Saint Augustine
St, Augustine is a wonderful, quiet residential town located on the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean forty miles south of Jacksonville in an otherwise fairly undeveloped part of St Johns County. It has a population of 14,000 and occupies 8.4 square miles. The San Sebastian and Matanzas Rivers thread through it; three bridges lead to the barrier island beaches. To the west is farm country and the St. Johns river and lake system.
Nearest cities:
St. Augustine’s location may be delightfully small town, but other cities are not far away. For example, Downtown Jacksonville is only about 45 minutes North, Daytona Beach about an hour South, Gainesville about an hour West.
Some smaller towns or sites are nearby:
- Butler Beach, FL (3.3 miles)
- St. Augustine Beach, FL (3.4 miles)
- Crescent Beach, FL (5.0 miles)
- Villano Beach, FL (8.6 miles),
- Marineland, FL (11.9 miles)
- Hastings, FL (15.2 miles)
For driving distances throughout Florida go to http://www.discount-tickets.us/florida-driving-distances.htm
Jacksonville’s international airport and rail connections are also nearby.
About the city of St Augustine:
St Augustine has a rich history. It is the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States. It was founded and settled forty-two years before Jamestown and 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. For more or less 250 years Spain ruled its Florida colony from this spot, until ceding it to the United States in 1821.
Today St. Augustine is an elegant small town/city whose Spanish roots are still very visible. St Augustine definitely has a relaxed atmosphere as compared to the hustle of the nearby theme parks or much of urban coastal Florida. Yet it’s also a college town (Flagler College) and has a lively cultural and night life associated with both the college and the historic district.
The 144-block downtown historic district is like none other in the United States. Spanish-colonial architecture, museums, and historic buildings combine with authentic period costumes worn by many workers, and a relaxed pedestrian environment for all, to create an Old World European ambience. The narrow cobblestone streets are full of cafes, bars, art galleries and antique stores.
Not too surprising, all this picturesqueness has made St Augustine’s historic district one of the more popular spots for weddings and honeymoons in the country.
If you live here, you’re fortunate! Despite the throngs of daytiime visitors, tourism simply feels like it has a lighter footprint here than some other places. Or so it seems to me. Residents tell me they delight in the historic district, both for itself and for its complement to all the fine restaurants, theater, live music, bookstores and cafes which help make this such a livable small city.
The environment and outdoor recreation
One could almost say that St. Augustine has two coasts. Here’s what I mean.
St Augustine has 43 miles of beautiful natural beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, out past the dramatic coastal marshes along the Tolomato and Matanzas Rivers. The most popular beach areas are:
- Guana River at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve
- South Ponte Vedra Beach
- Vilano Beach
- Anastasia State Park
- St. Augustine Beach
- Butler Beach
- Crescent Beach
- Fort Matanzas National Monument Park
For more general info about the area’s parks and beaches go to http://www.visitoldcity.com/do/parks/
But St. Augustine also has a fresh-water side to it. Because the orientation here (naturally) is salt-water coastal, it’s easy to forget that just 15-20 miles west, along some of Florida’s prettiest mainland “backcountry” lies the St. John’s River, very wide and dramatic at this point, and a watersports home to all kinds of fresh-water river and lake fun. If you live here, or think about moving here, this is important.
This part of the St. Johns is the stretch of river that defined Florida’s 19th century Steamboat Era, and was the watery jumping-off point for the exploration of Florida’s interior before the railroads came through. Small, interesting towns like Green Cove Springs, Picolata, Welaka, and Palatka were part of that history, and make for great automobile exploring outings.
If beaching, boating, fishing, hiking, kayaking, and exploring don’t claim some of your spare time outdoors after you move here, golf might – there’s lots of it here, and some folks retire here with golf in mind.
And I’d like to mention one of my favorite outdoor destinations in all of Florida, The St. Augustine Alligator Farm & Zoological Park. Of course the alligators and other creatures – not to mention the total ease of getting to the Park – make for repetitive fun visits with kids. But the story for me is the birds: Zillions of egrets, wood storks and herons have long nested above the alligator swamp in this pristine place, coming back again and again every spring. The habitat is preserved “forever wild.”
Here’s the neat part: Boardwalks wind through the rookery, providing amazing up-close, eye-level, sometimes above-the-trees looks at adult birds, chicks, and nests. Ever thought about nature photography? You will, after this experience. Warning: it can be addictive. www.dhphotoart.com
Employment and business opportunities
St. Augustine has enough scale for people moving here to work either locally or in Jacksonville, a short commute away.
Employment by Industry:
- Educational, health and social services
- Retail trade
- Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services
The Chamber’s Perspective:
- St. Johns County has attracted an energetic workforce that is stable and satisfied.
- Plus, they are highly skilled – two-thirds of our high school graduates have advanced training and education.
- And within an easy commuting distance is an affordable, skilled labor pool of 400,000 people.
The above message from http://www.staugustinechamber.com/index.php?submenu=Workforce&src=gendocs&link=Workforce
In conclusion
St Augustine is a unique city and would be a great place to live. You’d have a small town feel, yet great restaurants, arts and culture and the big city life of Jacksonville less than an hour away.
