A question about Palm City, Stuart, & Port. St. Lucie (Port St. Lucie: rent, condos)

[rickyd]

What is stuart, port st. lucie, and palm city like compared to other parts of Florida further south in terms of quality of life, aesthetic beauty & similarities to other sofl cities, "old florida" atmosphere, type of jobs available within city limits, nightlife, cost of living compared to the rest of southeast Flo, and any other random info would be good as well.

I heard port st. lucie sucks on job and night life though (Which I can't understand given how massive it's landspace is, but then again I'm from S.Carolina so it's not a culture shock by far).

Also another question...... in general, what are the whole of Martin & St. Lucie counties like compared to the rest of southeast Florida. Is there like a significant difference? The rest of sofl is just overcrowded and corrupt looking, lost it's funky "old florida" charm too.

[Lilybeans]

Martin is nicer than St. Lucie, but both areas are much less developed than counties farther south. Martin County has a height restriction, so you won't find any building over four stories, and only a few are even that high.

Stuart has some of the old Florida flavor. Port St. Lucie is a new town, built in the 60's by General Development, and then in the 80's it seemed to really expand. The problem there is that there is no downtown area at all. It's not a town in the traditional sense.

Hobe Sound has an old Florida feel. Jobs are hard to come by everywhere. Stuart has some nightlife, but it depends what you are looking for. If you want loud bars, late night dance clubs, live music and such, then you need to go to West Palm Beach.

You can't have the "old Florida feel" hand in hand with city amenities.

[rickyd]

Martin County's height restriction thing I was aware of already but it sucks. I like high-rise buildings, especially near water.

As far as both of those counties being much less developed than Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade, that's fine with me. I didn't like the idea at first because I thought that they would be somewhat bland and nowhere near as fun and beautiful as the rest of southeast florida (In the Palm Beach County sense and some parts of Dade), but I found that the counties further south are just too chaotic and over-developed, that is why I changed my mind about moving there.

It seems like overall, Port St. Lucie is just a gigantic suburb, at least from what alot of posters here on this forum said, however, they never said anything about it being nice or not. I mean, that's a HUGE city, so there has to be something good about it somehow.

I never heard anything about Palm city at all. NOTHING. Can't even find info online about it. Not much of anything anyway.

Stuart seems like it's pretty cool and what parts of further south east florida used to be like in the late 80s/early 90s (From what I remember seeing when I was young anyway). I am in my 20s but not too much into the heavy partying scene, but some night life is fine. I'm more of a late night cruiser and like to walk along the beach at night and stuff. Some bars and hangout places are fine with me too. Stuart doesn't sound bad. I wonder how much caribbean population it has though. Although I am known to get along with anyone, I do need people cultural simularities.

Does anyone here at least have any photos of Stuart, Port St. Lucie, and Palm City. You know, like photos of places around the city parts, neighborhoods, something like that. I guess overall, more info would be nice.

Thanks in advance

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by rickyd

Martin County's height restriction thing I was aware of already but it sucks. I like high-rise buildings, especially near water.

As far as both of those counties being much less developed than Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade, that's fine with me. I didn't like the idea at first because I thought that they would be somewhat bland and nowhere near as fun and beautiful as the rest of southeast florida (In the Palm Beach County sense and some parts of Dade), but I found that the counties further south are just too chaotic and over-developed, that is why I changed my mind about moving there.

It seems like overall, Port St. Lucie is just a gigantic suburb, at least from what alot of posters here on this forum said, however, they never said anything about it being nice or not. I mean, that's a HUGE city, so there has to be something good about it somehow.

I never heard anything about Palm city at all. NOTHING. Can't even find info online about it. Not much of anything anyway.

Stuart seems like it's pretty cool and what parts of further south east florida used to be like in the late 80s/early 90s (From what I remember seeing when I was young anyway). I am in my 20s but not too much into the heavy partying scene, but some night life is fine. I'm more of a late night cruiser and like to walk along the beach at night and stuff. Some bars and hangout places are fine with me too. Stuart doesn't sound bad. I wonder how much caribbean population it has though. Although I am known to get along with anyone, I do need people cultural simularities.

Does anyone here at least have any photos of Stuart, Port St. Lucie, and Palm City. You know, like photos of places around the city parts, neighborhoods, something like that. I guess overall, more info would be nice.

Thanks in advance

Caribbean?

If you want late night stuff, Stuart is not for you. Midnight is considered very late. Walking on the beach at night? Good luck with that. I guess you could, but I'm betting the sheriffs would be interested.

Palm City is suburban Stuart.

You should come to Florida and drive around. That's the only way you can get answers.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

Martin is nicer than St. Lucie, but both areas are much less developed than counties farther south. Martin County has a height restriction, so you won't find any building over four stories, and only a few are even that high.

Stuart has some of the old Florida flavor. Port St. Lucie is a new town, built in the 60's by General Development, and then in the 80's it seemed to really expand. The problem there is that there is no downtown area at all. It's not a town in the traditional sense.

Hobe Sound has an old Florida feel. Jobs are hard to come by everywhere. Stuart has some nightlife, but it depends what you are looking for. If you want loud bars, late night dance clubs, live music and such, then you need to go to West Palm Beach.

You can't have the "old Florida feel" hand in hand with city amenities.

I will disagree. West Palm Beach is actually a primarily "old Florida" feeling city. (The ACTUAL city, not that expansive waste land West of I-95 which is actually unincorporated).

Check out the historic neighborhoods of "Southern" West Palm Beach: Grandview Heights, FLamingo Park, El Cid, Southland Park, and "Southside."

I live one mile from downtown, and live on a tree lined street with sidewalks, no HOA, 8 blocks from the intracoastal, spanish and mission style bungalows interspersed with key west style cottages. The closer you get to the water, of course, the bigger the houses.




Martin and St. Lucie, however, are slower paced in general. Less traffic, less crime.... but less to do and less jobs. It's a trade off!

[Dave_n_Tenn]

All the cities/towns you mentioned are distinctly different. Here is some general info from a local perspective. I have lived in Palm City since 1979 and my 4 children were born and raised here.

Palm City is actually an unincorporated area of Martin Co. there is no city govt., and that's a good thing IMO. The area called "Palm City" contains high dollar gated communities (Martin Downs), water front homes, moderated priced homes, and smaller older homes (old Palm City), so there is a good mix.... there are no depressed areas in Palm City. In addition (where I live) west of the Florida Turnpike, there is a mix of 5-20 acre homesites that include many plant nurseries and equestrian areas.... which eventually leads to rural pasture (west of I-95) and small farms.... generally referred to as "Palm City Farms".

If you were to look at a map (north boundary)Palm City would be from the Martin Co./St. Lucie Co line, east boundary is the Palm City bridge, west boundary is I-95 and south would be Seminole Pratt Whitney road that locals call "Loop Rd". Since there is no incorporation in Palm City some may find their ideas of boundaries somewhat different, but that's how I see it.

Palm City has no downtown but we consider Stuart as "downtown" since we are so close... and the Palm City bridge connects Palm City with Stuart. Palm City has little to no night life... no need with Stuart so close. there are however, many restaurants.

If your young and educated you will find work here... good place to avoid the miles of suburban sprawl in PSL (although it's happening here somewhat) and the larger cities to the south.

[rickyd]

In general I like the slower paced life, and as I mentioned before, I'm in my 20s but not too much into the club scene. Need something different to do from time to time though. Palm City sounds ok to me. I really need to experience it myself, but unfortunately I can't at the moment. As I type, I'm trying to find some photos of the place online but I'm finding very few. Not even enough to get a good imagination going.

I kind of have a thing for cities with mediteranian themes (Think West Palm Beach) and tall buildings/condos, but Martin County just doesn't have that, I wonder if St. Lucie county does though.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by rickyd

In general I like the slower paced life, and as I mentioned before, I'm in my 20s but not too much into the club scene. Need something different to do from time to time though. Palm City sounds ok to me. I really need to experience it myself, but unfortunately I can't at the moment. As I type, I'm trying to find some photos of the place online but I'm finding very few. Not even enough to get a good imagination going.

I kind of have a thing for cities with mediteranian themes (Think West Palm Beach) and tall buildings/condos, but Martin County just doesn't have that, I wonder if St. Lucie county does though.

St. Lucie county does not have a mediterranean theme, and all teh buildings are pretty short. It's mostly single family residences, with clusters of commercial development along US-1, and St. Lucie West, and Tradition.

Port St. Lucie, if any "theme" can be identified at all, would be "Florida contemporary." There IS a city center being built in Port St. Lucie. Take an afternoon and check out the area around East Lake Village, east of US-1 in Port St. Lucie. It's a convenient address that will be walkable to the downtown being built, and is close to the mall, Jensen Beach, Savannas State preserve, and intracoastal.

It's also new, so it might have a slightly more "mediterranean" styling that has been in vogue recently.


Again though.... jobs....?

[Lilybeans]

If you like the Mediterranean look, the WPB definitely has some neat old neighborhoods. Stuart has one or two areas like that as well.

[Agnes]

I would not recommend Palm City for a guy in his 20's. It is a bedroom community with very few stores, restaurants, or excitement. It is not ethnically diverse. There are a lot of young families and snowbirds here. We are a young family, and for us it is perfect because my husband has a secure job. What we need are good schools, a peaceful and stable neighborhood for the kids, and "just enough" activities for our limited free time. If I were your age and single, though, I would be bored.

Stuart and Jensen Beach are funkier - esp. Jensen - but they are slow.

This is the time of life for you to explore and have fun. You have freedom. You can always rent and feel out the area for a while. I would recommend West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, Delray, and yes downtown Lake Worth. To me, they are much more eclectic, artsy, and have more opportunity for a person of your age.