Pros and Cons for Retiring in St. Augustine (Jacksonville, Tampa: 2014, houses)

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

Matanzas Inlet is about 15 miles south of St. Augustine. Yup - that is maybe 20-25 minutes from Palm Coast - but St. Augustine isn't.

I'm not sure why many people here can't be at least a little specific about places - distances - or travel times. I think adding 30 miles round trip when you're talking about grocery shopping is a lot. Robyn

OK I am currently located at, Lat/Lon N. 30.33221 and W. 81.65568 is that specific enough for you. I said I was on Anastasia Island did not think it was important to specify exactly where. (But if you must know at the time the question was asked we were on my cousins deck/balcony at the Summer House Condo's overlooking the Atlantic Ocean) ... FWIW from the very middle of St Augustine beach it is 10 miles to the the Matanzas Inlet bridge not 15 miles.

I'm not sure why many people here can't be more accurate when guestimating distances as a 4 mile error on a short distance like 10 miles is a 40% error which is quite a lot.

[Caladium]

Great comments everyone. I can see I'm going to have to learn more about NE Florida construction (and that's why we''re here, right?). Interesting comments about Amelia Island. All I know about that area is that someone once told me it was very expensive. I'm open to considering it (although I have to admit St. Augustine sure sounds like a good fit for me). Maybe I should start a thread about it to learn more about that area.

[Caladium]

I wish I knew what time of day the Google cameras traveled Anastasia Island on the day they did their videos. It looks like the sun is high, so my guess is the middle of the day--but the surprise is how light the traffic is. Even on A1A the traffic seems really light and none of the bridges were backed up. There are obviously people walking across A1A, and they don't seem to be hurrying.

That's my kind of traffic!

Going by pedestrian clothing and beach gear, I'd guess the shots were done in late spring/summer/early fall. Also by the people driving convertibles with the tops down (lots of nice cars in that part of Florida, I see). Or maybe it was a really warm day in January? If it was winter, maybe that accounts for the light traffic.

[Robyn55]

The Bridge of Lions is an "every 30 minute" draw bridge. Which means it opens twice an hour. Reckon it takes about 10 minutes more or less from stopping traffic before the bridge starts to open - to starting traffic when the bridge has closed. IOW - traffic over the bridge will be stopped for about 20 minutes an hour. Might be a minor inconvenience at various times of the year - but - during beach season - and perhaps other times - traffic will back up. We lived on Key Biscayne - big beach area in metro Miami - when it had a 30 minute draw bridge. It was a HUGE PITA (that bridge was eventually replaced by a big high fixed bridge). I would never live anywhere in Florida where I had to rely on a 30 minute bridge over the ICW - or - worse - a demand bridge (where the bridge has to open whenever a boater honks a horn).

The 312 bridge in St. Augustine is a high fixed bridge. So you never have to worry about bridge openings. Ditto with many other bridges in Florida along the ICW. Including the Butler Blvd. bridge that I go over on a regular basis. The old Palm Valley bridge in Ponte Vedra Beach was a rickety on-demand fossil. But our late Congresscritter - Tillie Fowler - managed to get us a wonderful new high fixed bridge (total pork project in terms of the nature of the community versus the nature and cost of the bridge - but I'll take it). Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by madcapmagishion

OK I am currently located at, Lat/Lon N. 30.33221 and W. 81.65568 is that specific enough for you. I said I was on Anastasia Island did not think it was important to specify exactly where. (But if you must know at the time the question was asked we were on my cousins deck/balcony at the Summer House Condo's overlooking the Atlantic Ocean) ... FWIW from the very middle of St Augustine beach it is 10 miles to the the Matanzas Inlet bridge not 15 miles.

I'm not sure why many people here can't be more accurate when guestimating distances as a 4 mile error on a short distance like 10 miles is a 40% error which is quite a lot.

The Lat/Lon is quite over *my* head - but I'm sure Google can handle it with ease . FWIW - I think I punched in St. Augustine (not St. Augustine Beach) when I came up with the distance to Matanzas Inlet. Which would - I thnk - be about right in terms of mileage. Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Great comments everyone. I can see I'm going to have to learn more about NE Florida construction (and that's why we''re here, right?). Interesting comments about Amelia Island. All I know about that area is that someone once told me it was very expensive. I'm open to considering it (although I have to admit St. Augustine sure sounds like a good fit for me). Maybe I should start a thread about it to learn more about that area.

Quick take on Amelia Island. It is - in many parts - more expensive than the St. Augustine Beaches. That is in part because it's the beach community here closest to the airport. So there are relatively affluent people who want a second place in this general area - and buy there because JAX is close. There are a lot more condos and townhouses than you will find in St. Augustine - and PVB as well. But it's certainly not super expensive (remember - I moved here from Miami).

OTOH - to my mind - there is nothing there - except perhaps for golf (and there is great golf in lots of SJC). And the Ritz Carlton (which has a nice restaurant and nice holiday decorations - including the famous gingerbread house - we usually go up once a year for lunch to look at them). And some cutesy stores (not my cup of tea).

There is nothing but basic shopping there. You will be way far away from the malls and the like in metro JAX (about 40-45 minutes give or take depending on traffic). The closest mall area is Regency - which used to be nice IMO - but isn't these days IMO. You need to head more to the south - Town Center - or the Avenues Mall.

Or basic medical facilities either (like me - you're a senior - and might need stuff other than a wellness checkup once a year). The closest big deal medical place to Amelia Island is University of Florida Shands JAX - which is basically the public hospital for poor people in Duval County (note that it is also a place where rich people - or anyone with excellent medical coverage - can get state of the art cancer treatment from a proton gun). I can't say the medical care is bad. But - as a resident of St. Johns County - my husband and I found it VERY overpriced (it was like one of our visits was designed to pay for 4 indigent visits). Hard to believe - but Mayo is cheaper. Also - when we went to Shands - even though we were (high) paying patients - we weren't treated any better than indigent patients. Overall - we prefer Mayo for secondary and tertiary care (neither place is a primary care facility). We wouldn't rule out Shands JAX for certain things in favor of Mayo - but might also consider leaving JAX entirely if we wound up with something horrible (like a cancer that MD Anderson was great at).

There are some good parks in the area - and perhaps the best kayaking in the area.

We explored Amelia Island when we were thinking of moving here - and found it was too far away from everyday things for us. Still - take a look. The looking is free - and one size doesn't fit all. Robyn

P.S. You have never said how old you are - and what your situation is with regard to medical coverage. That is a very big deal when you're a senior. It's no easier here in NE Florida than it is anywhere else.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by ssclulow

Caladium: Sea Grove has successfully negotiated the foreclosure crisis. There aren't many homes or condos for sale there now. The foreclosures have sold and other owners who are waiting for prices to rebound somewhat before selling are renting to long-term renters. If you see any homes in the Ocean Trace neighborhood (Ocean Trace Rd west of A1A) it is a really nice community of poured cement homes. Lions Gate, Commodores Club, Anastasia Lakes and Ocean Palms are neighbohoods containing mostly cement block homes. Termites are really drawn to damp wood. If you have a wood frame home, it is very important to keep sprinker systems from consistently hitting the house and have areas where rain can get into the outer shell sealed tightly. I personally think it is well worth the extra cost to build or purchase a poured cement or block home. Energy costs are usually less and insurance costs are always less. If the home is within a couple miles of the coast, storm shutters are an imprpovement that could save a lot of money if a high wind storm hits and debris is flying around that could fly into windows. I live in Marsh Creek 2 lots from the intercoastal and 2/3 mile to the beach. My 1997 house is constructed of block and I have roll-down shutters on my windows and roof is hip style with double tie downs. If a large storm hits nearby, I would be more concerned with tidal surge wiping out the island than the effects of high winds.

Your house sounds like ours - except we have impact windows instead of shutters. I would have rather done the shutters - but it wasn't possible where we built 15 years ago. The hip roof line (without gables) is important in terms of saving $$$ on your homeowners' insurance. Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by madcapmagishion

I'm thinking you as usual are being arrogant and presumptuous...

You being a lawyer I understand not knowing how bottom line business works...

I was going to write some kind of substantive answer. But - you know what. I've been in Florida for 40+ years. Am retired comfortably (for the last 20+ years). Living off investments.

I know about construction in Florida - and I know about business as well. And if people on this forum think I'm arrogant and presumptuous and care to insult me like you do when it comes to building - or business - well - good luck when the termites swarm into your house in the spring. Bye bye. Robyn

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

I was going to write some kind of substantive answer. But - you know what. I've been in Florida for 40+ years. Am retired comfortably (for the last 20+ years). Living off investments.

I know about construction in Florida - and I know about business as well. And if people on this forum think I'm arrogant and presumptuous and care to insult me like you do when it comes to building - or business - well - good luck when the termites swarm into your house in the spring. Bye bye. Robyn

LOL! ... The termites will not swarm into my house, as they don't enjoy munching on concrete, any more than you do eating crow! I was born in Florida over 50 years ago am also retired(now) very comfortably from the Army (for the last 10+ years) Living off some investment and a very generous retirement plan from Uncle Sam and the family business that I ran for the last 10 years. And once again how arrogant and presumtious of you.
Buh Bye Bubala

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

The Lat/Lon is quite over *my* head - but I'm sure Google can handle it with ease . FWIW - I think I punched in St. Augustine (not St. Augustine Beach) when I came up with the distance to Matanzas Inlet. Which would - I thnk - be about right in terms of mileage. Robyn

St Augustine is not Anastasia Island of which almost everyone has been discussing this entire thread as the OP's intended housing target area.