St. Augustine vs. Anywhere (area, place, summers)

[HollyinJAX]

I can make a quick comparison between Austin TX (because I lived there, Hook Em Horns) and northeast Florida. Both are fantastic places. Austin used to be about the coolest place on the planet with the college town atmosphere, artsy place, old hippies, and its famous music scene but I would choose NE FL over Austin for a few reasons: Austin has the most awful traffic now, it's not a minor thing but has become a major negative. Cost of living has really skyrocketed there, with real estate out of sight. It is just a very competitive place to live - whereas NE FL has much nicer weather and just offers a much more laid back casual lifestyle. Love Texas, always will - but this is better.

[wmorando]

Originally Posted by HollyinJAX

I can make a quick comparison between Austin TX (because I lived there, Hook Em Horns) and northeast Florida. Both are fantastic places. Austin used to be about the coolest place on the planet with the college town atmosphere, artsy place, old hippies, and its famous music scene but I would choose NE FL over Austin for a few reasons: Austin has the most awful traffic now, it's not a minor thing but has become a major negative. Cost of living has really skyrocketed there, with real estate out of sight. It is just a very competitive place to live - whereas NE FL has much nicer weather and just offers a much more laid back casual lifestyle. Love Texas, always will - but this is better.

I am not looking at downtown Austin per se, I am more looking towards teh round rock/cedar park/leander/pfuegarville...what about these areas? Is the traffic bad here too? I saw some really nice homes in these area that were very reasonable. what do you think?

Thanks

[lvmy3grls]

Originally Posted by cricketfan

Well yes, there may be more retirees living in St. Augustine than in Jacksonville on a whole but just from my own observation if you look at zip codes 32092, 32259, 32258, working families and families with school-age children far outnumber the retirees. You wont find too many retirement homes in these communities, I don't think. IMO these are people who prefer some semblance of suburban living with better schools and safer neighborhoods and may consider the 35 minute hike to Jacksonville a small price to pay. But no question, Jacksonville is where the jobs are, not in St. Augustine.

As a former NY'er (Long Island) I can say I LOVE St Augustine - and we live in 32092 which is World Golf Village area, the families outnumber the retirees by about 50 to 1. The area is very young, family oriented, safe, and you can get one heck of a deal right now! The schools are wonderful to my kids!! I have one in Kindergarten, 5th and 7th grades so I should know. The weather to me could not be more perfect, yes, around October you get tired of the hot weather,but then it changes for quite a while, and once you are craving the beach and pool, it will come back again! We love it here!@!@

[riveree]

Originally Posted by cricketfan

Well yes, there may be more retirees living in St. Augustine than in Jacksonville on a whole but just from my own observation if you look at zip codes 32092, 32259, 32258, working families and families with school-age children far outnumber the retirees. You wont find too many retirement homes in these communities, I don't think. IMO these are people who prefer some semblance of suburban living with better schools and safer neighborhoods and may consider the 35 minute hike to Jacksonville a small price to pay. But no question, Jacksonville is where the jobs are, not in St. Augustine.

I agree, the northernmost part of St. John's county is almost entirely young families, but I interpreted the O.P.'s post to be more about St. Augustine proper. I could be wrong, but most people who have vacationed here have not ventured into the suburban developments but rather stayed in/near historic downtown St. Augustine. So if the idea is to live in quaint St. Augustine, you'll be living amongst many retirees. If the idea is to live in St. John's county, you can live in a development with families, but you're not surrounded by the quaintness of St. Aug any more than you'd be if you live in Mandarin or Baymeadows or anywhere else.

[delg23]

from st. A, living in nyc. There are not THAT many old people in St. Augustine. I'd say it is pretty representative of the % of the population. Maybe slightly higher. Remember baby boomers are the largest generation right now. There are more than NYC but NYC has a pretty young population. Boca is where all the old people live. Its not like when you walk through the grocery store there are a bunch of blue hairs running around. St. Augustine is north Florida so its more rednecky than south Florida but there are not as many old people. The weather sucks in the summer, but its worth it to not have to bundle up in the winter. If you like the beach & want a cheaper more laid back lifestyle it might be for you. Keep in mind the job market is not like NYC. Thats why I moved!

[eureka1]

I don't think you mentioned where you will be working. Be aware that the commute traffic from Jax is awful. If you click the "Search this Forum" button in the upper right corner you will find all the collective wisdom on the subject in this forum. There's a lot! Good luck, let us know what you decided.

[pwizard]

I lived in St. Augustine for 2 years and will go back in October, and have been researching living in Austin too. One comment that stood out for me on that sight was the attitude of folks in Austin. It's cool, hip, but seems that most folks try to be cool and hip, that is the attitude there. So does your fiance like to be competitive and be the coolest chick in town, or does she enjoy gorgeous walks on the beach, meeting friends for coffee/tea at a little place downtown on cobblestone streets where the live oaks have moss hanging from them that has been there longer than we have?? I think both places are great, just different. Happy planning, so glad to share journeys!!

[PokerPlayer1]

Comparing St. Augustine to Austin is akin to comparing apples to isinglass.
One bears absolutely no relationship to the other. One offers things that the other doesn't.
Between those two choices, it should be immediately apparent what is best for you based on how you prefer to live your life. No one on here can make the St. Augustine v. Austin decision for you. If you were asking St. Augustine v. Palm Coast or something like it, yeah, there's minutiae that the locals could help out with, but between St. Aug and Austin, it's an outright lifestyle choice.

Disclaimer: What I know of Austin is somewhat limited as I've only been there 4 times, but I do like it a lot. I know St. Augustine like the back of my hand (have been vacationing there since I was literally an infant and today as an adult, own a property in St. Aug Beach).

[mrs milelng]

i lived in jax many years and traffic alng i95 is bad jax beaches where cleane too at one time i now live in okahoma and i am trying to relocate somewhere on da eastcost maybe raleigh n.c.? but not jax

[kbarjae]

its great here ,the mooseskeetoes are just arriving here for the summer the no seeums arrived early this year and mister humidity turned 96 last week ,i love 90 degrees with 90% humidity