16 Things You MUST Know When You Are Living in Cape Coral/Ft Myers

Today I'm going to tell you 16 things you need to know when you live in Cape Coral or Ft Myers, Florida.

Hey everyone, I'm Sherry Puchacz with REMAX Realty Team here in Cape Coral Florida. If you are new here, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel because I make videos and talk about a lot of really cool stuff related to Cape Coral and if you're gonna be living here, I'm sure you want to know about it. You may have seen a previous video I did called "Moving to Cape Coral – 10 Reasons Why You Should."

I love the fact that so many people are interested in moving to my slice of Paradise. Well today I'm gonna blog about the 16 things you need to know when you live here.... So let's get started.

1. We have Sunshine 265 days a year…..205 is average for the rest of the country….so make sure you have your shades, a hat and a cool drink
2. Be ready for a change of Pace….be ready to slow down and chill..people take their time...it’s not always convenient, but it’s nice not to always have the hustle and bustle...East Coast of Florida is a much faster pace…And be ready to say Ya’ll  rather than You Guys…...also there is alot of  southern hospitality...people in the south are generally really friendly and nice...they smile, wave and will start up a conversation with the people around you.
3. Make sure you understand the Quadrants in Cape Coral...NW,NE,SW,SE The main roads that are the dividing lines are Embers Parkway/Pine Island Rd and Santa Barbara Blvd.
4. Caloosahatchee River….know how to pronounce it ...it means River of the Caloosa...an Indian tribe that inhabited SW Florida...the Caloosahatchee River is 67 miles long and starts at the Gulf of Mexico and flows into Lake Okeechobee which comes from two words “oki” (water) and “chubi”(big)...then the St Lucie canal runs over to the Atlantic Ocean...all of these make up the Okeechobee Waterway. Oh and you also need to know how to pronounce “Matlacha” Matt-la-shay...island between Cape Coral and Pine Island.
5. Fishing...is world class...saltwater fish are Cobia, MahiMahi,Grouper, Amber Jack, Mullet, Sheepshead, Snapper, Snook, Tarpon and the freshwater fish are largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, carp and gar.
6. Food Options...Tons of SEAFOOD restaurants such as - Captain Cons (no website), Blue Dog https://www.bluedogmatlacha.com/, Waterfront (which has Buck a Shuck on Saturday) https://www.waterfrontrestaurantmarina.com/, Lazy Flamingo http://lazy-flamingo-3.edan.io/ - all on Pine Island.  Lobster Lady https://www.lobsterladyseafood.com/ in Cape Coral on Cape Coral Parkway. For Mexican, El Tarasco https://www.eltarascomexicanrestaurante.com/is my favorite on Pine Island Road. For Sushi..Captain Hooks https://captainhookssushi.com/ is new on Santa Barbara Blvd and Veteran’s Parkway. For German there is Stanijas European Restaurant https://www.stanijasrestaurant.com/ on Chiquita Blvd. And my favorite Italian place is Miceli’s https://www.micelis-italian.com/ on Matlacha.
7. Breweries…There are 25 Breweries within 90 min of Cape Coral….a dozen of which are within 30 min….. Naples Brewing Co, Point Ybel Brewing Co https://pointybelbrew.com/, Coastal Dayz Brewery https://coastaldayzbrewery.com/, LaBelle Brewing Co https://labellebrewingco.com/, Millennial Brewing Company https://www.millennialbrewing.com/,  Crazy Dingo Brewing Companyhttps://www.crazydingobrewing.com/ , Ft Myers Brewing Company https://www.fmbrew.com/, Peace River Beer Co https://www.peaceriver.beer/ , No3 Craft Brews https://no3beerbar.ecwid.com/ , Big Top Brewing Co https://www.bigtopbrewing.com/ , Dissent Craft Brewing Company https://www.dissentcraftbrewing.com/ , Pinellas Ale Workshttps://www.pawbeer.com/  , Brew Life Brewing https://brewlifebrewing.com/, Calusa Brewing https://www.calusabrewing.com/ ,3 Bridges Brewing  , Fat point Brewing https://fatpoint.com/ , Bone Hook Brewing Companyhttps://bonehookbrewing.com/ ,Riptide Brewing Company https://www.riptidebrewingcompany.com/ , Ankrolab Brewing Companyhttps://www.ankrolab.com/ ,Marco Island Brewery https://www.marcoislandbrewery.com/ , Palm City Brewing Company https://www.palmcitybrewing.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb , Eight Foot Brewing https://www.eightfootbrewing.com/
8. Tiki Bars...we love drinking cold fruity drinks outside...over 15 outside bars in 20 miles and lots of them are on the water!
9. Rain in the summer and thunder and lightning….lots of umbrellas, cools things off, makes everything green
10. Pet Friendly...over a dozen dog parks within an hour….stores have water bowls, outside seating for people with dogs
11. Water sports - boating, kayaking, jet ski rentals, parasailing,paddle boarding, sailing
12. Pro Sports...Tampa Bay Buccaneers(Football), Tampa Bay Lightning(Hockey Pro) Florida Everblades(Hockey-Semi Pro), Tampa Bay Rays(Baseball), Tampa Bay Mutiny(soccer), 
13. No Personal Income Tax...Property Tax is slightly lower than the US average...Homestead Exemption=$50k off assessment of property and hold at no more than 3% increase in your annual assessment of your home….must have Florida Driver’s License...vehicle must be registered in Florida.
14. Flood Insurance...the price you pay for living in Paradise...average cost of flood ins is $731 for primary residence...depends on flood zone. Visit leegov.com and click on find my flood zone for more info
15. No winter clothes, boots, mittens...might dip down into the high 40’s and hangs in the 50’s and 60’s in Jan, Feb, March….average temp in the summer months is 92 and in the winter average low temp is 58
16. Thrift Store shopping...large thrift stores like Goodwill or Salvation Army Stores https://onlinedonationpickup.com/ftmyerssalvationarmy/#intro , but also smaller hole-in -the-wall independent shops, Hope Chest https://hopehcs.org/home-2/  and Habitat for Humanity Restore https://www.habitat4humanity.org/restore/  that offer clothing and very nice furniture!

Are you thinking of moving to Cape Coral? If you are, give me a call or shoot me an email, my information is down below…I would love to chat with you about what your thoughts are and what the market is like here….I can set you up on a search for properties in your price range so you can get an idea of what is available.  You just let me know if there's anything that I can assist you with. Thank you so much for reading my blog ...I’m Sunshine Sherry...and I am always here to help!