Advise on Naples vs Jacksonville (Fort Myers, Palm Beach: crime rates, home, buy)

[mpr19]

My wife and I are looking to make a decision on where to live. We have family in Palm Beach county and I'm looking at job offers in Jacksonville and Naples. Jobs are very similar in every aspect and the pay is a little better in Naples. We have two small children 1 yr old and a 3 yr old. Can anyone share their opinions on these areas? ( schools, crime, communities, etc...). We are both hispanic, but left our native country when we were kids. We both enjoy a culturaly diverse environment.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

[justNancy]

In my opinion, there is no comparison. Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida. Although Jacksonville has some beautiful beaches and resort areas like Amelia Island, Naples is more of a retirement community. Naples is not what I would call "culturally diverse."

[RMD3819]

I can only speak about Naples.

Naples generally has a higher cost of living. It is primarily a wealthy retirement community, run buy wealthy retirees and the political machine reflects this.

That said, there are plenty of families here. There are plenty of safe places to live. The public schools do not have a good reputation. Hispanic is no problem. There is little nightlife or culture.

What is your housing budget?

[mpr19]

RMD3819, we can spend up to 600k on a house.
Thanks for everyone's comments so far.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by RMD3819

There is little nightlife or culture.

Depends what you mean by nightlife and culture.
UAC Home Page

Just click on the above link and tell me how you can say there's no culture here. Compared to New York or Boston, that's true. Oops - editing. You said "little" not "no."

The von Liebig Art Center is having its 30th annual Art Festival next week. Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts has continuous events and Fort Myers isn't too far away if you want to go to The Florida Repertory Theatre or Barbara B. Mann for a night of entertainment.

I think there are plenty of places if you enjoy nightlife like clubs, bars, etc., although I have no social life! Again, you're not going to find the diversity you'd get in a big city, but we have lots of restaurants, shopping centers and several libraries.

Originally Posted by RMD3819

It is primarily a wealthy retirement community, run buy wealthy retirees

True, but it's very clean and generally safe. Unfortunately, the gap between the haves and have nots is widening because of the poor economy.

Originally Posted by RMD3819

and the political machine reflects this.

Last year when I read that the Naples Daily News endorsed Obama, I almost fainted. (but I was sitting down!)

[RMD3819]

You could live anywhere in Naples with that budget, except Port Royal and parts of Pelican Bay.

JN-My mother actually canceled her subscription when the paper endorsed Obama.

[LewLew]

I've lived in both places, and I would choose Jax. If you are a young couple it's the only way to go. Jax area (St Johns County) has 3 of the top 100 rated schools, Naples has none. Jax has a lower cost of living, and is much more urban. There are seasons in Jax and not in Naples.

Jax is more diverse, and has pocketed areas that are still somewhat segregated. I can give you more insight on where to look and not look there if you want to message me.

Good luck.

[SiestaBay]

Originally Posted by RMD3819

JN-My mother actually canceled her subscription when the paper endorsed Obama.

Now THAT'S funny! Looks like everything these days is the "liberal media" LOL

I think I might agree that Jacksonville would be best.

[Kuota]

Check the crime Rates Jacksonville vs Naples.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[LewLew]

Originally Posted by Kuota

Check the crime Rates Jacksonville vs Naples.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Those comparisons are apples to oranges. Jacksonville, when you say the term "Jacksonville" is a million times larger than Naples. You'd have to compare all of SWFL to Jax for real stats.
Jacksonville has a population of .82M or roughtly 795,000
Naples has a population of 22,000 and who really knows of that number who are year round.
Jacksonville encompasses 4 counties. Naples is part of one county.
Duval county in Jax has the inner city, and the majority of the poverty areas in it. Thus, their crime numbers are always the highest.
If you want real data, compare Clay county crime stats with Collier County or St Johns County crime stats with Collier County. Duval will be higher most likely b/c the population in Duval alone is more than double that of Collier County.
Stats have to be equal to be compared realistically.