St. Augustine - college town or snowbird town?

[nkereina]

Can anyone familiar with downtown St. Augustine tell me what the vibe is? My newly retired parents will be "snow birding" for the first time next winter, and have come across some condos in St. Augustine they're interested in renting. One in particular is on Riberia St, off King St which appears to be downtown St. Augustine. It looks to be very close to the Flagler College campus. If they visit a pub for happy hour or a restaurant for dinner, will they be in the midst of college kids and feel out of place? Or is there a good mixture of folks? They want to be in an area with a lot to do in walking distance, but would prefer not to be in the center of 20 something year olds all the time. Thanks!

 

[Turn the Page]

We honeymooned there last fall and loved it. I would not say there is a strong college town vibe at all though we were only there for about 5 days. We stayed right downtown, and just pulled in to the B&B, parked the car, and didn't move it until we left.

I don't know what a snowbird vibe is but I definitely wouldn't call it a college vibe at all.

 

[okeydokey]

Did a weekend in St. Augustine in November. There were College kids walking around, but I felt it was mostly tourists. The bars were full at night though.

Be sure to go to the Distillery on Riberia. They have a great tour.

 

[Erzengel]

We love Saint Augustine. Doing the tours, eateries, shopping or even the beaches across the bridge.

I never really got a strong "college town" buzz, just almost like a "Cape May" ish vibe.

 

[gmboy95]

definetly not a college vibe at all downtown....I would say it is perfect for snowbirds

 

[nkereina]

Great news! Thanks for all the replies. Sounds perfect!

 

[mdb78]

Flagler college isn't really a big school. I think they only have 2800 undergrads or something like that. When I used to live in Gainesville (1.5 hours away) we would love to do day trips to st. Augustine. Only saw it as a tourist town probably because we lived in a college town.

 

[Tasha228]

I love St. Augustine! I agree with everything already said though.

 

[Wendy31]

We love St. Augustine!!

Downtown is incredibly crowded during the holidays (November - January) due to the "Nights of Lights" Holiday Lighting - it's actually more crowded downtown then than it is during the summer months. And traffic is kind of a mess. (The city is actually in frequent discussions about how to handle the traffic during the busier months.)

But, that said, St. Augustine is actually a small town & doesn't have a lot of year-round residents.

And I would say the vibe is more "eclectic" than college-town w/ a good mix of people. Over the years, the night life has increased. Years ago, the sidewalks basically rolled up about 6:00 pm, &, now, most of the restaurants & bars stay open.

The historic district of St. Augustine is definitely a walking area w/ lots of restaurants, shops, interesting bars, & other things to see & do - tours, museums, etc.

You can cross the Bridge of Lions to get to the beaches, but the beaches really aren't within walking distance of the downtown area. However, the downtown area is located right next to a bay, & there is a marina with lots of different boating tours available.

 

[rastahomie]

St. Augustine is one of the most beautiful cities in the country! My mother & stepdad rolled through there in their camper after that hurricane a few months ago, and they said that, though damaged, the town was rebuilding nicely. I'm sure it's back to normal by now.

FUNNY STORY: Back in the day, when I was a teen, the family rolled through town on the way to or from WDW, not sure which, and we took a horse-and-carriage tour of the city. Our guide was this dreadlocked Rasta dude with a thick Jamaican accent, and he was high AF. Great tour though!

 

[adisneyaunt]

Are they looking for warmth? Location within Fla is quite different ...
that's pretty far north...

I have so many family members that are shocked to find out that once they get to Fla (from n/e)..
they still have 8 hours left to drive to get to us, lol.
And I wouldn't change it for Anything... being below the Tropic line is Awesome!

By the way we really enjoyed our visit to St Augustine... saw many sites ( fort and church were my favorites)

But "visiting" for a few days/week versus "staying" n "living" are very different. And I too thought it was an Eclectic mix of people.

And honestly it's Height Season... so Buying is not an advantage right now... but waiting till "summer" is generally a much better buyers market.

If they have the luxury... consider renting before buying... check out the area, shopping, etc etc
Best of luck!!

 

[nkereina]

Are they looking for warmth? Location within Fla is quite different ...
that's pretty far north...

I have so many family members that are shocked to find out that once they get to Fla (from n/e)..
they still have 8 hours left to drive to get to us, lol.
And I wouldn't change it for Anything... being below the Tropic line is Awesome!

By the way we really enjoyed our visit to St Augustine... saw many sites ( fort and church were my favorites)

But "visiting" for a few days/week versus "staying" n "living" are very different. And I too thought it was an Eclectic mix of people.

And honestly it's Height Season... so Buying is not an advantage right now... but waiting till "summer" is generally a much better buyers market.

If they have the luxury... consider renting before buying... check out the area, shopping, etc etc
Best of luck!!

Thanks for the tips. They've found some nice rental units right in town that fall within their budget, so they'd definitely be renting at first.

But to your point about the location, that's an important factor. They are thinking about spending the month of January and early February in Tampa, then moving to St. Augustine mid-February to mid-March (ish). Dates are flexible. How's the weather at that time?

 

[Turn the Page]

I would agree with all those who said the vibe is eclectic. You have the historic vibe of course, there is the, for lake of a better phrase, more hoity toity vibe on King's Street with the jewelry shops and wine shop, but then there is a strong boho/hippy vibe as well.

Tell your parents when they are there to go to The Hyppo on St George's St. They sell gourmet popsicles with magical regenerative properties. They are a little pricey, I think about $3.50 or so each, but they are wonderful and really, where are you going to find a treat for less than that? They have many, many different flavors but Mango-Mojito was my favorite.

 

[Wendy31]

I would agree with all those who said the vibe is eclectic. You have the historic vibe of course, there is the, for lake of a better phrase, more hoity toity vibe on King's Street with the jewelry shops and wine shop, but then there is a strong boho/hippy vibe as well.

Tell your parents when they are there to go to The Hyppo on St George's St. They sell gourmet popsicles with magical regenerative properties. They are a little pricey, I think about $3.50 or so each, but they are wonderful and really, where are you going to find a treat for less than that? They have many, many different flavors but Mango-Mojito was my favorite.

We LOVE The Hyppo!!! DH's favorite is the Peach Bourbon, but I like to try different ones.

There is also a Dole Whip Stand near the end of St. George Street (the City Gates end). They sell authentic Dole Whips & Dole Whip Floats - the same kind you can get at Disney.

And the Crave Food Truck is a must for us!!

 

[Turn the Page]

We LOVE The Hyppo!!! DH's favorite is the Peach Bourbon, but I like to try different ones.

There is also a Dole Whip Stand near the end of St. George Street (the City Gates end). They sell authentic Dole Whips & Dole Whip Floats - the same kind you can get at Disney.

And the Crave Food Truck is a must for us!!

We considered the food truck but didn't make it there last time. I really want to try it the next time though. We did the Tasting Tours wine and dine carriage tour which was a blast but our favorite meal there was at Catch 27. We LOVE that place.

I am bummed I missed the Dole Whips. I will search them out next time too.

 

[adisneyaunt]

I'm thinking ...Feb/march I believe is 70s range...low to mid
Perhaps check an Almanac to get a better idea ... def not "Tropic" but lovely compared to up north if that's what they re looking to escape from. Best of luck to them.

 

[nkereina]

@adisneyaunt thank you kindly! 70s sounds great to all of us in Buffalo right about now