Family moving to Jacksonville (Palm Valley, Hampton: best neighborhoods, 2010, low crime)

[srcog]

Hi, family with 3 kids is moving to Jacksonville for a job. I'm looking for opinions on the best neighborhoods with this criteria:

• We will be buying a 4 bedroom house and can spend up to $450,000
• We want the best public schools we can afford
• Low crime is a must
• Prefer less than 40 minute commute to office on Baymeadows Rd (Rt 152) which is exit 341 off I95.
• Would be nice to have over .25 acre land

Thanks!!!

[LoveLivinNCities]

St. Johns County all the way. Palm Valley, Ponte Vedra, all of those neighborhoods and areas are very very nice and their school is top notch, Close to beach, fine dining, good shopping centers and you take JTB in to 9A and get on baymeadows from there.

[Joe 4520832257]

The best public schools for college prep are actually Jacksonville's magnet schools (particularly Stanton). They are generally in bad neighborhoods, but you can live anywhere in Jax city limits and send your kids there.

I'd suggest looking in the Mandarin area because 1) it's really close to baymeadows 2) if your kids aren't smart enough to qualify for the magnets, they can still go to Mandarin High, which is high quality like the St Johns schools and 3) you can possibly get more house for your money than in St Johns, and it's still possible to find half acre yards all around Mandarin.

All that being said, Northern St Johns County is also a good bet for your needs. Great school districts and mostly luxury home developments. But you could get into a situation where you have to take SR13 and/or 295 to get up to Baymeadows, which could put some properties at the edge of your commuting range during rush hour.

[joninclay]

Fleming Island / Eagle Harbor sections of Clay County. Depending on what time you leave for work, your commute should take under 40 minutes. Traffic coming home may be a different matter.

Great schools, low crime, great neighborhoods...I love it!

Can't go wrong with many parts of St. Johns County, either.

[Dappleganger]

NW St. Johns county is a very low-crime area with A-rated schools.

[HollyinJAX]

I think Deerwood is really nice, that's just a stone's throw from Baymeadows and close to everything!

[ljfam]

NW St. Johns. Many different kinds of neighborhoods to choose from. We have a little over an acre in Cunningham Creek Estates and no HOA. Homes run between 350,000 and 800,000. Also we are right next to JCP. Husband drives almost to Baymeadows daily in about 30 to 35 min. S.R. 13 isn't that bad IMO. I can get to 295 in 15 min. Good luck.

[Ryde41]

I'd look around Deerwood, Hampton Glen, Hampton East, and Autumn something, on Baymeadows Road. The lot sizes are bigger in Deerwood, Hampton Glen is newer, Hampton East has a nice neighborhood -probably dues are less because its not gated. There's a playground and soccer field at Baymeadows/9A area. The new high school opens in 2010. There's also a private elementary school on Baymeadows Road. There are two shopping malls within five miles.