[stevehawk]

I am getting a divorce and will be a single father of a 10 year old boy. My sister has a condo in Sarasota and I do like the area. I was also interested in Port St. Lucie. I have heard it's a good family town. I am not a big city person so Miami,Jacksonville,and Tampa are out. I would be looking for a condo maybe 1200-1500 sq.ft. for maybe 100k ? Would this be possible? A safe area is my prime consideration.

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

I like them both. But if it were me I would go for Sarasota.

I would go alittle further south of Sarasota towards Venice.

Crime records are shown here on CD and you can google them.

Good Luck!

Are you getting your boy then? If so, congrats on making sure he is safe first and foremost.

And there are some good schools in the Venice area from posters here.

[TriMT7]

I don't know much about Sarasota, but I do know you can get a 3/2/2 HOUSE in PSL for less than 100k, so a condo is very doable.

PSL is one of the safest cities in Florida.

Are jobs an issue for you?

[mquintana]

PSL is nice, but there is one downfall about it-everyone I know (the younger crowd) are involved in "extracurricular activities" like partying and all that. I know you get that anywhere you go, but I just wanted to point that out.

Sarasota is a nice area and I have met a lot of nice people from there.

[stevehawk]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

I don't know much about Sarasota, but I do know you can get a 3/2/2 HOUSE in PSL for less than 100k, so a condo is very doable.

PSL is one of the safest cities in Florida.

Are jobs an issue for you?

It could be. I am currently in inside sales but hoping to get an outside sales position at my current company that would cover the entire state of Florida. That was another reason why I was thinking of staying fairly central. If that doesn't manifest I would be looking like so many others for work. I feel that Florida will be one of the first places to rebound since it has been hit so hard.

[psouth]

I wouldn't even consider Port St. Lucie. It has high crime and poor infrastructure. The city had very poor planning and just concentrated on attracting retirees and younger people who couldn't afford homes in Palm Beach County. It is now one of the highest foreclosure areas in the whole country with vacant and unkept homes everywhere. I mean it looks terrible. Not to mention all the homes built with Chinese drywall and leaking chemicals that need to be torn down now. Plus the fact there is absolutely no industry whatsoever and no jobs beyond retail. Port St. Lucie might be ok if you are retired and you buy into a very expensive community with guards. Other than that I wouldn't even consider it.

I'm not so sure about Sarasota but I hear it's nice. Northern Palm Beach County like Palm Beach Gardens is nice and close to everything you would need.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by psouth

I wouldn't even consider Port St. Lucie. It has high crime and poor infrastructure.

Continuing your quest to give some of the worst advice and misinformation, I see.

High crime? Are you kidding me? For years PSL has made "Top safest" lists, and even now still ranks in the top 100 safest cities in the country.

Originally Posted by psouth

It is now one of the highest foreclosure areas in the whole country with vacant and unkept homes everywhere. I mean it looks terrible.

I'm sure you can speak for all 80 square miles of the city, having extensive first hand knowledge.

Originally Posted by psouth

Not to mention all the homes built with Chinese drywall and leaking chemicals that need to be torn down now.

There's like, 2 newer developments that have problems with Chinese drywall. In a city of 160,000 people, you make it seem like an epidemic.

Besides, I'm surprised that people who lament making crap wages in the service industry appear to be such snobs! PSL is and always has been a good SAFE place for working families to live. Especially those who do not want HOAs, etc.

Originally Posted by psouth

Plus the fact there is absolutely no industry whatsoever and no jobs beyond retail.

Here we go again........

Top employers in St. Lucie County:

Major Employers - Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County (http://www.youredc.com/html/major_employers.asp - broken link)

You will note, the "Wal-Mart" includes a regional shipping and distribution hub.

The treasure coast, as a whole, lacks most of the "big industry" that South Florida does. It's economy is more reliant on small business and service industry. Where there IS a "big industry employer," like Piper aircraft in Vero Beach, whenever Piper has problems or threatens to pull out or go out of business, there is MAJOR heartburn.

Luckily, the Treasure Coast is situated within commuting distance to some of the more major employers in South Florida. Even so, something like only 14% of PSL residents commute to Palm Beach County for work.

Originally Posted by psouth

Port St. Lucie might be ok if you are retired and you buy into a very expensive community with guards.

Guards? What for? PSL is safer than Stuart, Vero Beach, Jupiter, and Palm Beach Gardens.....

Do some research:

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[Chrome Microphone]

I'd say Sarasota. PSL was just on the news for one of the poorest job markets and foreclosure rates in the state. And knowing that FL is one of the worst in unemployment and foreclosures, you could bet PSL is in trouble, for now.

[mquintana]

I agree with you here, my friends who live in the Pizzle (PSL) said that the jobs right now are scarce and there are even a few of my friends who are unemployed looking for jobs...

Originally Posted by Chrome Microphone

I'd say Sarasota. PSL was just on the news for one of the poorest job markets and foreclosure rates in the state. And knowing that FL is one of the worst in unemployment and foreclosures, you could bet PSL is in trouble, for now.

[psouth]

Port St. Lucie was just on the news today for declaring a state of emergency due to over 13% unemployment, a big financial crisis due to all the foreclosures and drop in property tax dollars, and for all the neglected homes and yards since going into foreclosure. There are entire subdivisions and homes left unfinished after developers went bankrupt. You talk about a joke of a city with plummeting housing prices I remember two years ago they had a water shortage because they didn't plan properly for growth. Kids were also being hit by cars because they did not build sidewalks like other cities usually do. The city is plagued by robberies and home invasions galore. The commercials a few years ago with Erik Estrada were pretty funny touting Port St. Lucie as Shangri-La like he does for other cities I've seen him do. For some reason you don't see them any more. The idea for the city was great but like other cities in Florida the result not so great after poor planning and the lack of jobs. It was promoted as a mecca for retirees then young families but things didn't work out as planned. According to the news Port St. Lucie has nobody knows how many homes with Chinese drywall which will further hurt property values. These newly occupied homes all have to be torn down.

As for the job market if you check the list and link provided by the above poster you will find these jobs to be primarily low paying customer service and retail jobs. Hardly anything worth moving for. Besides I don't consider companies with 1000-2000 jobs to be major employers in this day and age. Especially when they are low paying banks, drugstores, grocery stores, and other retail locations. I guess that is pretty good for Port St. Lucie standards though.