Palm City (Cape Coral, Jupiter, Wellington: rentals, houses, neighborhoods)

[CravenClan]

We have been doing research on Florida, first with Wellington, then Jupiter and now would like info on Palm City.

We have 3 little ones, 8, 7, and4 PUBLIC SCHOOL IS MOST IMPORTANT! So I got on great schools, and when I enter Palm City, this is what I got that I would consider

Palm City Elem
Bessey Creek Elem
Citrus Grove

For Middle Schools, I only saw one
Hidden Oaks

and NO information on a High school, so I am assuming they got to Stuart??
which would be:
South Fork HS
Martin County HS

so now, with that being said we would be looking to rent, in an area we would like to buy in, so our kidos would not have to change schools, (again) when we bought.

Our purchase price range would be $350-$400k preferably not too close to my neighbor, and a family oriented kid filled neighborhood

can anyone list the pros/cons of the schools, which schools are favored, and some great neighborhoods in our price range.

any info on activities for kids (sports/cheer)

Also if anyon has a school locator tool to search subdivisions to neighborhoods, that would be great!
Thanks!

[Dave_n_Tenn]

My wife has all this info on her web site... easy to use and will have links to all you ask for.

South Florida Homes - Nancy Guillotte

Martin County Home

There are no bad choices for schools in Palm City.

Martin County School District - District Landing Page

[CravenClan]

Thanks so much...

I can see it is going to be a little harder to get more info off this site, maybe the area is smaller and not as busy, I don't see it being very active (on the forum)

Still researching, again if anyone has a subdivision that they love, with little kids, i am all ears!

[FlaLadyB]

Rentals in the Palm City area are high since much of the area is Country Club. If you picked out any communities that you would like to be in I'll be glad to research any rentals for you.

[Agnes]

We have three children under the age of 7, and we have lived in Palm City now for almost four years. We enjoy it. The worst thing you can say about this area is that it is slow.

We rented first, for a year-and-a-half, in Palm Pointe/Palm Isles. We squished ourselves into a zero-lot line house with a community pool, and socked away money to put toward a down payment.

There are many family-friendly neighborhoods; it is hard to go wrong here. If you want the scoop on neighborhoods, call the local police station and ask for an unofficial rundown of criminal activity by area.

However, in your price range, you will easily find a nice house in a nice neighborhood. In fact, you can find a nice house in a nice neighborhood for a lot less!

The public schools here are great. We chose a house zoned for Palm City Elementary because it has the gifted program in-house. It used to be that kids who went to Bessey Creek had to be bussed to PCE for the gifted program. If you think your kids will be in gifted, you may want to check into that.

PCE is a great public school with phenomenal teachers and responsive staff. The parents are friendly and not clique-y.

We live in Danforth, which is across the street from PCE. Our kids walk and ride their bikes to school. How many places can you walk to school any more? The middle school is also right down the street and our kids will be able to bike to school until 8th grade.

We are also within biking/walking distance of the grocery store, the dry cleaner, the pizza restaurant, the park, and the post office. In other words, the necessities. These are small things perhaps, but you can actually get to these places on bike/foot without being run over by a car. Whoo hoo!

The lots in Danforth and Hammock Creek (both family friendly) are generally smaller than 1/2 acre. If you back up to a preserve or natural area, though, you can have a pretty big yard (we do). Many of the houses here back up to "lakes" (digout pits), so you have to look carefully. Location location.

If you choose anything close to Martin Highway, be aware of the impending bridge construction and widening of Martin Highway.

If you are looking for an acre or more you could check out Crane Creek and Orchid Bay (for PCE). The northern neighborhoods zoned for Bessey include Windstone, Evergreen, and Canoe Creek, and the neighborhood behind Canoe Creek - all with acre+ lots. You can also buy land out in Palm City Farms and Cobblestone area (which I ruled out because of proximity to landfill).

That said - I think yards are overrated in Florida. They require constant mowing, upkeep, and chemicals. Constant! They have chiggers, fire ants, and snakes. And for half of the year, it is too HOT here for the kids to want to play in the yard a lot. Better to spend your hard-earned money on a pool and screened patio. Your kids will use it more and you will enjoy it more!

Also, to each her own, but as a mother of young children, I wanted to be closer in to town, not far away (even 10 minutes). Being a mom can be isolating and tiring. I would rather be in the thick of things so I can (1) spend less time driving in the minivan, and (2) have more social support (babysitters, neighbors, schools, friends for kids and friends for me).

Good luck in your search!
.

[cmd610]

We live in Palm City as well and have 3 kids under 5. We really like it. Our son will go to Citrus Elem next year for Kindergarten. There are a lot of family neighborhoods in Palm City, some others to look into are Highlands Reserve, Islesworth and Copperleaf. It is also convenient to 95 and the turnpike.

[Cheryl_123]

Hi Agnes,

My family will be moving into Danforth in August - I have a 7 year old girl who will be going to PCE - and was wondering can you tell me of a public pre-k that is close to this area? Wish there was a couple of pre-k classes at PCE. We chose as well this area because of the schools. Thanks!

[cmd610]

Cheryl,

Are you familiar with the Voluntary Pre-K program in Florida? It is "free" for all kids the year before kindergarten. There are several pre-schools in the area that are approved VPK providers. Citrus Grove Elementary has the VPK program and so does the pre-school my son attended. I put "free" in quotes because the state requires the program be 3 hrs in length, but some pre-schools have a longer program and charge a small fee for the extra time. My son attended High Hopes Preschool and they had a longer program than the VPK requirement, the fee was $50 a month. Citrus Grove Elem has the 3 hr program and then I believe you can pay extra for "extended day". Hope this helps.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by Agnes

We have three children under the age of 7, and we have lived in Palm City now for almost four years. We enjoy it. The worst thing you can say about this area is that it is slow.

We rented first, for a year-and-a-half, in Palm Pointe/Palm Isles. We squished ourselves into a zero-lot line house with a community pool, and socked away money to put toward a down payment.

There are many family-friendly neighborhoods; it is hard to go wrong here. If you want the scoop on neighborhoods, call the local police station and ask for an unofficial rundown of criminal activity by area.

However, in your price range, you will easily find a nice house in a nice neighborhood. In fact, you can find a nice house in a nice neighborhood for a lot less!

The public schools here are great. We chose a house zoned for Palm City Elementary because it has the gifted program in-house. It used to be that kids who went to Bessey Creek had to be bussed to PCE for the gifted program. If you think your kids will be in gifted, you may want to check into that.

PCE is a great public school with phenomenal teachers and responsive staff. The parents are friendly and not clique-y.

We live in Danforth, which is across the street from PCE. Our kids walk and ride their bikes to school. How many places can you walk to school any more? The middle school is also right down the street and our kids will be able to bike to school until 8th grade.

We are also within biking/walking distance of the grocery store, the dry cleaner, the pizza restaurant, the park, and the post office. In other words, the necessities. These are small things perhaps, but you can actually get to these places on bike/foot without being run over by a car. Whoo hoo!

The lots in Danforth and Hammock Creek (both family friendly) are generally smaller than 1/2 acre. If you back up to a preserve or natural area, though, you can have a pretty big yard (we do). Many of the houses here back up to "lakes" (digout pits), so you have to look carefully. Location location.

If you choose anything close to Martin Highway, be aware of the impending bridge construction and widening of Martin Highway.

If you are looking for an acre or more you could check out Crane Creek and Orchid Bay (for PCE). The northern neighborhoods zoned for Bessey include Windstone, Evergreen, and Canoe Creek, and the neighborhood behind Canoe Creek - all with acre+ lots. You can also buy land out in Palm City Farms and Cobblestone area (which I ruled out because of proximity to landfill).

That said - I think yards are overrated in Florida. They require constant mowing, upkeep, and chemicals. Constant! They have chiggers, fire ants, and snakes. And for half of the year, it is too HOT here for the kids to want to play in the yard a lot. Better to spend your hard-earned money on a pool and screened patio. Your kids will use it more and you will enjoy it more!

Also, to each her own, but as a mother of young children, I wanted to be closer in to town, not far away (even 10 minutes). Being a mom can be isolating and tiring. I would rather be in the thick of things so I can (1) spend less time driving in the minivan, and (2) have more social support (babysitters, neighbors, schools, friends for kids and friends for me).

Good luck in your search!
.

I came across your answer and like what I see! I live with my husband and 10 year old daughter in Baton Rouge, La and we are considering moving back to Florida(we lived in Cape Coral, never again). Anyway, now that we are looking again, we have seen Palm City, but about 8 years ago. You can really walk or bkie places...that is great! Just wondering what you think about the kids in the schools as my daughter is terrified that the kids will be "mean" to her(they are so nice here in Baton Rouge!). I am also wondering about jobs for RN(husband) and xray tech(me) I am also a vet tech too. I have seen the schools are rated so well too. here in Baton Rouge, we have to send our daughter to private school because all the public ones are c or worse and there is a lor of riff raff in them as well. Are there any Musical Theatre classes anywhere there? Also, how about gymnastics. One last question....do kids go to the school closest to their home and are kids bussed in from "not so nice " areas? Thanks if you have time for all this!!!

[cmd610]

We live in Palm City and are extremely happy with the public schools. I can only speak for the elementary school since our son is only 7. There is a Musical Theater in Stuart (next town over, 10min drive) that has classes, also a nice gymnastics gym in Stuart as well.

Neighborhoods are zoned for a particular school, so there is no real "busing" in the traditional sense. The school you are zoned for is not necessarily the closest, but Palm City is small. It doesnt take very long to get to anywhere. When your daughter is in 6th grade, she will go to the middle school in Palm City, Hidden Oaks, unless you want her to go to another Martin County middle school.

There is school choice. Meaning if you want your child to go to a school for which you are not zoned, you may apply to the school you would like your child to attend.

Like most Florida towns, there are plenty of health care options. The main hospital is Martin Memorial with two locations, and lots of MD offices in the area. Someone who works in your field could answer the job question better. I would definitely recommend securing jobs before you move.

Hope this helps, best wishes.