Relocating to St Augustine (St. Augustine, St. Augustine Shores: for sale, lease, buying a home)

[rwbil]

I am relocating from Maryland to St. Augustine. After reviewing high schools I wanted to be in the Bartram or Neese High School district and close to my wife's college, so I rented a home off 210 near I-95 to get familiar with the area before buying a home. I already regret renting in this area. Even though there is a grocery store and Walgreens close, everything else is at least a 20 - 30 minute drive. I am use to being within 5 minutes of a Wallmart, Movie Theatre, Home Depot, Lowes, Tennis Courts, Bowling Alley, and etc., so this is quite a change. Luckily I only have a 7 month's lease. My question is about the high schools here. In Maryland I lived within walking distance of the high school. The high schools in Maryland are completely open and at nights and weekends you see people out there walking and jogging on the track and playing tennis and basketball and etc. I now live between Neese and Bartram and both are in remote locations about 10 -15 minute drive away. I drove to Bartram to jog on the track, but I was not sure if people are allowed to jog there or not. First the school has a hugh gate you must pass just to get into the school. It was open, but there are no trespassing signs and there was nobody playing tennis there or jogging or etc. Maybe this is because it is August. Are people allowed to use the high school tennis courts and tracks here???? I am wondering why there was nobody there. Are there other areas to go. I can not even find a park anywhere close. 30 Minutes away is not close to me. Where do people go to play tennis who live in this area? Also, it looks like golf is the thing to do down here and I have never played. Any suggestion on finding inexpensive beginners lessons would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Robert

[happydazemama]

Hello,
I understand your frustration, we used to live in Cali and loved the pedestrian friendliness of our area. I live in St. Augustine Shores, which is South Saint Augustine. The development is very secure, been around since the 70's with very careful planning and expansion. There are tennis courts here, as well as a clubhouse, a pier extending over the intercoastal (we see dolphins all the time), community pool, etc. Every single street has a sidewalk, which sounds like a "duh" but I was so suprised at how many neighborhoods don't have any sidewalks! There is an elementary school here in the development (Hartly Elementary) as well as a middle school (Gamble Rodgers) just a half mile down Rt. 1. 2 miles away we have a huge, very new highschool, called Pedro Menendez. You can check it's ratings on the MyFlorida website. There is a Publix across the street from our development, a beautiful library just 2 miles away, Crescent Beach is just 7 minutes away, which is an absolutely beautiful beach. Walmart is 2 miles in the opposite direction. Anyway, we have a very friendly neighborhood, lots of runners, walkers, families with strollers, dog owners, etc. Keep it in mind as your lease runs out!

[riveree]

^^^I really like The Shores too , that's a nice spot.

[4merWNYer]

There are is a huge park right near you, have driven through it, so can't say if there were tennis courts or not. Take CR2209 North to Long Leaf Pine, go left. It is the entrance to Durbin Creek. Right there on your left is the entrance. There are baseball, lacrosse and soccer fields you can walk around when they aren't in use.

As for B-Ball and Tennis I am not sure. Our community has these for us to use so I have never looked for them elsewhere.

[agreatlife]

I'm still too new to St. Augustine to be a lot of help, but I agree about St. Augustine shores. You also might want to check out Anastasia Island. There are 2 tennis clubs on the island, and some of the developments probably also have tennis courts. I don't know if the island would be too far from your wife's college, however.

[ShakenStirred]

Originally Posted by happydazemama

Hello,
I understand your frustration, we used to live in Cali and loved the pedestrian friendliness of our area. I live in St. Augustine Shores, which is South Saint Augustine. The development is very secure, been around since the 70's with very careful planning and expansion. There are tennis courts here, as well as a clubhouse, a pier extending over the intercoastal (we see dolphins all the time), community pool, etc. Every single street has a sidewalk, which sounds like a "duh" but I was so suprised at how many neighborhoods don't have any sidewalks! There is an elementary school here in the development (Hartly Elementary) as well as a middle school (Gamble Rodgers) just a half mile down Rt. 1. 2 miles away we have a huge, very new highschool, called Pedro Menendez. You can check it's ratings on the MyFlorida website. There is a Publix across the street from our development, a beautiful library just 2 miles away, Crescent Beach is just 7 minutes away, which is an absolutely beautiful beach. Walmart is 2 miles in the opposite direction. Anyway, we have a very friendly neighborhood, lots of runners, walkers, families with strollers, dog owners, etc. Keep it in mind as your lease runs out!

What is the zip code for your neighborhood? Your post made me want to check it out and see what's for sale myself!!