23/24 yrs old wanting to move to the Fort Myers area (Tampa: real estate, rental)

[mal_pal]

So for months me and my boyfriend have been saving and planning to move to the Fort Myers area, so just a few questions.

We both have about 8 years in hospitality experience and saw that it seems the busy season is coming up, so if we move in April would it be difficult to find something in that area still?
Also is there certain areas we should look into for living since we're younger? and places we should stay away from because of crime?
Thanks!

[NoSnow4me]

April is the early part of off season, so things do slow down. I'd do everything you can to get a job lined up before coming.

Much of the area is high crime. Stay away from Lehigh Acres. Naples and the west side of cape coral seem to be the quietest as far as crime goes. There are good and bad areas everywhere in the region, so it would be best to find a short term rental so you can get to know the area. April is actually a good time to find one because the snowbirds are leaving and landlords have a hard time finding off-season renters. Even if someone is advertising a year, ask them if they'll flex. We did and got a nice spot in bonita for six months last April.

I don't know about the youthful areas of fort myers except for fort myers beach, but the south parts of naples and cape coral seem to be hot spots for you youngsters.

[mal_pal]

Thank you for being so helpful!!

[rikoshaprl]

I disagree that " much of the area is high crime" The ghetto part of Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres are and maybe some of the bad parts of North Fort Myers like Suncoast. But there is not much crime in other areas.

Other young areas are Downtown Fort Myers and Gulf Coast Town Center.

[NoSnow4me]

I suppose it's largely a matter of perspective. If you're from Baltimore, few areas around here are likely to phase you. Having moved here from a quiet little Colorado city, my definition of high crime is probably different from that of someone who has been here a long time.

Regardless, one area that I do think should be added to rico's list of places to avoid is the northeast section of cape coral.

[OptimusPrime69]

The high season isn't coming up....it's here. We're in it right now. By April things are winding down.

High season is Jan, Feb, and March.... and starts winding down by April.

[mal_pal]

That's what I meant, that since it was going on now would it be hard to get jobs in April. Appreciate all the input though. We also come from a small sleepy town so probably anywheres crime rate will be higher. Still can't wait to be down there though!

[Sweetbottoms]

As someone who worked in hospitality as a pastry chef I can tell you work will be difficult at that time. Some summers I would only get 15 hours a week, as a chef, let alone just a kitchen staff. Most chefs took off the entire month of July to let the kitchen staff run what was meagerly coming in as far as orders go. Try coming down in Oct when it would pick up a little.

I'm not sure why you'd choose Ft. Myers though, or swfl for that matter. You are aware its a retirement community? Tampa would give you much more to do and better luck with work. Ft. Myers has some very high crime areas, some higher than the national average and overall compared to Naples Estero its pretty trashy/industrial looking for the most part. A drive up 41 from Naples to Ft. Myers and you can see the quick change in scenery from nice to run down and abandoned buildings with bass booming supped up cars. No thanks. I've made the drive several times in the past couple months and couldn't wait to leave. Unless you can afford to stick coastal Ft. Myers or FGCU area I (imo) wouldn't bother.

[mal_pal]

Thanks I'll have to let my boyfriend know bc he's a chef as well and that'll certainly affect when he'd want to leave. Honestly it took us forever to narrow down where in Florida we wanted to be, we just knew we didn't want to be in northern Florida bc were trying to get away from the winters we're dealing with now. Nothing's set in stone yet, thus why I came to this forum. I had talked to a man from the Naples area the other day (through work) and he was exclaiming he'd never live anywhere but there... But Tampa is certainly not out of the cards. I mean we don't know much about many of the areas other than research online and photos since we live so far away. We're trying to make our way down there to check out a few places and really settle on a place hopefully soon. Any advice is nice at this point, we hate where we're living now.

[Rolf_Anthony]

Hi mal,

I'm glad to hear that your interested in moving to the Fort Myers area. Fort Myers is usually pretty quiet and not filled with crime. Crimes like the recently body being delivered to the lawyers office are extremely rare, and often unheard of in the area. I'm a local real estate agent, so I know quite a bit about local prices involving houses if you are still looking for one. Naples is pretty expensive, so Fort Myers would be the cheaper solution.

As for getting a job, you should have much problem getting a job in the area with your hospitality experience, since that is one of the larger industries in Fort Myers, given the warm weather year round.

If you are still looking to buy a home in the area, I can definitely assist you with your purchase. Just reply or PM me and I can get you my contact information.

Thanks,

Rolf