Port St Lucie/ Vero Bch/ Ft Pierce (avoid, questions)

[OoAnd1]

Originally Posted by Prettygyrl777

The city and downtown areas of Ft. Pierce are not desirable but Hutchinson Island is nice- not sure what you're budget is but I went to a charity event near the water down there and it was gorgeous. I could easily live there with no problem. I can't say the same for the rest of Ft. Pierce.

I live in PSL. The housing prices are coming down but there are other issues to deal with: school, jobs, insurance, etc... I like it here because it's convenient for where I am in my life right now but I have my sets on Palm Beach Gardens. Look up some info on that area and you may find something you like. I go to school in PBG and I LOVE the area-- it's a great place for 'upwardly mobile' individuals but I didn't find it anymore expensive than the other areas. There's a wider variety of housing options there and you're minutes away from various types of employment.

I've never been to Hutchinson Island...I've heard it mentioned a few times, what would you compare it to? Are the beaches nice??

Anyway OP, I'm also originally from Broward. And out of those 3 I'd say check out PSL. I moved to Tradition (in PSL) almost a year ago and so far it's been good. Definitely recommend it to you. Not all of Ft. Pierce is bad, I volunteer there and it's good enough an environment to work in but it's nothing special either. Overall the Treasure Coast is a good area, significantly different from South FL. I used to live by the Sawgrass Mall, so shopping is much more of a task now, etc... but you sense that the T.C. in general as a lot of potential.

There are plenty of home developments all along I-95 and the Turnpike. Also, traffic isn't bad compared to Broward, it's just there are fewer roads so it takes you longer to get to places than it should. School-wise, St. Lucie West K-8 is great...my sister goes there and I just wish my middle school (in Miami) was as safe and productive. They seem to have a great staff.

Oh, last note..I've never gone to Vero Beach...can't help you there. Where from Broward are you from? Good luck with your researching...

[deana]

hi mrsg,

i also live in broward....i just bought a new home in vero.....i love it there. i go to psl for my job and have asked around. the ones that live there are not thrilled about it. a few that live in vero say it's great so that is why i checked it out. the home prices are great also. i got a closeout home for less than 130k. it's really laid back and nice people. we drove through at rush hour both am and pm and no traffic whatsoever. good luck in your decision.

[ndraves]

I live in Juno Beach between Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter. Been here since 2005. Lots to do for here for everyone, singles from 30+ to 55+ vs little to do in PSL. Avg. age is high 30's-mid 40's. I think it is one of the best areas to live on the east coast. Certianly would not want to be any more south of here. And as far as going north I don't know much about it beyond Stuart which is near the Martin County line. Palm Beach Gardens is noted as one of the faster growth areas in the nation, but we have two new huge biotech firms moving in which will bring alot of jobs so this place will grow quite a bit in the next five years.

[abbfabb69]

I'm from philly have been vacationing with my g-'rents in Vero for 2 weeks every august for my whole life, and, well, i don;t know much about it, but, in comparison to Lake Whales and St. Cloud(which i spend part of that vacation at), I'd pick Vero any day. And not even for the beaches, I believe I've been to the beach in Vero once, but it's great! Although, from my experience, there are a lot of older people there. and, IDK if it's Florida or Vero, but things aren;t open late, and the grocery store isn't 24 hours! so, yeah...

[skrischke]

mrsg04...everyone is talking about crime, and not answering your questions! The taxes adn insurance is NOT the biggest issue we face in our county, taxes are being lowered this year,and legislation will have to address other issues to continue that trend. Insurance is VERY affordable unless you buy a very old home (35+ years), which you will ifnd a lot of in Ft. Pierce and Vero, as we have a long history, but oyu will not find in Port St. Lucie. PSL has very low crime rate, as does vero. Ft. Piercei shigher, but it is concentrated...which is nice, sorry to say, to know where the bad areas are. In psl...you never know, it is all spread out! Prices are great, and the neighborhoods are nice. If you like Vero, perhaps consider north Ft. Pierce for lower house prices and great neighborhoods, and a hop to Verof or dining and shopping. If oyu want the best schools, consider Martin or Indian River county, we have a LOT of work to do in our school district. But we do offer choice schools, and a lotof magnet programs, IB, Honors, and dual enrollment whisha re great programs. Ask me anything. Salons are popping up all over, so chances fora job are great. New spa at Traditions sanctuaryspatraditions.com is booked for months!!

[Wendyb0077]

Very informative! But damn, how long did it take to type this??

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

It's a common misconception that no place on earth has higher crime than Broward County, except for Dade, and it's automatically safer when you head further north, even in Palm Beach County. None of those statements are completely true.
Crime in Vero Beach by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
per 100,000 0.0 5.8 0.0 5.4 5.7 0.0 0.0 0.0
Rapes 6 17 5 10 5 4 6 7
per 100,000 36.1 99.4 27.5 54.0 28.3 22.5 34.1 40.3
Robberies 23 24 18 18 32 12 16 23
per 100,000 138.5 140.3 99.1 97.2 181.2 67.6 90.9 132.4
Assaults 55 50 53 62 55 58 64 46
per 100,000 331.3 292.3 291.8 334.9 311.4 326.9 363.7 264.9
Burglaries 175 170 160 207 130 137 145 121
per 100,000 1054.1 993.9 880.9 1118.1 736.1 772.1 824.0 696.8
Thefts 790 791 591 616 572 523 551 498
per 100,000 4758.5 4624.4 3253.7 3327.2 3239.0 2947.6 3131.2 2867.7
Auto thefts 50 45 27 32 32 28 44 23
per 100,000 301.2 263.1 148.6 172.8 181.2 157.8 250.0 132.4
Arson 2 5 5 1 3 1 1 6
per 100,000 12.0 29.2 27.5 5.4 17.0 5.6 5.7 34.6
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 321.1) 424.9 467.3 313.8 375.3 346.2 288.3 330.2 299.0

Looks like Vero Beach has come down significantly, but it's still comparable with

Crime in Sunrise by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 3 2 3 4 1 0 1 3
per 100,000 3.7 2.3 3.4 4.5 1.1 0.0 1.1 3.3
Rapes 23 30 38 11 23 19 22 15
per 100,000 28.3 34.5 43.2 12.3 25.5 20.9 23.8 16.3
Robberies 116 126 137 145 145 104 128 177
per 100,000 142.5 145.0 155.7 161.6 160.9 114.1 138.7 192.1
Assaults 173 207 269 280 255 249 230 231
per 100,000 212.6 238.2 305.7 312.1 283.0 273.3 249.3 250.8
Burglaries 687 538 690 551 513 471 554 576
per 100,000 844.1 619.0 784.1 614.3 569.4 516.9 600.5 625.3
Thefts 3,451 3,367 3,353 2,896 2,857 2,517 2,288 2,449
per 100,000 4240.1 3874.1 3810.1 3228.5 3171.0 2762.4 2479.8 2658.6
Auto thefts 570 500 482 403 392 310 306 318
per 100,000 700.3 575.3 547.7 449.3 435.1 340.2 331.7 345.2
Arson 9 5 17 6 3 19 4 4
per 100,000 11.1 5.8 19.3 6.7 3.3 20.9 4.3 4.3
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 331.9) 400.0 367.7 400.3 337.7 329.0 279.5 280.5 305.1

And for information's sake, the only Florida city that is safer than Port St. Luice is Coral Springs as of 2006 (based on 2005). Broward city. As of 2007 (based on 2006 data), Coral Springs and Pembroke Pines rank 1 and 2 in the the state, respectively, the former ranking as one of the 25 safest cities in the country for it's second year in a row and the both ranking within the 50 safest for several years. And unless they are in Pompano Beach or Deerfield Beach, their north Broward city is safer than Vero Beach, because those were the only two north Broward cities to have high crime than Vero.That being said, it's gorgeous up there and I think I would rather live in Vero myself lol.

And to compare St Lucie, Indian River and Broward as counties, yes, the latter two are significantly safer according to the FDLE

Broward reported 4,295.9 crimes per 100,000 and a percent change of negative 1.7 percent. Indian River reported a low 3,269.2 crimes per 100,000 and a significant decrease of 10.3% over previous year. St. Lucie reported a slightly-below-average 3,822.4 crimes per 100,000 people, which is a 2.1 percent increase over last year.

Total Index Crime by County, 2006

[Sueilp]

We have lived in Vero for 2 1/2 yrs and have not seen much crime at all - feel safe here....lovely friendly people and not much traffic.

[seeriously]

Originally Posted by Sueilp

We have lived in Vero for 2 1/2 yrs and have not seen much crime at all - feel safe here....lovely friendly people and not much traffic.

Ditto. I could have written this.

[PATRAIN]

Was raised in Vero beach from 1976 and lived there until 2005 when we sold our house and moved out of the state. It was great living there, however, the people do have a bit of snobbiness about them......We lived on the barrier island and it was great. However, you will not be able to buy there for what my father built it for in that area. He paid 25,000 for a lot and built the house for 75,000 in 1976. It sold a couple years ago for close to 600,000. As for the crime, not to worry, With all the money in Vero, it's like a police state. As a kid the police used to chase us around all the time.....nice town, but unless your a dr. or lawyer etc....there are not alot of high paying jobs. Taxes are high as is the home owners insurance. As for the crime it's located mostly in the north part of the area and that messes up the stats.......

[itzybee]

I live in Port St. Lucie in the Tradition development. It might be a great place in the future, but right now, there are not enough facilities here. The hospital is a good distance away, there is no fire station nearby, major shopping is a good 25 minutes away, and some other minuses. It is a lovely area, but lacks many amenities that are necessary. I have also found it difficult to make friends here.

I feel very, very safe here.