Ft. Myers Ghetto? (Orlando, Cape Coral, Fort Myers: crime rate, lawyers, houses)

[Chuck12020123]

I'm looking to relocate to Fla in the next yr or so & I was wondering about San Carlos Park area. I'm looking for modestly priced area that is PEACEFUL and 30 min or less to a beach or two. Being near a city center (Ft Myers ?) is a big plus

[rikoshaprl]

//www.city-data.com/forum/fort-...rlos-park.html
There is a thread discussing SCP

[mot7355]

pine manor has just a few thugs in there the rest of the Pine Manor has hardworking people GET THE THUGS out put them in prison for drug dealing and theft ...we will all feel safer I own several duplexs in the area great investments

[kroeran]

Originally Posted by Chuck12020123

I'm looking to relocate to Fla in the next yr or so & I was wondering about San Carlos Park area. I'm looking for modestly priced area that is PEACEFUL and 30 min or less to a beach or two. Being near a city center (Ft Myers ?) is a big plus

please read FAQ for all the things to start thinking about

I would suggest thinking of Daniels and the 41 as the effective new "city centre", which itself is 15 minutes from the north entry to Fort Myers Beach, which has BBB, Target, Fresh Market and Lowes/Walmart/Home Depot a couple of minutes south from that point.

I am personally a fan of the "Daniels Corridor" which goes east of Daniels and the 41 as far as the 75, which is where I am at.

Another "City Centre" node to consider is Coconut Point further south, but its relatively high end.

The historic FM city centre is more of a special event or tourist destination with virtually no useful retail, surrounded by profoundly affordable housing to the south and east, and a snooty old money area down river to the west.

The Daniels Corridor line is where you are decisively into more of a polished North Naples feeling. The amount of choice in South West Florida is kinda mind boggling, so you have to set up camp and do a lot of exploring and not let an agent talk you into buying before you have figured things out.

A strength of San Carlos Park is that it is closer to the Bonita Beach Road "gateway" to the beaches, with BBR being a more reliable way of getting over there...being that the north end bridge can be impassible during March.

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by mot7355

pine manor has just a few thugs in there the rest of the Pine Manor has hardworking people GET THE THUGS out put them in prison for drug dealing and theft ...we will all feel safer I own several duplexs in the area great investments

Pine Manor is never going to be a desirable place to live. It's been a thorn in Fort Myers side for many years.

Yes, it's full of thugs and drug dealers, because landlords rent to the thugs and drug dealers.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by kroeran

please read FAQ for all the things to start thinking about

I would suggest thinking of Daniels and the 41 as the effective new "city centre", which itself is 15 minutes from the north entry to Fort Myers Beach, which has BBB, Target, Fresh Market and Lowes/Walmart/Home Depot a couple of minutes south from that point.

I am personally a fan of the "Daniels Corridor" which goes east of Daniels and the 41 as far as the 75, which is where I am at.

Another "City Centre" node to consider is Coconut Point further south, but its relatively high end.

The historic FM city centre is more of a special event or tourist destination with virtually no useful retail, surrounded by profoundly affordable housing to the south and east, and a snooty old money area down river to the west.

The Daniels Corridor line is where you are decisively into more of a polished North Naples feeling. The amount of choice in South West Florida is kinda mind boggling, so you have to set up camp and do a lot of exploring and not let an agent talk you into buying before you have figured things out.

A strength of San Carlos Park is that it is closer to the Bonita Beach Road "gateway" to the beaches, with BBR being a more reliable way of getting over there...being that the north end bridge can be impassible during March.

Just because you bought a condo near Daniels - and another for investment - doesn't mean that it is now downtown or the center of the universe for that matter. Downtown is perfectly lovely and since when is McGregor or that area snooty? The only snootiness I have ever encountered is the nouveau riche trying too hard, thinking that "acting rich" means being rude.

SCP is spotty at best. It's working class but you never know what is going to be living next door, especially since the housing bust and a lot of homes rented out.

Cape Coral is currently your best bang for the buck. It can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 40 minutes to Fort Myers Beach, depending on where you land in CC. Very low crime in CC as opposed to Fort Myers.

[kroeran]

Hik: have you moved back or are you still three states away?

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by kroeran

Hik: have you moved back or are you still three states away?

doesn't matter..her post was dead on.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by Kim in FL

Pine Manor is never going to be a desirable place to live. It's been a thorn in Fort Myers side for many years.

Yes, it's full of thugs and drug dealers, because landlords rent to the thugs and drug dealers.

Unfortunately, there are many nice areas of SWFL that have these "pockets" of houses & apartments that attract a certain element. I agree with you, Kim, because I've seen what can happen when property owners in a neighborhood decide to make changes.

[justNancy]

I agree that for a city its size, Fort Myers has a disproportionately high crime rate and, in general, Cape Coral is much safer. There's no arguing about it, because the statistics show that Cape Coral has less than 1/2 the violent crimes per capita. However, I doubt if the victims of the home invasions on the Cape really care about the low crime rate. I don't know of any random violent crimes reported in Paseo or similar developments. **Please - I hope nobody mentions the murders in Gateway again. That incident was in 2005 and wasn't random.** Of course I'm not saying home invasions are common in Cape Coral, but crime can happen anywhere. Even if you live in a gated community, you can't hide behind the gates 24/7. But you can use common sense on where you walk and drive, especially at night.

I've been to the Art Walk and other events in downtown Fort Myers and always felt safe. Would I go to the mall and walk to my car alone with packages late at night? Probably not. However, I felt the same way when I was in Naples. People get mugged in posh shopping centers too.

I've visited a lot of beautiful homes in Fort Myers and, if it was a run down, high crime, dumpy area as so many on this board claim, it must mean that people who are willing to pay more than $300K for a house in The Plantation or over $200k for a townhouse in Paseo, or $800k for a home in Devonwood (and the list goes on) must be really stupid. Or maybe the residents in Miromar Lakes who spend as much as $600k for a condo or over a million for a house are all fools since they're moving to a "ghetto" (a word I often see on this board) where you can't even walk outside.

There is so much Fort Myers bashing on this board and I'm guessing it's by people who are unhappy with their lives, never lived there, or probably don't even live in Florida. I know people who have lived in Naples for several years and haven't been to Fort Myers and it's less than 25 miles north.

The City of Fort Myers has invested a lot of money for major restoration and renovation of its Historic District and it's quite charming. Millions have been invested in the River District alone and community redevelopment is ongoing. Everyone has a different lifestyle and we need to respect the choices others make. For some strange reason, people here have accused me of being a "hater" of SWFL which is so ridiculous. Why would I live here? I've warned people about bad areas, but I always say every city has its positive and negative features and to choose wisely.