[RAINBOWWAVES]

I have been here for 5 yrs. We have a road here, that for the life of us cannot see why it had to be widened as no more ppl then before are going to use it...we came here because it had the small town feel and look about it like where we came from and then boom, soooooooooo much has been built and disturbed with of course higher taxes...we are sooooo disappointed.

[sami]

This is a thread about still low prices....but I just have to say something to rainbowaves.....I am a cynic, pessimist, and paranoid..... Yet I am trying to see mostly the good. Yea I see the bad and I complain.... Don't we all? However, I can feel for a person that does not seem to like or enjoy much here in Florida. Yea, I know there are tons of aggravating stuff in life, but I gotta take meds and put my mindset to think happier thoughts at least part of the time. Hey, rainbowaves---that is such nice internet name--I hope I see you and others with some positive to go with the negative.... I know I can be a pain, but like I said elsewhere, I gotta BIG mouth. LOL

[julz]

I hate to dissappoint you St.Lucie folks who wish to keep your small town...small, but I too am looking to move to the area.After 12 yrs. in S.Fla we need to escape.In all honestly I'd go further north if it wasn't for my husband having to commute.We're hoping to find something in the 200-250,000 range.Would anybody mind advising us on areas that we might or might not want to consider buying.Schools aren't a priority for us anymore but we would like to keep the Ft.Lauderdale commute as short as possible so we don't want to go too far up in the county.Any info. you could share would be greatly appreciated.

[pslOldTimer]

Originally Posted by RAINBOWWAVES

I have been here for 5 yrs. We have a road here, that for the life of us cannot see why it had to be widened as no more ppl then before are going to use it...we came here because it had the small town feel and look about it like where we came from and then boom, soooooooooo much has been built and disturbed with of course higher taxes...we are sooooo disappointed.

I've been here for 34 years. Maybe I can help you understand some of the history of PSL and explain what the future holds. I'm afraid PSL has not had a "small town" feel about it in the past 15 years or more. It is destined to become one of the major cities in Florida. It has the largest land area of any city in Florida except Jacksonville. It should be expected to grow to fit the room available.

While much has been built in the last 5 years, I can't think of much that has been "disturbed". Everything that has been built has been constructed on property that has long been set for that use. The entire city has a comprehensive plan, land use designations are established and most of the zoning is in place. There have been only minor changes in the zoning in the past 5 years.

Where are you located in Port St. Lucie? The area has a lot to do with what you see. What road were you referring to about being needlessly widened? I can tell you that most of the road widenings have been on the "books" for a lot longer than 5 years. The construction of the Crosstown Expressway (West Virginia corridor) is just beginning, for example, but the plans have been in the works and publicly discussed for almost 15 years.

Perhaps the cause of your disappointment is that you didn't do enough research before you made your move? That's the reason for boards like this, and why I spend a fair amount of time answering questions.

There must be something you like about Port St. Lucie; it muight be helpful to hear what that is. After all, there are over 151,000 people in the city and my guess is that the vast majority of them are delighted to be here. You are not doing anyone a service by being so negative.

[pslOldTimer]

Julz, if you are coming North, you pretty much have to come as far as St. Lucie County to escape high prices and congestion. I'm sure you're well aware of how expensive Palm Beach County is, and Martin county doesn't offer any relief -- they are anti-growth, which keeps prices high.

Going further North than St. Lucie only takes you to Indian River County (Vero Beach) which is pretty much "snobbily" high-priced again. Any further than that and two things happen -- yuo're completely out of range to commute, and it gets cold up there!

In St. Lucie County, Port St. Lucie is your best bet unless you are looking for something unusual. If you're going to commute, you might consider staying as close to I-95 as possible, which usually means the Western part of the city, although most of the Eastern part is accessible to the Turnpike. You'll find that I-95 traffic won't be a problem until you reach PGA Blvd. in North Palm Beach. The Turnpike is usually fast-moving traffic all the way to Pompano Beach, and is my preference when heading to Broward or Dade County.

Depending on your economic status, you might consider one of the more "special" areas of PSL such as Tradition, PGA Village, St. Lucie West or Tesoro (the latter if you are truly wealthy). Otherwise, one area of PSL is pretty much the same as any other area. There are no ethnic, racial or other areas in PSL; everyone is everyone else's good neighbor. It's one of the few cities like that anywhere.

There are houses available for less than $250K; some of them might be older. I live in an "older" house, myself, it was built in 1978. It's dated because it still has flat, "popcorn" ceilings instead of "knockdown" cathedral ceilings, and the bathrooms and kitchen are somewhat smaller than is popular today. It's a 4 BR, 3 bath house with a screen-enclosed pool and a large 2 car garage, and it's probably worth about $300K today. It was worth as much as $325K - $350K last year . You can certainly get a nice house for what you want to spend.

You might as well come up and join us; most of your neighbors already have, it seems .

[julz]

Psloldtimer, thank you for responding so fast.I definately wouldn't mind finding an older home.I'm coming from a gated community and have had enough of the HOA's.We're coming up this weekend to take a look around and time the exact travel distance.Thank you so much.

[sami]

Originally Posted by lulu

Now that the water is mentioned, I must say it is cheap here. I live in an old city from the 1920's and the majority of homes have septic tanks. My water bill is only about $40 every 3 months. Our friends further up told us they pay more.

Aww.....I am jealous, we have city water and pay for it...... However, I hate septic tanks...... I guess it is a wash.............LOL

[sami]

Originally Posted by pslOldTimer

There are houses available for less than $250K; some of them might be older. I live in an "older" house, myself, it was built in 1978.

Answer: I have a cement block (exterior) house built in 1957......and I love it sooo much....some of us like older houses and enjoy fixing them up--and there are other reasons besides financial................LOL