Best among the best
City continues to be honored for its safe streets, affordable homes and involved citizens
BY SUSAN BURGESS
The city continues to garner honors and awards for its continued growth and the accomplishments of its departments and citizens.
Fourth best place to buy a home for less than $250,000 — GoBankingRates, a financial website, evaluated 100 of the most populous cities in the country where home values didn’t go above $250,000 in 2020 and determined that Port St. Lucie ranked fourth best. Among other things it used were census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, crime rates, cost of living and household income.
Volunteer nominated for Unsung Hero Award — Volunteer Terry Roberts who helps out and makes a big difference at the Saints Golf Course was nominated by pro shop manager David O’Kelly for the Unsung Heroes award given by the National Philanthropy Day Organization.
Parks and Recreation collaborates with national association — The National Recreation and Park Association was assisted by the Port St. Lucie Parks and Recreation Department in producing two publications on substance abuse. They address stigma and prevention efforts related to substance abuse and mental health disorders. The local department provided real world examples and insight for the publications that will be available nationally.
20th safest city to raise a child — Safewise, a website that reports on safety, looked at FBI crime data to determine the safest cities to raise a child. Port St. Lucie was ranked 20th in both 2020 and 2019. The decision was based on FBI data showing the number of property crimes, violent crimes and sex offenders per 1,000 people residing in the city. No. 1 on the list was Naperville, Ill. with zero property crimes while Port St. Lucie showed 1.13 property crimes per 1,000 people. In 2019, Port St. Lucie was No. 41 on the list.
Third on U-Haul’s list of growth cities — The company measures the number of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a city versus the number leaving in a calendar year. The migration trends data looks at more than 2 million one-way trips each year. The city was No. 6 on the list last year. Coming in ahead of Port St. Lucie this year were two other Florida cities — North Port on the west coast was first on the list and Kissimmee was second.
Florida a best place to retire — CEOworld Magazine names Florida as the best place in the nation to retire, and Port St. Lucie as one of the best spots. It cited Florida’s warm climate, attractions, the ocean, nature and affordability. Port St. Lucie has all of that and more.
People are moving to Port St. Lucie since the pandemic began — Realtor Magazine says that since the pandemic started a year ago more and more retirees are moving to a different state when they stop working. Their top favorites are Virginia, for women and singles, and Florida for couples and men. In Florida, Port St. Lucie is one of the top five retirement havens. The top states they left are Utah, Maryland, California, Texas and New Jersey. The data came from HireAHelper, a moving services website, the magazine said.
Jolien Caraballo named to National League of Cities committee — The councilwoman was appointed to the prestigious nationwide league’s Transportation and Infrastructure Services Committee where she’ll provide strategic direction and guidance for NLC’s federal advocacy agenda and policy priorities. As a committee member, Caraballo will play a key role among a diverse group of local leaders in shaping NLC’s policy positions and advocating on behalf of America’s cities and towns before Congress, with the administration and at home.
Police Department awarded accreditation with excellence — For the first time in its many years of accreditation with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, the Port St. Lucie Police Department achieved the added distinction of Accreditation with Excellence. Only 158 agencies nationwide are accredited through CALEA with the Excellence designation. To achieve Accreditation with Excellence, the agency had to demonstrate its commitment to excellence and professional policing through the assessment process and also meet additional specifications.
Study says PSL is ranked sixth among cities where more young residents are buying homes — SmartAsset, a financial website, discovered that Port St. Lucie is a popular place for home buyers under age 35. The information was released in 2021. The company compared the 10 years of data on home ownership rates for this age group — 2009 to 2019 for 200 of the largest U.S. cities. Port St. Lucie tied with Aurora, Colorado for sixth place. About PSL, SmartAsset said the home ownership rate among younger people in 2019 was 51.93%, an increase of 2.70% from 2009.
