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Old 10-23-2013, 10:22 AM
 
9,273 posts, read 8,179,283 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter the Brit View Post
Florida 2014
Why are you spending so much with the addition of cdd taxes when there are many great sub divisions and non gated communities here in St Augustine and you will be nearer beaches great schools and the ancient city
It sounds to me that you need a visit here to see the communities before rushing a move and maybe regretting down the line
Definitely won't be rushing into a decision, we've basically started researching (albeit 100% online) for a year before our move date.

I would never rule out any areas or subdivisions if the house fit our needs. I just think with a 3 year old an area with a community center and pool with be a better way to get to meet families and get involved quicker. We have none of that where we are now and feel somewhat alienated from the admittedly small town we're currently living in.

But I'm not as concerned about CDDs/HOAs due to us renting vs. purchasing in year one. Even if we ended up renting in an area and decided it wasn't for us, the fact that we're physically there and would essentially have a year to explore and search around for the "perfect" area (if one exists) would be fine w/me. And that is exactly the reason we're renting vs. purchasing initially. I'm SO thankful we did that here. Our visits to the area went well and we thought this would be a long-term option for us; however, after a 5 month winter we knew this wasn't for us.
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Old 10-23-2013, 11:14 AM
 
1,171 posts, read 2,146,891 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrs. RH View Post
Sorry to piggyback on Florida2014's original post. I've been lurking on these boards for a few weeks now. Our family is considering a move in the next 2 to 3 years to SJC. It seems like all of the "big" communities are always mentioned (Nocatee, Durbin, etc.) but what about some of the smaller communies. I suppose since we're not planning to do anything for at least another 2 or 3 years, it could be a completed community and we could look for a re-sale. I guess my point is, where should I look if I want a community that does not have over 3,000 homes yet still want some of the amenities (pool, clubhouse, etc.)?
If you don't mind really old existing communities, they will be smaller, but the amentities will be severely lacking and just plain old. The only way to get in somewhere planned and nice with a host of amentities is to get in early before it explodes and 3,000 homes go up. The "old-timers" in Nocatee and Durbin, generally got bigger lots for a lower price as well because they got in before everyone knew it was popular. Now that's slightly skewed because the housing market took a dump right after these communities started so, in reality, the original people are probably under-water, but you get what I'm saying. They aren't going to have amentities like a pool and clubhouse in a "small" planned community most of the time.

While it sounds intimidating, these very large planned neighborhoods are broken into "sections" so Durbin Crossing is split up into North Durbin and South Durbin, and Nocatee is absolutely huge, so there are mini neighborhoods within Nocatee like GreenLeaf, Willow Cove, Kelly Pointe, Coastal Oaks, Del Webb, etc, etc.
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Old 10-23-2013, 11:58 AM
 
Location: Centennial, CO
32 posts, read 68,128 times
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I've heard that Julington Plantation and Cimarrone have a smaller community than huge-plan Nocatee but for us they were a bit too far west. Looked nice though and some great per sf pricing for what you get!! I actually also found a few older (5-10yrs old, so still pretty new) near the Switzerland area for like $275k with a pool!!! Again, my business actually needs a larger community that is growing - otherwise if it didn't matter we would go west a bit and just boat along the river instead of the beaches. Lol.
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Old 10-23-2013, 12:11 PM
 
82 posts, read 152,739 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 4gr8kidz View Post
I've heard that Julington Plantation and Cimarrone have a smaller community than huge-plan Nocatee but for us they were a bit too far west. Looked nice though and some great per sf pricing for what you get!! I actually also found a few older (5-10yrs old, so still pretty new) near the Switzerland area for like $275k with a pool!!! Again, my business actually needs a larger community that is growing - otherwise if it didn't matter we would go west a bit and just boat along the river instead of the beaches. Lol.
Take a look at St. Johns Forest and St. Johns Golf and Country Club. They are not as far west as Julington Creek Plantation and Cimarrone. They are just west of I 95. St. Johns Forest has about 500 homes. I'd guess that St. Johns Golf is a little bit bigger.

St. Johns Forest is gated and still has construction going on (I'd estimate it's about 80-85% built out). St. Johns Golf is a golf course community and is completely built out. Both have very nice amenities. They are both zoned for excellent schools (as is the entire Northern part of the St. Johns County).
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Old 10-23-2013, 12:50 PM
 
9,273 posts, read 8,179,283 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RSWATTY View Post
Take a look at St. Johns Forest and St. Johns Golf and Country Club. They are not as far west as Julington Creek Plantation and Cimarrone. They are just west of I 95. St. Johns Forest has about 500 homes. I'd guess that St. Johns Golf is a little bit bigger.

St. Johns Forest is gated and still has construction going on (I'd estimate it's about 80-85% built out). St. Johns Golf is a golf course community and is completely built out. Both have very nice amenities. They are both zoned for excellent schools (as is the entire Northern part of the St. Johns County).
Yes, have seen several rentals in St. Johns that are very nice/large houses for under $2K/mo (4bed, 3bath, some even w/pools). I assume this is due to the lack of other amenities such as rec center, pools?
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Old 10-23-2013, 03:00 PM
 
82 posts, read 152,739 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Florida2014 View Post
Yes, have seen several rentals in St. Johns that are very nice/large houses for under $2K/mo (4bed, 3bath, some even w/pools). I assume this is due to the lack of other amenities such as rec center, pools?
Actually, both neighborhoods have clubhouses and very, very nice pools, each with a 2 story slide.

St. Johns Forest also has a fitness center, lighted tennis courts and basketball courts, a soccer field and (believe it or not) a roller hockey rink. St. Johns Forest has sidewalks on both sides of every street. As far as I know, Nocatee is the only other large neighborhood that has put sidewalks on both sides of every street, so the kids never have to be walking in the street.

St. Johns Golf & Country Club also has a golf couse, a fitness center, tennis courts, and may have additional amenities--I'm not as familiar with it.

Also, lots of Activities. St. Johns Forest had a kids craft night last night and St. Johns Golf has a fall fest this weekend.
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Old 10-23-2013, 03:22 PM
 
1,171 posts, read 2,146,891 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RSWATTY View Post
Actually, both neighborhoods have clubhouses and very, very nice pools, each with a 2 story slide.

St. Johns Forest also has a fitness center, lighted tennis courts and basketball courts, a soccer field and (believe it or not) a roller hockey rink. St. Johns Forest has sidewalks on both sides of every street. As far as I know, Nocatee is the only other large neighborhood that has put sidewalks on both sides of every street, so the kids never have to be walking in the street.

St. Johns Golf & Country Club also has a golf couse, a fitness center, tennis courts, and may have additional amenities--I'm not as familiar with it.

Also, lots of Activities. St. Johns Forest had a kids craft night last night and St. Johns Golf has a fall fest this weekend.

St. Johns Forest is very nice, and gated as mentioned. Apparently the sidewalk situation is super terrific as well Sidewalks are only put in for lots that have a home on them, so every empty lot results in breaks in the sidewalk, but that's true for all the neighborhoods.

My only issue with St. Johns Forest is they seem to have had trouble selling off the back side of the neighborhood, so the remaining builders portioned out the lots to be smaller than the rest with much smaller, cheaper homes. While there's nothing wrong with that necessarily, it somewhat tarnishes a beautiful neighborhood loaded to the gills with huge homes on large lots, with a bunch of houses half the size and 1/3 the price smushed on the backside. It's going to attract a completely different buyer as well. Just saying...
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Old 10-23-2013, 03:26 PM
 
9,273 posts, read 8,179,283 times
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Thanks, RSWATTY. Do you live in that development? Any negatives? When mapping the community it seems a tad far from both Jax and St Augustine. I guess "far" is a relative term, I live in the middle of nowhere now and it's a 15 minute drive to get to just about anything, often through winter driving conditions and via a gas-guzzling Yukon. But we're definitely looking to be a little closer to civilization if possible.
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Old 10-23-2013, 03:47 PM
 
Location: FL
297 posts, read 570,453 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SaintCabbage View Post
My only issue with St. Johns Forest is they seem to have had trouble selling off the back side of the neighborhood, so the remaining builders portioned out the lots to be smaller than the rest with much smaller, cheaper homes. While there's nothing wrong with that necessarily, it somewhat tarnishes a beautiful neighborhood loaded to the gills with huge homes on large lots, with a bunch of houses half the size and 1/3 the price smushed on the backside. It's going to attract a completely different buyer as well. Just saying...
You mean buyers like me, empty nesters who are tired of maintaining 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths, formal living room, formal dining room that just collects dust, huge great room, eat-in kitchen, in-ground pool and lanai the length of the house, on an 80-foot lot, who would love to buy in a nice gated community but want a small house with a small yard at a price we can pay cash for? God forbid.
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Old 10-23-2013, 04:07 PM
 
1,171 posts, read 2,146,891 times
Reputation: 1147
Quote:
Originally Posted by KayT15 View Post
You mean buyers like me, empty nesters who are tired of maintaining 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths, formal living room, formal dining room that just collects dust, huge great room, eat-in kitchen, in-ground pool and lanai the length of the house, on an 80-foot lot, who would love to buy in a nice gated community but want a small house with a small yard at a price we can pay cash for? God forbid.
Nope, guess again. I knew that comment would elicit a reaction, just trying to present the truth so the OP can make a well-informed decision.
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