SperlingViews - Fernandina_Beach, Florida

I lived in Fernandia Beach for 4 years, and I would have to disagree with the person who said that F.B. is all conservative and that liberals don't thrive. Yes, there is a large group of very conservative people. But there is also a sizeable minority of moderate and liberal people, much more so than in the rest of north florida. No matter what your political persuasion, you can find congenial people here. Try the theater community, the art league or the local U.U. group if your beliefs are on the moderate-to-left end of the spectrum. Fernandina attracts people from all over, so it has a more more diverse mix of opinions--which makes for a livelier and more vibrant culture. Most of the people I met there wound up in Fernandina by accident. They were passing through on vacation and fell in love, and they came from all over. I found it easier to make friends there than in any other place I've lived. My job took me elsewhere, but I would recommend F.B. as a great retirement or laidback lifestyle spot. It has the best cultural scene of anywhere in that part of the country, as well as an island lifestyle--and if you get a yen for the big city, Jacksonville is less than an hour a way. [read more...]

I think the air quality is poor in fernandina beach.. A beautiful island butt stinky, especially in the Historic downtown area. [read more...]

I have lived in Fernandina Beach for 19 years. I would never call this place heaven by any stretch of the imagination, though some people would. Pros: You have a beach and lots of sand and lots of water and marsh...if this is your thing then yes you would like it here. Cons: Schools are very bad. The weather is too hot and sticky from June through October. It is not a very young thinking community "overrun by rich retirees" and kids have nothing really to do unless you surf, and that is not that good here either. If I had to do it all over again I would never move here[read more...]

Nice beautiful sandy beaches, little quaint downtown with tons of restaurants and little shops, yet, in this island the size of Manhattan, within the city limit the building code limits building to 36’ height and doesn’t allow consolidating lots to build mondo-properties . . .bye bye promoters and the fear of ending up in Palm beach like sterile town or overcrowded Hilton Head Island. Yeah, we have two peppermill on the island, but the way they are placed the smoke goes off the island, and the regulation on pollution makes them of no-concern whatsoever, to the point where the Fort Clinch park a couple of miles from it is a Gold Medal Park winner and that we have our own bird sanctuary on the island. We have a greenway that stretches in the middle of the island, and it is also a place where you can drive on the beach in some area. Two little community theaters, perfect weather and 35mph speed limit on most of the island. On top of this! A true conservative area where liberals don’t do well—heaven! What else would you want??? [read more...]

I suspect that the previous post was written by someone who secretly loves the place and wants to keep others out. Fernandina is the only town on Amelia Island, an absolutely gorgeous place with wonderful nature preserves, sparkling beaches, and a charming historical district. The paper mill smell is only noticeable once and a while -nothing like the huge paper mills in Georgia. It is not in any way a signifigant factor in the quality of life. There is a great deal to do for a small town, with lots of art galleries, two amateur theatres, and a great museum, as well as dozens of charming shops. The people are the friendliest I've ever met. As a transplant from big city, I sometimes miss the urban vibe, but am surprised at how much this area has to offer.[read more...]

and if it wasn't for my kids and grandkids being here I would have been gone a long time ago. What with two paper mills inside the city limits it smells like a giant fart a lot of the time, but if you complain the douchebags who work there just say, "It smells like money to me!" In my tenure here I've seen the area go from a nice, quiet, stinky little town with 8 thousand people in a county of less than 40 thousand and only one traffic signal between I-95 and F.B. to seven and "Holy shit. Where'd all these people come from?" stinky larger town whose out skirts (read off-island are populated by a landscape where 500 thousand dollar houses sit between 20 year old trailers and whole expensive communities are buit upon or next to a closed down garbage dump. On the plus side though, at least when you drive by the closed down dump it doesn't smell like a hog farm now.[read more...]