Cape Coral SE versus SW (homes, living in, move)

[Mr Cape Coral]

As always, it really depends on you. You have to look at 3 things to start with:
1. Location-do you need to have a home close to work-where is the work and how far are you willing to drive?
Do you want to be on water, gulf access, near golf, shopping, entertainment, schools,etc.
2. Fit and Finish- this factor is the size of the home and if buying resale, the condition of the home.
3. Price- What is your budget and then what will that buy.

There is also the option of building and that gives you more control of putting the 3 factors together.
The NE has a lot of new construction going on at this time. You will quickly see a lot of the vacant land being built up.
Not many homes in the NE will carry a price over $300,000, new or resale.
The NW if you look at the area West of Burnt Store and North of Pine Island Road, you will find that this is a very hot area right now. There are a lot of lots and homes that are on Gulf access canals and the prices there have not reached some of the home prices in the SW. For boaters this area is attractive because you can get to the Gulf faster, like 30 minutes. Whereas, in the SW it may take 30-45 minutes to get to the river.
SW is the older part of Cape Coral, but there are some great homes. New River front homes are selling for $1-2 million. We see some of the older homes being purchase because they are on gulf access canals with no bridges. People are buying them and tearing them down and building new. So you will start to see some transformation taking place.

So as I said, it depends on you.
As for crime, check the Lee County Sheriff website and you can find the crime reports for any area of Lee County:
Welcome to Lee County Sheriff s Office

[NekkidFish]

Thanks Mr. Cape Coral! I went and drove around the SW and SE areas today. It was a different experience than the two neighborhoods I went to in the northern sections. I was on SW 44th Street and I really liked that area.

The SW area seemed to fit my vibe a lot better than the north areas I went to, but I am not sure if I went to the NW or NE area. I will check my GPS when I get the truck back and see where I went. If I didn’t go to the NW area, I will make sure to check that out as well.

I saw a few little niche neighborhoods in the SE section that had nice homes, but they were definately intermingled with older homes. I saw one nice older home on Hancock Bridge, but that’s way too busy of a road for me. As I went thru a neighborhood or two there I did see some nice older homes.

I’m just amazed at how much land and lots there are ... both for sale and sitting empty. Having lived in CA, where there is no land!, it’s fascinating to see an area with so darn much empty space.

It’s also amazing to look at the sale history for a lot of homes ... seeing one that sold for maybe $159K at one time, listed for over $300K now, and sold in (say) 2008 for $59K. It appears this are got hit hard (as did a lot of areas) when the economy dumped in the late 2000s.

[315to239]

Just played this game! Ended up in north fort myers...boy was there alot to learn about cape coral ...

[chiluvr1228]

I just moved to SE Cape but the northwest side of Del Prado and I love it here. I am close to everything including the midpoint bridge and the neighborhood is more established than parts of the SW because, like was said, it was the first part of Cape Coral that was developed. So we have more mature trees than you will see in some parts of the Cape. We have few, if any, rentals so we don't have a lot of people moving in and out and the neighbors are friendly and they keep an eye out for each other. I feel pretty safe here despite being alone now.


We bought a home in SW Cape off Pelican in 2003 and I loved that area also except it wasn't as convenient if you work in Fort Myers. However I did plant trees that are now at least 30 feet tall. :-) IMO the Northwest & Northeast appear more barren of trees and I think you may have more crime when you live in a sparsely populated area that is not in the country.

[NoSnow4me]

SW has more Nile monitors. SE has more stuck up, high and mighty old bags. I'll take the SW.

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by chiluvr1228

I just moved to SE Cape but the northwest side of Del Prado and I love it here. I am close to everything including the midpoint bridge and the neighborhood is more established than parts of the SW because, like was said, it was the first part of Cape Coral that was developed. So we have more mature trees than you will see in some parts of the Cape. We have few, if any, rentals so we don't have a lot of people moving in and out and the neighbors are friendly and they keep an eye out for each other. I feel pretty safe here despite being alone now.


We bought a home in SW Cape off Pelican in 2003 and I loved that area also except it wasn't as convenient if you work in Fort Myers. However I did plant trees that are now at least 30 feet tall. :-) IMO the Northwest & Northeast appear more barren of trees and I think you may have more crime when you live in a sparsely populated area that is not in the country.

actually the NW has the least amount of crime in Cape Coral

[Samiamnh]

SW is definitely newer and more upscale but we wanted easy access to major roads and shopping and found the perfect spot for us in SE.We are NW of Del Prado but near the end of a street about 3/4 mile from Del Prado so there is hardly any traffic noise.It is dead end due to the canals so there is no through traffic and almost everyone there is known to us or there for a reason.We are retirement age but love the fact that our neighborhood is an equal mix of retiree's and younger families.Most areas of SW that we looked at were mostly older folks and that's ok but we like the sound of kids playing and love it when the grandkids come down and have friends to hang out with.Our house is totally surrounded by vegetation......originally owned by a guy who owned a landscaping company and it looks like he just planted his excess inventory around the property.Totally private ,like living in a jungle but a lot of work to trim everything each fall and we have to call the "claw" truck from Waste Management every fall to haul it all away.
Only drawback is the 20 minute boat trip to the river and another 20 to the gulf but considering the peace and quiet it's worth it.

[chiluvr1228]

Originally Posted by nhkev

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actually the NW has the least amount of crime in Cape Coral

Is that compared to the population figures?

[chiluvr1228]

Originally Posted by NoSnow4me

SW has more Nile monitors. SE has more stuck up, high and mighty old bags. I'll take the SW.

So you're saying that everyone who lives in the SE are stuck up, high and mighty old bags? All of the SE Cape? Wow, who knew I was like that? Most people find me warm, friendly and neighborly......

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by chiluvr1228

Is that compared to the population figures?

both, lowest number of crimes, lowest percentage per capita. obviously numbers are ever changing and as the NW gets built up especially commercially and multi family housing, crime usually follows.