St. John's County vs. Flagler County (Palm Coast, St. Augustine: houses, neighborhoods, to buy)

[WendyMoiraAngelaDarling]

Hi all! My family and I are researching a move to the St. John’s County area and we’ve really appreciated reading everyone’s posts. We are also going to take a look at Flagler Beach and Flagler County. Would you please illuminate us as to the differences in lifestyle, topography, general culture between Flagler County and St. John’s County? We have an elementary school aged daughter – are there big differences in quality of schools? Is one more “country” than the other? We like nature. Also, are there any neighborhoods where the houses aren’t right up next to each other – and you can have a little privacy in your backyard? We welcome your input! Thanks!

[SlickP]

Where are you going to be working?

[riveree]

Newer development oftens comes with a much smaller lot. House sizes have grown, and houses swallow up more of the lot these days too.

You can always pay more for a house on a bigger lot, so your personal budget will play a role in how close to your neighbor you end up being.

When I built my developer home, I did 2 things that made a difference:

1) Paid for a premium conservation lot...no neighbors behind me, just a beautiful view, well worth it .

2) Chose a house plan with few side windows - I kept the windows focused front and back so all my main living areas had a view of the front yard or the backyard.


As for Flagler vs St. John's, my vote is for St. John's, I think you'll just have more (shopping, entertainment, etc.). You'll probably find St. John's to be more expensive, but there's good reason for that.

[jackaroo]

The perception (and I say perception since I'm sure there are people who live in Flagler County who love it and will disagree) is that Flagler County has less to do in terms of shopping, restaurants, etc. than in St. Johns County. Also depends on where in St. Johns County, since the County is fairly long. For example, SJC encompasses Ponte Vedra Beach, which is a completely different lifestyle than say off of International Golf Drive.


I have no idea what the school system is like in Flagler County, but SJC has a very strong reputation for its public school system.

[ShakenStirred]

Ditto...my vote is for St. Johns county.

[rocketman10]

Perhaps our moderator Riveree could also post this in the general Florida section as most Flagler County/Palm Coast questions are posted there? This would be more noticeable to the Flagler County residents to give our opinions. Thank You.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by rocketman10

Perhaps our moderator Riveree could also post this in the general Florida section as most Flagler County/Palm Coast questions are posted there? This would be more noticeable to the Flagler County residents to give our opinions. Thank You.

The OP* is welcome to ask a similar question on the general Florida forum where there will be more feedback from the Flagler folks.

*Wendy, please just word your questions so your posts are not identical (identical posts are considered "cross-posting" and are against the Terms of Service....thanks!

[WendyMoiraAngelaDarling]

Thank you all very much! I've posted Flagler v. St. Johns on the Florida forum as suggested. I will be back with more questions for sure. Thank you!

[rocketman10]

Flagler County is a wonderful smaller county compared to St. John's. We have lower taxes and our home prices are also lower if that's important to you. Jobs are at a premium right now so be sure to have jobs lined up whever you go. We are a diverse community and we came here and raised 2 children. We have Marineland, Princess Place Preserve and many nature trails and other parks which are very nice. We have many fine schools throughout the county. If you will check City-Data for info on Palm Coast (largest city) schools have been covered by others on previous posts. Also there is mention of Palm Coast on the general Florida forum being discussed right now for additional info. Shopping has finally come to the county with many new stores opening next month and not sure when the Kohl's is set for completion but groundwork is being worked on right now. I think there are many advantages to Flagler Co and have lived here for 11 yrs. but I do love St. Augustine area. Hopefully you will check out Flagler Co and see if it is for you and your family.

[Love2LiveNCities]

both counties are hidden gems right now. And now is an awesome time to buy as much as you can even if its land. The build up of south florida and most of the west coast has led to a chase to find more coast with good weather. Flagler and St. Johns are one of the best kept secrets of developement. Either of them are very nice. St. Johns has very good school system due to a massive amount of money that comes in from taxes for the rich beach siders in Ponte Vedra area. Also St. Augustine although very small and nice, has major room to expand as well as flagler. In my eyes they are near identical. Either way if i had the money to invest, it would be in the those counties within the next 2 years before the market picks up and everything sky rockets again.