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Short Profiles of Reader Requested Towns

Many readers ask us to profile towns they like or have heard about to see if they would make a great retirement spot, and we have started this page as a way to address these profile requests.

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Port St. Lucie, Florida

8/14/2009

Pleasant Port St. Lucie, Florida (population 155,000 in metro area), nestled along the St. Lucie River, started in the mid-1950s as a planned development, and today the city seems to have many satisfied residents.   It is primarily a middle class community, located roughly 115 miles southeast of Orlando, and has been recognized as the safest city of its size in Florida with a crime rate well below the national average.  Port St. Lucie is home to a number of smaller planned communities, including Tradition, an all-ages development with a 1950s-era ambiance that has been named one of the top master-planned communities in the country.   The population in Port St. Lucie tends to skew slightly older than the national average, with 23% age 45 to 64, and 19% age 65 or better, and the average cost of living is approximately 8% below the national average.  The median home price is $165,000.   

Port St. Lucie is known for golf, with the PGA Village, recognized as one of the "75 Best Golf Resorts in North America" by Golf Digest, and the PGA Learning Center both located here, along with a dozen other golf courses within a short drive.  The city is also the Spring training headquarters of the New York Mets, and more than 40 public access beaches are nestled up and down the Port St. Lucie coast.   The Treasure Coast Symphony holds concerts at the Sunrise Theatre in nearby Fort Pierce, and fitness and dance classes are offered to retirees through the city's parks and recreation department.  Port St. Lucie Medical Center, a 229-bed acute care facility with nationally recognized surgical programs, and Martin Memorial Medical Center in nearby Stuart (10 miles) provide very good medical care.   Public transportation is provided by Community Transit and Treasure Coast Connector.   The weather is hot and humid in the summer and mild in the winter.  It's Florida.

While Port St. Lucie has a lot going for it, there are also several drawbacks.  One is hurricanes.  Up until 2004, this area had not been hit by a hurricane in nearly 50 years.  Then it was hit by Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 and then by Hurricane Wilma in 2005.  Damage was minimal, but home insurance rates spiked and remain high today.   Then in 2007, the housing market began to collapse.  Home prices rose rapidly during the first part of the century and are now falling just as fast.  The median home price in 2007 was $215,000; now it is $50,000, or nearly 25%, less.  Port St. Lucie County today has the second highest foreclosure rate in the state, just behind ravaged Lee County,* and the rate shows no sign of abating soon.  City leaders have even considered declaring the city a disaster area so that they may access county emergency funds.  

Recommended as a Retirement Spot? X No, at least not now   X X

Port St. Lucie is a rather low-key, welcoming city with lots of recreation opportunities, good medical care, a very low crime rate, affordable housing and happy residents, but the foreclosure rate is very worrisome and could potentially lead to long-term economic and social problems.   Three hurricanes in rapid succession and high insurance rates are also things to consider if thinking of retirement here.  Port St. Lucie will be worth another look, however, once the foreclosure situation shakes out.