Today, the three family members live in a small ranch house in the resort-retirement community of Cape Coral, Fla.
While in Iraq, Bahjat had befriended an American contractor from Cape Coral, and put the man as a contact on his refugee application.
Now that the Real Estate party's over, Cape Coral-Fort Myers is one of the worst places to ride out the economic storm.
With a net employment outlook of 18%, the North Carolina metro area ties the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area for the No. 2 spot.
As home construction has revived, property values have climbed, going up 18%-20% since the trough, says Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce President Mike Quaintance.
Employers in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. and Greensboro-High Point, N.
In the meantime, Cape Coral's fate will depend on how many snowbirds migrate south for the winter, and how much they spend when they get there.
Dancing is good for older people's health and balance, studies show, especially salsa, says Timothy Dougherty, medical director of the emergency department at nearby Cape Coral Hospital.
As house prices have collapsed, the unemployment rate in Cape Coral and neighbouring Fort Myers has jumped from 5.7% a year ago to 9.2% in September, among the worst in the country.
Mike Quaintance, the president of Cape Coral's chamber of commerce, predicts it will be another 18 months before enough of the city's stock of houses is sold for prices to rise much.
In Cape Coral, employment has gotten a boost from the recovering housing market and the fact that the city has a low density rate, at 45%, so there is plenty of room to grow.
What confuses the Editors is the problem of re-hiring those who lost their jobs in the recession (my barber shop in Cape Coral, FL has five chairs and only two barbers due to the adverse impact of the recession) vs. the question of who provides jobs over time.
This came to life in a resplendent empire waist gown with a dramatic hem and a chiffon cape in a gorgeous shade of coral.
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