I'm about a year and a half away from getting the hell out of Dodge (Atlanta) and moving to the coast. Jacksonville is on the short list of places to move. I've only been to Jax twice, so I don't know that much about the outlying areas. I've been to Amelia Island once and loved that. I'd like to stay under $500k, have around 3000 sq ft, room for boat storage, room for a veggie garden, within a 10 minute drive of a boat ramp and a 20 minute drive of "town" (just don't want to be too far in the boonies). What are some areas I should consider?

Online, I've looked at most of the communities along the St Johns, Ponte Vedra, and St Augustine. Not sure what the commute would be like if I lived in St Aug and worked in Jax though...45 minutes? Is west of the St Johns way worse than east, traffic-wise?

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If you're lucky enough to be fishing, you're lucky enough.
Perception Search 15 with 1 paddle-power

A lot depends on where you work. If you work in an area not far off 9A, Amelia would be pretty good. More than 20 minutes but damn worth a 45 minute drive if you ask me. If you went from Amelia to 9A, you would not hit bad traffic until you cross the St. Johns River and it really should not be that bad then.

For that kind of money I would think you could get a nice place near Summer Beach that would fit your desires. It is close to the ocean and some may not like that. It would be great if you want to do Kayak fishing as you have great access to Hecksher.

It is night and day from south of Jax or Orange Park. Not as crowded. Shopping is not close by though.

If I did not have two homes, I would want to live near Fernandina.

My suggestion is sacrifice a extra 15 or 20 minutes of commute to live in a nice area.

St. Augustine or St. Augustine Beach area would fit your bill. It's beautiful area, low crime, and always lots of things going on in town. Shopping is close, your commute to Jax would be in the neighborhood of 45-50 minutes pending what end of town you were working in.

There are some great buys here on the island If you want to stay out of the hustle bustle of JAX but yet have easy access to the big city life..... I can even hook you up with a good real estate agent (not me)

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Thanks for the replies. Sounds like either north or south of town is the best bet. I need to come down and spend a few days driving around (and fishing).

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If you're lucky enough to be fishing, you're lucky enough.
Perception Search 15 with 1 paddle-power

Jax Golf and Country Club and Deerwood are centrally located between town and excellent fishing.

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This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

Dalai Lama

You can find some nice places in Queen's Harbor for your price range right now or look north of town. And when in say north I mean north of trout river and east of I-95.

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"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
-- Thomas Jefferson

SurfFishLife you have a PM

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"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
-- Thomas Jefferson

Try Ft. Caroline East. There are tons of neighborhoods near the water, it's centrally located, you can get a nice size house in your price range - gated or not. You will get the bigger lots in the older neighborhoods without all the restrictions of gated communities. If you prefer gated, there is Hidden Hills. Ramps nearby are Fulton Rd. (to the river), Oak Harbour (15 minutes), Lonnie Wurn (15 minutes), hop over the bridge to all of Hecksher Drive accesses (20 minutes).

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Melita

Hobie Revo
Wilderness Tarpon 140