PROS and CONS of Living in Palatka Florida (JACKSONVILLE Suburb)

So, you're thinking about moving to the Jacksonville, Florida area, but you'd really like to live in a suburb city, a smaller one that's kind of riverside and south of Jacksonville suits you not too far from St. Augustine, not too far from Green Cove Springs, that kind of thing. Well, today you're in for a treat because I'm going to cover the pros and cons of living in Palatka, Florida. You like that fountain back there? Pretty cool. you can see this bridge back here behind me that connects from East Palaca, which is on that side of the to the big city of Palaca where I am right now. we're going to cover the pros and cons and you're going to want to stick around because I think you're going to find them very interesting. you got a lot of value. You get a lot of bang for your buck here in Palaca. And we're going to get after it right now. Did the word palaca comes from the Timacoin which are Native American peoples? The Timacoin word pila taikita which means crossing. That's a nod to its historic river crossing routes along the St. John's. Bet you didn't know that. All right, let's get right to the big one. Money. Here's a big pro. Affordable cost of living. Palaca is generally more affordable than larger cities like Orlando or Jacksonville. especially when it comes to housing. The median price for the, time of this film of this video for Palaca for a home $235,000. Now, conversely, the median price in Jacksonville, which is Duval County, is $320,000. So, that's a difference of $85,000. That's not a small amount of change right there. Right. Okay. Here's a con for Palaca. limited job opportunities. the market can be sparse, especially for higher paying jobs or specialized positions. many residents do find themselves commuting to surrounding cities for work. Here's another pro for Palaca. Small town charm. With a slow pace and tightknit community feel, Palaca offers southern hospitality and relaxing lifestyle. Some might find this to be a con. lack of big city amenities. Palaca doesn't offer the same level of shopping, dining, and entertainment options as a larger city like St. Augustine or Orlando or Jacksonville might offer. But I will tell you that there is shopping, dining, and entertainment options here. You just got to seek them Here's a big pro. nature and outdoors. So, Ravine Gardens State Park is very nearby and it's not very expensive to get in there. It's beautiful. They have lots of trails, lots of nature. if you like aelas, that's the place to be to see aelas when they're blooming. they also even have a rope suspension bridge there. Yep, they really do. and of course I'm right here on the St. John's River. The St. John's River runs right through town. I'm right here at the boat ramp. So, some folks that are getting ready to go boating right now and sailboats are out here, tour boats, everything. but if you want to go fishing, boating, skiing, sailing, you got it all right here with the St. John's River right here in Palaca. This is a possible con. public school quality. is it the same here in Putnham County, specifically Palaca, as for instance, St. John's County, St. John's or St. Augustine with mostly A-rated schools? not exactly. I can't really make comments about good, bad, that kind of thing. I will say that you can go to niche.com or greatschools.org or and go to a third party site like that and see how these schools have been graded. I will say there are some highly ranked public schools here in Palaca, but you just have to seek them out and try to move to an area that's zoned for those and that's that takes care of that. Real quick, if we haven't met before, my name is Jay W. I'm a local real estate agent here in Northeast Florida. I help people with buying, selling, investing, and building homes here in the Northeast Florida area. We're going to put my phone number and email address up on the screen. Reach out to me. I'll be the person to reaches back out to you. Sometimes it's easiest just to send me a text, but in any case, I'll always respond. Thanks. Here's a pro. rich history. Placa has a unique history with Victorian architecture, murals, and historic downtown spots that reflect its roots as a once thriving steamboat port. Get a load of that building back there. It's gorgeous. All right, here's a con. We got to talk about it. Weather challenges. This is Florida. We're surrounded by water on three sides. It's hot. It's humid. It's prone to hurricanes and flooding risks exist in areas. Here's a big pro, and this one is huge. Strategic location. We're going to put a Google map up so you can see for yourself. Placa is located about an hour south of Jacksonville. It's about an hour east of Gainesville and it's about 40 minutes west of St. Augustine and Palm Coast. So, that makes it relatively easy to visit larger cities and see coastal attractions as well. All right, here's a con. limited healthc care access. Now, Palaca does have a full-size fullervice hospital But if you're looking for a specialist or a certain type of an advanced medical service, you might need to commute to a tra or travel, to a city, neighboring city like Jacksonville or Gainesville or St. Augustine to seek out those services. As ever, thanks for watching. I'm always happy to help you make a smooth move to the Jacksonville, Florida area. And until next time, I hope to see you around JS.