Is Port Saint Lucie, Fl a good place to buy a Florida vacation home?
I am looking for somewhere which is in between Disney and the beach. How far is the beach from Port Saint Lucie? Are there bad neighborhoods there? Please advise.
I am looking for somewhere which is in between Disney and the beach. How far is the beach from Port Saint Lucie? Are there bad neighborhoods there? Please advise.
May 1st, 2010 at 12:48 pm
It’s a good and bad place to live. Your right near the water and hurricanes are abundant in that region when the season starts up. I live here in the state and I can tell you that even though homes are at their lowest in price, it’s not the best of places. my wife and I are trying to move ourselves. We are from the cold country but, I’d rather be up north than go through another one myself. You would be better off living in Orlando,Florida Right near Disney and further inland from major storms. Your still only a couple of hours away from the beach but much safer. I’m not trying to scare you but to put real facts on the table for you. I don’t want anyone coming here and being mislead just so some Realtor can make a sale and commission on an unsuspecting person. The site said they wanted real facts. That’s all I’m trying to do. Make your own mind on it. This is just food for thought.
May 1st, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I grew up just south of Port St. Lucie. Like any other town there are good and bad neighborhoods. It’s about 2 hours to Disney from St. Lucie county and you’ll spend about 5 bucks in tolls. the beaches are…..let’s just say i suggest a house with a pool.
If you want to be closer to Disney I suggest looking on the other side of the state in the Tampa/St.Petersburg area. From Tampa to Disney is an hour plus they area has Busch Gardens and several other attractions. You can also get to Clearwater Beach within an hour drive (less depending on your location.)
Plus the housing market took a beating over here and there’s some reasonably priced homes in good neighborhoods.
As a side note if you like Greek culture and food check out the Tarpon Springs area. About 2 hours to Disney and it has a great small town feel while still being close enough to access the big city amenities and they have great shopping and some nice Gulf beaches. The area was settled by Greek sponge fishermen and there’s a large number of excellent restaurants and an old fashioned small town style shopping district.
Just south of this area is a small town named Dunedin with similar qualities but a Scottish heritage. About the only diffrence is more pubs and fewer Greek restaurants.
Port St. Lucie on the other hand was created by greedy land swindlers….um I mean developers in the seventies. The developers laid out all the roads before the houses were built and didn’t always stop to consider the idea that people need more than a house to live in. As a result you have a tangled mess of suburbs that were designed to give maximum density of single family homes. There’s also the consideration that a lot of the developers had really shoddy building practices and unless you buy a brand new home or at the very least one built after Hurricane Andrew and the resulting building code changes, you risk some serious issues with the house and i sure as heck wouldn’t stay in it if a hurricane was on the way.
Also, do not buy any property until you’ve had a chance to check it out the day after a thunderstorm or better yet several storms – Port St. Lucie was built mostly on ranch land and there’s drainage issues in many places – the house might have tile floors and exposed brick because the previous owners got tired of replacing carpet and drywall.
Hope the information helps. My biggest suggestion is to do plenty of research before you commit and good luck on your search.