Fort Pierce
The city of Fort Pierce is a historic waterfront city, incorporated in 1901.
Quick facts:

• It is located in the Port Saint Lucie metro area, just a short distance from the hustle and bustle of both West Palm Beach and Orlando. 
• It is a diverse city, taking on a rich historical heritage combined with the incredible growth of St. Lucie County 
• The downtown sits just off the waters of the Indian River Lagoon, and offers unique shops, restaurants and a range of entertainment activities 
• Its transportation network includes, Florida's Turnpike, Interstate 95, Highway 70, US1 and the St. Lucie County airport and the Port of Fort Pierce.  Palm Beach International and Melbourne International are the closest bigger airports. 
• Fort Pierce has approximately 39,000 residents and encompasses over 20 square miles

 Education:

• Modern educational and research facilities, like the top-ranked Indian River Community College, the $6 million Smithsonian Institute Research Center, the Manatee Observation and Education Center and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, live in harmony with the completely renovated 1925 City Hall and the current restoration of the historic, 1,200 seat Sunrise Theatre, which will serve as a regional performing arts center.
• See http://www.cityoffortpierce.com/ for more details

Employment:

• Construction  8.3%      
• Education & Health Services   22.9%       
• Financial Activities 5.6%        
• Information         1.2%
• Leisure & Hospitality 9.0%    
• Manufacturing 4.6%    
• Natural Resources & Mining 5.9%
• Other Services 2.6%    
• Professional & Business Services 8.3%     
• Public administration 8.1%
• Trade, Transportation and Utilities 23.5%

As you can see, Ft. Pierce has a balanced and diverse economy, and the area as a whole offers significant employment and investment opportunities.

Real Estate and Cost of Living:

• There is a great diversity of both homeownership and commercial real estate possibilities, and there are significant investment opportunities in both. 
• Homes and condos range from the very new to “Old Florida”.  Ft. Pierce is an Old Florida town, and if your taste runs to the traditional at all, and despite a lot of new construction in the area, this is a wonderfully different world from southeast Florida’s Gold Coast. 
• As is true in much of non-urban Florida, day to day living expenses can be slightly higher than the state averages, but housing is definitely less expensive and still very affordable 
• Components of the Cost of living index (100 is average)
•  Total      98.20
•   Food       103.08
•   Health Care     99.80
•   Housing 93.12
•   Personal Goods and Services       103.38
•   Transportation 98.19

For more details, http://www.eflorida.com/profiles/CountyReport.asp?CountyID=36&Display=all
Environment and Outdoors Recreation
One of the best things about Ft. Pierce is its easy access to the beaches at the northern end of Hutchinson Island, the wonderful barrier island which lies south of Ft. Pierce Inlet; and equally easy access via another bridge to the islands just north of the Inlet, including a couple of very good beaches and a mangrove wilderness area.  Advantage Ft. Pierce! Many communities up and down Florida’s East Coast require long drives north or south to bridge to the Oceanside barrier islands, so these two bridges are real community assets.

 Another outdoor advantage to Ft. Pierce is exceptional access via State Road 70 directly to Lake Okeechobee and its fresh water recreational options

 The Savannahs Recreation Area provides some unique birding and hiking and paddleboating that would be the envy of many other parts of Florida

 Ft. Pierce has, by dint of its Inlet, quick and easy access for its sport fishing fleet to Atlantic deep-sea fishing as well as, obviously, the ICW Indian River that Ft. Pierce sits on.  Again, some communities on Florida’s east coast are more or less bound to inland (bay and river) waters because of the length of the barrier islands and the long distance between inlets.

 And if water is not your thing, there are lots of other alternatives ranging from excelent golfing to spring training and minor league baseball
Arts

• The arts and culture of the area is strong. In addition to its own events it draws on neighboring Port St Lucie. See info at http://www.stluciechamber.org/visitors-culture.html  
• AE Backus Gallery:  he was the Ft. Pierce art teacher and guru who in the 1950s helped launch the highly successful “Highwaymen,” a loose designation for local African-American landscape artists whose work has become the most recognizable Florida genre, and very collectible.  See www.backusgallery.com 
• During winter, a monthly ArtWalk brings residents, tourists, and local artists and their works together for wine, cheese, and culture

In conclusion
This is an area offering a small town atmosphere with everything you’d ever need in the way of shopping, arts, culture, education and health just minutes away. In particular if you like boating and fishing the nearby Ft Pierce and Sebastian inlets give you access to the Atlantic.
For more specific information on general topics about the area go to Stuart and the general information links.

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