Looking to purchase a second home in the Cape Coral area mainly to have a place to go a couple times a year to get away from the oppression of NJ. Eventually changing residency to Fl. Im an avid fisherman and sportsmen and love SW Florida. Is there anything i need to know and avoid. Also is there any outdoor rifle ranges or place to go to shoot. Thanks .

Living in Cape Coral you got to get used to rules. A lot of them.


No vehicles in your driveway with logos of any type (even police cruisers)

Can only use your sprinkler certain times of certain days.

Lots of other stuff that zoning and ordinance gets all cranky about.



Flooding is a big problem there so insurance will be a lot probably. Other than that it's a decent area. There are some well priced houses in that area.



As far as gun stores, he'll there's a lot of them.

Sadly, Cape Coral is the NJ of Lee county. You will have to deal with bullshit rules and the code enforcement Nazis.

Cape Coral looks like a well kept community. I don't know the area very well but Im looking for a canal front house with quick acess to the Pine Island sound Gulf area. Im stuck in NJ for a few more years and just wanted an exit plan. Any suggestions for a good area to look would be appreciated. Thanks.

I'm in NW Cape Coral and like this area a lot.  The NW quadrant seems to be the least "built up" area.  I've got empty lots on all sides of my house so it feels roomy.  

We're probably going to get hit with the water assessment in the coming years.  It's a mandatory fee to get off of well water (and possibly septic too) to get onto city water (and possibly sewerage).  IIRC, the area between Burnt Store Rd and Old Burnt Store Rd just got added to the assessment a couple of weeks ago.  I think that most (if not all) of SE and SW quadrants have the city water already or are in the process of getting it right now.

There seems to be a lot of parts of the NE quadrant that have duplexes and cheaper homes in them.  I'd probably avoid that area.  The "Gator Circle" area doesn't have the best of reputations either.

Cape Coral PD has a halfway decent crime map on their page if you want to see what crimes are occurring in what parts of the city.

For outdoor rifle ranges, the biggest one is Cecil Webb.  It's in Charlotte County off of Tucker's Grade, about a 30 minute drive north for me.  It's a public range, open 7 days a week.  They have two rifle ranges (50/100yd and a 100/200yd), a pistol range and a trap/skeet range.

ITS THE LAND OF THE LAWS .....Think very hard first ..

Not all canals have gulf access some are behind the weirs so be careful where you buy.

I'm in NW cape still lots of empty lots.  Some bull shit rules but not a bad place to live.  Good gun stores. And Cecil Webb is a ok open air range.

I live in the NE cape but the guys are right lots of bullshit rules. But nt a big deal. I put up a fence.

Thanks for the replies, wife and I are still in preliminary phase. We have been getting emails listings from a local realtor. If you guys in the Cape have a suggestion for  a better area let me know.  Im more worried about being burglarized  when I'm not there than anything.Thanks

He's from NJ, even moving to the Cape will feel like escaping communism from his perspective.

OP, also look at Port Charlotte.  It's close to where you've been looking and there are still some decent deals on canal front homes.  Far less city ordinances and no tolls to get to and from your house.

I'm in the North Cape, it seems like crime here is not as bad as it is in the south cape. There is a back road running from the cape to Punta Gorda called Burnt Store Road. Nice out of the way and probably lots with water access.

Look from Citrus County and north along the coast.

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/43644908_zpid/0-300000_price/0-1116_mp/days_sort/28.826591,-82.555947,28.760474,-82.667527_rect/13_zm/0_mmm/1_fr/?view=map

Thanks for all the help. Wife and are going back down in a month to check out the area some more.

Punta Gorda

If I ever wanted a check cashed, or to buy a Kia or Meth I might go to Cape Coma.

Otherwise no, just no.

well considering all the people from fucking jersey who live there.....yeah.

The cape is a good place to live better than any thing around it.
Gator.  

Canal front? Some of the best fishing is in the winter months when the grouper come in close. It's also when the lowest tides occur. Look for "Sailboat water" in the listing so you can get in and out regardless of the tides.

We're big fans of Bokeela and prefer it to anyplace in the keys. Check out St.James City, Burnt Store Marina, Pirate harbor and Punta Gorda also.

The best bang for the buck on west coast water front would have to be the Apollo Beach area on Tampa Bay south of Tampa.