Gulfshore Neighborhoods

But in recent years, some of Florida’s more common imports are young professionals and families. You can see it in the new youth-geared recreational attractions that have sprouted up in Southwest Florida in the past few years, like the new Estero Community Park and Collier County’s Sun-n-Fun Lagoon. More and more families are enjoying prosperous careers as well as the sunny beach days and natural beauty the region has to offer.

As a wider range of home prices become available, those families are able to settle into homes of their own in fast-growing areas such as south Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, north Naples and developments popping up east of I-75 throughout the region.

Even with more year-round residents, most of the real estate transactions in Southwest Florida occur during our "season," October through April, when tourists and seasonal visitors decide it’s time to buy their own piece of paradise—a place to call home for a week, a month or all year. And they’ll find those homes in neighborhoods that exactly fit their lifestyle.

No matter where our newcomers decide to live, they’re never too far from the beach, the mall, award-winning restaurants or the solitude of the outlying counties. Discover the many neighborhoods of Southwest Florida in this in-depth guide.

Lee County

At a Glance
Land area: 804 square miles
Persons per square mile (2005): 677.5
Population (2005 estimate): 544,758
Population increase (2000−2005): 23.6 percent
College graduates: 21.1 percent
Mean travel time to work (minutes): 25
Median household income (2003): $41,227
Neighborhoods: Beaches: Gasparilla Island, Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Beach • Bonita Springs • Cape Coral: Riverfront, Southwest Cape Coral, North Cape Coral • Estero • Fort Myers: River District, Riverfront, South Fort Myers • Lehigh Acres • North Fort Myers • Pine Island: Matlacha, Pineland/Bokeelia, St. James City • San Carlos Park, Three Oaks • Rural Lee County

Lee County was created in 1887, and like seven other counties across the country, it is named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Unlike these other counties, including those in Alabama, Mississippi and North Carolina, our Lee County offers glorious weather year-round and miles of scenic beaches, islands and protected preserves. It wasn’t until the turn of the century, however, when Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were spending their winters here, that Lee County began to bloom.

Today’s Lee County has five official cities—Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island—and a full-time population of 544,400, more than half of them (292,400) living in the unincorporated areas. By comparison, the first county census in 1890 recorded a population of 1,414 residents just three years after it was formed from Monroe County.

Among the 100 fastest-growing counties in the country, Lee County attracts an average of 11,600 new workers each year, and 48 percent of its population is between 25 and 64 years old. Lee County’s character is a split personality of scenic barrier islands, a burgeoning cosmopolitan River District in downtown Fort Myers, operating citrus groves, sprawling, resort-like gated communities and quaint river towns. Water is a major player in the county’s ongoing development. Bays, backwaters and manmade canals provide access to the Gulf and the county’s miles-long stretch of the Caloosahatchee River.

Beaches
Of Lee County’s nearly 600 miles of shoreline, 50 miles are beaches and 20 of them are named, stretching from border-straddling Gasparilla Island south to Bonita Beach. The majority of the county’s beaches are located on barrier islands, many of which are uninhabited and destined to stay that way. Others are accessible only by boat, creating a way-it-used-to-be kind of feeling. Each of Lee County’s beaches has a unique personality. Here, we present them from north to south.

GASPARILLA ISLAND
Home to Boca Grande and road-accessible only via Charlotte County, Gasparilla Island has evolved from its fishing and phosphate roots to a world-class destination for jet-setters and residents. The venue of the World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, the island is protected by the Gasparilla Act, which limits allowable density and building heights. The island’s size—seven miles long and only half a mile wide—puts the beach and the waters of the Gulf and Charlotte Harbor within walking distance of almost any home. The 142-acre Gasparilla Island State Park offers five beach access points.

Golf carts are the preferred mode of travel, especially in and around the quaint downtown area, where the former railroad depot has been restored and now contains shops, offices and restaurants. Art galleries and antique shops are also found here. The historic 1913 Gasparilla Inn, with its white-washed architecture, columns and porches, recalls another time.

Homes and condos are sprinkled throughout downtown and along the water. Boca Grande Isles, a gated neighborhood of 123 waterfront properties, appeals to the avid boater with its deep water and to nature lovers who enjoy watching the unfolding natural scenery along Hole in the Wall Bay. Homes on Gasparilla Island range from the mid-$300,000s to $10 million. Coral Creek Club, located in nearby Placida, offers a scenic Tom Fazio-designed golf course (limited to 225 members), a clubhouse, limited airport memberships and Old Florida cottages.

SANIBEL AND CAPTIVA ISLANDS
The newly constructed spans of scenic Sanibel Causeway, a series of islands and bridges, begin at the end of McGregor Boulevard in Punta Rassa on the mainland. Decades of careful preservation have helped to retain much of the naturalistic appeal of Sanibel. A majority of the island is under the management of the federal government at the 6,400-acre J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

Visitors and residents prefer biking to driving, especially during high season when a left-hand turn is next to impossible in this town without a stoplight. Periwinkle Way, the island’s main drag, offers quaint shopping centers and boutiques, restaurants, art galleries and even live theater.

Building laws limit condos and homes to just three stories, says Jane Reader Weaver, a realtor who has specialized in Sanibel and Captiva property for 20 years. Multimillion-dollar estates, cottages and condos share the shoreline with several beaches—Lighthouse Beach Park, featuring the island’s 1884 landmark lighthouse; Gulfside City Park; and the most popular, Bowman’s Beach.

Mid-island, Tarpon Bay Beach is a good spot for swimming and windsurfing. Blind Pass Beach, the official midway point between the two islands, is considered one of the best shelling spots in the world.

Captiva is separated from Sanibel by a thin swipe of water at Blind Pass. Sanibel-Captiva Road becomes Captiva Drive, along which most of the island’s multimillion-dollar homes are found. Homes are hidden behind thick foliage, but passersby get an occasional glimpse of winding, crushed-shell driveways leading to simple cottages, Spanish-Mediterranean mansions and contemporary South Beach-style getaways. Most homes have names and offer either the Gulf or Pine Island Sound in their backyards. "Captiva is all waterfront," says Weaver. "It’s a narrow slice of heaven."

Venture farther north and you’ll eventually arrive at Captiva’s village, a quaint collection of pastel-hued, beachy shops, galleries and boutiques, as well as steps-from-the-water homes located along sandy lanes. Captiva Beach, ranked among the most romantic in the nation, is never more than two blocks away, and some say it’s the perfect spot to catch the mystical green flash at sunset. The gated South Seas Resort occupies the northern two miles of Captiva.

FORT MYERS BEACH
If you’re looking for a lively party, check out Fort Myers Beach, especially in March and April. Southwest Florida’s slightly tamer version of spring break hotspots Fort Lauderdale and Daytona, Fort Myers Beach has one of the hippest vibes of the region. Restaurants and bars offer toes-in-the-sand dining, dancing and drinking and an eccentric energy that keeps traffic—automobile and pedestrian—flowing 24/7 around Times Square and Estero Boulevard. Gulf-front homes, older and newer, and more than two dozen beach accesses are sprinkled among the many rental cottages and condos. Side streets offer water in the backyards—canals opening to Matanzas Pass and Estero Bay farther south.

The beach, the star attraction along Estero Island, is never more than a couple of blocks away. The 17.5-acre Bowditch Point Regional Park, located on the island’s northern tip, serves as a drop-in point along the newly opened Great Calusa Blueway, a 100-mile canoe/kayak trail meandering through Estero Bay and the scenic bays around Sanibel, Captiva and Pine islands.

Estero Island eventually ends around Lovers Key State Park, Florida’s most-visited state park. The park spans four islands and is nestled between Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach, offering sand paths that wind through mangrove forests and around tidal lagoons to one of two remote beach access points. Canoeing and bicycling are popular here. Dog Beach Park is located along Estero Boulevard and is the only off-leash beach park for dogs in Southwest Florida.

BONITA BEACH
Estero Boulevard becomes Hickory Boulevard as it traverses the Broadway Channel. Intermittent beach access provided by the county appears between condos, homes and restaurants as the boulevard travels south six miles to Bonita Beach Road and the Collier County border. Most homes here back up to water, either the Gulf on the west or the back waters of Estero Bay. Three-story Mediterranean architecture is popular; however, you will find Old Florida stilt homes, rentals and original cottages. Prices vary from the low $200,000s to several million dollars.

The two-and-a-half-acre Bonita Beach Park is found at the point where Hickory Boulevard curves into Bonita Beach Road. The county-run park has beach volleyball, a gazebo, restrooms with showers and picnic shelters.

BONITA SPRINGS
Bonita Springs emerged slowly from its slumber as a sleepy fishing town in the late 1980s—a timetable many credit to the arrival of Bonita Bay, a 2,400-acre master-planned community. Now a bona fide city, its population increased 5.97 percent between July 2004 and July 2005. Bonita Springs has dozens of gated communities, upscale shopping centers, top-rated restaurants and a growing base of commercial activity. Neighborhoods have grown along the city’s main waterway, the Imperial River and its major thoroughfares, the Tamiami Trail and Bonita Beach Road.

Bonita Springs clings to its past along Old 41 Road near the Imperial River, where moss-draped trees create a canopy above a city park, and older homes provide a glimpse back in time. The Everglades Wonder Gardens recalls the popular roadside attractions of the 1950s and gives visitors an up-close-and-personal look at ’gators and other indigenous Florida wildlife. The 1920s Shangri-La Springs Resort, where the hot springs reportedly attracted the likes of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Franklin D. Roosevelt, is also found in this county-designated historic neighborhood.

Many restaurants and stores serve the growing Hispanic population, and local developers have set their sights on increasing the housing options in this area.

Recently listed home prices in Bonita Springs range from the $120,000s for a mobile home or single-bedroom condo to more than $4 million in the gated communities of Bonita Bay and Pelican Landing. The city’s growth is also reflected in its annually increasing taxable value, which climbed nearly 31 percent during the last year.

CAPE CORAL
Cape Coral is Southwest Florida’s second-largest city and was named the fourth fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country in July. Its once-vacant lots are beginning to sprout homes in various stages of construction. The 115-square-mile city, created in the 1950s by brothers Jack and Leonard Rosen, who marketed the Cape as a winter retreat to Northerners, boasts 400 miles of canals, large freshwater lakes and frontage along the Caloosahatchee River. Until recently, it lacked the gated communities that defined other Southwest Florida real estate markets; but developments are beginning to sprout up, such as Sandoval, a Bonita Bay Group development offering multi- and single-family homes starting at $200,000.

Most of Cape Coral’s commercial and retail outlets are found along three main roadways—Del Prado Boulevard, Pine Island Road and Cape Coral Parkway, home to the city’s downtown, a blocks-long district of pastel-painted restaurants, boutiques and offices that hosts many of the city’s annual events such as block parties, arts shows and holiday parades. Dead-end side streets feature a number of smaller neighborhoods, often with still undeveloped lots and canal frontage, offering no-bridge or one-bridge access to the river and Gulf. An active city-run parks department oversees a number of regional and neighborhood parks, including Sun Splash Family Waterpark, the Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve and the Cape Coral Sports Complex.