St. Augustine? (Jacksonville, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach: transplants, apartment, condos)

[appalachiangirl]

Hi! I'm considering a move to the St. Augustine--Flagler Beach area (along the coast between areas) I hate the freezing winters where I live. Can anyone tell me more about employment (I've done clerical and retail work), if people are accepting of newcomers, cost of living,etc? I really liked the St. Augustine area when I visited,but I know living somewhere is a different story than just visiting it. I've also considered Charleston,SC and Savannah,GA (heard Charleston is the better location from other posters).

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by appalachiangirl

Hi! I'm considering a move to the St. Augustine--Flagler Beach area (along the coast between areas) I hate the freezing winters where I live. Can anyone tell me more about employment (I've done clerical and retail work), if people are accepting of newcomers, cost of living,etc? I really liked the St. Augustine area when I visited,but I know living somewhere is a different story than just visiting it. I've also considered Charleston,SC and Savannah,GA (heard Charleston is the better location from other posters).

If you are looking for employment opportunities in St. Augustine you are better off relocating to an area that is much closer to Jacksonville than the Flagler Beach area. Employment opportunities are always greater in or near to bigger cities. Having said that, mundane retail work may not be hard to find no matter where you choose to live.

There are St Augustine postal zip codes in St. Johns County that are the same distance to downtown St. Augustine as to downtown Jacksonville. World Golf Village is one of those areas and depending on your financial wherewithal you might want to look into one of those communities.

I will leave it to others to advise you on cost of living and comparisons with Charleston and Savannah but keep in mind that the temperatures here, while not exactly tropical this time of the year, is a heck of alot warmer than in Ga.

[LM1]

Cost of living is on the higher end. Not sky-high, but not cheap.
Rent is expensive.
People are accepting of newcomers since everyone is from someplace else.
The work situation sucks.

There isn't much in Flagler Beach other than random little shops and condos- you'll be commuting to St. Aug or Palm Coast for work.

[appalachiangirl]

Thank you for the replies. I don't like driving in big cities (considered moving to Greensboro,NC once,but it was scary driving through there ) Sadly, to find work you need to live near larger cities. I guess that's because I've mostly lived in smaller cities (population under 50,000).

[appalachiangirl]

I know Florida gets very hot and humid in the summer,but it's wonderful in the winter compared to where I live. I was in St. Augustine/Jacksonville area in January a couple years ago.

[agreatlife]

You should check the posting boards like Craigslist and Careerbuilders. Unless you have some savings, I think you would be better to have a job lines up before you venture down here.
Good luck, you'll love the area.

[Lawstudent]

Charleston has more of your Southern charm feeling to it. Youwould have to acclimate yourself to commuting with the rest of us here if you decided to live here. There are limited opportunities in the Saint Augustine area most people have to commute to jacksonville for their careers. If you want to stay with a small city feel I would look on the outskirts of Charelston. Jacksonville is a pretty cool city and it is unlike any other city in Florida, but it is sprawling, I mean sprawled out. Everyone here does time behind the wheel. Good Luck with your choice

[cricketfan]

If you don't want to see another snowflake or freezing rain you might want to think twice about Charleston or any city north of Savannah. Doesn't happen every year but this winter Mother Nature threw a white blanket over parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. St Aug and Jax are cool enough for me in the winter.

[appalachiangirl]

The thing that worried me about Charleston and Savannah--would people be too cliquish if you aren't a Southern Baptist, a semi-Yankee(WV) and didn't grow up there. I loved visiting those cities as well as the St. Augustine area,but Florida gets more transplants .I also love the idea of sun and warm temperatures in winter. In the appalachians,it is cloudy like 4+- months out of the year and the temps can be bitter (not to mention icy roads!) It gets very depressing for me.Also the rents are higher in Florida (not to mention housing),so I am leaning more towards SC or GA. I may be making a trip to the Jacksonville area next month though! Hope to move by summer of this year.

[dkgris]

We moved to Saint Augustine four years ago from Arkansas. I was homesick for sometime but got over it. The people are very friendly. I work here in Saint Augustine. But I'm a lucky one. Most jobs are retail and clerical. But keep in mind that they do not usually pay a great deal. We had a three bedroom apartment for four years and paid about $800.00 a month. It was pretty nice and in town. Now we have bought a beautiful home here in town. I've been to both Savannah and Charleston on vacations. Crime seems to be higher and so is the cost of living. We considered those cities too. Houses use to be high but the housing market is coming down a whole lot. Nothing will calm you down like walking the beach in the evening and watching the sailing boats go by.