Kingsland/Camden Co?!?! (Brunswick, St. Marys, Jackson: condos, crime, hotels)

[jmkblondie]

Curious about the Kingsland area? Much going on? House rates/jobs/etc? My husband and I want to move further south and were thinking somewhere between Jax, FL and Kingsland GA. We live in and are from the Eastern Shore of VA. We love being near the water and are tired of cold winters. We lived in Charleston, SC two years ago and it was too much of a retirement town, and crime was pretty bad in North Charleston. We are fairly young, w/no kids, and want to find a house for less than $150,000. Also, we love drag racing (NOT Nascar!),and own two sports cars. Any Info. yall can provide would be great. By the way, we don't want to move somewhere so urban that people don't know what manners are, nor how to be respectful. We grew up/live in a VERY rural area (only 13,000 people in TWO counties!) and want to be close to some city life, but NOT in it! Thanks so much for any replies, Mandi.

[JBrown]

I was down thru there just two weeks ago. Kingsland is a pretty bleak little town. You can drive thru town on rt. 40 in less than 2 minutes even at the speed limit. I didn't stop to spend the night.... didn't see any place to stop...or get something to eat for that matter. There maybe nicer areas outside of town...but I didn't see any...it all looked pretty depressed to me. I have to assume the residents commute to Jacksonville Fl for employment and medical services etc. I saw nothing that would make me take a second look.

[jmkblondie]

Anyone else familiar with this area?

[pdavis]

I just replied about St. Mary's and I didn't want to sound too negative, the people are nice but oh my! If it wasn't because a family member asked us to come here, I never would have stopped on 95S, I would have kept going to the beaches!

pdavis

Originally Posted by JBrown

I was down thru there just two weeks ago. Kingsland is a pretty bleak little town. You can drive thru town on rt. 40 in less than 2 minutes even at the speed limit. I didn't stop to spend the night.... didn't see any place to stop...or get something to eat for that matter. There maybe nicer areas outside of town...but I didn't see any...it all looked pretty depressed to me. I have to assume the residents commute to Jacksonville Fl for employment and medical services etc. I saw nothing that would make me take a second look.

[jmkblondie]

[jenn2412]

from outsiders, i'm sure the camden/kingsland/st. marys looks like a deserted town. but come town hwy 40 a little bit and you can get EVERYTHING you've ever wanted/needed. the only thing we don't have is big dining places like olive garden, outback etc. HOWEVER, we just got a new steakhouse and ruby tuesdays... there is a strip of food places all down 40 til you hit wal mart.

downtown kingsland has always been destiute. they've tried changing that, but it just hasn't worked. everyone who lives in the county has been there for YEARS and just know not to head to dt kingsland.

its a great area. 15 min from beach. 45 to jax. its got 50,000 people in it and is one of the fastest growing cities in GA. St. marys is the 2nd oldest city in the US. and Camden Co. HS is ranked top in HS in GA.

hope this helps!

[hulalula]

Yep--downtown Kingsland is not the best but go the opposite direction on 40 and go to downtown St. Marys. It is on the St. Marys river with a view of Cumberland Island and Fernandina Beach. Lots of quaint shops and restaurants. I would recommend Sterlings. Her family owned the original grocery store in town and she has turned the building into a cute little place to eat. She just bought an old house and is refurbing it so she can have a larger place. I can't wait to see it. Avoid Sundays though--the downtown area pretty much closes down shopping wise. The park is really nice to hang out in and watch the water. If you go on Sunday I would stop and get a picnic lunch to take with me.

There is a great kayak shop that does excursions called Up the Creek. The guides are really good. My brother in law comes from Chicago several times a year to kayak, fish, and eat seafood. He said that Bonzai Japanese Steakhouse has some of the best sushi he has had outside of Chicago. That is saying something from him since he is pretty much a Chicago freak that thinks nothing can compare to how they do it in Chicago.

Moderator cut: Removed

I have enjoyed this town==we have been here 17 years. My husband gave up going to Hawaii with the navy to stay here to keep the kids in the school system and due to the quality of life we had there. I will miss it. There is much more to it than meets the eye. You have to come check it out for yourself. The drawbacks of course are the humidity and the sand gnats, but you will have that with most coastal areas I have heard. It is nice to be planting flowers in Febuary and getting your yard looking good when your relatives still have brown grass freezing their butts off.

Good luck on where you choose.

[raymikematt]

Isnt this area supposed to grow tremendously in the next few years though? I think the Wall street Journal said the coastal area of Georgia could add a million residents by 2020. St. marys/Kingsland are quiet now but growing fast and close to Jacksonville Florida, (30 miles) and Brunswick (30 miles). Brunswick is growing by leaps and bounds with its new Libery Harbor development of nearly a dozen highrise condos and hotels.

[theqbaby]

Originally Posted by raymikematt

Isnt this area supposed to grow tremendously in the next few years though? I think the Wall street Journal said the coastal area of Georgia could add a million residents by 2020. St. marys/Kingsland are quiet now but growing fast and close to Jacksonville Florida, (30 miles) and Brunswick (30 miles). Brunswick is growing by leaps and bounds with its new Libery Harbor development of nearly a dozen highrise condos and hotels.

I'd have to agree. Although I have no "stats" to go by, I have been in S.E. Georgia for only a year, and have seen lots of growth in that time. In a years time, I have seen 7 McMansions go up on one street in Brunswick, and it is not a community.
We relocated from S.Florida due to my husbands job in construction. His work is mostly on Sea Island, which at this time he will have alteast 3 years for the project he is on. Then they are working on another large development one exit south on 95 (Camden County ? not sure) which should be about 5 years.
So yes, I would have to agree that the area will be changing, and rapidly at that. IMO

[widget1970]

Beautiful area. Close to the action but not right in amongst it. Small town atmosphere but still large enough that I can go to the grocery store without any makeup on and not run into anyone I know. If I had a choice between Brunswick and Kingsland/St. Marys, it would be Kingsland/St. Marys area. The crime stats in Glynn County are just awful compared to Camden County. I love this area but fiance and I are moving to Brantley County so that we can open a motocross track. Moderator cut: Removed