Relocating to Cape Coral, Florida - Avoid Relocation Nightmares

“If you are planning to move to Cape Coral, Florida, now or in the near future, you need to make practical, logistical and mindset decisions as you make this transition to avoid costly mistakes,” says relocation expert, Leelo Bush.

Bush is a relocation and transition coach, not a realtor and tells her clients that up front. When a realtor or other professional services are needed, she refers her clients to pre-qualified specialists in her local area.

“Let’s say that you are tired of northern winters or perhaps are exhausted by the fast pace of your current life, have a nice nest egg and decide to move to Cape Coral, Florida, known as “paradise” to many throughout the world,” said Bush. “While Cape Coral may be paradise, there is more to making this transition successfully than finding a nice home.”

“Most people think all that’s required in moving from one place to another, is simply the decision to do so,” says Bush. “Obviously, with enough funds, that decision will certainly get you there, but in order to make smart choices and avoid financial disaster, you need to know as much as possible about where you are going.”

Cape Coral is a new city, incorporated just 35 years ago in 1970. Originally, city planners decided to make Cape Coral a retirement community. With this in mind, founders pre-plotted the city to be primarily a residential community. That was fine for then, but now as more young families are moving to Cape Coral, looking for employment or to start a business, the city is facing major hurdles with re-zoning land to accommodate needed commercial development. Families are finding that unless they choose the location of their home wisely, they may face a “paradise lost” scenario, when adjacent properties are re-zoned and large business moves in, for all practical purposes, next door.

“A recent example,” said Bush, “that is still in litigation, is permitting one of the nation’s largest Home Depot stores to open adjacent to a residential neighborhood. While those that purchased or built their dream homes in this area, anticipated some commercial development, perhaps in the way of convenience stores, groceries or small shops, the prospect of semis loaded with lumber and building materials rolling into their area in the pre-dawn hours as children are waiting on street corners for school busses, could create a frightening and unsafe environment. Parents and neighbors are correct to be concerned.”

Another issue is potable water supply. “One might imagine that in a coastal Florida city that boasts over 400 miles of canals, we would not have a water shortage, but we do,” explained Leelo Bush. “City officials, to meet the demands of a growing population and increasingly depleted aquifer, have mandated watering restrictions and are ever tightening them.”

“In the southwest portion of our city, many wells have run dry and have had to be dug deeper at property owner’s expense, only to find out that the city was expanding utilities and putting in city water in those areas. Now owners are faced with huge monetary assessments on their homes. Some, feeling they could not afford these assessments have moved from their paradise homes,” said Bush.

One of the greatest issues faced by newcomers is the stress of relocation. Life has changed. The rules are no longer the same. Old friends and family may have been left behind. The climate is different and much warmer. According to Bush, one of the major issues she coaches her clients with is acclimating to their new home and community.

Starting a business in Southwest Florida is different as well. The demographics are different as are the spending habits of those who live here and they vary city to city within the Southwest Florida area, according to Bush. Advertising is expensive. Those and many other factors can put a new business in a precarious financial position.

“Those planning to start a business in this area, would make a wise investment in relocation coaching. It is a small amount compared to what unwise choices might cost someone,” says Bush. “If the answers were obvious, there wouldn’t be unusually large numbers of businesses opening and soon closing.”

Regardless, Bush says she wants to encourage you to move here, not talk you out of it. But she wants you to realize the urgency in getting the right information so you can avoid problems like the ones listed and others too numerous to mention.

Since Cape Coral is the 5th fastest growing city in the United States, real estate is huge business. As with any profession, one will find varying levels of competency. Also remember that realtors are licensed based on their knowledge of Florida real estate law, and not for their visionary or lifestyle/transition coaching abilities.

As an expert in local relocation, Leelo Bush helps her clients avoid problems like the ones mentioned above. She is former publisher of Cape Coral Magazine, certified life coach, long-time entrepreneur and resident. Her experience makes Bush inherently aware of what can happen and how to avoid problems.

“My job is to help newcomers create a lifestyle that works for them and reduce stress while avoiding problems along the way,” said Bush. Her business is booming because newcomers now realize they can’t afford not to hire her expertise.

Be sure to visit www.myrelocoach.com or email Leelo Bush at info@myrelocoach.com for more information.