Retiring Abroad: Port St. Lucie, Florida
Milestone Wealth Management Ltd. - Jan 04, 2022
When dreaming of a retirement destination, for many Canadians - and Americans as well - the state of Florida comes to mind. And it is no wonder, as it offers great weather in winter, attractions like Disney World and Sea World, plenty of golfing, several cruise ports and of course the beautiful beaches.
There are numerous cities and towns within Florida from which a retiree might choose. When searching up the most popular cities in which to retire throughout the entire United States, it is no surprise to find many Florida cities mentioned. Names like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Tampa pop up frequently and are very well known; however, a fast-growing smaller city that is receiving a lot of attention is Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Port St. Lucie is a city of approximately 200,000 people, located along the east coast of Florida roughly 200 km north of Miami and roughly 200 km southeast of Orlando. Being centrally located like this offers the ability to take in the benefits of either south Florida (West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and even the Florida Keys) while still being able to travel north to Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World and Cape Canaveral in the Orlando area.
The winter weather is mild with November to March average high temperatures ranging from 24 – 27 degrees Celsius, and average lows ranging from 13 – 18 degrees Celsius. Rainfall is lower during the winter months, with five to seven days of rain per month from November to March. Not only does that mean more sunny days, but also lower and more comfortable humidity in the winter months.
If your dream is to watch sports in retirement, fear not. The Florida Panthers play in Sunrise, Florida (just west of Fort Lauderdale) and the Tampa Bay Lightning play in downtown Tampa. If you are into basketball, you can watch the Miami Heat or the Orlando Magic. If football is your game, you have the choice of the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or the Jacksonville Jaguars. Baseball? The Florida Marlins play out of Miami and the Devil Rays out of Tampa Bay – not to mention all the spring training camps. In fact, the New York Mets have their spring training camp right in Port St. Lucie, along with their minor league team the St. Lucie Mets, playing in the local 7,000-person Clover Park stadium. And if you would prefer to play sports instead of watch, Port, St. Lucie has the PGA Golf Club located at PGA Village.
If you like to cruise, Port St. Lucie is a fantastic location to live. Some of the most popular cruise ports in the world are all within driving distance. The Port of Miami, Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale), Port Canaveral (Orlando area) and the Port of Tampa Bay are all major cruise ports serving all the major cruise lines.
Home prices have gone up significantly in Florida in the past few years, and Port St. Lucie is no exception. However, home prices are still at the relatively reasonable level of approximately US$330,000 as of October 2021 ($425,000 CDN). This is much lower than the average home price across the United States, which is roughly US$380,000.
For more information, here are some sources you can check out.