Atlantic Beach? (Jacksonville, Neptune Beach: real estate, budget, apartments)

[Beachbound14]

Hi everyone,
This board has been great for researching J-ville! My hubby just got a job at At&t and is moving down there NEXT WEEK. Yikes!!! I am staying behind in Philly until his training is done but we need to move into an apartment ASAP! We had looked at several places in Ponte Vedra Beach and we loved Soleil but I've been doing more research and am thinking that maybe we should live in Atlantic Beach? It seems more affordable (we are renting for a year to see where we want to buy) and we won't have a ton of money to start with, not to mention, we are in our late 20's and want to meet other young people and I have been getting the idea that PVB is older? Can anyone help me out with any detailed thoughts about Atlantic Beach? We are THIS close to applying for an apartment in Soleil but I guess I am having second thoughts! Thanks a bunch in advance.

[kort677]

Originally Posted by Beachbound14

Hi everyone,
This board has been great for researching J-ville! My hubby just got a job at At&t and is moving down there NEXT WEEK. Yikes!!! I am staying behind in Philly until his training is done but we need to move into an apartment ASAP! We had looked at several places in Ponte Vedra Beach and we loved Soleil but I've been doing more research and am thinking that maybe we should live in Atlantic Beach? It seems more affordable (we are renting for a year to see where we want to buy) and we won't have a ton of money to start with, not to mention, we are in our late 20's and want to meet other young people and I have been getting the idea that PVB is older? Can anyone help me out with any detailed thoughts about Atlantic Beach? We are THIS close to applying for an apartment in Soleil but I guess I am having second thoughts! Thanks a bunch in advance.

atl. beach is more diverse and will cost less than PVB, consider JAX beach and neptune beach also. If you look hard nice places can be found for little money, but be careful because there are many not so great places all those towns other than PVB.
I am biased but I would rate the places as 1. PVB 2. JAX beach, away from the bar areas 3. Neptune 4. Atl. Beach
Good luck in your hunt

[Samierra]

Originally Posted by kort677

atl. beach is more diverse and will cost less than PVB, consider JAX beach and neptune beach also. If you look hard nice places can be found for little money, but be careful because there are many not so great places all those towns other than PVB.
I am biased but I would rate the places as 1. PVB 2. JAX beach, away from the bar areas 3. Neptune 4. Atl. Beach
Good luck in your hunt

I've also been looking in Atlantic Beach- and love the area, primarily because it appears to be a very close knit, family oriented community - Kort677 - just curious, by why do rank it 4th? Thanks...

[kort677]

Originally Posted by Samierra

I've also been looking in Atlantic Beach- and love the area, primarily because it appears to be a very close knit, family oriented community - Kort677 - just curious, by why do rank it 4th? Thanks...

out of the way location, too economically diverse for my tastes are a couple of reasons, you don't have to agree with me, but that is how I feel.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by Beachbound14

...we are in our late 20's and want to meet other young people and I have been getting the idea that PVB is older? Can anyone help me out with any detailed thoughts about Atlantic Beach? We are THIS close to applying for an apartment in Soleil but I guess I am having second thoughts! Thanks a bunch in advance.

I would say yes, in general, PVB residents are probably a little older than you.

If you're looking to be around more young people and more of a fun, youthful, casual beachy experience, I would look to Atlantic/Neptune/Jax Beaches.

[CBB]

Originally Posted by kort677

I am biased but I would rate the places as 1. PVB 2. JAX beach, away from the bar areas 3. Neptune 4. Atl. Beach
Good luck in your hunt

I'm new to this board but rather familiar with all the places mentioned above. I would never rate Atlantic Beach last. Everything east of Sherry Dr is just lovely and extremely charming. Looking at the western half ... well, that's another story.

[kort677]

Originally Posted by CBB

I'm new to this board but rather familiar with all the places mentioned above. I would never rate Atlantic Beach last. Everything east of Sherry Dr is just lovely and extremely charming. Looking at the western half ... well, that's another story.

I never claimed to be an expert, I only offered my take on things, and maybe I've only seen the not so nice parts, but I only call 'em as I see 'em

[riveree]

Some might prefer the more manicured look of Ponte Vedra, others might prefer the charm of Atlantic, Neptune or Jax Beaches.

Atlantic Beach is not out of the way at all......actually, Ponte Vedra is the one that's more 'out of the way' in the sense of commuting.

Atlantic Beach is straight across from Downtown and people who live on Atlantic Beach (or Neptune Beach, or Jax Beach) have more than one choice available for 'crossing the ditch'. From Ponte Vedra, the only real commuting choice is to work your way north up to JTB (to commute to Jax).

All four beaches are choice real estate and the prices reflect that...really, more similarities than differences (same ocean, right ?).

[sassylass1973]

My boyfriend and I are moving to the Atlantic Beach Florida area March of 2008. He has lived there before but I have not. We need to be close to the Naval base so thats why we decided on this area.

The few apartments I have seen online have bad reviews. Does anyone know of somewhere close to the base that is nice. Meaning I don't want drug dealers hanging out front...lol

I also work in the Travel Industry and Im wondering want kinda jobs are in the area and what the pay is like in Jacksonville.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by sassylass1973

My boyfriend and I are moving to the Atlantic Beach Florida area March of 2008. He has lived there before but I have not. We need to be close to the Naval base so thats why we decided on this area.

The few apartments I have seen online have bad reviews. Does anyone know of somewhere close to the base that is nice. Meaning I don't want drug dealers hanging out front...lol

I also work in the Travel Industry and Im wondering want kinda jobs are in the area and what the pay is like in Jacksonville.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

there are other places that you could consider that will still be fairly close to mayport, if he is willing to commute about 30 minutes it would really open up your possibilities, also you need to decide what your budget is, while JAX can be cheaper than many other places, the nicer places can be costly.