I wouldn't even like but it would be worth it to have an attractive environment.
The problem with Cape Coral is the lack of enforcement of rules. Maybe if they were enforced people looking to buy in the area would find it more appealing.