Need advice on Palm Beach county... (Miami, Port St. Lucie: low crime, house, neighborhood)

[Hondax]

I appreciate the heated discussion between PBCboy and dennis s. There dialog tells me that you need to be careful in choosing your location in WPB,......VERY careful.

So much of city crime is drug related, so by steering clear of those specific areas(zip codes) you can avoid most of it.

Kansas city is pretty high up on the crime list (#13)but only 1/5 of the city is dangerous. That may seem like a lot, and it is but remember 4/5 or 80% is not. I imagine it's the same in WPB as well.

It sounds like I would be an idiot to consider WPB but I'll reserve judgment until I see it first hand.

Great thread and site!

[parklane641]

I have lived in pbc for thirty years and am moving out next month. The crime here is unbelievable. Murders don't even make the news anymore and the gang problem is out of control. I have friends that have been held gunpoint outside of target.Everyone i know is looking for a way out of this place. good luck.

[doggiebus]

How did WPB get so bad?

[Hondax]

Originally Posted by parklane641

I have lived in pbc for thirty years and am moving out next month. The crime here is unbelievable. Murders don't even make the news anymore and the gang problem is out of control. I have friends that have been held gunpoint outside of target.Everyone i know is looking for a way out of this place. good luck.

This just can't be true. PBC is one of the fastest growing not fastest shrinking counties. I'm reasonable sure most people moving their are decent hard working folks as most of the available homes for sale are quite pricey and would require hefty job pay.

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by Hondax

This just can't be true. PBC is one of the fastest growing not fastest shrinking counties. I'm reasonable sure most people moving their are decent hard working folks as most of the available homes for sale are quite pricey and would require hefty job pay.

Like selling drugs

[Hondax]

Originally Posted by PBCboy

Like selling drugs

LOL....I thought of that too, but am way too optimistic to believe it.

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by Hondax

LOL....I thought of that too, but am way too optimistic to believe it.

There was someone in my neighborhood that had no job or anything yet they had the nicest house in the neighborhood. Well last year they got busted for having a pot farm in their house. That explained alot

I was pretty much just joking with that statement, but it definitely does happen with some people. Maybe not a large percentage, but there are some that do it. You would probably never know it though. This is becoming a problem in Port Saint Lucie now too.

[Hondax]

I figured you were kidding but I have a good story as well:
It took about 18 months for the police to arrest a Meth Lab located 1 1/2 miles from our farm. Everyone knew about it,......everyone!!! Yet we watched dozens of cars pass by our farm, on a gravel road, day and night.

As stupid as it sounds, the police were setting up a sting to nap the big cheese all the while everyone and his brother knew what was going on. The clincher is they did nap Mr. Big. If you gotta lives with vermin you are better off with dumb vermin than smart.

[Mrs-Charles]

If you want to move east of I95, don't forget that you most likely will not get wind insurance (except maybe extremely expensive Citizens), unless it is a very new home.

I like Boca, which finally seems to attract a younger crowd due to creating a lively downtown area, resembling the nicer places in WPB. Great open air concerts ! And Boca can (still) be considered to be one of the safer cities in the county (unlike all the names that had been pointed out before, including WPB).

I love Delray. "The village by the sea", as it calls itself, has this "artsy", creative feel. The area close to Atlantic Avenue (Pineapple Grove) etc. reminds me quite a bit of the European lifestyle. The area close to Lake Ida is very nice as well as many places along A1A. Simply gourgeous, but very expensive.

Less expensive are Boynton Beach / Lake Worth / Lantana / parts of WPB, but almost every day you read about shoot outs. The gang bangers seem to be everywhere. A real shame, there are some really nice neighbourhoods.

Much less expensive homes you will find further north - Vero Beach (nice), Sebastian/Roseland (old Florida), Micco, Grant up to Melbourne (note: property taxes in Brevard county, starts after Roseland, are still lower than down here).

It all depends what you are looking for ...

[Hondax]

Originally Posted by Mrs-Charles

If you want to move east of I95, don't forget that you most likely will not get wind insurance (except maybe extremely expensive Citizens), unless it is a very new home.

I like Boca, which finally seems to attract a younger crowd due to creating a lively downtown area, resembling the nicer places in WPB. Great open air concerts ! And Boca can (still) be considered to be one of the safer cities in the county (unlike all the names that had been pointed out before, including WPB).

I love Delray. "The village by the sea", as it calls itself, has this "artsy", creative feel. The area close to Atlantic Avenue (Pineapple Grove) etc. reminds me quite a bit of the European lifestyle. The area close to Lake Ida is very nice as well as many places along A1A. Simply gourgeous, but very expensive.

Less expensive are Boynton Beach / Lake Worth / Lantana / parts of WPB, but almost every day you read about shoot outs. The gang bangers seem to be everywhere. A real shame, there are some really nice neighbourhoods.

Much less expensive homes you will find further north - Vero Beach (nice), Sebastian/Roseland (old Florida), Micco, Grant up to Melbourne (note: property taxes in Brevard county, starts after Roseland, are still lower than down here).

It all depends what you are looking for ...

Very nice write up. Thank you for that.
We live on a farm now and would like a modest amount on land, say 1/2 to 1 1/2 acres. I have a mini-orchard now as it's my passion and I need (OK want) to grow lots of tropical trees but require some land to do so. Jupiter Farms and Loxahatchee have the room as well as some 1/2 acre lots in Hobe Sound. I don't care about schools as our kids are nearly done with High School. I'm hoping to make the trip to PBC and Martin this fall but may be able to go sooner.