PSL vs. Vero (Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach: to rent, condominiums, crime rate)

[fengxg]

Do a lot of people going to the beach, say, every weekend? I think beach is only fun if you go there occasionally. I want to live near beach if I am on vacation. However for housing I would definitely rather be close to town and shopping.

[SeaLark7]

We have lived here for almost a year, and I still go to the beach twice a week. I am a beachcomber, looking for shells, sea glass and sea beans. If I was not a collector, I would probably only go once a week. I can't imagine living so near the ocean and NOT going to the beach ! Even if it is just to sit there and watch the waves, or better yet get IN the waves when conditions permit. Certainly a major draw to me for moving to Florida was being near the beach !

[HarryWho?]

In Florida you're never really far from a beach. If you're not a beach person, it's not hard to be a half hour away without realizing it's even there. You can decide on a schedule or a whim.

[RuRu2152]

We used to live a mile from the beach and were there at least twice a week. Volleyball, swimming, surfing, or just grazing tide pools on a whim after work. Being close to the beach is far more important to me than being close to shopping or mainstream entertainment. In fact I'd rather have a longer commute to work than to have to "plan" a drive to the beach. We were three minutes from the Gulf and twenty five minutes from the nearest grocery store. And I loved it. But of course, that isn't for everyone.

[runswithscissors]

Ok so I know NOTHING about Ft Pierce, really, except the barrier island and the farmer's market (great) LOL but this house has a pool and screened cage and the birds would LOVE it . Looks a good distance from neighbor's too. Nothing fancy but just for an example.

Lakewood Park. It's not all that far from where I live so how bad can it be? hahaha. Someone here will know.

Good luck! There are tons of rentals, just need a landlord who'll accept the pets. If you want me to drive by any listing just let me know

Home for Rent - 7806 Belleair, Fort Pierce, FL 34951 - realtor.com®

I still say Vero. I went to the beach across from Ft Pierce when I moved here and there were two crack heads counting money in the pavillion on the beach! Just my luck. The girl was nodding out and they were polite yada yada but what are the ODDS of that? YOU DO NOT SEE THAT IN VERO.

The beach in Vero is upscale but not pretentious, it's humble, calm. The beach by Ft Pierce in the single houses I'd call iffy.

I was determined to live on the water, too when I moved here. My HOA is on the water but you can't see water hahaha.

This one is a good one, in Vero. Lexington Place. Very quiet in there BUT there is some construction which may work to your advantage with the pets. Won't be THAT quiet and they may really want a tenant. The houses are built quiet inside.

It's also on a corner so fewer neighbors.

About 20-30 min to work. The development was unfinished in 09 after the crash so it's not crowded at all. They are just starting construction again. You'd zip over to the beach up Indian River Blvd about 15 minutes tops. Then maybe 10 minutes to actually get ON the beach. Some areas south of Oslo are undesirable. But north of it is fine and this is close to Rt 1 - your commute AND shopping/gas station.

BUT the bridge is the Causeway 17th st. I have a feeling you might prefer Riverside Park area and beach and that is further up another 15 minutes off of Rt 60. It all depends on your activities.

Home for Rent - 448 Lexington Blvd Sw, Vero Beach, FL 32962 - realtor.com®

To complicate the issue, you probably want southern/eastern exposure for the parrots. At least I DID when I moved here for my Parrotlets. Then I made the mistake of putting window tint on the window near their cage (DUH) so they were getting ready for bed at 2 pm the minute the guy left instead of 4 PM! So the TINT WORKS!!! I ended up moving them because I couldn't have their entire metabolism and schedule messed up in breeding season when they're hyper to begin with. I let them free fly but they voluntarily would go to their own cage all the time.

Also DO NOT LEAVE THEM OUTSIDE ON THE SCREEN PORCH unsupervised depending on the neighborhood if it's an HOA or whatever. The development landscapers go through spraying pesticides all over and it blows on YOUR HOUSE. Even illegally if you have an estuary like I did behind me. I had to keep reporting my HOA to the township for violating the builder's agreement to maintain that estuary in natural condition. All of a sudden the wild life was dying/disappearing and stuff.

[TidalWave2]

We had similar issues because we have a large dog (75 lbs). We didn't know the area well enough to purchase, so we decided to rent first. Many places won't rent to you if you have a large dog....so we had to go the apt route. Nice, gated community in a 3 bedroom for around 1,000/month. When we buy, we want a townhome or similar with no maint. We did the large house with a pool thing for years and now want a more carefree lifestyle.

[RuRu2152]

runwithscissors, you're awesome! Thanks for the heads up about the spray. They did that in Texas too. Drove me nuts. As for sunlight, my amazon actually likes to nap when the sun shines in his cage lol. The macaws only sleep if it's dark.

The pool house you posted is awesome. I think we are going to come down a couple weeks before we actually move to find a place and sign a lease. We will only have a few days, though, so I may take you up on that drive by thing so we don't end up wasting our time on any bad places. I figure I can at least give you street names and you can tell me what you know about the areas. I really appreciate your help.

TidalWave, we really wanted to do an apartment just for like a year. When I lived in Corpus and Gulfport, I never had an apartment count my birds in the "total pet count" or charge me a pet fee for them. Every one in Florida so far is, and some even say no birds at all. It's unusual, I've had no fewer than ten rentals in my life and NEVER had a problem. So, a house it is. I doubt we will ever buy in that area, as I see us moving elsewhere within Florida in a few years, but who knows?

Thanks so much for all the feedback, everyone. You guys are great!

[RuRu2152]

Actually the other one is cool too! I like them both. I think our tastes are similar.

[g4jc]

I live in South Vero, gated community, and love it. I also work in PSL on Prima Vista. Your conversation came up on Bing search. To the original poster I mean no disrespect by kind of changing the subject but I'm looking for a fellow commuter. FYI, from where I live to Prima Vista just over the city line of southern Fort Pierce on US1 is 18.9 miles and takes 30 minutes at 6 am. I'm an elecr]trician and meet the other crews at US1 and Prima Vista. I will pay all fuel costs and more for your time. To the poster Vero is the cleanest, well kept place I have ever seen. Getting a driver's license takes literally ten minutes. All govt services are new and pretty efficient. Thanks

[RuRu2152]

g4jc, I don't mind you hijacking my thread since you also provided the feedback I was looking for. :-) Thanks for the info, and good luck in your search for a fellow commuter.