They call Cape Coral the “Venice of America”.  In addition to being on the Gulf of Mexico, the city has canals running throughout the neighborhoods. That means many of the homes are either on the Gulf or on the canals, making it a city where most live on the water – one way or the other, and if that’s your thing you’re going to like it here just fine.

Mini review from a relatively recent local: *I am 52 and my wife 38. we have 2 Children, 8 and 2. we have been in the cape since 2018 and lived in Ft Myers for almost a year previous to that.The Cape is quiet and as stated has a larger percentage of older people. it has been our experience that its a great place to live. several great parks/playgrounds, a few good places to eat. Not much nightlife, they do have a small area with a few bars but not much other than that. Jobs are mostly service or retail, the cape doesn't have much in the way of employment variety. However, many working age people in the cape commute into Ft. Myers daily and Ft. Myers offers a better selection of entertainment options.*

The Water

The Best Thing About Cape Coral 

What most locals complain about is the fact that the city is quiet, too quiet. While plenty of locals, particularly retirees and families, are happy to chill and enjoy the outdoors, for many the lack of a significant commercial district and no culture to speak of drives them a bit stir crazy. 

Review from a local about the Cons:
*- as mentioned lots of old people (and everything that comes with that)
*- “Florida Man” - google it. you will encounter at least one in your first month. Personally I was nearly assaulted by some psycho in broad daylight while parked outside a CVS*
*- nothing to do for young people socially in Cape Coral. We went to ft Myers a few times which was ok but  not expect to socialize/interact with people your age in CC (though, Covid, so...)*

ZZZZZZZZZ

The Worst Thing About Cape Coral?

As noted, Cape Coral is a quiet city. Filled primarily with Retirees and Families who enjoy the outdoor lifestyle, primarily on the water, you get to enjoy here. Whether swimming in the Gulf, boating, paddle boarding or fishing on the canals, if you dislike water you won’t like the Lifestyle in Cape Coral. It should be noted that during the tourist season, roughly Thanksgiving through April, Florida fills with northerners, who fill the roads, and beaches and restaurants. If that extra energy bums you out, stay clear.  

If you want to check out what locals do for fun check out the Cape Coral calendar of events: https://www.capecorallivingmagazine.com/calendar

Lifestyle of Cape Coral

Most people who live in Cape Coral work in Fort Meyers. The city is primarily a residential border town of the much bigger and faster growing Fort Meyers and if you live here but still work, then you’re probably heading to one of the big businesses in Fort Meyers. Retail, Healthcare, Tech and Electronics all have a big presence in the area which is why Fort Meyers has been at times the fastest growing city in the U.S. 


Worklife of Cape Coral

If you’re retiring and looking for a beautiful place to live, Cape Coral is a wonderful choice. If you’re a family looking to escape the weather of the great white north, and don’t care about how much in-town action there is, then Cape Coral should be on your list.  


Escape to Quiet

Why You Should Move Here Now?

If you’re looking for a master-planned community check out Coral Lakes. Like many communities in the area, Coral Lakes is gated for security, and filled with big 4 and 5 bedroom homes and a roughly equivalent number of townhomes for smaller families, retirees or vacationers. The neighborhood has plenty of amenities for the kiddos, like volleyball courts, soccer fields and play areas. Many of the homes are on the water, as you’ll find throughout Cape Coral. If you want to go even more upscale check out West Cape Estates. The roads are cobblestone, the lots are big and many of the homes are on the community’s 2-acre freshwater lake. The neighborhood also has some homes with water access to the Gulf of Mexico.
- Coral Lakes
- West Cape Estates
- Trafalgar Woods
- Cape Royal


Families

Coral Lakes

So many of the gated communities in Cape Coral feel like 55+ neighborhoods you find in other cities that the options feel endless. Some are focused on the 55+ community and we’d recommend starting with Cape Royal. It’s a golf community with just 483 single-family homes, plenty of resort amenities, and a 27-hole championship golf course. There are year-round events, trips and community activities for those looking to be social. 
- Cape Royal
- Gulf Coast Village
- Highpoint


Retirees

Cape Royal

Cape Coral 

**Potentially moving to Cape Coral from Iowa in a few months - Advice!**

This is kind of crazy but a few years back I moved from Iowa... from Des Moines, to Cape Coral. I ended up living there for 3 1/2 years then promptly moved back to Iowa. There are definitely some positives of living in Florida but there are a whole pile of negatives as well. If you’re fairly young one of the biggest culture shocks you’ll get is how old everybody there is. It Definitely takes some getting used to. It will get infinitely worse from about December through May when all the snowbirds travel from all over the United States and Canada down to Florida. I work in healthcare so dealing with all those folks was pretty difficult and taxing on my job.

When I was there, that’s when the Algae crisis occurred. It wasnt all that much covered on national news as it was happening when California was basically on fire. If you read about the algae situation in Cape Coral, it’s pretty intense. That being said, fishing there is really fun. The beaches are pretty nice but Sanibel and Captiva are both fairly hard to get to in the seasonal months when the snowbirds are around.

One of the up-and-coming areas of Cape Coral, is the north west suburbs. I think that’s a pretty cool area. If you’re going to visit, definitely check out Cato Costa and Matlacha.



**Potentially moving to Cape Coral from Iowa in a few months - Advice!**

My fiance and I are 32 and 34 we bought a house here with our two kids and we love cape Coral, our area is quiet, people keep to themselves and hang out in their pools or go riding around in their boats. we live in Sw cape and are close to pine island and there is any kind of shopping you might want up and down that street.

If you like to hang out and stuff. There are a few nice bars but it's nothing like in Fort Myers. Older crowd maybe... Nice guys has you get people and great pizza and drinks. But yes not too much in the way of night life. But also a lot less violent crime than fort Myers. Soooo there's that. We used to live there and after there were three shootings in a week and a half we basically fled.

The beach isn't that close but we prefer to go all the way to Gasparilla anyway for the beach. There aren't a ton of kids around but there are a lot of parks so the kids can meet other friends there.

What I dislike about cape Coral are the numerous ordinances. There is a rule for everything and sometime that is truly annoying. Our neighbors moved to Sanibel but if you're house hunting you've seen the prices there. Southwest Cape and Southeast cape seem to be the more established parts. With the north parts being more empty and in development. So be careful with that. because there are places still being developed, you might end up living next to something you didn't really want to when you were looking. I know in the past couple years a few apartment complexes irritated some people who were opposed.

**Potentially moving to Cape Coral from Iowa in a few months - Advice!**

I moved from North Dakota (originally from Minnesota) to Cape in 2005. I will tell you, as 20 somethings in Cape you will be bored as hell and a 30 minute drive and a toll bridge away from anything you want to do.

First, a few facts about the area.

Everything in Southwest Florida is like a 30-45 minute drive. Want to see a movie and get some dinner at Gulf Coast? 45 minutes each way and a 2 dollar toll. Want to watch the sunset on Sanibel? 45 minutes and a 6 dollar toll.

People generally live in Cape and work in Fort Myers, so if you end up the same and work an 8-5 you will have horrendous traffic to and from work. Living in Fort Myers and working in Cape was awesome, until season came.

When I moved, snowbirds and tourists didn't bother me so much, but after a few years of "Season" it starts to grind your gears. There is like 4 months a year where every restaurant has a wait, traffic is horrible all day every day....and places like Costco? On your way out you will get trapped at least 4 times by elderly couples that stop to discuss what they might have forgot...ya know because they are always forgetting things.

I don't know what field you are in, but there are several fields (like technology) that are a bitch to find a job. They are out there, but it's tough to find them.

Occasionally they decide to drain Lake O and it destroys our water here for a while.

If you enjoy fishing, this area has some of the greatest fishing in the world.

Obviously the weather is great for a large amount of the year. There are still days I walk outside and think "holy shit what a beautiful day". Yes it gets hot as hell in the summer but you are used to going from heat to heat to heat so what difference is AC to AC to AC?

In the summer, it rains every day. Downpours that you wouldn't see in years in Iowa are a daily occurrence. Nice thing is, there is rarely a "rainy day". Gone are your days of losing all of memorial day weekend to rain.

There are a lot of big and exciting cities that are within a day trip, and even more if you do an overnight. Sarasota and Siesta Key are great day trips, I know people that will hit Tampa for Busch Gardens and come back the same day, I have gone to St. Pete for Twins/Rays games and come back the same day. Miami is 2 hours, Orlando is 3.5. There is a big catamaran that will take you to Key West for like 140 bucks straight from FMB, and I've seen people go and come back same day, although I wouldn't recommend that.

There are some really interesting sort of "hidden treasures" in Florida that you start discovering once you've done the Disneys and the Miami Beaches. The springs that are all over the state are amazing experiences, there are some awesome park/boardwalk style hikes all over the place as well. Hell one of my favorite things to do with people who visit me is drive them down to Everglades City to see the wild Alligators laying all over the place and then have lunch in Everglades City, a town with some crazy Florida history.

**What is it like to live in Cape Coral, FL?**

After living in Cape Coral for 3 years I can say ….not much to do here except drink and eat. During season it is almost impossible for the local citizens to get around due to the massive increase in traffic and people in the restaurants and stores and roads. With the increase in snowbirds and tourists come the increase in prices on everything. You get to meet the snowbirds….. It is a nice place to be if you want to be close to the beaches of Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel and Captiva…. and enjoy the warm weather while everyone in the north is freezing. However, one needs to investigate the yearly issues with Red Tide and Green Tide and the Caloosahache River. Wish we had done our homework before we moved down here. I find that Cape Coral has it good points too. But we are presently looking to move to be closer to family. PS….. there are lots of old people here and it has been safe here for us….. no mosquitoes and I have not seen any alligators in our part of the Cape and it’s fun to see the manatees and dolphins. Everything grows here and the thunder is loud and the rain is awesome. Homes are built like bunkers and amazing tough to endure the hurricanes and most homes in the Cape have pools. We weathered Hurricane Irma with only a loss of one palm tree. Off season is awesome…. and quiet and one can get around with relative ease. That is when we have had fun exploring Florida and we have the beaches to ourselves. Sunsets here are the best and are almost a daily religious activity…. I have enjoyed my time here and I love our home here with plastic flamingoes in the yard.

Cape Coral , Florida

Venice of America

Looklyloo Score: 78

We're on it!