frequent movers back and forth. considering it again. Opinions? (Clearwater: apartment, HOA)

[clc08]

We started living in Bonita Springs in 2011. Since then we have sold, moved back to Indiana, sold, moved back to Bonita, sold, moved back to Indiana. Crazy.

Had to move back this last time so husband could get 2 spinal surgeries. I'm an R.N. know the docs here, etc. It was a good thing to do.

Having said.... that we are once again considering the move, but when we last left the congestion was worse and getting worse with a huge increase in complexes sprouting up everywhere we looked from Bonita to Estero, Ft. Myers, and now we're really on the fence.

I was looking at Bonita again, Cape Coral, Estero, Venice....areas. Although we're both professionals, we aren't affluent by any means of Naples standards...so.... and we are babyboomers.


To those of you who left. Are you glad?????

To those of you who remain? Should I be concerned????

We are currently living in an Apartment, nice as it is, we don't like it. We have a goldendoodle, and leashing him up to go out is a royal pain. Our budget would not allow us to purchase more than a condo....

Anyway. Thanks for listening. Looking for advice.

[SellingNWCape]

What are you looking to spend this time around? Prices have been rising down here since you left, the Naples market being especially crazy. There are still some good deals to be found in Cape Coral. I've been watching the market since we'll be listing soon and see even new construction homes around here for $200k so budget does go a bit further in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral area as opposed to Naples/Estero area. Just something to keep in mind. Venice area is nice, too. Sorry I can't speak to moving back and forth. I hate the cold too much to ever do that.

[clc08]

Originally Posted by SellingNWCape

What are you looking to spend this time around? Prices have been rising down here since you left, the Naples market being especially crazy. There are still some good deals to be found in Cape Coral. I've been watching the market since we'll be listing soon and see even new construction homes around here for $200k so budget does go a bit further in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral area as opposed to Naples/Estero area. Just something to keep in mind. Venice area is nice, too. Sorry I can't speak to moving back and forth. I hate the cold too much to ever do that.

Interesting observations, and after doing research practically all night long I’ve come to the same conclusions. The market is definitely crazy. I’m seeing a bigger bang for the buck in Cape Coral and both of us love the Venice area and I think maybe I’m onto something there. We’re thinking we would like to spend around 220 which is not a whole lot but should be able to find something in that range. The biggest thing for us is we have a goldendoodle and having to keep him on a leash in and out of condominiums....up and down stairwells or whatever five or six times a day gets old especially during rainy season. We’re gonna have to find a place that has a decent dog park so he can run off lead and I think maybe I found a house in Venice in a cluster of single dwellings that has a reasonable HOA and is close enough to a pool... I am a lap swimmer and it’s important to me to be able to do that. Only wish Trader Joe’s had a store closer than the one in Sarasota. I’m concerned about the potential for insurance to go off the chart but I guess we will have to see.

Looking around and because we’re so familiar with Bonita, I noticed a condo that sold for about 140 2 years ago is listed at 220. Wow!

We looked at houses in our hometown today and realized the move back is inevitable....Columbus, Indiana doesn’t feel right anymore and we are natives and babyboomers. I was hoping For a smaller community close enough to the beach but had a walkable quaint downtown and I just don’t think there is such a thing that exists that we could afford.

Thanks for your reply.

[markjames68]

At least in Venice the move back to Indiana next time will be a bit shorter (tongue in cheek).

Collier and Lee have gotten very expensive so I agree, looking a bit further north is a good idea.

[SellingNWCape]

Yeah, Sarasota will be the closest Trader Joe's to Venice for quite some time I'm guessing. One just opened in Fort Myers a few weeks ago so we were pretty happy about that finally happening as we had to drive to Sarasota or Naples locations before. Usually Sarasota because it's quicker despite being a little further. Nice store. Parking lot gets a little crazy but there are multiple entry/exit points around the back and side of the building that most people don't seem to use so that helps in getting in/out.

Too bad Punta Gorda doesn't have a beach as they have a walkable downtown area that is very nice. Glad you may have found something in Venice that would work for you, especially as they have that nice dog beach there.

[clc08]

Originally Posted by SellingNWCape

Yeah, Sarasota will be the closest Trader Joe's to Venice for quite some time I'm guessing. One just opened in Fort Myers a few weeks ago so we were pretty happy about that finally happening as we had to drive to Sarasota or Naples locations before. Usually Sarasota because it's quicker despite being a little further. Nice store. Parking lot gets a little crazy but there are multiple entry/exit points around the back and side of the building that most people don't seem to use so that helps in getting in/out.

Too bad Punta Gorda doesn't have a beach as they have a walkable downtown area that is very nice. Glad you may have found something in Venice that would work for you, especially as they have that nice dog beach there.

Gosh. Trader Joe’s in Fort Myers ...that is awesome. We went to the one in Naples all the time. The little house in Venice will not work for us somebody was kind enough to get back to me and I guess it’s on a really busy street it’s very old and it just isn’t the answer there’s not even a garage. I’m thinking now maybe we should be looking at houses instead of condominiums. At least if we had a house we could fence the yard and get rid of the golden doodle problem. I agree with you about Punta Gorda. Nice place but not much in the way of beaches. Perhaps going further north has the answer of toward Sarasota or Clearwater or even Bradenton. May have to dig a little deeper in our pockets.

[SellingNWCape]

Have you looked in Fort Myers at all? Further north of Venice is going to get even more expensive. It's similar to the Naples market up there, slightly cheaper but still pricey. Your budget gets you a house with fenced yard in Cape Coral but there's no beach (Yacht Club sand doesn't count as a beach in my book.) When were you last in the area? They've really added a lot over the past couple of years, Whole Foods and a bunch of new shopping & dining that way and the Trader Joe's is in Page Field Commons by the Dick's Sporting Goods, PetSmart, Best Buy, etc. Being in Fort Myers at least keeps you close to the beaches of FMB, Sanibel, and Captiva in addition to all the stuff around Naples. Just something to think about if Venice and north doesn't pan out, but keep in mind more things might be coming to market with the standard spring season. Hard to say what will happen this year.

[clc08]

Update budget to 260000. We can go higher but prefer not to...

[Movingrightalong...]

Originally Posted by clc08

Having said.... that we are once again considering the move, but when we last left the congestion was worse and getting worse with a huge increase in complexes sprouting up everywhere we looked from Bonita to Estero, Ft. Myers, and now we're really on the fence.

I was looking at Bonita again, Cape Coral, Estero, Venice....areas. Although we're both professionals, we aren't affluent by any means of Naples standards...so.... and we are babyboomers.

To those of you who left. Are you glad?????

To those of you who remain? Should I be concerned????

We are currently living in an Apartment, nice as it is, we don't like it. We have a goldendoodle, and leashing him up to go out is a royal pain. Our budget would not allow us to purchase more than a condo....

Anyway. Thanks for listening. Looking for advice.

I understand about the dog, but consider the logistics of aging in place when you move. My mother is, I'm guessing, a few years older than you and bought a single family home in her late 60s. The result is that she's now living in a place that she has an extremely difficult time taking care of...a condo may be a better strategic choice.

But the market has gone crazy here. I bought a home for mid 4s a couple of years back. A similar one a few doors down just sold for 6ish and the buyers tore it down (presumably they wanted something larger).