Notes
Questions people keep asking
Longer answers than the FAQ, written like a magazine for people who might move here. Direct first paragraph, then the tradeoffs. We are transplants. We would rather under-sell the postcard.
September 21, 2026
Which St. Augustine restaurants did the Michelin Guide actually mention?
As of the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Florida, St. Augustine has four mentioned restaurants and zero Michelin stars. Bar Citra and Sunday hold Bib Gourmand (good food, good value). Asado Life and Lotus Noodle Bar are Recommended. Nearby Jacksonville-area rooms were also listed; they are a drive, not a St. Johns street.
September 21, 2026
What is the everyday restaurant scene if we live here — not just visit?
Build a Wednesday map first: town-center and corridor restaurants near where you will actually live, then add historic St. Augustine as a planned outing. The visitor core is real and crowded; it is not your only pantry. A short 2026 Michelin Florida list now sits in town — Bib Gourmand and Recommended, not stars — and those rooms take a little more intention than a village burrito.
September 21, 2026
Where do people in St. Johns County actually shop?
You can grocery-shop, outlet-shop, and run most household errands inside the county. You still drive to Jacksonville’s St. Johns Town Center when you want the Apple-and-Anthropologie version of a Saturday. Nocatee and Ponte Vedra cover the weekly village; the I-95 / SR 16 and International Golf Parkway interchanges cover the big box. Downtown is the souvenir and boutique hour, not the back-to-school run.
September 21, 2026
What is actually being built at World Commerce Center?
World Commerce Center is a nearly 1,000-acre entitled mixed-use park at I-95 and International Golf Parkway, not a second downtown. Big-box retail is already a weekday fact. A permitted Walmart, an AdventHealth emergency-department review, and a large 2026 land sale for more retail are published plans — not opening-day promises. Housing nearby inherits the interchange traffic either way.
September 21, 2026
Where can you still buy a new house in St. Johns County?
The county still has a large new-home market, but it is no longer one story. Nocatee is widely described as nearly built out, so many buyers there are shopping resales. SilverLeaf and RiverTown were still posting national-scale new-home sales in mid-2026 reporting. Shearwater and Beacon Lake remain in the “models and phases” conversation. Confirm the village, the builder, and the remaining homesites — not the county slogan.
September 21, 2026
Should we sell our current house before we move to St. Johns County?
Sell first if you need that equity or a clean timeline; keep reading about St. Johns County in parallel so the two decisions do not collide. A qualified realtor where you live now usually knows that market better than anyone calling from Florida.
September 20, 2026
Is living in St. Augustine the same as visiting it?
No. The historic district is the county’s cultural center and a genuine everyday downtown; it is also a national tourist destination with seasonality, parking, and flood questions that a weekend trip can hide. Many residents live a few minutes west or on the island and treat the bayfront as a habit, not a front yard.
September 19, 2026
What are HOA and CDD fees, and why do they show up in St. Johns County?
HOA fees fund community rules and amenities; a CDD is a special district that often financed roads, ponds, and infrastructure in newer master-planned villages. Both can be real monthly costs on top of the mortgage. Get the numbers in writing for the specific village, not a county average, and treat lifestyle amenities as a bill as well as a perk.
September 18, 2026
How hot are summers in St. Johns County?
Summer is hot, humid, and built around afternoon thunderstorms from roughly June through September. The Atlantic is warm, school calendars and pool schedules matter, and people who only visit in March sometimes underestimate August. If air-conditioning, shade, and a realistic outdoor hour are not in your plan, this climate will feel like a different country.
September 17, 2026
How bad is traffic in St. Johns County?
Growth along I-95, County Road 210, State Road 9B, and the Nocatee corridor is visible in how long it takes to cross town at 7:30 a.m. It is not Miami, and it is not the empty two-lane you might remember from a 1990s vacation. Drive the roads you would actually use at the hour you would use them, including school pickup if that is your life.
September 16, 2026
Where do people work if they move to St. Johns County?
Many residents commute north into Jacksonville for hospitals, finance, logistics, and professional jobs, or work remotely and treat JAX as the airport rather than the office. St. Augustine and the beach towns have tourism, hospitality, education, and local services; they are not a substitute for a large-city job market. If your work is place-specific, map the drive at 7:30 a.m. before you pick a village.
September 15, 2026
Is it better to live on the beach or inland in St. Johns County?
Beach towns give you ordinary Tuesday sand and salt air; inland and west-of-the-Intracoastal streets usually mean a different flood and insurance conversation. Neither is automatically safer or cheaper without an address. Drive the commute you would actually use, then look at elevation and flood maps before you fall in love with a porch.
September 14, 2026
Should we choose Nocatee, Ponte Vedra, or St. Augustine?
Choose Ponte Vedra if the beach and an older coastal canopy matter most; choose Nocatee if you want a master-planned village, pools, and a school-centered week; choose historic St. Augustine if you want a real downtown and can live with visitors. Plenty of households tour all three in the same trip and decide after dinner, not after a spreadsheet.
September 13, 2026
How do Florida income tax and the homestead exemption work if we move here?
Florida has no state income tax. Property tax, insurance, and community fees are the costs that actually surprise relocators. Homestead can lower the taxable value of your primary residence and cap how fast that value may rise once you qualify; it is not automatic on closing day.
September 12, 2026
What should we know about homeowners and flood insurance?
Get quotes early, before you have a favorite house, because Florida premiums and deductibles can change the monthly payment more than the mortgage rate. Flood insurance is a separate policy and is not the same as wind coverage. A licensed Florida agent who can see the flood zone and roof year will tell you more than a national average.
September 11, 2026
How bad is hurricane risk in St. Johns County?
This is Atlantic Florida: hurricane season runs June through November, and storm surge and flooding matter as much as wind. Risk is not uniform. A well-built inland house west of the Intracoastal and a dune-front condo are different products that share a county name.
September 10, 2026
Are the schools in St. Johns County really that strong?
St. Johns County School District is consistently among Florida’s highest-performing districts on state measures, which is why families hear the name before they can find the county on a map. That reputation is earned in the aggregate. Zoning still shifts with growth, so confirm the assigned campus for a specific address on the district site instead of trusting a community marketing name.
September 9, 2026
Is St. Johns County expensive compared with other Florida moves?
It is often priced like a high-demand school and beach county, not like an inland Florida bargain. Ponte Vedra and close-in coastal streets sit at the high end; farther inland and some newer villages can look more approachable until insurance and community fees are included. Compare monthly carrying cost, not only the sticker, and do not use last year’s blog post as a market report.
September 8, 2026
Is St. Johns County a good place to move from out of state?
Yes, if you want Atlantic beaches, a historic downtown, and a public school district that out-of-state families already search by name. It is also growing quickly, so traffic, new construction, and insurance belong in the same conversation as the postcards. Come in August as well as March if you want the honest version of the week.
September 7, 2026
What is healthcare like if we move to St. Johns County?
You can handle a lot of ordinary care in the county, and you will still use Jacksonville for many specialists. Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus is a genuine First Coast resource, not a St. Augustine street. If a particular doctor or system is a reason you are moving, map the drive before you pick a neighborhood.
September 6, 2026
Is St. Johns County a good place to retire?
It can be, if you want four mild winters, a real downtown, beaches, and access to Jacksonville healthcare — and you can live with humidity, storms, and a county that is filling with families. It is not a quiet 55-and-over desert town, and it is not a cheap Florida backwater. Visit in August and in lights season before you ship the furniture.
September 5, 2026
How safe is St. Johns County?
St. Johns County is widely discussed as a lower-crime suburban and small-city county compared with large Florida metros, but it is not crime-free, and tourist corridors do not behave like cul-de-sacs. We will not invent a rate. Use current sheriff and Florida crime publications for numbers, and treat Facebook as anecdote.
September 4, 2026
How bad are the mosquitoes in St. Johns County?
They are part of a marsh and summer-rain coast, especially at dawn and dusk from late spring through fall. A public mosquito-control district treats and monitors the county; you still drain standing water and wear repellent. After heavy rain or a storm, expect a worse week.
September 3, 2026
Which airport do people use for St. Johns County?
Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) is the everyday airport for St. Johns County. From Ponte Vedra or northwest St. Johns it is often a half hour to 45 minutes; from historic St. Augustine, plan closer to an hour in ordinary traffic. Daytona Beach and Orlando are farther backups, not the default.
September 2, 2026
What is there to do in St. Johns County besides the beach?
Historic St. Augustine, the marshes, state parks, and everyday restaurants outside the visitor core are how residents actually spend a week. Anastasia, Guana Tolomato Matanzas, and the river paddles teach the county better than a bus tour. Eat where high-school families eat on a Wednesday — in the beach towns, Nocatee, and along State Road 312.