[ryansidlo]

My wife and I are tired of the Ft. Lauderdale scene, and are thinking of moving to either Port St. Lucie or Naples. We don't have kids, but will soon enough. We both work in fairly flexible jobs that I'm sure either location will provide enough work for us to survive.

But if you live or have lived in either of these two areas, please post your experiences with each respectively. Whether it be a negative or positive experience, I would love to hear them all. Thanks in advance

[ddlove01]

There are tons and tons and tons of threads on Port St. Lucie, with many comments from PSL residents (look for pslOldTimer, LingLing, TriMT, dynamic8, myself....just to name a few). There are many others, those are just the ones I've talked to directly during my time on this form.

In my opinion, I don't think the two cities can be compared apples to apples...ones on the west coast, the other on the east coast. They have different cultures, but if you do a forum search for "Port St. Lucie", there are 35 pages of threads for you to look thru.

Happy searching!

[RMD3819]

I live in Naples. What questions do you have?

[TriMT7]

Yeah, I wouldn't compare the two cities. Vastly different experiences. PSL is like, 0% pretension, while Naples is the Palm Beach of the West Coast. PSL is also cheaper by a lot, but Naples has the upscale feel.

[MB2]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

Yeah, I wouldn't compare the two cities. Vastly different experiences. PSL is like, 0% pretension, while Naples is the Palm Beach of the West Coast. PSL is also cheaper by a lot, but Naples has the upscale feel.

Huh, I agree.....
I couldn't possibly compare those two in ANY shape or form, because they are so tremendously different in any and all aspects I could think of.
Please note....Naples is an older, well established city, while Port Saint Lucie has ways to go yet to establish itself as a "settled city" (to new, to young, lot's of development and further growth is expected)
It just wouldn't be fair and wouldn't do justice, to compare PSL to a city like Naples.
Also did I get the impression (that's just me ...huh ) that the "feel" on the Golf Coast is much different, then here on the Atlantic side.......
A pp is right with stating to "compare those two would be like comparing apples and oranges".....lol.

[ddlove01]

OP, do you have any specific questions? I can probably help tell you where certain areas are in PSL/Jensen, but if you are looking for a overview, searching thru the threads would be your best bet.

[dynamic8]

Port St Lucie is a city with much potential. It is located just to the north of South Florida and close to PBIA and will soon be receiving its very first mall in 2011. Tradition, a development in the western area of the city, is expanding, with shopping centers like THE LANDING, and Torrey Pines, a biomedical research facility. There is also City Center, in the eastern portion of the city. The population is expected to reach 200,000 in a few years or so. Best of luck!

[novanative75]

Well, I have never been to Port St. Lucie so I will not even attempt to speak to that city but I do live in Naples and I would say please, please come and visit, check out the schools, if you are going to have kids which you said you are, before you decide to move here. My husband and I have lived here for a year and a half and we really do not like it. We are like you, we do not have kids yet but will soon and I will say that we will NOT raise our kids here. We live in one of the few neighborhoods that is all year round residents, a family neighborhood and it is nice but it does not make up for the overall unappealing nature of Naples.
A pp said Naples is 'upscale', this is what I had always thought of Naples as before we moved here. Yes, there are million dollar homes and fancy restaurants and some nice resorts and beaches but you actually have to look for those and, as a year round resident, you are not doing all that stuff. You are going to work, and living your day to day life and the majority of what I see and observe on a day to day basis is not upscale.
There is also A LOT of poverty here, I think more than 50% of the students in Collier County Public Schools are on Free and Reduced lunch. I did NOT expect that when I moved here. I also work in the school system and I am less than impressed. I come from Northern Virginia and an an excellent school system so I have a hard time comparing anything but I have heard NO ONE say anything good about CCPS and I see it first hand everyday. I would NEVER send my kids to school here.
So, yes there is wealth in Naples, but it is mostly the part-time residents that come in October-November, clog up our roads, make it impossible for year round residents to even go out to dinner (yeah, you will NOT go out to dinner between October-April, well maybe to McDonalds or the local sports bar!) and drive like fools! As far as middle-class families, they are few and far between. Like I said, my neighborhood is one that is like that but it is a rare find.

I am sure someone will respond and say that I am all wrong, but this has been my experience and I do not even know you but beg you to really consider what you are doing.

Good luck, please let me know if you have more specific questions.

[CJFlorida]

Originally Posted by novanative75

Well, I have never been to Port St. Lucie so I will not even attempt to speak to that city but I do live in Naples and I would say please, please come and visit, check out the schools, if you are going to have kids which you said you are, before you decide to move here. My husband and I have lived here for a year and a half and we really do not like it. We are like you, we do not have kids yet but will soon and I will say that we will NOT raise our kids here. We live in one of the few neighborhoods that is all year round residents, a family neighborhood and it is nice but it does not make up for the overall unappealing nature of Naples.
A pp said Naples is 'upscale', this is what I had always thought of Naples as before we moved here. Yes, there are million dollar homes and fancy restaurants and some nice resorts and beaches but you actually have to look for those and, as a year round resident, you are not doing all that stuff. You are going to work, and living your day to day life and the majority of what I see and observe on a day to day basis is not upscale.
There is also A LOT of poverty here, I think more than 50% of the students in Collier County Public Schools are on Free and Reduced lunch. I did NOT expect that when I moved here. I also work in the school system and I am less than impressed. I come from Northern Virginia and an an excellent school system so I have a hard time comparing anything but I have heard NO ONE say anything good about CCPS and I see it first hand everyday. I would NEVER send my kids to school here.
So, yes there is wealth in Naples, but it is mostly the part-time residents that come in October-November, clog up our roads, make it impossible for year round residents to even go out to dinner (yeah, you will NOT go out to dinner between October-April, well maybe to McDonalds or the local sports bar!) and drive like fools! As far as middle-class families, they are few and far between. Like I said, my neighborhood is one that is like that but it is a rare find.

I am sure someone will respond and say that I am all wrong, but this has been my experience and I do not even know you but beg you to really consider what you are doing.

Good luck, please let me know if you have more specific questions.

The poverty level in Naples is a little less than 5%. Those free/reduced lunch eligibility percentages are skewed nation wide. Many schools in New Hampshire, for example, have percentages of eligible students of 50-75%, yet the poverty rate is low there also. The following link shows the New Hampshire averages.

National School Lunch Program (50% Eligibility)

The entire program is corrupt, school districts get incentives to have
greater than 50% eligibility rates. The money comes from the federal government. The feds are trying to revamp the program but the politics makes it almost impossible. School districts are grossly inflating their numbers and encouraging parents to apply. Collier County has a spiffy website that practically fills out the forms for the parents!

But to think that Collier County has a 50% poverty rate among families with school aged kids based on that free/reduced lunch eligibility number is not accurate. If we were to do that, 3/4 of New Hampshire's kids would be living in poverty, and we all know that is not true at all.

There are many middle and upper middle class in the Naples area. You can easily break down the census data, subtracting part time residents and the upper 5% of incomes. The median income of the remainder is still very decent.

Naples has many problems, traffic, rude snow birds, overpriced housing due to the bubble, and yes some poorer people, especially in Golden Gates. But gross levels of poverty, no.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by dynamic8

Port St Lucie is a city with much potential. It is located just to the north of South Florida and close to PBIA and will soon be receiving its very first mall in 2011. Tradition, a development in the western area of the city, is expanding, with shopping centers like THE LANDING, and Torrey Pines, a biomedical research facility. There is also City Center, in the eastern portion of the city. The population is expected to reach 200,000 in a few years or so. Best of luck!

Tradition is being developed by CORE Communities, one of the Leavitt companies. Leavitt and Sons, another subsidiary and a major builder in Tradition just filed for bankruptcy.

If you live in Ft. Lauderdale, both PSL and Naples are just a short trip away.