Anyone Here From SW Florida?

[Ji in Hawaii]

Aloha Gentlemen, Sorry I have not posted in a while. Been busy trying to get my old homestead ready to put up on the market very shortly. I first moved into this house when I was 6 years old. That was over 51 years ago. I own 13.5% of this property split between 4 other siblings. The time has come to sell this place and divide up the proceeds. After all the dust has settled I probably be lucky to clear $145,000. Even though my parents have been gone for ten years I am still obligated and honored to take care of my wife's aging parents as long as required. They are in their mid to late 80s. When they are finally resting peacefully several years in the future I will be forced to retire to the Mainland US as my measly pension combined with what little Social Security I get won't allow me to live comfortably here at home in Hawai'i. My kid sis moved to Cape Coral, Fl. 20 years ago, and she today owns her home, is already retired, and living very comfortably. She has been trying to get me to move there for a while, and I think I'll give in. The weather is similar as well as the flora and some fauna. I can afford to buy a home there and even have coconut trees, mango trees, avocado trees, and plumaria and hibiscus in my yard too. I would narrow my home search to Punta Gorda, Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, and maybe Pine Island. My kid sis has health issues now, and I don't want to be too far away from her in case of emergencies. A couple questions for any levergunners who call SW Florida their home: How is gun ownership viewed there? What hunting opportunities are there in the area for big game, small game, and upland game (birds)? I know the fishing can be very good so I'm looking forward to that. I lived in Idaho, and California for the total of 9 months combined over 30 years ago, that's the full extent of my time living on the Mainland US. A tad scary but no other choice. I'm looking forward to any input pros and cons of living in SW Florida. Mahalo a nui loa, Ji

[Pete44ru]

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I have visited friends who live next door to Punta Gorda (in Englewood) multiple times.

AFAIK, the gun owners there are viewed positively, and there's a public shooting range nearby - in a state park, just South of Punta Gorda.

The very first thing ANY gun owner there should do is legally establish residency (register to vote) & obtain a CCW permit (E-Z-Peazy for a FL resident).

The different surrounding counties have different laws that pertain to waiting periods (or no waiting period) when obtaining a firearm - worth considering, for some folks, before deciding on a location.

There is both black bear & deer hunting, but feral hogs heavily populate the area - sometime making night-time country road travel adventuresome.

Also, the different municipalities have very different property tax structures, depending if the property owner has FL as their primary residence (voting, driver lisc, etc) or not.

The area abutting Rte 41 (Tamiami Trail - say: ta Miami ) are very heavy with strip malls and multiple various business' - and the daily traffic extremely heavy at times.
Englewood sports a WalMart, and there's a BassPro shop within reasonable driving distance.
No. Ft.Myers has a very interesting store (The Shell Factory, IIRC) who's owner has decorated the walls with taxidermy animals of every description - and (the last time I visited) a huge/separate trophy room that featured full-sized mounted African Lions & other Big Game.

Also, there's an excellent gun show in Fort Myers - the best of several that I've attended in FL, over the years.

The area is alternately known as Yard Sale City...........


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[claybob86]

Hi, Ji, I'm of no help, just wanted to say I'm glad you dropped in for a visit!

[Blaine]

Hi, Ji, I'm of no help, just wanted to say I'm glad you dropped in for a visit!

+1 Aloha, Bro....

[Rusty]

Hey brother glad you popped back in! I spent my early life in the Ft.Myers area. We used to call Cape Coral Cape Moscow because of all the crazy city ordinances they had.
North Ft. Myers is a nice area as is east Ft.Myers where I grew up. Cattle ranches are plentiful in that area. You can grow avocados,papayas, mangoes, bananas, all kinds of citrus, pineapple, and most any other thing suitable for subtropics. Fishing is great in both fresh and salt water. Hunting depends on what land you can access. There are a few wildlife management areas run by the state with open and closed seasons. Hogs are abundant and have attained nuisance status in most areas. Deer aren't worth hunting IMHO as they seldom get over 100 lbs. Small game can be hunted within their seasons. South Florida is home to one of the most sought after birds in the country, the Osceola turkey. A lost of turkey hunters pay big $$ to come here to kill one from out of state so they can finish their grand slam on turkeys. Upland bird hunting is rather limited to dove, although there are some game farms around that offer farm raised quail hunts.
Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. I live about 85 miles north of that area now.

[Ji in Hawaii]

Aloha Gents, Mahalo nui for the welcome, and the input. Not sure if it's all SW Florida but in Cape Coral the city came and added sewer lines to the street bypassing the still new septic system and charge my sis something like $20,000. She had no choice on the matter. I believe they call it assessments. A smart fellow buys a home there with assessments already paid for he doesn't inherit them from the seller. What I like about Cape Coral is the 400 miles of canals and affordable canal front homes. I love the idea of having ocean access right in my backyard like I do now. Punta Gorda probably my first choice though though not as many affordable canal front homes. I was thinking Port Charlotte too but no further so I'm still relatively close to my kid sis. When I first started looking for Mainland properties I found some really nice waterfront lands in a more rural setting in both Puget Sound, Wa., and along the coast of Maine especially on many of the small offshore islands. I would love both places but my wife cannot take any cold so Florida it shall have to be, and again closer to my kid sis. I was hoping I could get back into pig hunting in Florida. I haven't hunted pigs since living on Maui. Mahalo nui again for the comments.

[guido4198]

I lived in Ft. Myers for a few years, now living in Sebastian, on the East Coast.
I grew up in S. Florida, when it was a GREAT place to be a kid...not so much anymore. When I came back as an adult a few yrs ago and asked around about .."where do we hunt..??" the universal reply was "GEORGIA". I contacted a hunting club in S. FLorida, out near Lake Okeechobee and the nice lady told me they would love to have me as a member. The annual dues were $6,000.00 and that was 10 yrs ago.
Bottom line around here is that while there are indeed a LOT of hogs, there's also a LOT of hunters on public managed area hunts ( think: Wal-Mart parking lot) and unless you can spend the money to join a private club, you'll have a hard time hunting in Florida. Most of the guys I know just go to one of the many commercial "hunting preserves" to kill a pig for a couple hundred bucks, put it in the freezer and call it good. It's shooting pigs over feeders, certainly not "hunting", but it's what is most available to most of the folks down here.
I'll second the comment re: Cape Coral. I remember it referred to as "Cape Communist" due to all the restrictive local ordinances. Also, don't get too carried away with the idea of waterfront living. Once somebody spots a manatee in your canal, you'll find yourself in a "idle speed only Manatee Zone" and the time required to get your boat OUT OF the canal where you live, to some bigger water just ramped up quite a bit.
You might also want to compare the homeowners insurance premiums for waterfront vs. non-waterfront property. As to gun ownership, as pointed out, Florida is generally gun-friendly. That said, when I lived in Ft. Myers the high sheriff of Lee County was proud to declare "There ain't gonna be NO public shooting range in MY county". Sure enough, there wasn't. It was a pretty good drive to get to a decent outdoor public range. I'd hope he's long gone now, but I don't know. Perhaps someone with more current information can help on that one.
DEFINITELY consider getting a concealed carry permit. That's all I'm say about that...There's areas of Ft. Myers you'll want to stay out of.
On the good news side, most of the VERY best fishing in S.W. Florida is accessible from a kayak and kayak fishing is the real up-close-and-personal way to pursue our finest game fish...Snook, Redfish, and of course...TARPON.
Hope you find some of this helpful.

[Ji in Hawaii]

I can't imagine anyplace more restrictive than where I already am The Peoples Republik of Hawai'i, one of the reasons why I want to move. My sis compares living in Cape Coral a breath of fresh air of freedom compared to Hawai'i even with the $20,000 sewer line bill. We have to pay a high income tax which the State keeps most of compared to our Federal taxes. Florida no income tax correct? I grew up on a canal that lead to the beach. If I can't live on the water it defeats my purpose of moving there. I am a semi-aquatic animal, that's all there is to it. The stream in my backyard has always been slow-no-wake which is the way I like it. If manatees will make the jet-ski jockies & speed-boaters slow down that's great. I prefer the quiet company of manatees over noisy humans and their infernal machines any day. I'd be rowing a dory anyways or at the very most my square stern canoe with a 2.5hp outboard. Just need to get to the Caloosahatchee or Pine Island sound for a relaxed day of fishing for redfish and sea trout. As far as insurance I'm already on the waterfront and have been paying Hawai'i's high insurance rates for years. I'm sure the Florida rates will be a refreshing surprise.
Shooting ranges may be another problem. I see a new indoor range in Cape Coral, and an outdoor range in Punta Gorda. Not sure how much they charge.
I am seeing a whole lot of public hunting land info online (much better than what's available on the island of Oahu where I am): http://myfwc.com/hunting/wma-brochures/ https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/recreation/hunting.php
Conveniently located hunting grounds not a deal breaker as I don't have that now anyways. I think what it boils down to is a difference of perspective. I see many more pluses over where I am.
My kid sis said don't cross the river into Fort Myers to look for a home, the crime is much higher there. I think that's where Florida has always had Hawai'i beat - their crime rate. Violent crimes are pretty rare here, and the need for a CCW kind of scares me.

[guido4198]

You're absolutely correct in the relief you will experience simply by getting OUT OF Hawaii. It certainly is a matter of perspective, as you say.
From my perspective, there's absolutely no way I would move to either Hawaii, or California. As an aside...I was contacted by a "Head Hunter" offering a financially lucrative position in California. Despite the excellent package being offered, I politely declined to even fly out and look it over. Finally had to tell the frustrated recruiter "it's in CALIFORNIA...and they can't find enough money to get me to move there. Same with Hawaii.
Punta Gorda is a bit of a drive from Cape Coral, but certainly offers more opportunities for pretty much everything you're interested in, along with less crime, lower costs.
No income tax in Florida, and outside of a few urban areas...Miami/Dade & Broward, Tampa, Jacksonville, and parts of Orlando and West Palm Beach..it's really pretty rural with lots of open space.
As I mentioned earlier, the hunting opportunities are pretty limited despite the FWC (Florida Wildlife Commission) managed public lands. I do most of my hunting with a muzzleloader which gets me in the woods in less crowded conditions. Despite that, last time I hunted Tossahatchee Wildlife Management area, on a quota hunt where the number of hunters allowed on the property is strictly controlled...I still had folks in stands within just a couple hundred yards of me.
C'mon over ...It will absolutely be a GREAT relief, and a LOT less expensive than where you are.
Best Wishes.