How is living and working in Lee County

[NewGuy]

I read a previous thread on new hires. Now my question is how's the living? What are good areas to move into (Street names preferably) Im looking to be on nights if I get on and I will be leaving my fiancee and 2 kids alone at night. Whats a safe area to purchase a house in.

Also any little tidbit on LCSO would be appreciated.

[Unregistered]

The thing to know is that you are coming to work for the lowest paid agency in the state. There is currently no end in sight to this because our sheriff would rather spite union members than fight to pay us fairly. Unless you have participated in his political campaign, you can bank on earning less than $40K a year for the next 10 or so. The County Commission thinks we are no better than garbage men, and tax payers would rather see their tax bill cut by $250 a year than pay the extra $5 a week for adequate manning. Unless your wife has a pretty top notch salary at her own job your options are pretty limited.

That said, All of Cape Coral is fairly safe. A lot of Cops live in the Sandoval neighborhood in west Cape Coral. There is really no ghetto to speak of, and with the bridges, you can get to any district in the county in decent tie if you are in the south east.

For the rest of the county, there are too many streets to give a list here. Just be sure to ask Questions. Stay away from duplexes, trailers, or any place you see shopping carts in residential areas. Stay away from Lehigh Acres. It is a perfect example of the failure of LCSO to manage a populated area. Inside the City of Fort Myers is also no good. Estero is great if you can afford it...but you won't be able to working on your salary alone. Bonita has nice areas too.

[Unregistered]

There was a time when we were the highest paid agency in SWFL. What holds you to Lee County? Schools, family, job opportunity? Depending on who you ask you will get a WIDE variety of answers. I have been with LCSO though three Sheriffs and I have always been treated mostly fairly. Like any job there will be good people and not so good people. As far as buying a house, take your time and drive around a LOT! Real estate peeps want to sell you what they are looking to move. Find your own location, look for what you like. Check the Lee county property appraisers web site. There are good and bad areas in both the cape and Lehigh. Good luck.

[Unregistered]

I would suggest that you don't buy a house or at lease wait a couple years. With the climate here at LCSO you should be able to find employment some place else with a higher starting pay and a better work environment. But, if you have made your mind up to come here then welcome. It is probably easy to get on here. I would suggest working here 2 or 3 years. Then you can use the experience gained to find a better job or if you like it then buy a house. I really like the area and most of the people I work with are great. But, if I had it to do over I would have chose a different agency. Good luck!

[Unregistered]

Of course the lazy, disgruntled slugs began drooling from the mouth the second you posted the question. They couldn't wait to begin their virtual pity party and tell you how bad they have it and how much this agency sucks boo hoo poor me.

In reality: yes we have low starting pay, one of the lowest around. The Sheriff can't just snap his fingers and fix that. I'll agree that he could be fighting a little more to get us more money, HOWEVER we have received a raise in each of the last few years, with the most recent raise of 4% taking effect in a few days. It may not be much, but after 7 years or so of no raises (most agencies in Florida suffered this), there at least appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. The solution is not to become a lazy, disgruntled slug AND still demand more pay....duh. Garbage men work their ass off by the way, exerting far more energy than the lazy crybaby slugs we have working here.

The Sheriff supports good, hard law enforcement. Do it right, work hard, and you won't be on the road very long at all. If you enjoy working the road, you can stay there and become an FTO and help train the new people.

As far as where to live, there is nice neighborhoods throughout the county, and yes even in Lehigh. Criminals travel everywhere (which is why you should be doing traffic stops) so you'll just have to look around and see what you like. I like the Cape, but it seems more and more criminals are moving in. Bonita and Estero are really nice, but pricey. I hear Punta Gorda (out of county) is nice too.

Good luck.

[Unregistered]

Of course the lazy, disgruntled slugs began drooling from the mouth the second you posted the question. They couldn't wait to begin their virtual pity party and tell you how bad they have it and how much this agency sucks boo hoo poor me.

In reality: yes we have low starting pay, one of the lowest around. The Sheriff can't just snap his fingers and fix that. I'll agree that he could be fighting a little more to get us more money, HOWEVER we have received a raise in each of the last few years, with the most recent raise of 4% taking effect in a few days. It may not be much, but after 7 years or so of no raises (most agencies in Florida suffered this), there at least appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. The solution is not to become a lazy, disgruntled slug AND still demand more pay....duh. Garbage men work their ass off by the way, exerting far more energy than the lazy crybaby slugs we have working here.

The Sheriff supports good, hard law enforcement. Do it right, work hard, and you won't be on the road very long at all. If you enjoy working the road, you can stay there and become an FTO and help train the new people.

As far as where to live, there is nice neighborhoods throughout the county, and yes even in Lehigh. Criminals travel everywhere (which is why you should be doing traffic stops) so you'll just have to look around and see what you like. I like the Cape, but it seems more and more criminals are moving in. Bonita and Estero are really nice, but pricey. I hear Punta Gorda (out of county) is nice too.

Good luck.

Wow nice twist. Mikey has screwed everyone on raises for years and years. So he's your hero how much did your promotion cost suck ass?

[Unregistered]

We have exceptional benefits, but the agency is in turmoil. The Sheriff is ineffective and spiteful. He does respect hard working deputies to a point but he rewards the boot lickers and those who pay money into his reelection campaign. Good leadership is very rare at every level. The are a handful of good ones. There not the majority tho. It's a good place to start. Get your foot in the door and learn some law enforcement so you can become marketable to a better agency. Try Cape PD or the City. The best reason to start with us is FRS. You can take your FRS to Hillsborough or Broward later.

[Unregistered]

As you can see we have several negative nellies on board at LCSO. For a family your size the benefits will offset the initial pay. With time the money will go up. I live in South area of the County and love the area. Bonita, Estero, South Ft myers, parts of the Cape and even Lehigh has good areas. Feel free to ask a Deputy working those areas where's good and bad. Make your own decisions in the end ! Hope you come on board.

[Unregistered]

Of course the lazy, disgruntled slugs began drooling from the mouth the second you posted the question. They couldn't wait to begin their virtual pity party and tell you how bad they have it and how much this agency sucks boo hoo poor me.

In reality: yes we have low starting pay, one of the lowest around. The Sheriff can't just snap his fingers and fix that. I'll agree that he could be fighting a little more to get us more money, HOWEVER we have received a raise in each of the last few years, with the most recent raise of 4% taking effect in a few days. It may not be much, but after 7 years or so of no raises (most agencies in Florida suffered this), there at least appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. The solution is not to become a lazy, disgruntled slug AND still demand more pay....duh. Garbage men work their ass off by the way, exerting far more energy than the lazy crybaby slugs we have working here.

The Sheriff supports good, hard law enforcement. Do it right, work hard, and you won't be on the road very long at all. If you enjoy working the road, you can stay there and become an FTO and help train the new people.

As far as where to live, there is nice neighborhoods throughout the county, and yes even in Lehigh. Criminals travel everywhere (which is why you should be doing traffic stops) so you'll just have to look around and see what you like. I like the Cape, but it seems more and more criminals are moving in. Bonita and Estero are really nice, but pricey. I hear Punta Gorda (out of county) is nice too.

Good luck.

I consider myself informed of the facts around here...not negative just truthful and informed. Anyplace but here. It sucks and is pure politics. This guy telling you hard work pays off is just not telling the truth. Hard work around here gets you exploited so that they can run understaffed and have more management positions for the campaign donaters. You will work your ass off, won't get recognized, told that you have to donate to a campaign to get promoted, be treated like you are a child. He is right. Insurance is free. That is about it. Collier or cape if you are coming to the area brother/sister. If the sheriff doesn't win again i would suggest coming here and giving it a shot. Other than that, stay away from this place.

In regard to nice places...a real estate agent once told me to always spend a few hours at a grocery store. Once during the week and once during the busy hours on the weekend. That will give you the feel of what you are getting yourself into before you move in a neighborhood. Gateway, bonita, estero. Lehigh is on the bubble but you can buy a house cheap.

[Unregistered]

Initial pay? I still make what a starting deputy does after 7 years! I could name 2 detectives off the top of my head -I won't- who still earn less than $40k after 10 years! Where is this magic window when pay goes up? When you are inducted into the public "services" unit?

Unless you are one of the lucky 10 or 12 who gets into MCU you can count on your kids being eligible for free lunch at school until you make Sgt. There is a reason why districts are blowing up the e-mail begging deputies to work overtime. We can't keep people and we refuse to accept that quality law enforcement isn't cheap.