St Augustine cost of living (Jacksonville, Miami: insurance, condo, crime)

[FBoet]

After living in Miami for 40 years, we have had enough! We'll be out of here, God willing, within two years so our search for "the perfect place to live" has begun. We have always loved St Augustine, but are also considering the next closest state to Florida without a state income tax, Tenneesse. I looked up Realtor.com and saw some beautiful large homes in St Augustine(WGV) for under $250,000 and wondered, what are the property taxes and hazzard insurance like up there? We live in a modest 3/2, 1600 sq ft home in Miami and pay $4,400/yr in property taxes and $1,800/yr in hazzard insurance. How do homes in St Augustine compare?
BTW, does anyone in this forum have any opinions about Knoxville, Tn?
Thank you,
Frank

[parks71]

Insurance and property taxes are very high here as well, they both just went up not long ago. I dont know what you are expecting to gain here except a lower cost of living but the wages are much lower too. The crime is worse and I dont know if you need schools but they are bad too. If you just want to retire, you may want to consider here.

Knoxville, very low cost of living, lower than Jax, a great change of landscape and the housing there is even much cheaper than here. You are very close to the smokey national park which I will be heading to next month. We go there every christmas for a change of pace.

Another good point about knoxville is you will be much closer to new places to explore. Down here in florida you have to go a long way to get something different because you are surrounded by water on three sides.

Now you do have to deal with the cold up there and that is personal preference, but I like the change of seasons and Tennessee has one of the best in the US.

I dont want to sound like I am dogging Jax because the city is better than others but what do you look to gain by coming here? The water is UGLY compared to down there as are the beachs compared to Miami. It is cheaper though.

[SlickP]

Pertaining to crime, I've lived in other large cities throughout the Southeast and Jacksonville is no different than Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, New Orleans, etc. Each city has areas that are more prone to crime than others. Each city also has good school districts and bad. Crime is not going to be a major issue in the WGV area. If you're retirement age, WGV is a great area. If you play golf, there are 7 courses within 15 minutes. Jacksonville has much less traffic and you do get some cooler weather here versus Miami. I came here on a job relo and don't regret it. Recently I played golf with a couple that lived in Crossville, TN which is probably an hour from Knoxville. He said it's beautiful up there with many golf courses and mostly retired folks. You might want to look there. Heck, you could get a home/condo in WGV and one in TN.... If you have any questions, let me know. Good luck!

[parks71]

Slick is right and I need to correct myself. St Augistine does have good schools for the state of florida and the crime is not bad like it is in Jacksonville. It is much different down there than in Jax.

[FBoet]

Thank you all for your replies. My wife and I are 47 and 48, respectively, with two teen age sons. I just mentioned WGV because I saw the large homes there on Realtor.com. We are considering St Augustine, not Jax. So I was wondering what are the costs of property taxes, home hazzard insurance, water and electric. I would appreciate any info on these expenses in the St Augustine area.
Thank you,
Frank

[SlickP]

Originally Posted by FBoet

Thank you all for your replies. My wife and I are 47 and 48, respectively, with two teen age sons. I just mentioned WGV because I saw the large homes there on Realtor.com. We are considering St Augustine, not Jax. So I was wondering what are the costs of property taxes, home hazzard insurance, water and electric. I would appreciate any info on these expenses in the St Augustine area.
Thank you,
Frank

St. Johns County I believe is the top school district in the state. My guesstimates, $1200-$1500yr homeowner unless you live near the coast, $3000-$3500yr property tax, $75-$100 water/sanitation/month, $200-$250 average electric/month. The other thing you have to pay attention to are the CDD fees you will have to pay in some newer neighborhoods. This could be another $1200-$1500/yr.

[fsquid]

I never in a million years that I would see the words "Crossville, TN" in this forum.

[FBoet]

Yikes! Those are pretty high living expenses! Not much different then Miami's.
We'll stop in St Augustine and talk to a realtor on our trip to Tenneesse, but I have a feeling that we're going to end up moving out of Florida. Tenneese and North Georgia look very attractive for us.
Thank you for your input.
Frank

Originally Posted by SlickP

St. Johns County I believe is the top school district in the state. My guesstimates, $1200-$1500yr homeowner unless you live near the coast, $3000-$3500yr property tax, $75-$100 water/sanitation/month, $200-$250 average electric/month. The other thing you have to pay attention to are the CDD fees you will have to pay in some newer neighborhoods. This could be another $1200-$1500/yr.

[SlickP]

Originally Posted by FBoet

Yikes! Those are pretty high living expenses! Not much different then Miami's.
We'll stop in St Augustine and talk to a realtor on our trip to Tenneesse, but I have a feeling that we're going to end up moving out of Florida. Tenneese and North Georgia look very attractive for us.
Thank you for your input.
Frank

I lived in North GA for many yrs, very nice except for the "wedge" in the winter. Nice Hiking, Mountain Bike riding, fly fishing, white water kayaking, day trip to Atlanta.

[parks71]

Whats a wedge in the winter mean?