Husband being relocated to Sanibel for work... where to live? (Cape Coral: apartment complexes, rental)

[Kernsstephanie]

Hello! My husband may be getting relocated to Sanibel for work. By the looks of it, the area seems extremely expensive. We have a 7 y/o and plan to rent for a year or two before we buy. Can anyone please give advice on affordable and safe areas that are not far from Sanibel and which schools I should look at?

Thank you!!

[Mr Cape Coral]

Sanibel is a lovely place and working there could be a great experience. You are correct that housing is on the high side there.

Not knowing what your budget is makes it difficult to point you to any area.
What one person calls affordable another says it is too high.
Also, how far is your husband willing to drive to work?

Going over the causeway to Sanibel is a toll. He should discuss with the employer to pay that daily toll.
There are rental opportunities all along McGregor Blv and Summerlin Rd area.
Are you wanting a Single Family home or a Condo?

You would need to get a fix on an area to live and then see what your school choices are.

[cfbs2691]

What's your monthly housing budget?

[holmesbulldog]

Need much more info. Budget, House or Condo? etc

[Kernsstephanie]

Thanks everyone!! Housing wise we are currently paying $1675 a month in rent. We would like to come down from that as I am not sure what my employment future will look like in that area until closer to that time. On his pay, I would say comfortably between $1200-$1500(max). We would like at least a 2, if not 3 bedroom place. We have dogs so we would prefer a house.

Good info about the toll on the causeway. Do you know how much that toll is just so we can prepare for That? Some tolls around us can be about $10 a day so figure an extra $200 per month out of or monthly budget.

Thanks everyone!!

[Kim in FL]

On that budget you're looking Lehigh (a hell no kinda place) or maybe, if you're lucky, Cape Coral. Neither city is close to Sanibel and in season he'd spend more time in traffic than he would work.

[Kernsstephanie]

So I started looking and there appears to be lots of properties in our price range in Cape Coral! How is that area?

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by Kernsstephanie

So I started looking and there appears to be lots of properties in our price range in Cape Coral! How is that area?

Cape Coral is very large. It is separated in 4 sections NW, NE, SW, SE each part seems to have it's own vibe and pros and cons. you have tolls $6 going onto Sanibel and you have tolls (I think $2) going into cape coral. from the cape toll booth to Sanibel toll booth is 17 mins in normal traffic. you can easily add many minutes (up to 1/2 hour) depending of how deep into cape coral you are or how deep into Sanibel that your husbands work is. Working on Sanibel at a low wage to not be able to live on island would be a hint not to take the job.

[don1945]

Sanibel is not for us regular folks, it is pretty exclusive and expensive. We visit there, but few of us live there.

With your budget, which is sort of reasonable, you should be able to find something near Sanibel, maybe in one of the apartment complexes off of Summerlin, or thereabouts. Apartment rent rates are rising here, supply and demand.

The folks are correct, your husband will be spending $6 a day to get onto the island, but there is Lee Pass available that would reduce that somewhat.

[Daisie21]

Originally Posted by Kernsstephanie

So I started looking and there appears to be lots of properties in our price range in Cape Coral! How is that area?

Cape Coral is very family friendly and affordable. I love the Cape. The only problem would be the commute to Sanibel. Most people do not work in Cape Coral so they commute to Ft Myers and area. You'll get heavy rush hour traffic going over the bridges into Ft Myers in the morning that could take 20-25 minutes depending where you live then probably another 20-25 minutes to Sanibel ( I do not drive to Sanibel during rush hour so I can't say the timeframe for sure).
However, you will get more for your money in the Cape. If you do not want that long of a commute then you will probably have to settle for an apartment or small house in Ft Myers with your budget. If a house is close to or under $1000 in Ft Myers, then it's probably not in a great area. There are a few spotty locations to avoid. Best of luck on your search.