Please explain...a couple years ago "Wellington" was all over this board....still great place to live? (Sarasota: 2014)

[sunbound5]

I use to read about Wellington as the best family place to live in South Florida....now I barely see it come up at all. Had the quality of life declined there or has everyone moved there and is status quo? Thanks for your input.

[Bobstar]

I think there is just less people moving within the state and from out of state so there is less discussion. Still a great place to live.

[FloridaHawkeye]

Are the prices still dropping there?

[purpleash22]

I have been thinking of the West Coast of Florida to buy a villa in the future for retirement to snowbird from England for the autumn, winter months. I was liking Naples, 2nd Venice and pondering over 3rd Sarasota. One interest of my wife is horses, so read somewhere that 'Wellington' more to the East of FL was a nice place to consider and that it had an equestrian element to it. We were aiming for a purchase price in the region of up to $150,000 (2 bed + den or 3 bed with 2 bathrooms). We know the answer is to rent first but can anyone from Wellington or people considering these areas sway me to consider further investigation into Wellington over the other locations please. Is Wellington a more expensive location over Naples for example?

[type]

yes, nuff said!

[purpleash22]

Originally Posted by type

yes, nuff said!

OK thanks. Stick to the West Coast then Thanks

[mayorhaggar]

Most of Wellington is typical American suburbia without the equestrian element. The equestrian thing is mainly due to the fact that a lot of equestrian people winter there--many of them are only there for maybe 1/3rd or 1/4th of the year. There are polo events there as well if you are into that. The equestrian set is mainly in the outskirts of the town which is more spread out and you'll see big houses with horses behind fences. So you don't really see people riding horseback through town, but you might see it out in the more rural outskirts.

I don't know if $150,000 for a 2br is doable, my parents have a 4br in Wellington which they say is worth about $200,000. They bought it for about $150K in 1989, at one point a few years ago it was up to around $400,000, now not so much. Might be a good time to buy.

[skylinet]

Originally Posted by purpleash22

I have been thinking of the West Coast of Florida to buy a villa in the future for retirement to snowbird from England for the autumn, winter months. I was liking Naples, 2nd Venice and pondering over 3rd Sarasota. One interest of my wife is horses, so read somewhere that 'Wellington' more to the East of FL was a nice place to consider and that it had an equestrian element to it. We were aiming for a purchase price in the region of up to $150,000 (2 bed + den or 3 bed with 2 bathrooms). We know the answer is to rent first but can anyone from Wellington or people considering these areas sway me to consider further investigation into Wellington over the other locations please. Is Wellington a more expensive location over Naples for example?

You can get around a 13-1500 sqft 3/2 for 150k in Wellington right now pretty easily.
Wellington is a very nice area, I would think it would be a little far from the water for a seasonal home, but if you aren't going to the beach at all you can get some great values there right now.

[THX 1138]

I have lived in Wellington for a while, it's still a nice place to live but it's more crowded and built out now then it was years ago. There is a mix of gated, very high HOA fees andd non-gated no or low HOA fee developments. There are places to avoid in Wellington, some shady low-income areas. It's seasonal in the sense of Equine Season, from around Oct-April or so.

Wellington is self-sufficient when it comes to shopping and restaurants and close enough to the Turnpike to go north or south in no time. Also to go east in a hurry Southern Blvd can get you downtown WPG in 15 mins or so depending on traffic and to the beach is 20 mins or so. Wellington has a great central location in PBC which makes it convenient over other places like living up in North County you are somewhat isolated and also it lacks a lot of stores and conveniences that you find in Central and South County. Granted the Gardens Mall is a nice mall, though but that's not everyone's requirement. If you live in Jupiter and like to shop at Target, you have to drive to Northlake to their good'ole regular sized Target. Wellington does not have a Target store but there 3 Target's within 5-10 miles (Lantana & 441), (Okeechobee & 441) both of which are Super Targets and one Target in Greenacres on Lake Worth Road. Costco and BJ's are next door in RPB. Wellington Mall is a big mall that's nice but not my favorite.

Plenty of Medical and etc nearby, Movie Theatres and etc..

For families, without a doubt it's still a popular place in Palm Beach County with probably the best park system around.

Whether not to buy is the question, you have to watch the HOA developments, many are in dire straits and the fees are getting very expensive. I would rent for a year or two or longer, wait and see how low it goes. There are no real big employers in Wellington, so it's not like magically home prices will bounce up anytime soon. Not to mention unemployment is still high in PBC.

[purpleash22]

Thanks for all your detailed information. Was most informative and worthy of a look round. The advice has come up many a time with regards to renting in a chosen location before committing to a purchase. A lot more thought needs putting into this location when a budget is required as each month renting eats into finance for a purchased property when the aim is eventually to buy without a mortgage. Information was greatly received.