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Am considering a potential job change opportunity to move from NC to FL. It may even become a necessity as things at work have been and continue to be shaky.
I'm also not sure this particular opportunity will work out but there is potential for other roles in the future, including at the same company, but I wouldn't want to limit myself to one company.
Some key considerations are: low crime, low crime, low crime, walk-ability, strong job market (in case the job I would move for didn't work out), beach quality and accessibility, shark-iness, housing costs for a smaller home, airport accessibility and airport connectivity, weather, safe public transportation, healthcare, adult nightlife and live music (not mostly college kids).
We like NC and it is generally safe, there is a fair amount of gun crime on the local news every night. We like the weather and the heat of summer but would prefer a shorter, milder winter. I read how to expect a lot more bugs in FL than NC which is a big minus, not sure how that is for JAX.
The job market is the RTP area is good but not as good as I expected from what I read before arriving, many roles are more technical and junior and some end up getting off-shored after getting commoditized here. From what I understand a lot of job relocation from the NE winds up in FL which is an attraction, but I don't know the trends or resiliency in JAX.
The beach is ~2 hours from Raleigh which is not bad but adds up for frequent weekend trips.
The RDU airport is not bad but prefer better access to more domestic and international destinations.
Housing in the Raleigh/Cary/RTP area is on fire, getting more and more expensive and hard to find.
Healthcare here is good.
Public transportation is sadly almost nonexistent or at least not practical.
We'd be happy in a slightly bigger city and closeness to other cities, the Raleigh/Cary area is very nice but spread out and mostly suburban. We would like however to live in a suburban setting with a reasonable commute to work.
We don't care about schools. We may want to consider a 55-and-over neighborhood.
I can't think of all the criteria in one post but hope that this starts an interesting and constructive dialog.
Last edited by Repatriot; 04-19-2019 at 05:43 PM..
Wow I thought there might be more interest in this comparison, the only one I could find was stale and mixed other locations in so felt it warranted a fresh take.
Raleigh easily wins in the low crime category. No question about that.
Not a whole lot of areas of Raleigh that are walkable unless you can afford one of the neighborhoods near the college. Even if Jacksonville did have more walkable areas, can you handle walking around in the hot sun and humidity? I know I can't lol.
Raleigh's job market is very strong, particularly in tech. Healthcare of course is always a good one. And because of all the colleges in the area, education as well. I personally don't know how Jacksonville compares in this regard but I have heard good things about it. Generally though, FL salaries tend to be lower across the board.
NC has some great beaches. It's so easy to get to Wilmington from Raleigh. Rarely ever any traffic on that section of 40. Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach are both nice, but the water is no where near as warm and clear as FL's tend to be.
Judging from the rest of your post, I'm guessing Jacksonville will probably be the winner for you. It sounds like you're looking for things only a much larger city can provide. Adult nightlife and live music that isn't mostly college kids. That sort of thing.
Some key considerations are: low crime, low crime, low crime, walk-ability, strong job market (in case the job I would move for didn't work out), beach quality and accessibility, shark-iness, housing costs for a smaller home, airport accessibility and airport connectivity, weather, safe public transportation, healthcare, adult nightlife and live music (not mostly college kids).
We like NC and it is generally safe, there is a fair amount of gun crime on the local news every night. We like the weather and the heat of summer but would prefer a shorter, milder winter. I read how to expect a lot more bugs in FL than NC which is a big minus, not sure how that is for JAX.
The job market is the RTP area is good but not as good as I expected from what I read before arriving, many roles are more technical and junior and some end up getting off-shored after getting commoditized here. From what I understand a lot of job relocation from the NE winds up in FL which is an attraction, but I don't know the trends or resiliency in JAX.
The beach is ~2 hours from Raleigh which is not bad but adds up for frequent weekend trips.
The RDU airport is not bad but prefer better access to more domestic and international destinations.
Housing in the Raleigh/Cary/RTP area is on fire, getting more and more expensive and hard to find.
Healthcare here is good.
Public transportation is sadly almost nonexistent or at least not practical.
We'd be happy in a slightly bigger city and closeness to other cities, the Raleigh/Cary area is very nice but spread out and mostly suburban. We would like however to live in a suburban setting with a reasonable commute to work.
We don't care about schools. We may want to consider a 55-and-over neighborhood.
I can't think of all the criteria in one post but hope that this starts an interesting and constructive dialog.
I can't really compare to the RDU area. I spent two weeks there 8 years ago and have passed through a handful of other times, but I am not very familiar with the area. Just responding to some of the stuff you said with reference to Jax:
JAX airport likely has fewer nonstop flights than RDU for both domestic and international destinations. MCO would be about 2.5 hours away without traffic and that would certainly open up a ton of options.
Housing costs have been rising but still should be more affordable than Raleigh CSA.
Healthcare is pretty good.
Public Transit is awful...no sense in debating/guessing which is more awful.
Don't be deceived, although Jax is larger than Raleigh by city and MSA metrics, that is simply because Jax city limits are huge and because the Raleigh MSA is inexplicably divided from Durham. Jax and Raleigh are pretty similar in suburban feel and lack of urbanity.
Jax economy is pretty diverse and resilient. I don't think you mentioned what industry you are in. Crime in the region is quite high, but it's not very noticeable in most parts of the metro that you would choose to frequent/live in. Also do you know where your job would be located?
Don't be deceived, although Jax is larger than Raleigh by city and MSA metrics, that is simply because Jax city limits are huge and because the Raleigh MSA is inexplicably divided from Durham. Jax and Raleigh are pretty similar in suburban feel and lack of urbanity.
Spent a few days in Jax for work several months ago (and 17 years in Raleigh/Cary). Was distinctly unimpressed with it as a city, though it might be cute to treat it as a beach town with some malls nearby. The jobs are mostly back-office, and the sprawl is even worse than the Triangle's -- one local joked to me, "the good thing and the bad thing about Jax is that everything is 40 minutes away."
Looking at your list, there's a few things that you're more likely to find in bigger/pricier cities, a few things that would be in smaller/beachier cities, and probably nowhere that would have all of them. That's especially true in the Southeast, where generally cities are further inland.
Within Florida, I thought Tampa was a more lively and better-connected city than I expected; and I'm surprising myself that the same thoughts apply to Houston. Yes, I used transit in both, too; no, I didn't go in summer, where both would be hot and buggy. Both also probably have higher crime rates.
If you can sacrifice on the beach, Charlotte and Richmond both offer (IMO) more of a big-city feel than the Triangle. Richmond lacks direct flights, but it's basically an extension of the Northeast Corridor, and many people drive to IAD for overseas flights.
In February I drove to Dulles (from Richmond) for a direct flight to Morocco.
It takes about 1.75 hours, would have spent more time traveling with a layover somewhere.
Based on your PM, you might want to start in the St Johns Town Center/Tinseltown, and general Southside area. That is because the financial services sector is spread out all over the city. TIAA Bank (which recently underwent some massive layoffs due to shedding most of their in-person branches and refocusing on online) is headquartered in the downtown/urban core area. FIS and FNF HQ, as well as Macquarie's local office are also in the urban core. CIT, Fidelity Investments and Deutsche Bank have large presences in the SJTC area. Bank of America is also on the Southside and then Citibank is way south at the border with St Augustine. Black Knight I believe is split between far Southside and the urban core where its HQ is. Off the top of my head those are all the major institutions in that industry, though there are likely more boutique firms and smaller companies with presence in the region.
In summary, I think you're looking at a lateral move (at best) in terms of QOL, although COL should be a bit cheaper and may in turn allow for higher QOL. There is enough of an industry presence for you that it should be pretty safe/comfortable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by paytonc
Spent a few days in Jax for work several months ago (and 17 years in Raleigh/Cary). Was distinctly unimpressed with it as a city, though it might be cute to treat it as a beach town with some malls nearby. The jobs are mostly back-office, and the sprawl is even worse than the Triangle's -- one local joked to me, "the good thing and the bad thing about Jax is that everything is 40 minutes away."
I think you missed out on the best parts of Jax then, but that said it's not like you would have been particularly impressed had you seen it all either. Just not as unimpressed lol. I avoid overstating the positives in Jax, and the reality is maybe a step or two up from what you probably experienced. Tampa region is pretty similar to Jax to be honest, except more of everything (more beaches, the urban infill development, the gentrifying neighborhoods, the sprawling suburbs, etc)
Big thanks to projectmaximus for all the help and advice here and in PMs, I am getting a better idea and good feeling about the prospect of a move to JAX.
And of course thanks to everyone who has and may continue to contribute information to share.
projectmaximus - I will be in touch via PM re your last message. Thanks again.
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