Worst Tourist Trap: St. Johns Town Center

Worst Tourist Trap: St. Johns Town Center

It’s happened to all of us, probably during the holiday season, or really any season that schools are on break. You head out to “the heart of shopping and dining in Jacksonville” (their words, not ours) for some retail therapy only to be stuck in traffic before you even set eyes on the Costco. But if you manage to arrive early enough to avoid the heaviest traffic, you can still count on making seemingly endless laps around the parking lots to find a space. Once you finally make it out of your car to the “outdoor lifestyle mall,” you’ll be engulfed by teems of shoppers filling the skinny sidewalks. And it’s all fun and games until you make your way to the end of the row of stores only to have a handful of shopping bags and no more money left in your pockets. Frankly, it’s a consumerist’s dream, but for those that are native to Jacksonville, it’s a tourist trap. –Ambar Ramirez