St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra or Jacksonville? (Tampa, Orlando: homeowners insurance, lenders, home sales)

[gardenpearl]

I'm a widow who is a healthy, young, and active 60; I play tennis daily, etc. After exploring the state of Florida, I've decided that I don't want to live in a highly seasonal snowbirdy/touristy/hot place with tons of traffic. Although all of these places have their charms and are great for a vacation, I think living there full-time would become annoying during the overcrowded winter season. For that and the cooler climate, I have become interested in the northeast part of the state.

What I'd like to find is a very large, fairly new community with concrete block homes near good medical care and some tennis facilities, with shopping and restaurants within a reasonable distance; say 5 miles. It does not have to be an over-55 community but should have some retirees. Price range would be $200's to mid-$300's for about a 2000 square foot one-story home. I'm not into beach life and do not want to live on a beach or in a flood zone. And I'd like a safe area without much crime.

Does anyone know of anything, or have an opinion on which area would be best? Thanks for any feedback.

[ssclulow]

You have done a great job of narrowing down what you want, which is very helpful. I'm going to zero in on your flood zone issue. The rest of your requirements should be no problem finding in the areas you have chosen to look at here.
If you absolutely do not want to be in a flood zone (flood insurance required by lenders), your search will require a bit of research regarding flood zones. The maps of flood zones are currently being rewritten. I believe that some areas have had the revisions completed and some have not. There has been much publicity about the changes which has revolved around the triple dollar hikes in flood insurance costs people might expect. You should research this well before falling in love with a community that later requires flood insurance.
That being said, Ponte Vedra is on a barrier island which is a flood zone. I have been researching areas Jacksonville which are west of Ponte Vedra and Jacksonville Beach for my daughter. I have found that, in addition to the ocean, Jacksonville is surrounded by flood prone rivers and streams flowing into the St. Johns River. I live in St. Augustine on Anastasia Island. I currently pay $460 for my flood insurance. I consider flooding to be a possibility but not a probability where I live...but so are tornados and wildfires. Many areas of Jacksonville near rivers and streams absolutely do flood several times a year due to extreme rainfall. My homeowner insurance, flood insurance and property taxes totaled are much less than I was paying for property taxes and homeowners insurance in Michigan. It's something to consider....
I think you'd be happy living in any of the areas you have chosen to look. Be careful in assuming that a house is block or poured concrete construction. Wood frame houses that have stucco on the outside look similar to block until you examine the house closely around the door and window openings. Best way to tell for sure is to look up on the Duval County Property Appraiser Website.

[gardenpearl]

Thank you for the helpful information. It sounds like I should be looking a bit west, and not near a river. I like preserve or lake views best, so may try to find a large community which has some of this.

[ssclulow]

Be aware that here in Florida, especially in communities built since 1985, lakes and ponds are really man-made retention ponds for rainwater and storm-drains to flow into. If a house abutting them is built "at grade" with very little step-up into the house, and the retention area is not deep enough, the ponds/ lakes will overflow into yards and houses. This happened to my son after Hurricane Floyd so I am very aware of the possibility.

[ssclulow]

Some of the other members of this forum will probably strongly disagree with this suggestion, but...have you considered "The Villages" which is a large 55+ community about 90 minutes northwest of Orlando? Here is their website The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Retirement Hometown - New Home Sales, Home Resales, Build Your Dream Home, Brownwood Paddock Square I know a handful of people who have moved there and they love it. It was not a consideration for me because I love the beach life. The area has grown immensely and they have everything you are looking for, except it does get hotter there than NE FL but it is not as humid. Traffic is not bad like South Florida or Orlando. Taxes and home insurance will be less.

[gardenpearl]

Originally Posted by ssclulow

Some of the other members of this forum will probably strongly disagree with this suggestion, but...have you considered "The Villages" which is a large 55+ community about 90 minutes northwest of Orlando? Here is their website The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Retirement Hometown - New Home Sales, Home Resales, Build Your Dream Home, Brownwood Paddock Square I know a handful of people who have moved there and they love it. It was not a consideration for me because I love the beach life. The area has grown immensely and they have everything you are looking for, except it does get hotter there than NE FL but it is not as humid. Traffic is not bad like South Florida or Orlando. Taxes and home insurance will be less.

Thanks for your input - like many, I fell for the hype, visited the place, stayed there for a week, and found it would be my last choice of anywhere in Florida. The place looks and feels "created" -- like a Stepford type community. It's out in the middle of nowhere - I would like to live 5-15 miles from the ocean, but not mid-state. It's too far from any major city (Orlando is over an hour away) and not near particularly good medical care.

It revolves around golf and I'm not a golfer. The place was extremely overcrowded when I was there with impossible parking, numerous traffic/golf cart accidents and long waits at the limited - mostly chain - restaurants at 4 p.m.

I know some people love it, but the vibe was just not for me. If you look on the Villages forum you will see other considerations and complaints that I don't want to mention here.

I'm glad your friends love it, as many do -- it is a friendly place, which is why I checked it out.

Another reason I ruled out that part of the state, in addition to the northwest coast above Tampa, is that it is right smack in prime sinkhole territory. And they are more tornado prone out there.

[HarryWho?]

Palm Coast should be likely of consideration. I think it would fit most of your requirements.

[gardenpearl]

That's one area I have yet to see. I have not yet visited the area from Melbourne on up to St. Augustine, so should take a look at it. What are some of the things you like about Palm Coast?

[HarryWho?]

It's not a flood zone, the homes are newer, not crowded, not a tourist area, not overly far from anything, most shopping in one convenient area, good public tennis center. It's attractive and well planned yet very affordable.

[gardenpearl]

Thank you! Maybe I will fly into Orlando and check it out, in addition to Melbourne, Viera, etc. where I have also never been.

I visited St. Augustine once for a few hours while staying in Jax, but am not sure I saw much of the downtown.