Although itself pleasantly rural, Penney Retirement Community is located just outside a thriving, commercial area. A few minutes’ drive from Penney, you will find major national retail and restaurant chains as well as independent shops, bookstores, restaurants, antique malls and boutiques. The nearest grocery store is 5 minutes north in the lovely Asbury Commons. Here you will also find a pharmacy, hair and nail salons, gas stations, restaurants, yoga studio, pet grooming as well as fast food shops. Another 10 minutes north is the bustling Blanding Avenue, home to every kind of store or service you may ever need, including a 24 hour Wal-Mart.

A more relaxed shopping experience awaits you in Green Cove Springs, the historic county seat of Clay County. Located right on the beautiful St. John’s River, Green Cove Springs is a mere 7 miles from Penney. You’ll find everything there from grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, dry cleaners, restaurants, fast food and coffee shops to pottery galleries, boutiques, gift stores, antique malls and thrift shops. The original brick streets may draw you to the newly enlarged Springs Park. The pier, gazebo and picnic tables invite you to pick up some takeout and relax with the river and water fowl. You may even see some manatee while you’re there. Then you can walk off some of your lunch with a stroll along the park’s natural pathways as you listen to the spring water cascade down to the river.

Fleming Island is another great option for shopping. It’s a scenic 20 minute drive along the river. Fleming Island is known for its beautiful, new Plantation Villages shopping area. This is where you can shop at Target, Kohls, Fresh Market, Michaels, Grassroots Natural Foods, Wal-Mart, Publix and many, many other national chain stores as well as restaurants and services. Fleming Island Carmike Cinema with 12 movie screens is located in the Villages shopping area, too.

The huge Orange Park Mall is located about 30 minutes from PRC and includes Belk, Dillard, J.C. Penney, Sears, Dick’s Sporting Goods and over 120 specialty stores as well as a 400-seat movie theatre.

For really serious shoppers looking for bargains on Talbots, Brighton, Crocs, J. Crew and the like, there is the Outlet Mall in St. Augustine. That’s just a 45 minute drive through the lush North Florida landscape and over the river from Penney Retirement Community.

Jacksonville, a 45 minute drive from Penney Retirement Community, has all that you would expect of any big, urban area. That includes gorgeous, upscale shopping centers and distinctive, little neighborhood shopping areas.

Other nearby malls include: