St. Aug (Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Orange Park: real estate, crime, homes)

[jaxalamalakum]

I have always been curious about what it would be like to live in St. Augustine. I am not planning on living there, but I'm sure someone on here has lived there before. What is it like?
I know St. Aug is a popular tourist destination, but is it a livable place? Many people only know St. Augustine as the central "downtown" area, much the rest is more rural, I know.
I am just wondering what living there is like, or if it has a small population for a reason.

[LM1]

Considering a position in St Augustine - suggestions & opinions welcome

http://www.city-data.com/forum/jacks...est-place.html

St. Augustine?

How is St.Augustine?

Cliffs Notes:

Don't judge it by the historic district.

Pay absolutely sucks; "Non $8/hr jobs" are very, very limited unless you're a nurse or a teacher.

The beach, lighthouse, fort and St. George Street eventually get old.

You may be commuting to Jacksonville. If so, you will likely live in one of the newer "north" developments and will rarely see much of St. Augustine south of SR16 or even CR210.

Be prepared to live in a prefab "wonderbread" (as another poster so perfectly put it) community, as that's about all they've built in St. Aug for the past 20 years. If you want to live in St. Aug beach or in the historic district, congrats, but be prepared to pony up.

The schools are good by Florida standards, below mediocre by national standards, horrendous by the standards of places that have genuinely good schools

Crime is low

It's warm

Real estate is comparatively cheap

[Coffeecake]

The City of St. Augustine is the only incorporated area in St. John's County. Therefore, if one lives in St. Augustine proper (the historic district) the property taxes are slightly higher than living on county land that has a St. Augustine address. Which is where we lived for 5 years. We lived 15 minutes from the historic district. Housing in Old St. Augustine is a bit more expensive, with smaller lots, and older homes. Also, during the tourist season, it is hard to get about in town. In Old St. Augustine there is only foot-traffic and car parking leaves drivers to find a spot in an overcrowded lot or down a narrow alley way. The shopping in the historic center is strictly for tourists. We rarely went down there because everything was expensive; food, clothing and the knick-knacks. I loved the charm of the city with a view of the ocean inlet. The only thing that can be unattractive is sometimes after-hours, only during the non-tourist season, the district police didn't seem to keep a close monitor on the drunks that hung out. On more than one occassion, one or two drunks could be found asleep on the benches or wandering and babbling.

As far as work, most people commute to Jax or Orange Park. The previous poster is right, wages stink in St. Augustine. There are not enough bigger companies and corporations to employ people. I was told by quite a few nurses that actually work at Flagler Hospital, that as hospitals go, Flagler is not a great place to get sick in. When we moved to the area, I was advised to ask for Jax hospitals if an emergency arose and not to go to Flagler even though it was closer. One nurse even told me that doctors and nurses that work there, should they get sick, will not be treated at their own hospital.