St. Augustine questions. (Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville Beach: for sale, rental, condo)

[Smitty72502]

My young family will be relocating to St. Augustine in July. I am actually going to look at some homes this week to potentially make a decision on where we are living. We like St. Johns County specifically because of the school system. We are moving from the Boston area and have a great school system here. I am dying for recommendations on where to look and where not to look. I LOVE Heritage Landing but after reading thru some of the threads I am having second thoughts. From bad construction to theft. We are looking to rent for a minimum of 12 months before we make the purchase decision. We want to be approximately 15 minutes to the beach and want to live in a community. I am trying to stay under $1600 per month so that eliminated so nice neighborhoods right off the bat. If anyone could assist with nice safe areas I would greatly appreciate it! Oh! We prefer a house not a condo or town home primarily because we want a 2 car garage.
To mix it up a little, what are some other areas on the coast to look at in the St. John County area? We are looking to be in an area with other young family's. Thanks in advance!

[Smitty72502]

Also what are the better zip codes?

[ssclulow]

If you can give the forum a bit more info, we can be give better advice. What size rental home are you looking for? When you say you want to live in a "community" are you referring to a planned, new home community with amenities such as pools, community centers, etc.? Where will you be commuting to for work? How long of a commute are you willing to tolerate? I assume that you want to rent in the same school zone where you will eventually buy? What size home and price range will you be looking for when you buy? You mention that you want to be within 15 min of the beach. Will you be going to the beach primarily to sit and enjoy the environment, to surf, swim, walk, bike or fish? Do you want the beach you frequent to be a drive on beach? These are important questions to consider if you will be spending a lot of time at the beach because beaches here are not all the same, and in fact are quite different from one another. Better zipcodes is a hard question to answer. There is a wide range of housing within each of the zip codes within St. Johns County with the exception of 32082 (Ponte Vedra) which is mostly affluent. You mention Heritage Landing. This community would not meet your expectations of being within 15 minutes of the beach as it is near the St. Johns River not the ocean.

[Smitty72502]

We are looking for 1700+ sq ft. Yes on the community features, a pool is the most important. I work from home currently but may end up in Jacksonville or Daytona wherever my company puts me. We are not sure where we will buy but 2000+ sq ft will be required. As far as the beach we want it for swimming relaxing fishing and if there is a boardwalk bike riding as well. Is Heritage Landing a sought after community? We like love the community features in Heritage that's why we selected it. On an average home of say around 1800 sq ft what are the typical utility costs? If you know anyway. Thanks!!

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by Smitty72502

As far as the beach we want it for swimming relaxing fishing and if there is a boardwalk bike riding as well.

I don't believe St Augustine, St Augustine Beach, Anastasia Island, Villano Beach or really any beach in St Johns County have any boardwalks on the beaches. The closest beach boardwalks to St Augustine are in Jacksonville Beach (30 miles)and next closest is Daytona Beach (60 miles) While there are boardwalks/beach access walkways/dune crossovers that lead from A-1-A to the beach, you can't ride your bicycle on them (to narrow and some have steps)
You can ride your bike/beach cruiser on the hard packed sand though. Just watch out for sunbathers and vehicles.

[597Felix]

We have a 3 bedroom house for sale in The Shores, but if it doesn't sell by Sept we will probably be renting it out. We want to head back to California where we have another property. Photos at: 597 Felix Ct St Augustine, FL. Schools are Hartley for elementary, Gamble Rogers for Middle and Pedro for HS. Some of the best in St John's County (32086). Crescent Beach is 15 minutes away.

[Smitty72502]

Thanks I will keep that in mind. We are hoping to sign off on one in WGV on Monday.

[ssclulow]

Did you decide to go with Heritage Landing?

[Smitty72502]

We did. We are just waiting for the application approval.

[ssclulow]

Welcome to St. Johns County. I hope your move goes smoothly!