Moving to St Johns County, 2 kids need help with neighborhood and schools (Miami: new house)

[Chela227]

Hello All, I am moving my kids and I to St Johns County over the summer. I grew up in Miami and have lived in New Orleans the last 16 years. I want to be closer to the beach and my family after having lost my husband last year. The kids are 9/7 4th/2nd grade this year. I am a hospice nurse. I will be there in November but am trying to narrow down the options and places to look. I only want to move once so I need an area with a great elementary, middle, and high. I'd also like to be as close to the beach as we can possibly get. I'm not independently wealthy so looking for houses under $500,000. Any of this possible or am I a dreamer? I would so much appreciate any opinions. Thanks in advance!

[tim-ay]

That budget will get you a lot in the area. With school age kids, I'd be partial to St Johns county so you have that right already. And my personal favorite neighborhood is Nocatee due to the recreation / parks/ runnning trails and no golf course. And 6 miles to the ocean. Most neighborhoods in St. John's are further to much further from the beach if that's important to you. And you can bike to the beach without being on a road , using cart path and sidewalks. Lots of other nice areas though, but you'll trade off some of those points and gain others.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by Chela227

Hello All, I am moving my kids and I to St Johns County over the summer. I grew up in Miami and have lived in New Orleans the last 16 years. I want to be closer to the beach and my family after having lost my husband last year. The kids are 9/7 4th/2nd grade this year. I am a hospice nurse. I will be there in November but am trying to narrow down the options and places to look. I only want to move once so I need an area with a great elementary, middle, and high. I'd also like to be as close to the beach as we can possibly get. I'm not independently wealthy so looking for houses under $500,000. Any of this possible or am I a dreamer? I would so much appreciate any opinions. Thanks in advance!

There are a lot of options in the $400-500K price range in Ponte Vedra Beach proper. You won't get a brand new house (those seem to be going for $600K+ now) but all the schools are great and have defined district boundaries. Depending on what you find, you could find something easy biking distance, but it would be challenging to find anything walking distance.

[Gromicide]

My #1 vote would be Nocatee. You could closer to the beach in your price range but if you value the amenities and stuff for the kids I think you would be sold on your first visit. youtube Nocatee, there are hundreds of videos.

[SmtSF]

You have a lot of excellent choices and should definitely check out Nocatee and Julington Creek, two well-planned communities. Nocatee is closer to the beach, but far enough that you are relatively safe from hurricanes; Julington Creek is closer to the Mandarin area, which gives you great access to restaurants, hospitals, amenities, etc.

A few thoughts...

This is FL not CA or NY, housing prices don't grow at the same rate and when you're looking at a place like St. Johns County, where new neighborhoods are going up all the time, I don't think you're going to get a lot of equity. So don't spend as much as you can on a house, spend on a house you like in a neighborhood you love. While new build is sooooooo tempting, you get better value out of resales or what builders call 'inventory homes,' homes they've already built on spec and need to offload. Look for a neighborhood within walking distance to the school. Even if you plan on walking your kiddo to school everyday, there's a real sense of community in these neighborhoods as everyone sees everyone along the walk and friends walk together with parents in the background. Also, for those days when maybe you are knocked out by the flu, because your kiddo can walk to school, a neighbor with kids will happily walk your kiddo for you.

For Nocatee in particular, I would recommend Austin Park, Greenleaf Lakes or Greenleaf Village (my favorite is Greenleaf Village because it has a huge park and the neighborhood goes crazy with halloween and christmas decorations and a neighborhood wide party etc.), which are walking distance to Valley Ridge. As everyone will tell you, Valley Ridge is over crowded and the number of portables on what should be the playground keeps growing. That is the downside. The upside is that it is a new school with enthusiastic teachers and a strong sense of community.

There are other neighborhoods with smaller schools; I have friends who built in the Shearwater community which feeds into Timberline Creek elementary and they absolutely love it. It is farther away from amenities (grocery store, malls, etc.) and I don't know if you can walk to the school. The school is well-regarded.

I think Julington Creek is a great neighborhood as well, but I don't know as much about it so I will leave it to others to chime in.

I am very sorry for your loss and wish you the best of luck in this move. I hope it is a change that brings you and your family healing and joy. Feel free to PM me if you've got more questions!