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Old 01-08-2015, 08:47 AM
 
Location: baltimore MD metro area
9 posts, read 14,580 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi all! My family and I are thinking about a move south. My husband was raised in South Florida and he loves the state but doesn't want to go that far down, trying to stay towards the more rural/suburb area where it isn't as hectic, but we would like to be able to get to city within 45 minutes. We are looking at north of Jacksonville, near Yulee. It seems like the area is out of the way but close to stuff in Jacksonville/Fernandina Beach. We aren't major night life people. We like movies, occasional shopping, maybe a wine tasting here and there. But we don't do clubs or that type of stuff. Guess, we are boring...LOL...Is anyone from there? Do you like it? What don't you like? How is the traffic in town? What is there to do? Do they do any local events/festivals? Anyone know what the Fernandina Beach rules are regarding dogs? Is it a nice beach?

We don't have kids. Only two furry babies. My elderly mother and disabled brother will be living with us as well. That is one reason why I worry about safety, since they are home most of the time and my hubby and I work full time. Housing wise we would be looking at one floor homes with 4 bedrooms, 2 car garage, and preferably no more than $230k. We want some wiggle room in our budget for fixing up stuff we want/upgrades in the home. I have read/heard so much about "CRIME IN JAX" but from coming not too far from the Baltimore area and seeing homeless crazies all over the place...I'm not too worried since we wouldn't be living in the direct area. I guess I am more concerned about when traveling into Jax, or if my mom goes into the city (which she probably wouldn't do too much as she doesn't drive as much anymore) Any suggestions on where NOT to go? And what are nice places to see? We are planning a trip in June to visit the area

A big question I have is about the work environment. It looks like there is a decent opportunity for work. Though there may be a commute involved...which we could make due with. I currently am an Admin Asst, but by trade I'm a cosmetologist. I haven't worked in a salon in about 2 and a half years. It's hard to build a book and make next to nothing when you have bills to pay. I would love to do hair again, but it would have to be in a busy walk in place, as I would have NO clientele to start with. But I wouldn't mind doing Admin stuff too, it would just depend on where it was and how much it paid. I am Excel trained so that definitely gives me a little advantage. From what I'm seeing online, anywhere from 10-15 and hour for that, depending on experience. Now the hubby has a CDL-A license and would probably have an easier time finding something, because EVERYONE is short on truck drivers/delivery/hauling people. We both decided we wanted to branch out a bit, so we are now taking online coding classes together. I don't know if that would benefit us in the long run towards a job, but we might try to do an at home thing on side together. I just don't know how that market is in the area. Any suggestions, comments, or advice would be great.
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Old 01-08-2015, 09:53 AM
 
Location: Amelia Island/Rhode Island
4,918 posts, read 6,031,816 times
Reputation: 6297
Welcome........you have asked a lot of questions! I will try to give you the abbreviated version.......use the search engine on here and you will find many posts with the answers you are looking for.

Crime is mostly smaller types.........nothing I would be concerned with. There is crime in Jacksonville but the majority is in the north west side of the city and that would not be of any concern driving into the city on I-95.

Existing housing off island is running about $100 a square foot on homes (not custom)

This area it seems is really pet friendly........definitely you will find a lot of pets on the beach (leash laws) and some resturants allow your pets also.

There are jobs here (plenty of salons) but the higher paying jobs are in Jacksonville.

Yulee is experiencing tremendous growth here right now......a lot of new stores and resturants. It is also just a short drive from Yulee to the large shopping area near the airport (River City Marketplace) which has just about every type of franchise food available along with quite a few stores. You would be well within 45 minutes for travel time to Jacksonville. About 50-60 minutes away is a massive shopping area called St. John's Town Center where you will find a lot of specialized shopping.

Traffic in the area is not bad in my opinion although they are increasing the lanes (major construction) both east and west bound from I-95 to Amelia Island over the next two years. I do spend time in CA, Boston and Chicago so traffic here is insignificant and minimal to me both in Yulee and Jacksonville, although the locals will tell you traffic is bad.........but in their eyes it is because the amount of stop lights and growth has been tremendous in the 25 years we have lived here. In 1989 there were maybe two stop lights the entire distance from I-95 to Amelia Island.......today, there are at least ten!

Specialized medical continues to grow here but Jacksonville still continues to be where most people go for the type of medical they can not get on island.

Night life continues to grow and invent itself here.......we have Blues, Jazz festivals, along with music downtown Fernandina during the warmer months on the first Friday of every month. We do have wine tasting, farmers markets and BBQ cook offs that are gaining popularity and the two largest yearly events are the Concours D Elegance and the Shrimp Festival. We also have community threatre.

As we speak a new movie cinema is set to open shortly in Yulee.

Rentals are tight right now as real estate has come back with a vengeance here and new home construction is picking back up.

Good luck!

Last edited by JBtwinz; 01-08-2015 at 10:29 AM..
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Old 05-10-2015, 11:47 AM
 
1 posts, read 2,187 times
Reputation: 10
There are two pulp mills on Amelia Island. I question there standards of operation, since one has been in trouble in Port Angeles, Wa. in the past. You will get crucified by people if you question there "bread on the table" by addressing these two polluters. Lots of coughing and health problems in this area. I wish I had know this before we moved. The city officials are trying to move forward with new growth and improvements. Consider yourself warned. Although, we can use all the help we can get.
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