Possible move to Jacksonville Area (Plantation, Palm Valley: home builder, safe area, new construction)

[MarketSpeculator]

Hi all...

My wife has a possible job opportunity south of Jacksonville. The company is located 23 miles south of the International Airport...so its south of the city center. Its on the east side of the river.

We have a 4 month old...Looking for a gated community relatively close to her potential job opportunity...(its near Deerwood Creek golf community).

Are there safe areas with a gated community? We would definitely like new construction.

Many thanks for the help!
MS

[MarketSpeculator]

Wife and I love the beach...but are looking for a 4 bedroom 2.5bath...2k sq ft home...we also have a Cocker Spaniel as well.

Thank you!

[Karla with a K]

MS
Deerwood is 13 miles to the beach.
Thereis also Deercreek about 2 miles south of Deerwood
There are quite a few really nice sub-divisions right around Deerwood. The area is considered the Southside and is safe.
Hampton Glen, East Hampton, Hampton Park, South Chase . They are not gated though. James Island is about 5 mins from Deerwood and it is gated
A 2k sq ft 4/2.5 in this area is going to run you $350k +. They are higher in James Island because it is gated.
You can do a search on the realtor.com using 32256 and see what is listed in these subdivisions.
Hope this helps
karla

[MarketSpeculator]

I will do a search!

I think we need to see the gated communities and what not...so are there any good beach towns that would have the type of house we are looking for around the 350k area?

Many thanks!

[MarketSpeculator]

BARTRAM SPRINGS PLANTATION

Is this a good place? Just looking at a home here that I like.

http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/Home...6&lnksrc=00003

[riveree]

Bartram Springs could be far from your wife's job (not a pleasant commute), it is also not really so close to the beach. It's an area where a lot of homes are being built, and eventually other commercial development will follow, but right now there is not much (until recently, it was all woods)...and it's not gated as far as I know (maybe they'll gate one section, but as a whole it is open).

Is gated really a necessity? There really are not that many gated communities in Jacksonville as a whole, and they tend to be in much higher price ranges. Near the beach (less than 5 miles...10 minutes) and still on "The Southside" are: Highland Glen, Jacksonville Golf and Country club & Glen Kernan - but entry is generally $500k and up right now. You might find an older home in Hidden Hills for quite a bit less...it's one of the oldest gated communities around there.

But you could live in the same area as these homes I detailed above, and often by the same home builder, for far less if you skip the gates.

Considering your price range, I would also ask if that second 1/2 bath is necessary. There are plenty of 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom 2 full bath homes near the beach that can be found in the $300-$350k range...if you'll take a house that's 3, 4 or 5 years old, you might save $25k or more.

I've found that with the builders right now, the extra 1/2 bath often changes the home plan to a 3-car garage as well and this bumps you up into another price bracket...it's nice to have that extra 1/2 bath, but if you're flexible about it you can open up a lot more possibilities.

Check 32246 and surrounding zips to see what I'm talking about. This would put you 10-15 minutes to the beach, 15-20 minutes to downtown, and about 5 minutes to the new St. Johns Town Center that everyone loves so much.

[MarketSpeculator]

Thank you!!!

[daisies76]

Bartram springs area is a highly desirable and in an up and growing area. The commute isnt going to be as bad as mentioned. I live just shortly down the road in Julington Creek plantation and love it. Julington Creek and Bartram Springs is not gated, and I agree that if you want something gated, you are looking at 500k plus because there are not many gated communities, except for those housing million dollar homes.

Bartram is not close to Jax Beach but it is only 15 minutes from another beach called Micklers Beach (which is not as crowded and very nice, thats where we go, its just down Palm Valley) I personally wouldnt choose Bartram due to the Duval county schools, I would rather live in St Johns county which is just right next to Bartram Springs and there are a lot f new communities going in off racetrack road, Aberdeen and Durbin Crossing, and even Julinton Creek plantation will have established homes if you dont want to build.

Depending on the commute you want, I personally like living where we do as it's about 30 minute commute to almost anywhere. My husband works downtown and it takes him 30-45 min depending on traffic and time of day, I used to work on baymeadows area that took 30 min, now I work closer, but there is the new 9a entrance that was built on Phillips that cuts a lot of the drive time for anything.

St Johns county schools are highly rated.

[riveree]

But Daisies76, you'd have to admit that building is not slowing down and there is still so much land for the developers to plunk down many more housing developments...there are going to be MORE people commuting to Jax from Bartram Springs, etc., than LESS.

There is a lot of griping about the commute now...imagine 5 years from now.

[MarketSpeculator]

Many thanks for the input!!! I appreciate it.