Opinions please,about port st lucie (Miami, Port St. Lucie: apartments, condos, house)

[Marble cake]

I'm in south florida. This is my second winter here after retiring. We chose here because we have relatives that also snowbird here. Im not going to say that it's all that bad. I've met some really nice, people and I love the beach.

Now for your opinion. South Florida is VERY crowded, the people drive like maniacs, honking and cutting off like crazy. Also the people are not the most friendly. Surely no southern hospitality down here. I'm a very friendly person, and I've noticed most people don't even make eye contact, let alone say hi.

I would like to me near the beach, which I am now. Also my community where I am now is very reasonable, with many activities. (See, it's really not terrible).

I've been searching the Internet and Port St. Lucie caught my attention.

Is Port St. Lucie like S florida, or are the people friendlier? Is it a mad house like down here? And how about the driving? I expect it to be more populated this time of year, but are the people maniacs when they drive? Lol.

I hope I'm not offending anyone, because that is def not my intention. But I think it is a fact that S Florida is a very, very very busy area with the people just trying to keep up. (I think)

Any info would be appreciated.

[pattybee]

Tho' PSL has its share of former NYers (including me who arrived in 1983 to look after ageing parents !) and folks from the Northeast Corridor in general. They behave standoffishly because that's the way they survived daily living where they came from. I don't find PSL as bad as you describe its being further south—plenty of friendly people from other places.

Driving is going to be harassing everywhere in the coastal areas of FL, especially in the winter months, but I don't find the main drags of PSL to be anything other than crowded. Of course, I'm only on them for local errands. Those who still commute for work may be having different experiences.

Can't speak about living communities near the beach. Perhaps others will comment.

[FlaLadyB]

Marble Cake -- seems the further South you go the more crowded it gets, and the more traffic. PSL is not a highrise downtown center of chaos as are cities further down the coast either.

Lots of people choose to live here and travel to work in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and some even further. Driving home from those areas ...you actually give a sign of relief once you pass the Jupiter exit and the bumper to bumper stress lifts.

Beaches here are free to park at and not crowded -especially if you choose to find one of the many areas that are not at the main access. You can easily find places where you are the only one there if that's what you're looking for.

Here we also have a very wide river before getting to the actual beach. The ocean is actually off of Hutchinson Island, across the bridges from the mainland. Most of that area is condo living, with some single family, villa living scattered along the way.

Or you can choose to stay on the mainland and make an easy trip across the bridge to the beach when ever you please.

[fengxg]

Originally Posted by Marble cake

I'm in south florida. This is my second winter here after retiring. We chose here because we have relatives that also snowbird here. Im not going to say that it's all that bad. I've met some really nice, people and I love the beach.

Now for your opinion. South Florida is VERY crowded, the people drive like maniacs, honking and cutting off like crazy. Also the people are not the most friendly. Surely no southern hospitality down here. I'm a very friendly person, and I've noticed most people don't even make eye contact, let alone say hi.

I would like to me near the beach, which I am now. Also my community where I am now is very reasonable, with many activities. (See, it's really not terrible).

I've been searching the Internet and Port St. Lucie caught my attention.

Is Port St. Lucie like S florida, or are the people friendlier? Is it a mad house like down here? And how about the driving? I expect it to be more populated this time of year, but are the people maniacs when they drive? Lol.

I hope I'm not offending anyone, because that is def not my intention. But I think it is a fact that S Florida is a very, very very busy area with the people just trying to keep up. (I think)

Any info would be appreciated.

You must live in one of the few blue counties in Florida. Move to any red one and you won't see that many maniacs. PSL is fine in my opinion.

[aridon]

I find the traffic here in PSL worse than in WPB really. If you take Okeechobee or Southern West compared to PSL BLVD / Prima at rush hour the experience is far better in WPB. Simply because the design of the road, timing of the lights and having adequate lanes to move traffic / turn. They really have done some **** poor planning in PSL. Once half town parkway is done in the next 5 years or so hopefully that will change some. Although PSL Blvd is still going to be very popular simply due to how many homes and businesses are in that area and how it curves through much of the city population but still leads to Jensen.

PSL is a bedroom community. There isn't a ton here, probably never will be. You have a lot of homes of varying quality and gated communities with more homes separated by a lot of strip malls. We are the land of single family homes and strip malls. Couple of condos and apartments thrown in for good measure.

Much of South Florida's growth has been driven by snow birds and immigrants. Both can be insular for different reasons. You'll come here in February and population will feel like it is double what it is in June. Many gated communities are full for 3 or 5 months a year and then nearly completely abandoned in some cases. Most communities have many of the homes (20-60%) locked up and closed down for 7 months a year. This is a big reason you have that stand off-ish attitude and in general all of South Florida has it to some extent. Can be difficult to bond outside your little circle when you're only in an area a few months.

Doesn't mean that there aren't nice people here. There are. Just that you have to realize when many in your community are only here a few months a year or just tourists visiting briefly it sort of drags down the community feel. You can still find it, you just have to look a little harder than if your street was full every day of the year.

Different areas will have different amounts this as well. Torino in general will have far fewer snow birds than say some of the condo communities or a place like Kings Isle or Lake Forest. Gated communities give the illusion of safety so people that aren't here the majority of time tend to prefer them as well as the easier maintenance. Not to say all the gated communities are the same but that is the trend for many of them.

PSL like any area has it's pros and cons. It really isn't a bad place to settle down but don't come here expecting country living nor big city life. As a large bedroom community it is a big place and has a good number of people but lacks a certain amount of infrastructure and options which most cities of the same size have. It is also a safe area compared to the rest of S FL.

Not a bad place to live.

[aarononymous]

Originally Posted by fengxg

You must live in one of the few blue counties in Florida. Move to any red one and you won't see that many maniacs. PSL is fine in my opinion.

Way to bring politics into it. I moved here from Charlotte NC, but also lived in Miami back in 2005. The drivers aren't terrible here but I do notice a bit of tailgating and passing all the time in non-passing zones. The worst are the guys in the big diesel trucks rolling coal and driving like idiots, wonder what their political association is...

[fengxg]

Originally Posted by aarononymous

Way to bring politics into it. I moved here from Charlotte NC, but also lived in Miami back in 2005. The drivers aren't terrible here but I do notice a bit of tailgating and passing all the time in non-passing zones. The worst are the guys in the big diesel trucks rolling coal and driving like idiots, wonder what their political association is...

I don't see anything wrong with those. They just pass by with noise. What's wrong with that? There are more jerks than that on HWY 1.

[Marble cake]

Thanks everyone for all of your inciiteful replies. I was a bit confused by the blue and red counties. But now I understand. I'll keep up my search for a place in florida that would suit me better. I do know I want to stay in Florida, though. No state income tax is great.

Have a great evening, all.

[PortStLucieWater]

Since we're talking red & blue counties I was interested this year to find that St Lucie County was one of the few FL counties that was neither red nor blue

[aarononymous]

Originally Posted by fengxg

I don't see anything wrong with those. They just pass by with noise. What's wrong with that? There are more jerks than that on HWY 1.

I'm fine with normal diesel vehicles. It's just the modified jacked up trucks that spew soot on command and race from stop lights and drive at high speeds and/or aggressively. Yes this is usually on US 1. Also another thing they happened today again that I forgot to mention are the people who wait for the last second then pull out in front of you. It's nothing like Miami area just noting some things I've noticed since moving here.