Yulee vs. Middleburg (Jacksonville, Gainesville, Keystone: transplants, rental, house)

[6girls4me]

Need some help with deciding, me and my husband grew up in Jax and knew we wanted to live on the outskirts. We live in Middleburg now(the country side) with our 6 children on 2 acres........well we have decided it is time for a house in a more neighborhood setting then where we are at. We have been looking just a few miles up the road towards Lake Asbury area. And have found about 4 homes we just love. The problem is my dh works about 50 miles away in the opposite direction so I mentioned Yulee, well, we have never lived in Yulee so we don't know what to expect. They would be in an A school in Middleburg(moving from a C school); it is just the commute. Is Yulee worth making the big move too. He would only be about 15 miles away from his work if we were in Yulee, but how is crime? Neighborhoods? Punks? Obviously we can drive there and see but would like to hear from someone who has lived there. Housing prices are about the same in both areas.
Thanks,
Emily

[maine4.us]

Yulee is a booming community. I don't know if the school trade off is much different. As long as you don't have to go to Fernandina, the traffic should be a breeze. Yulee was a community much like Middleburg, but with all the additional people who moved there, I am sure that it's image is different. I would suspect that Lake Asbury and Yulee would be similar. If it is the commute and your husband is about to go psycho, go for it. I think your kids may be in for a surprise being that "close" to everything. The teens will love it, but then you might not! Traffic in Yulee has to be better than Lake Asbury!

[1970pelle]

We live in Middleburg.We had our home on the Market because of the need to down size.To much yard.But with the current market have decided to wait it out a while.We looked very close at Yulee.A very nice area.I feel its much better than Middleburg.The people seamed nicer.I don't want to offend anyone.Less redneckie.I apologize.Sure there are some REALLY nice Middleburg/Clay County area's.But Yulee seamed to offer more.We liked the schools also.

[ara^bess]

I have friends who live in Middleburg and friends in Yulee. I would MUCH prefer Yulee. It's nice, quaint, and the 'in town' traffic is wonderful. Here is a good link I found:
Relocating and Moving to Yulee, Nassau County, Florida

[Mylu]

Perhaps you could rent a house in Yulee to see if you like the area and schools, etc. In this market there are alot of rental properties available.

[Ocklawaha]

Having lived in both Nassau and Clay Counties, I have strong opinions on each.

Yulee's schools are better...

Yulee is smaller then Middleburg but both are booming, North of Middleburg is Orange Park which has EVERYTHING... East of Yulee is Fernandina Beach, which is cute but rather like shopping in downtown St. Augustine. The new growth is between Fernandina and Yulee. Not much going on in the Yulee-I95, corridor. US-17 is also pretty sleepy all the way into Jacksonville and the River City Marketplace.

Land?

Middleburg wins hands down. The land is high, (Trail Ridge is the Eastern Continental Divide) sandy and drains well. It is land of sand pine and scrub oaks, not many low swamp land homes.
Yulee, is mostly black pasture-muck. When it rains, better have a good ditch system or you'll have Lake Front Yard, and Lake Back Yard. About 1/2 the year, in 1/2 of the properties, when you walk in the grass it goes "squish, splash, squish, squash", tennis shoes are soaked, socks wet, and it hasn't rained in a month! WATCH THE LAND for signs of sandy soil (good), any grade (meaning it drains), hills (rare as hens teeth).

Future Growth, Investment...

Sort of depends. YULEE. Will the Navy stay in Kings Bay, GA? Will Fernandina Beach grow as a seaport? Will commuter rail make the area boom? MIDDLEBURG. Will the Army keep up-grading Camp Blanding? Will the Lakes re-open as local swimming mecca's (Kingsley)? Certainly, Orange Park-Keystone Heights-Starke are going together.

PEOPLE:
Yulee are either transplants, or good ol' boys... LOTS of old South, but open to change and people of all colors and such.
Middleburg same mix of folks... LOTS of old timers but lots of new young families and transplants, sometimes doesn't blend well and thugs possible.


Ocklawaha

[riverjohn]

My wife and I currently live in South Florida and are thinking of moving north to the Jacksonville area. I am 70 years old and my wife is 68 and are still active in retirement. Is Middleburg close to medical facilities, shopping etc:? Is there any public transportation in the area? How safe is the area relative to hurricains and flooding?

John

[riveree]

Originally Posted by riverjohn

My wife and I currently live in South Florida and are thinking of moving north to the Jacksonville area. I am 70 years old and my wife is 68 and are still active in retirement. Is Middleburg close to medical facilities, shopping etc:? Is there any public transportation in the area? How safe is the area relative to hurricains and flooding?

John

Middleburg is still fairly rural. The closest medical facilities would be in Orange Park. In OP you can find doctors and care for basic needs, there's also a small hospital, but for anything serious, you'd be heading to Jacksonville which is quite a distance from Middleburg. You could also go to Gainesville.

For shopping, you'd also head into OP for anything beyond the basics, and again, your choices in OP will be somewhat limited and you'd be heading to Jacksonville for anything specialty.

No public transportation that I'm aware of. You'll see some hurricane action in Middleburg - as you know, plenty of hurricanes come in from the Gulf and head across the state - so Middleburg is affected just as much as anywhere around here.

Black Creek is well known for flooding, so if you're purchasing on or near Black Creek, you'll want to investigate possible flooding.

[shell4655]

Hi, which area is better for horses, which is cheaper tax wise and house wise?

[riveree]

Originally Posted by shell4655

Hi, which area is better for horses, which is cheaper tax wise and house wise?

They're really similar on all counts. One major difference is that they are located in 2 different counties and they're a good distance from each other, so one location might be much more suitable depending on where you need to be (work commute, airport proximity, etc.).