St. Augustine (Jacksonville, Miami, Largo: real estate, dorms, neighborhoods)

[Pahtina]

My husband and I as well as my 26 year old daughter plan to relocate from Long Island, Ny to beach areas around St. Augustine. Can anyone tell me what percentage of people are in their 20's and what is typical social life in Northern Florida for young people. Is there a more "happening" area in the north that we should consider?

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by Pahtina

My husband and I as well as my 26 year old daughter plan to relocate from Long Island, Ny to beach areas around St. Augustine. Can anyone tell me what percentage of people are in their 20's and what is typical social life in Northern Florida for young people. Is there a more "happening" area in the north that we should consider?

I would not describe St. Augustine as a "happening" area for young people. It's more of a laid-back destination. Northerners move to St.Augustine to get away from the stress and the high cost-of-living of places like Long Island. There are young people in their 20's in St. Augustine who can live without the club scene and would rather hang out at the beach and live close to nature. Then there is the other type of young people who would be happier in South Beach or Disney town for the constant buzz. There is not alot of stuff going on in St. Augustine, it's the atmosphere that people in St. Augustine love.

[riveree]

I agree, it would be a little lonely for a single 26 year old .

It's a fantastic locale for you and your husband, it's a great place to retire to, you'll love it .

I relocated from NYC to St. Augustine when I was around your daughter's age and found the social scene to be tiny. It's a bit better now, but not by much. As I met people through work, most of them lived in Jacksonville and I ended up doing the long drive to Jacksonville for my social scene. After 3 years of this, I moved full-time to Jacksonville and I'm still there now. I also have a sibling who went through the same thing - relocated from NY to St. Aug and eventually migrated up to Jacksonville.

For work and social activities, there's more going on in Jax due to the population size and the younger demographics.

[Pahtina]

Your comments were very helpful. Our son will be attending college in Jacksonville and I had a feeling that our kids would probably want to be there. My daughter is a licensed veterniary technician. Do you know of any animal hospitals or rescue centers in Jacksonville. How long a commute would it be from St. Augustine?
Thanks again.

[Pahtina]

Thanks for your comments. We were also thinking about relocating to Key Largo, thinking she would be able to travel to Miami if she needed more to do.

[Erma]

Love St. Augustine and Jax beach area. The real estate is a wee bit lower too!

[riveree]

Originally Posted by Pahtina

Your comments were very helpful. Our son will be attending college in Jacksonville and I had a feeling that our kids would probably want to be there. My daughter is a licensed veterniary technician. Do you know of any animal hospitals or rescue centers in Jacksonville. How long a commute would it be from St. Augustine?
Thanks again.

This is a great organization that is expanding. They are opening a new facility on the Northside of Jacksonville:

first coast no more homeless pets | Your spay and neuter connection serving jacksonville florida |

Here is our city link for Animal Care and Control. They've had budget cuts like all of our city services, so I don't know about hiring, but the animals here are so in need, I'm sure she'll want to at least know about this place. Our city shelter is a kill shelter because we have so many abandoned animals in Jax .

Animal Care and Control

There are also countless private vet offices all around the city where she might find work.

As far as commute, it depends on where you live in St. Aug. If you actually end up in Northern St. Johns county and not near the downtown or the beaches of St. Augustine, then the commute to Jax would not be too bad since you'd be near the county line. It would still be a long commute, but it should be under an hour to most parts of Jax.

If you have a child attending UNF or FCCJ, there are some great housing choices right near the schools and that would be a central location for your daughter if she ends up working in Jacksonville.

[Pahtina]

Thanks again. I checked out the website for first coast, its looks like exactly what she's into. We're near retirement and kids are grown. One attends jacksonville univ and we'll be down in a few weeks. We're trying to steer them to Florida because Long Island is just too expensive for young people and older people. We wanted to be near the beaches but we'll check out the commute time. Thank you again, your comments were real helpful.

[RockSteadyVibe]

In St. Augustine, there's also Flagler College, so there may also be some young people of or around college-age.

The Southside of Jacksonville is great - not only are there great housing choices (near UNF of FCCJ South Campus), but also lots of things for young people to do including places to shop or hang out.

IMO, the area around JU would not be a great place to find housing - that is, outside of the dorms at JU. Some of the neighborhoods around JU seem to be older in comparison to those around UNF and FCCJ South.

Anyway, welcome to our area and good luck!