Looking to get familiar with St. Augustine/Jacksonville area (Bradenton: real estate, 2015)

[Frawls]

Hi, Everyone. My wife and I are in our late 30s and have 1 newborn son. We're life long New Englanders (currently living on the North Shore in MA) but are just doing some research on small coastal cities in the South. Being near the ocean and a quaint downtown area are out priorities but we also would like a good school system for our son. We'd prefer not to have to drive too far to get to store, the beach, etc. I work in banking and my wife is a mental health therapist with her own private practice. Both of us plan on staying in our current fields. Our price rage would be about 200K to $250K and we'd like a 3bd/1.5 bathroom house or condo. Does anyone have any suggestions for town or neighborhoods for us to explore?


Thanks!

[mawipafl]

I'm originally from the North Shore, so I'm curious about your definition of "quaint downtown". Is your concept of "quaint" a place to stroll, maybe stop for an ice cream or grab a bite to eat, perhaps poke around inside shops?

I can say that while downtown Jacksonville proper isn't quaint (it's a business-oriented type of city), there are many sections of Jacksonville (which is a huge by the way) that offer a central area that could be considered a quaint downtown. Thinking San Marco and Riverside/Avondale. Near Jacksonville is Fernandina or St. Augustine.

Your price range, good schools, convenience of shopping, decent access to the beach are all possible in many parts of the First Coast. Have you ever visited here? That would be my suggestion in order to see for yourself if the area feels right.

[Peter the Brit]

St Augustine is a vibrant eclectic town with plenty to do and see
It has great schools and is not an expensive area to live
Our neighborhood Heritage Park has many kids is near to the city and has good schools and is minutes from Vilano beach

[Frawls]

Thanks for responding. That is definitely what we're thinking in terms of quaint but we do enjoy having a larger city nearby. We live in Beverly which has a great downtown area with Boston only 20 miles away. We'd look for the same type of thing if we moved to another state. On first glance it looks like we might enjoy living in or near St. Augustine and having Jacksonville up the road. We have not visited that area of Florida but probably will in the next year to see if we like it or not.


I'm assuming jobs in financial services would mostly be in Jacksonville. Do many people commute from St. Augustine to Jacksonville or is there a well respected town in between the two?

[InPlaneSight]

Originally Posted by Peter the Brit

St Augustine is a vibrant eclectic town with plenty to do and see
It has great schools and is not an expensive area to live
Our neighborhood Heritage Park has many kids is near to the city and has good schools and is minutes from Vilano beach

Not always a good thing - but the information is.

[rs1n]

Originally Posted by Frawls

Thanks for responding. That is definitely what we're thinking in terms of quaint but we do enjoy having a larger city nearby. We live in Beverly which has a great downtown area with Boston only 20 miles away. We'd look for the same type of thing if we moved to another state. On first glance it looks like we might enjoy living in or near St. Augustine and having Jacksonville up the road. We have not visited that area of Florida but probably will in the next year to see if we like it or not.


I'm assuming jobs in financial services would mostly be in Jacksonville. Do many people commute from St. Augustine to Jacksonville or is there a well respected town in between the two?

There are communities (e.g. Nocatee) that are currently being developed in between St. Augustine and Jacksonville. I don't know if they would qualify as a town.

While St. Augustine is likely to better fit your bill, you may also want to check out Amelia Island (within Fernandina). It's probably about the same distance as St. Augustine to Jacksonville but I think you would have a slightly shorter commute (I-95 north into Jacksonville is a nightmare, esp. around the I-95/I-295 area and just before the heart of the city where there is construction; I-95 south into Jacksonville seems relatively sane).

You may also want to peruse the recent Amelia Island thread for some varied opinions of the area: Raising a family in Amelia Island

[jwolfer]

Originally Posted by Frawls

Thanks for responding. That is definitely what we're thinking in terms of quaint but we do enjoy having a larger city nearby. We live in Beverly which has a great downtown area with Boston only 20 miles away. We'd look for the same type of thing if we moved to another state. On first glance it looks like we might enjoy living in or near St. Augustine and having Jacksonville up the road. We have not visited that area of Florida but probably will in the next year to see if we like it or not.


I'm assuming jobs in financial services would mostly be in Jacksonville. Do many people commute from St. Augustine to Jacksonville or is there a well respected town in between the two?

Financial services jobs would be concentrated on the Southside of Jacksonville.. closer to St Augustine. And some in Downtown Jacksonville. There are large areas of St Johns County rural and newer suburban that have St Augustine mailing addresses but are not "in town". ( There is a poster on the Bradenton thread who is driven to insanity by areas outside city limits having Bradenton mailing addresses.) Just keep it in mind when you look, a real estate agent would help narrow your search.

I agree with Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island being a good fit for where you want to live; but commute to Southside would be farther, Downtown would be closer. Coming from North is easiest commute into downtown Jacksonville.

Coming from the Northeast you will find things very spread out in Jacksonville and really most of Florida.

St Augustine does have quite a bit of tourist traffic which can get frustrating especially around downtown SA and on Anastasia Island( St Augustine Beach if you look at a map). But unlike areas farther south in the state, Northeast Florida does not have a huge snowbird population. Summer is the beach season.

[mawipafl]

Originally Posted by Frawls

Thanks for responding. That is definitely what we're thinking in terms of quaint but we do enjoy having a larger city nearby. We live in Beverly which has a great downtown area with Boston only 20 miles away. We'd look for the same type of thing if we moved to another state. On first glance it looks like we might enjoy living in or near St. Augustine and having Jacksonville up the road. We have not visited that area of Florida but probably will in the next year to see if we like it or not.


I'm assuming jobs in financial services would mostly be in Jacksonville. Do many people commute from St. Augustine to Jacksonville or is there a well respected town in between the two?

Too small a world. North Beverly until 1976, went over the bridge to Salem for a short while, then became a Ryal Sider until 1997.

I can't at the moment think of anywhere that would be a carbon copy of downtown Beverly - it's different here. But that's not to say you wouldn't find something somewhat akin to it. There are many different parts of Jacksonville and its surrounding area, call them "neighborhoods", and each has its own flavor (different energies and styles).

There are also many master-planned communities (some gated, some not) and they can become centers for daily living - depending on the community's amenities, families can stroll the streets, swim in the pool, spend time in a playground, etc.. I live in one North Jacksonville, previously lived in one in Fleming Island (south of Jacksonville), and it's a lifestyle we weren't familiar with and didn't intend, but we really like it. So, that's another option. I haven't investigated housing prices, but Nocatee is a huge community between St. Augustine and Jacksonville that might be of interest.

I do like St. Augustine and like to stroll in the historic district. If living near the airport hadn't been a priority, we might have looked there. Commuting between St. Augustine and Jacksonville is doable, but could be longer than suits you. We like Fernandina, too, but for us the commute would be too long to Jax.

San Marco, Riverside, Avondale are much smaller than downtown Beverly, but in each of these areas (which are not as tourist-laden as Fernandina and St. Augustine), you would probably always bump into people you know if you lived there.

The Beaches are perhaps other areas to explore. Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach.

[Peter the Brit]

Originally Posted by mawipafl

Too small a world. North Beverly until 1976, went over the bridge to Salem for a short while, then became a Ryal Sider until 1997.

I can't at the moment think of anywhere that would be a carbon copy of downtown Beverly - it's different here. But that's not to say you wouldn't find something somewhat akin to it. There are many different parts of Jacksonville and its surrounding area, call them "neighborhoods", and each has its own flavor (different energies and styles).

There are also many master-planned communities (some gated, some not) and they can become centers for daily living - depending on the community's amenities, families can stroll the streets, swim in the pool, spend time in a playground, etc.. I live in one North Jacksonville, previously lived in one in Fleming Island (south of Jacksonville), and it's a lifestyle we weren't familiar with and didn't intend, but we really like it. So, that's another option. I haven't investigated housing prices, but Nocatee is a huge community between St. Augustine and Jacksonville that might be of interest.

I do like St. Augustine and like to stroll in the historic district. If living near the airport hadn't been a priority, we might have looked there. Commuting between St. Augustine and Jacksonville is doable, but could be longer than suits you. We like Fernandina, too, but for us the commute would be too long to Jax.

San Marco, Riverside, Avondale are much smaller than downtown Beverly, but in each of these areas (which are not as tourist-laden as Fernandina and St. Augustine), you would probably always bump into people you know if you lived there.

The Beaches are perhaps other areas to explore. Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach.

The Op's budget will not work for Nocatee.

[Frawls]

Thanks so much for all of the thoughtful responses. I really appreciate the feedback and helpful information.


Mawipafl – I was wondering when you said you were from the North Shore if you had lived in Beverly or Salem. Too funny. We live a couple blocks away from the Cabot Theatre in between Cabot & Rantoul Streets. We got a very good deal on a 2 bedroom condo in 2013 but will probably be looking to move up to a 3bd condo (very hard to find in the area) or a single family house. The housing situation in Eastern MA is an absolute mess right now with incredibly low inventory and seriously overpriced homes. I feel bad for anyone buying in the area right now because they’re getting fleeced unless they make well over $100K per year. The type of houses we’d be interested in (well-maintained 3bd single family home with updates near downtown) are going for between $325K-$375K right now with some as high as $400K. And these are small homes. We’re talking maybe 1200 square feet with very little yard space. We could spend less on a fixer upper but would rather not go that route. The traffic is getting worse and worse each year and Boston has become an overdeveloped city catering to the very wealthy. My wife and I will always consider MA our home but with a child to consider we’ve been questioning whether it makes any financial sense to be strapped for cash just to live in a small single family house that will still need lots of TLC. We’re also both done with the winter, particularly after the 2015-2015 season.


I’m doing a very preliminary search of coastal cities in the South that might be a good fit for a family from MA. We like history, arts and a good school system. St. Augustine came up as a possible good match but I’d also like to hear others’ opinions on any other cities in FL or GA that may be worth checking out. It’s just talk right now. No firm plans but we’d like to start visiting some places in the next year.