Cape Coral versus North Fort Myers (Tamiami, Estero: real estate, 2015, insurance)

[NekkidFish]

Like others who have posted here, although we are still open to Cape Coral, there are things about it that just doesn’t sit well with us ... but they aren’t game changers.

I don’t like when I go online and read people talking about the property police, the amount of vacant land, the lack of businesses to neighborhoods so that the residents don’t have to foot the whole bill .... in posts that date back over 8 years ... which makes me even more uneasy about the area.

I see people on here also recommend that people look at North Fort Myers ... and I’m wondering if someone can give me the boundaries that they’re referring to? I know people speak of the crime and gangs in North Fort Myers ... but I think the area people are talking about is the area near/around the Shell Factory?

(I hope I’m making sense. If not, please don’t hesitate to ask for me to clarify!)

I just feel so conflicted about the CC area. We are heading towards retirement, and I don’t know if we feel comfortable moving to an area that seems like it’s almost at the beginning stages, which could mean a whole lot more growth bumps and pains down the road.

Thanks!

[LifeIsGood01]

Cape Coral runs itself like a giant HOA, they don't let you park work trucks on your own property, they don't let you have a motor-home on your property, they don't let you have a boat on your property. I know of a family in CC who wanted to hold the care they got when the grandfather stopped driving and hold it for 2 years until their son was old enough to drive. They looked into it and CC told them they could not have the car on their property even in their garage unless it had insurance and a license plate, so they sold it.

Google Maps will show you the layout of North Fort Myers, though some appears wrong. The Home Depot on Pine Island road near N Cleveland/41 looks like it's in NFM but has an address in CC. The SavALot on Hancock Bridge Parkway looks like it's in CC but has a NFM address.

NFM also has lower property taxes because he have a county sheriff's office instead of a police department in NFM, but they do a good job when you need them. You should search some of the realty sites, NFM has a lot of nice homes, mixed with older ones and 55 plus mobile home parks and a few small trailer parks on 41.

[NekkidFish]

Thanks Life! You’ve confirmed my thoughts about CC.

[Mr Cape Coral]

I find that people like to go back a number of years to describe a city. But is that the current status?
Cape Coral is growing and that is just not my opinion.
Here is a link that names Cape Coral as the #1 Boomtown in the U.S. https://smartasset.com/mortgage/boomtowns-2017
Hundreds of new homes have been built in just the last year.
New businesses have opened and the job market has improved. There is a lack of construction workers.
Cape Coral is one of the safest cities in Florida https://www.fox4now.com/news/local-n...ies-in-america
Cape Coral has some of the best opportunities for buying homes.

[NekkidFish]

Originally Posted by Mr Cape Coral

I find that people like to go back a number of years to describe a city. But is that the current status?
Cape Coral is growing and that is just not my opinion.
Here is a link that names Cape Coral as the #1 Boomtown in the U.S. https://smartasset.com/mortgage/boomtowns-2017
Hundreds of new homes have been built in just the last year.
New businesses have opened and the job market has improved. There is a lack of construction workers.
Cape Coral is one of the safest cities in Florida https://www.fox4now.com/news/local-n...ies-in-america
Cape Coral has some of the best opportunities for buying homes.

And that’s exactly what our realtor tells us too ... but that is in conflict to what I read from people who actually live there and aren’t realtors. The only exception is people that I’ve sppoken to that live in (say) Sandoval. Since we aren’t necessarily wanting to live in a gated community, that isn’t necessarily relevant to us.

If we were 30 and buying our first home, and wanted to hang for years, then CC would be a very smart choice ... but that’s not the situation.

We have a pickup truck (2015 4x4 Toyota Tundra) and an RV (2015 Winnebago class A) and yet we would be excluded from some neighborhoods because we don’t want to sell our truck, and would need to pay $200 a month for secure RV storage.

As I said, we aren’t ruling our CC, it I just feel it might be too young of an area (as far as growth) for us.

[LifeIsGood01]

Originally Posted by NekkidFish

And that’s exactly what our realtor tells us too ... but that is in conflict to what I read from people who actually live there and aren’t realtors. The only exception is people that I’ve sppoken to that live in (say) Sandoval. Since we aren’t necessarily wanting to live in a gated community, that isn’t necessarily relevant to us.

If we were 30 and buying our first home, and wanted to hang for years, then CC would be a very smart choice ... but that’s not the situation.

We have a pickup truck (2015 4x4 Toyota Tundra) and an RV (2015 Winnebago class A) and yet we would be excluded from some neighborhoods because we don’t want to sell our truck, and would need to pay $200 a month for secure RV storage.

As I said, we aren’t ruling our CC, it I just feel it might be too young of an area (as far as growth) for us.

This area near Moody road by Hancock Bridge parkway is nice https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...17,16&qdm=true

It's also very close to Cape Coral, you are not far from the river and near the bridge to get to downtown Fort Myers.

[NekkidFish]

Originally Posted by LifeIsGood01

This area near Moody road by Hancock Bridge parkway is nice https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...17,16&qdm=true

It's also very close to Cape Coral, you are not far from the river and near the bridge to get to downtown Fort Myers.

Thanks for the link Life.

How do I know (when looking at the maps) what area is North Fort Myers that has gangs and high crime, versus North Fort Myers that is good?

[LifeIsGood01]

Originally Posted by NekkidFish

Thanks for the link Life.

How do I know (when looking at the maps) what area is North Fort Myers that has gangs and high crime, versus North Fort Myers that is good?

The bad parts are right along rt 41 which has a lot of motels and trailer parks. There are 2 41 roads, North Cleveland and Tamiami trail. People say Suncoast Estates near Hart Dr. is bad, that is mostly mobile home parks and mobile homes on private land. I don't know about gangs or high crime areas.

You can kind of tell by the age and the price of the homes, though prices are increasing fast for the lower cost older smaller homes. When you look at houses you can see the area and tell if a lot of the neighbors homes are run down or not. I bought a small older home and lucky for me the bad neighbors moved away, and I feel really safe here and I have some very good neighbors.

When you are ready to look I can send you a private message with the info on the Real Estate agent that I used if you want.

[NekkidFish]

Originally Posted by LifeIsGood01

The bad parts are right along rt 41 which has a lot of motels and trailer parks. There are 2 41 roads, North Cleveland and Tamiami trail. People say Suncoast Estates near Hart Dr. is bad, that is mostly mobile home parks and mobile homes on private land. I don't know about gangs or high crime areas.

You can kind of tell by the age and the price of the homes, though prices are increasing fast for the lower cost older smaller homes. When you look at houses you can see the area and tell if a lot of the neighbors homes are run down or not. I bought a small older home and lucky for me the bad neighbors moved away, and I feel really safe here and I have some very good neighbors.

When you are ready to look I can send you a private message with the info on the Real Estate agent that I used if you want.

Thanks!! When I talk about crime and gangs, it’s based on posts here and elsewhere, where people say “stay away from North Ft. Myers ... lots of gangs and high crime.

Part of my issue with Cape Coral as well, sort of fits into my question about North Ft. Myers ... for example ... I spent hours going through homes on Realtor, and picked out 15+ homes ($350 - $375K) for our realtor that I wanted to go to. We went to one house on that list, because our realtor said he knew I wouldn’t like the other 14+ homes ... because they were in neighborhoods, or on streets, where there are homes that aren’t kept up.

That’s weird to me, because that basically tells me that I need to rely on a realtor to find a street where everybody is on the same page with taking care of their homes. And, that goes back to my original issue with Cape Coral ... it’s just such a new area, and there doesn’t seem to be defined areas on if one street or neighborhood is okay ... which I am learning is how a lot of Florida is. But, when you add that in, with people talking so poorly about the local government, the neighborhood police (people say Nazi’s, but I do not like that comparison).

We aren’t uppity people. We aren’t rich people. We totally understand we might have that one neighbor that doesn’t keep their house up, or the neighbor that keeps an old car in their driveway. But, when you mix in the bad house, good house, bad house, good house ... with the locals complaining about the above mentioned, it really makes me question CC for us, at this stage in our life.

I’m rambling. I need to clock out. LOL

[chiluvr1228]

Frankly I don't know if I believe what one poster said about the car in his garage had to be removed because of expired plates, insurance, etc. If you kept your garage closed how would anybody know?


Yes Cape had it's property police but unless somebody complains they don't bother you. I have three neighbors who let their grass get really long and obviously they have not received a warning. The thing some people hate about the Cape are the same things that make others love it. You're not going to have boats, motor homes, etc. parked in driveways. If everybody did that it would be rather an eyesore.


That being said, there are parts of North Fort Myers that is beautiful like the Moody Road area but it depends on how you want to spend your retirement. Are you buying a single family home? Do you want to be on the water so you can boat out to the river or gulf?


Every city has its good and bad. I moved back to the Cape from Fort Myers last autumn. I live in the SE part of the Cape of Del Prado which is the most established and the neighbors watch out for each other without being intrusive.


There's always parts of Fort Myers to check into like Gateway (I lived there and loved it) or Estero also.