Surfside Beach, SC or Jacksonville Beach, FL? (for sale, condos)

[beachykeener]

Hi all,

we live in SC right now but are considering a relocation to a beach area close to Jacksonville. Jobs/commute times are not a consideration. We have two children that are not school age yet, but of course will be so that is a huge consideration for me, and would also like to be close to the beach. I haven't done a lot of research yet but found this forum so thought I would start here.

Any suggestions welcome, thanks!!

[riveree]

Jax Beach is nice, but can be prohibitively expensive for many people. I'm not sure how Surfside SC compares on that level.

There is a top notch public elementary school in Jax Beach - one of the very best around.

So, commute no issue, but what else are you looking for? Can you provide more details? The more details you can provide, the better the feedback will be for you .

[beachykeener]

Really, we'd consider any beach town, but want to stay within driving distance to Jacksonville. I'm quite certain the COL would be considerably more in FL. We're 6 blocks from the beach here in SC. We'd be looking for a 4 bedroom house. According to my DH, the cheaper the better but that's not really how I see it.

We haven't been down there yet, so I have no idea what is realistic and what isn't. I'd like to be close to a Target and a Starbucks.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by beachykeener

Really, we'd consider any beach town, but want to stay within driving distance to Jacksonville. I'm quite certain the COL would be considerably more in FL. We're 6 blocks from the beach here in SC. We'd be looking for a 4 bedroom house. According to my DH, the cheaper the better but that's not really how I see it.

We haven't been down there yet, so I have no idea what is realistic and what isn't. I'd like to be close to a Target and a Starbucks.

Plenty of Targets and Starbucks in Jax and in Jax Beach area, not to worry .

6 blocks from the beach here - in a single family home - will be costly, I would say you could plan on spending north of $500k for a decent sized move-in ready home, and I might even be a little optimistic in saying that - the beach has gotten expensive (condos are cheaper, of course).

If you're willing to drive to the beach - a 10-15 minute drive - the you could look just to the west of the Intracoastal and the home prices will drop significantly. Nice, move-in ready homes can range from $250k and up, depending on your specific needs (lots of homes for sale in the $250's-$400's). Check out zips 32224, 32246, & 32225 to get an idea. Oh, and in this area, you are in Jacksonville, so if you wanted to get downtown or to another part of the city, you're already technically in the city (you'd be in the suburbs).