Obviously, if you’re going to buy a second home, you’re going to want to buy it somewhere beautiful and fun to live. With the exception of a few people who prefer snowy or mountainous climates, many people concentrate their second home efforts on the southern areas of the west coast (Palm Springs, San Diego, etc). There is no doubt that these places are beautiful and have a great climate, especially for people who are aging and need somewhere warmer to live. But what if there were somewhere better?
The idea that Florida is only for the retired set is a quickly dying cliché as more and more young families are choosing to relocate to Orlando, Miami and other hot spots in the state. But what if you don’t want to move somewhere excessively crowded? That’s where Port St. Lucie comes in.
Growth and Affordability
A town whose growth has exploded in the last forty years, Port St Lucie is a larger city (currently the population is around 165K people), but because all of that growth has come within the last forty years (census data from the 70s puts the town’s population in the hundreds), the area still feels like a small town–and has all of that small town charm everybody loves. It’s still continuing to grow, and the economy seems to be doing well. A new call center opening up in the area is promising to hire five hundred people to staff its operations. Businesses with that level of hiring capacity wouldn’t settle in an area that didn’t have potential!
Of course, with the way the city is growing, it’s important to get in there and get that second home before their housing market inflates too much. According to Trulia, homes in Port St Lucie average around $150K, but that number is trending upward. San Diego can’t offer you a beautiful second home at that rate, can it?
Quaint and Charming
In addition to feeling like a quaint small town, Port St Lucie is also incredibly safe and clean. The Palm Beach Post says that Port St Lucie is almost zero litter within the city–how many other towns and cities can say that? Outside of the fictional Stars Hollow, we can’t think of any.
The city also boasts great safety numbers. Violent crimes are rare, and while there are break-ins and home invasions from time to time, most of those are non-violent, but investing into a security system can help provide peace of mind when it comes to safety at home. It’s common for residents to get ADT in Port Saint Lucie and other coastal cities. After all, simply knowing a security system is on the premises is enough to deter nefarious types in huge cities; it’ll definitely stop the few who might have otherwise been tempted to check out your second home while you are away.
Fun Stuff to Do
Obviously, cities that are clean and safe are great but what about entertainment? While a second home is meant to provide a means to “get away from it all” that doesn’t necessarily mean spending your time somewhere with nothing to do! Here are some of the amenities offered by Port St. Lucie.
- Beach access: the town is right on Florida’s southern Atlantic coast. The city has 21 miles of coastline for you to enjoy. You can spend all day every day at the beach if you want (don’t forget your sunscreen)!
- Sports: Love the Mets? Port St. Lucie is the home of the Met’s spring training home base, Tradition Field. It’s also home to minor-league locals the St. Lucie Mets (an affiliate of the major league team). If golf is more your thing, you can play at the PGA Village–the famous course is open to the public and boasts the PGA History museum where you can learn all about the history and culture of golf.
- Nature Lovers: There are plenty of nature preserves and parks to keep you busy, (going Dolphin watching is always fun and everybody will love the Manatee Observation Center) but you’ll most likely spend the majority of your time exploring Indian River Lagoon, which is the continental United States’ most biologically diverse estuary.
- History: you can go treasure hunting (this area of the Florida coastline is called the Treasure Coast for a reason, after all!) or you can take a tour of the Navy Seal museum (the only museum in existence dedicated to the Navy Seals). There are also historical tours of national historical sites that are incredibly interesting, for the US History buffs out there.
The point is this: San Diego and Miami aren’t the only places worth checking out when you decide you want a second home!
