Jacksonville Fl or Charleston SC (live, better, compare, places)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If jobs are not a consideration, which metro is better? Currently living in a Charleston suburb 4 miles from the beach. No large shopping malls. No Mayo Clinic. No major cities within 2 hours. Hot, humid summers. Mild, but not warm winters. Don’t want to go further into FL due to hurricanes but would moving 4 hours south (Ponte Vedra) make much of a difference in lifestyle (and winter weather). Or should we just be thankful we live in Charleston like everyone else who seems to be moving here?!
What’s great about Charleston is it is small. What’s not so great is it is small. I can drive to the beach and find parking pretty easily. But after some time in a small area, even the beach can get old. We find ourselves basically staying within a ten mile radius.
Also the weather seems to be a bit warmer in Jax in the winter. Maybe by 5 degrees. Not sure if that makes much of a difference. Was wondering how people who have lived there feel about the winter weather. And does it feel congested or is it pretty easy to move around near the beaches (PV) and shopping?
We’re going again to spend some time but just wanted some thoughts from those who have experienced either or both places.
We have a frequent poster at www.thejaxsonmag.com who is retired and lives in San Marco (desirable historic urban core neighborhood of Jacksonville). He and his wife have long considered (and may very well soon) relocate to Charleston instead. You may wish to find him and message him on that site. His name is SanMarcoMatt.
That said, y'all may have different tastes. As I said, he lives in San Marco and I am pretty sure would scoff at the idea of Ponte Vedra, and in Charleston they would consider downtown or somewhere within the historic district.
I personally don't know Charleston well enough to compare, but I know it well enough to know it is in my top 3 "smaller" cities that I would like to live in. (Honolulu/Charleston/Portland, ME)
For hurricanes I will mention statistically the NE corner of FL sees less hurricanes than Charleston area. Shape of the coast line tucks it in just enough to escape most landfalls. You can view additional official hurricane statistics here: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/ and sample image from that page showing number of landfalls by county, color coded as a quick reference:
For hurricanes I will mention statistically the NE corner of FL sees less hurricanes than Charleston area. Shape of the coast line tucks it in just enough to escape most landfalls. You can view additional official hurricane statistics here: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/ and sample image from that page showing number of landfalls by county, color coded as a quick reference: Attachment 208171
This is one of the reasons we are considering a move to NE Florida. We’ve only been in Charleston 5 years and have had a few close calls. Followed your posts often during hurricane season and really appreciated them!
We’ll look into San Marco on our next visit and thank you for the contact info. May be intetesting to share thoughts on both areas with someone looking to move to Charleston. Downtown CHS near the Battery is beautiful if you can afford it. The nice thing it’s still close to the beaches.
Appreciate everyone’s advice. Looking forward to getting back down and looking around again!
Last edited by SkyNSea55; 02-19-2019 at 12:20 AM..
Let me know if you need help getting in contact with him. But I think it is useful for you to check out that website anyway cause it has a plethora of useful information and knowledgeable members regarding all things Jax (albeit with a heavy tilt towards the urban core)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
