[bumble_bee]

Originally Posted by jwolfer

Most of Florida is very sprawly, Jacksonville Beaches( Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach especially. Ponte Vedra Beach is more sprawly, no real downtown, business are all in shopping centers etc) have a small town feel. There is just not room to sprawl on barrier islands.

Many beach towns maintain the small town feel. What is nice about the Jax beaches you have access to larger city amenities and a decent airport

Jacksonville skews conservative but you can find diverse politics in surprising places. Most people wont really care about your politics if you are a good neighbor, friendly and not a jerk and don't try and convert them to you point of view because they are stupid etc.

The Jax area beaches are sprawly or have more of the small-town feel?

I would think that a metropolitan area like Jacksonville would be politically diverse, but I haven't spent enough time there to really know. As far as trying to convert anyone... that's exactly what I'm looking to avoid. I don't want to be judged for my beliefs and certainly wouldn't judge anyone for theirs. I'm not a Christian. Would that make me an immediate outcast?

[Sugah Ray]

Originally Posted by bumble_bee

Sadly, we can't afford Miami Beach. If we could afford to live there, Coconut Grove (the nicer area), the Gables, Brickell or even Pinecrest, we would be pretty happy here. But as it stands, the value isn't here for us. Miami's coat of living is so high and the return isn't on par with the cost, IMO. Maybe if we were wealthy (or without kids) it would be another story. But we're just a typical family with an old $265k house in the nicest area of Miami we could afford... which isn't awful, but just part of the sprawl (unincorporated Dade county) with no sense of community.

You are not gonna find what you are looking for. Florida is mostly sprawl. It gets worse when you leave Miami-Dade county.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by jwolfer

I had the same thought.

I am from Jacksonville and there are some more "redneck" areas but really most of the metro area is suburban, not much different than places like Altamonte Springs or Lake Mary

Someone who thinks that Southern accent=redneck would think most of Jax is redneck.

I think people that would label a large city like Jacksonville as "redneck" have very limited experience outside of big cities. I've been in many rural towns throughout the south, in Texas and Florida, and most of them I wouldn't call "rednecky". People think "country" is "rednecky.." umm no. Jacksonville is not rednecky, I haven't even been there and I know it isn't. Santa Ana, TX... is rednecky. Miami urbanites who never have lived or even visited in a small town would die there

[Sugah Ray]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

I think people that would label a large city like Jacksonville as "redneck" have very limited experience outside of big cities. I've been in many rural towns throughout the south, in Texas and Florida, and most of them I wouldn't call "rednecky". People think "country" is "rednecky.." umm no. Jacksonville is not rednecky, I haven't even been there and I know it isn't. Santa Ana, TX... is rednecky. Miami urbanites who never have lived or even visited in a small town would die there

I wouldn't call it that but it is definitely "southern". It's not so much the buildings but the culture you will encounter. Much more southern than Lake Mary.