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well, after reading LM1 view on St Augustine, i'm really abit worried.We are planning to relocate to Fla in June from Long Island,New York and pretty much narrowed it down to St Augustine. We have 1 child left in school and Nease high school sounded good.My 21 yr old was concerned about employment there, and wants to be closer to Disney.My husband likes "quiet " I'm used to walking 10 houses down my block to a main road, which pretty much has it all, supermarkets,restaurants, pizza,banks ect.It seems hard to find somewhere that will make everyone happy. I want somewhere where the kids are just kids, here I pick my son up from school and lots of the kids dress like gang members. So if St Augustine is as banal as LM1 says ,does anyone have any suggestions on other areas? I really liked the look of World Golf Village community. Any ideas would be appreciated.
We live in World Golf Village, also from Long Island, and we love it here! I do not agree with the culture issue, you can get anything you want either in Jax or St Aug, after all, in Long Island, you may travel to the city to get culture so what is the difference? I do not have a high school child, but I have one in middle school and we love the school! The area is up and coming, and many deals are around for buyers. The weather is wonderful, people are very nice (at least all the ones I've met), and there is lots to do! You can move anywhere and love it, or hate it, but you must move with an open mind and not expect everything to be the same as where you came from. Please IM me if you want more info, I know exactly what you are going thru! Good luck!
well, after reading LM1 view on St Augustine, i'm really abit worried.We are planning to relocate to Fla in June from Long Island,New York and pretty much narrowed it down to St Augustine. We have 1 child left in school and Nease high school sounded good.My 21 yr old was concerned about employment there, and wants to be closer to Disney.My husband likes "quiet " I'm used to walking 10 houses down my block to a main road, which pretty much has it all, supermarkets,restaurants, pizza,banks ect.It seems hard to find somewhere that will make everyone happy. I want somewhere where the kids are just kids, here I pick my son up from school and lots of the kids dress like gang members. So if St Augustine is as banal as LM1 says ,does anyone have any suggestions on other areas? I really liked the look of World Golf Village community. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Moving to St. Augustine doesn't mean that you are moving to the historic district. I happen to have a St. Augustine postal address and I am further away from the historic district as I am from the Jacksonville city line. My advice would be to research areas of St. Johns County and only think of downtown St. Augustine as a place to visit and mingle with tourists if you like.
I have heard good things about Nease, as you have. I will leave it to others to comment on schools in St. Augustine since I myself don't have children in the system, but I do understand that compared to other systems in Florida the schools here rank fairly high. From your description of the environment in which your son is growing up in LI, I think that living in St. Johns County would be an improvement in terms of your son's wellbeing. It is true that there is a shortage of cultural stuff here in NEFL and there are alot of activities for kids that you would find in other cities that you won't find here, but as a parent you have to make the decision as to where you want to raise your son, no one else's.
You mentioned the World Golf Village which I think is one of the finest residential areas in St. Johns County, but forget about walking out your door and finding a whole lineup of stores. WGV, fortunately, is 2 minutes from I-95 but until the area is buillt up with more places to shop you will have to get used to some distances. But like anything else when you move to a more suburban community your brain will in time re-calibrate itself. For instance, when we first moved from NYC to St. Johns County, driving to the Avenues Mall in Jax felt like an eternity. Now the 25 minute drive feels more like 10.
Last edited by cricketfan; 12-14-2007 at 07:08 PM..
well, after reading LM1 view on St Augustine, i'm really abit worried.We are planning to relocate to Fla in June from Long Island,New York and pretty much narrowed it down to St Augustine. We have 1 child left in school and Nease high school sounded good.My 21 yr old was concerned about employment there, and wants to be closer to Disney.My husband likes "quiet " I'm used to walking 10 houses down my block to a main road, which pretty much has it all, supermarkets,restaurants, pizza,banks ect.It seems hard to find somewhere that will make everyone happy. I want somewhere where the kids are just kids, here I pick my son up from school and lots of the kids dress like gang members. So if St Augustine is as banal as LM1 says ,does anyone have any suggestions on other areas? I really liked the look of World Golf Village community. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Employment is definitely a concern in St. Augustine, most people commute to Jacksonville for employment if they live in St. Aug. Depending on where you choose to live in St. Aug, that commute can be a haul.
I've lived in St. Aug and now in Jax. I am originally from NYC. If you are coming from LI, I would say in comparison, Jax barely has enough culture, St. Aug has virtually no culture outside of the "Old City" section.
It is what it is, and it's typical of much of Florida. When you describe how you live now, if you want the same, you'll need to look at some of the older established parts of Jax such as San Marco/San Jose, Avondale, etc. These are areas with real town centers and communities that buzz around them - about as close to a northern urban feel as you can get here.
I love the area.We spend many weekend there.Always something to do.The people a great.I looked at a home on the St.Aug shores I think they call it in 95.Man I wish I would have bought it.Maybe someday I'll get there.Good luck with your move.
Hello everyone. My family and I visited St Augustine a couple of weeks ago and simply loved it. We plan to go back the first week of spring break and wanted some feed back from anyone familiar with St Augustine. I love the fact that there's an ordinance that buildings can't be build higher then
39 ft(?), so no high rises. We want to relocated from Miami. St Augustine reminds me of Key West 20 years ago. Laid back, and the beach is within 15 minutes of just about anywhere within the city limits.
We are looking for new construction and would like any feed back on home builders in the area. We visited Grand Cay, by KB Homes and the prices were very reasonable. A 3,000 sqft, 5/2.5 on 60'X120' for $250,000. Of course that is the "base price". I'm sure the price will jump 10-30% with the "extras".
One thing that I did not like or at least I'm not used to is the wood frame and stucco. I feel more secure in a CBS constructed home. From what I've read the high schools in St John's County are among the best in Florida and not as crowded. I would appreciate any comments, including the Ponte Vedra area.
Thank you, Frank
Most all of Jax is Wood Frame, and not CB. KB is a good builder in the area. Check out Grand Cay, Samara Lakes, Cypress Lakes. All the prices are reasonable. Richmond American builds down there in Cypress as well. I'm not that familiar with other reasonably priced builders in St. Aug...unless you come to North St. Aug off 210, but I don't think that is what you are looking for. KB will build a quality home for the price. The base price is what you are saying, but you can pretty much customize the home from there. I would say, if the base is 250, plan on spending about 310K for the home when all is said and done. Their upgrades are reasonable. Granite in the kitchen would be about 3K-4K. etc.
Yes, St. John's County schools are among the best in the state. However, I have lots of friends who aren't big fans either. BUT, the rankings do put them up there. It's a pretty area, but will continue to grow, so make sure you do some research on what is planned/zoned for your area.
I have to agree with Riveree that job opportunities are much, much greater in Jacksonville than in St. Augustine. If you are planning to job hunt that is definitely going to be a consideration. On the other hand, being a Long Islander you may not be exactly a stranger to long commutes.
I am always of the opinion that for a family with children looking to relocate, the best schooling system available should take precedence over any other consideration. That means that job location, stores, places of entertainment, all of that stuff should take a back seat to where your kid can attend high school in a secure environment. Now, let me tell you that the schools in this neck of the woods are not going to win any national awards but if you are bent on moving to this area, St. Johns County schools stand out as the better schools.
Finally, you said that your husband likes "quiet". Well he will get alot of that in the WGV area.
Yes, there are people who will disagree with me about culture in St. Augustine, however, bear in mind...
There's a reason Applebees, Carrabas and Chilis make so much money.
There's an enormous segment of the population that is relatively unsophisticated and wouldn't know "culture" if it burst through the front door of their prefab stick-frame house in their gated, cookie-cutter community and kicked them straight in the butt- a butt that only minutes ago had been sitting on "Rooms To Go" furniture next to little laminate Pier One tables bedecked with Hummel figurines, arranged carefully below their genuine, hand signed and numbered limited edition Thomas Kinkade print.
Taking advice on the presence or absence of "culture" from someone who voluntarily purchased a home in the World Golf Village probably isn't such a great idea- not to say WGV is a bad place, it certainly isn't- it's just... how should I say it.... a bit "soulless". Some people will know exactly what I'm talking about- the people who don't know what I'm talking about are the kinds who buy houses in places like WGV (not that there's anything wrong with that)
There's a helluva lot more to "culture" than a passive presence of a bunch of "old stuff".
An old fort or a lighthouse, while picturesque, loses its luster after the first week. It doesn't enrich your life in any way. It doesn't show or teach you anything of importance. Gorgeous to look at on a postcard from far away, but worth nothing as a component of your life once you move here.
Ask these people who "disagree" with me to name off these great cultural boons that St. Augustine supposedly has.
You will notice that, even though they "disagree" with me, they will be unable to tell you exactly what culture this town has. Because they're wrong. It has none.
Before you make this move- please, please take a month and live here.
Don't base your decision to live here on a "visit". That is the worst possible thing you could do. I worked in the hotel industry for a while and regularly hosted guests and got to know people who were exploring St. Augustine for a potential move.
All of them came similarly pie-eyed, enchanted with the 'quaintness' of the historic district, the beach, etc.
I'd say it broke down 50/50- half of them, after experiencing St. Augustine for a few weeks or a month, decided to stay.
The other half, after staying for the same period of time, realized that there's much more to life than what's typically seen on a postcard and St. Augustine, while "quaint", is sorely lacking in those areas... They chose to leave.
As far as the job market, it's horrible in FL in general, particularly weak in St. Aug but stronger in Jax.
All of that hyperbole was simply to say that St. Augustine lacks culture, which I agree with, although I don't recall any of the preceding posts stipulating a center of "culture" when they decide to relocate.
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