From Kansas City to Cape Coral? (Estero: for sale, rental, new house)

[JoanCu]

Hello all,

I posted this in another thread, but it was buried.

..my husband & I are in our mid-40's & have 7-yr old daughters. We live in a nice area of Kansas City, having grown up here.
My in-laws live most of the year in Estero, in a gated senior community, and absolutely love it. We're just finishing up our vacation here and WE love it, too. The weather, pools, beach, the whole 9 yards.
My question: Is Cape Coral a safe, great place for families? Is it too crowded--or headed that way? Good schools, and if so, which areas?
If you would not endorse Cape Coral, is there an area of Florida you'd recommend instead?
Just fyi, I work part-time, hubby works from home as a computer programmer so we can live anywhere. We'd be looking in the 230k max range for a home.
Thanks very much for your help in advance! -Joan in Kansas City

[Compression]

Originally Posted by JoanCu

Hello all,

I posted this in another thread, but it was buried.

..my husband & I are in our mid-40's & have 7-yr old daughters. We live in a nice area of Kansas City, having grown up here.
My in-laws live most of the year in Estero, in a gated senior community, and absolutely love it. We're just finishing up our vacation here and WE love it, too. The weather, pools, beach, the whole 9 yards.
My question: Is Cape Coral a safe, great place for families? Is it too crowded--or headed that way? Good schools, and if so, which areas?
If you would not endorse Cape Coral, is there an area of Florida you'd recommend instead?
Just fyi, I work part-time, hubby works from home as a computer programmer so we can live anywhere. We'd be looking in the 230k max range for a home.
Thanks very much for your help in advance! -Joan in Kansas City

I'll see if I can add a bit more to what I've already said...
Although I personally have seen a rise in crime, you have to remember I've been here just about 18 years. It is probably as "safe" as most other areas you could look at. IMHO, it lacks much to do for children.
As for crowding, that gets a little complicated. The economy here is one of the worst in the country, lots of U Haul trucks loading up, not many unloading in these parts. Then the seasonal crowd comes in during the winter, although I'm not sure how many may show up this year, because of the economy. The traffic is definatly worse in the winter. So it's kinda hard to tell which way it's really going right now.
The schools arent the best IMHO, but I dont know how the schools are in KC, so a comparison would be tough. The "school choice" program gives you more flexability in choosing a place to live, and still having your kids go to the school of your choosing. Not really sure about the details, hopefully someone else will chime in with more info.
I typically discourage people from coming here, unless they have secured employment first. It sounds like you have that covered for the most part. As far as part time employment is concerned, depending on the type your looking for, it likely wont pay much more than $8-10 hr.
Since this area has been hit hard by the sub prime mess, there is a glut of housing available here, both rental and for sale. You should be able to find a lot of house for the figure you quoted. Although my personal suggestion would be to rent for a year first, to make sure you find the area really compatible with your tastes. Once you buy something here, you may find yourselves "married" to the area for quite some time. I'm sure others will have some good input as well, Good luck.

[T-Bird]

Renting is a great suggestion. We have been researching the community and found that the very south point by the beach provides promising investment properties - for $200k you can but a small bungalow on the canal with a pool. The houses are older but the area looks fantastic - I haven't seen deals in RE like that anywhere! Other areas are abandoned - if you search on listingbook you'll find hundreds of properties for sale right now. We were recently there to look around and from what we could see, the south point was best. There are larger new houses south of Veterans and West of Chiquita (check mapquest) that may be better for families but Im not sure what the community is like. My hunch is there probably isn't much for kids unless they like boating )

[flborn]

Having moved here from Overland Park almost two years ago, it is difficult. I miss the midwest so much. That said, I've been retraining my brain to stop wishing things were the same and trying to see the good. Kansas City metro is a fabulous place to raise children. We have kids ages 13 & 10 and that is what makes it so hard down here. The school system is difficult (we live in Estero) but I think Cape Coral might be a better place to be, school-wise. I find it frustrating that the whole busing and snowbird thing makes the idea of 'community' harder to find but we're getting used to it. Also, midwesterners are nicer drivers, so I'm not sure I'll ever let my kids drive down here.

Hmmm... I guess that wasn't a glowing review but I can't seem to muster up anything else. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. We just got back late last night from a month back in Kansas so I'm a bit moody. Tomorrow, I may be a little more upbeat!

[jimandjoann]

We don't live in CC, but we've visited a dozen times this year already. While it can still be debated whether or not the country is in recession, CC is in a depression. That said, the people that live there are awesome, and the city is still very nice. You can buy a wonderful home in your price range.