Jacksonville: Where exactly is Northside? (Fernandina Beach, Orange Park: upper-class, high crime, homes)

[Coffeecake]

We've been living in NE Florida for about 4 years now, and never really understood where the Northside of Jacksonville actually is. Recently, we moved from East St. John's County to Nassau County and were surprised that the "notorious" Northside of Jacksonville actually runs through Nassau County. Can anyone tell me why Northside is generally thought of as a scary place to live? I've been told by employment agencies that Northside is one of the "not so great" areas to find a job second only to Westside? Where is Westside anyhow? We always thought Westside was from downtown, running above Orange Park. Northside we always thought was from downtown, along I-95 up to the airport. Now, I heard that Northside is considered from the 9A bridge, up Route 17, through Nassau to the Georgia border. Really?! We checked (or so I thought we did), and Nassau county didn't seem to be considered high crime? I can't imagine why. It's appears so rural. Gosh, I hope we didn't make a mistake moving from manicured East St. John's County CR 210 area to Nassau County east of I-95!

[trobesmom]

Hi CoffeeCake

We live in Fernandina Beach (are actually natives there). There is really no crime to speak of. It is nothing like the Northside as far as crime is concerned. We have always felt very safe there. You shouldn't be worried.

[NorthsideJacksonville]

Originally Posted by Coffeecake

We've been living in NE Florida for about 4 years now, and never really understood where the Northside of Jacksonville actually is. Recently, we moved from East St. John's County to Nassau County and were surprised that the "notorious" Northside of Jacksonville actually runs through Nassau County. Can anyone tell me why Northside is generally thought of as a scary place to live? I've been told by employment agencies that Northside is one of the "not so great" areas to find a job second only to Westside? Where is Westside anyhow? We always thought Westside was from downtown, running above Orange Park. Northside we always thought was from downtown, along I-95 up to the airport. Now, I heard that Northside is considered from the 9A bridge, up Route 17, through Nassau to the Georgia border. Really?! We checked (or so I thought we did), and Nassau county didn't seem to be considered high crime? I can't imagine why. It's appears so rural. Gosh, I hope we didn't make a mistake moving from manicured East St. John's County CR 210 area to Nassau County east of I-95!

Northside Jacksonville is NOT a notoriously dangerous area, let's make that clear right now. The people that say Northside Jax is notorious probably never even lived here, and only get their info about it from the news. Northside Jacksonville is primarily residential, it has a suburban feel to it. It's predominantly an upper-class area of town, where homes go from $250,000 to well over $1,000,000+. It's the NW side that's the ghetto section, but overall Northside Jax is a good area to live. Now for the Jacksonville geography lesson:

Northside is generally considered to be everything north of the St. Johns River and east of New Kings Road.
Westside is south of the St. Johns River & east of New Kings Rd.

I-295 bypasses Jacksonville en route to the airport.

[coolyfett]

Originally Posted by Coffeecake

We've been living in NE Florida for about 4 years now, and never really understood where the Northside of Jacksonville actually is. Recently, we moved from East St. John's County to Nassau County and were surprised that the "notorious" Northside of Jacksonville actually runs through Nassau County. Can anyone tell me why Northside is generally thought of as a scary place to live? I've been told by employment agencies that Northside is one of the "not so great" areas to find a job second only to Westside? Where is Westside anyhow? We always thought Westside was from downtown, running above Orange Park. Northside we always thought was from downtown, along I-95 up to the airport. Now, I heard that Northside is considered from the 9A bridge, up Route 17, through Nassau to the Georgia border. Really?! We checked (or so I thought we did), and Nassau county didn't seem to be considered high crime? I can't imagine why. It's appears so rural. Gosh, I hope we didn't make a mistake moving from manicured East St. John's County CR 210 area to Nassau County east of I-95!

Good question. I have many answers for this one.

Jacksonville the city is shaped like a triangle. Not a perfect triangle but pretty close. 3 sides of town....Northside, Westside & Southside...NO EASTSIDE AT ALL!!

Everything north and east of US1 is the Northside of Jacksonville. US1 is the boarder of the Northside and Westside. You have to go through the Northside to get to Nassua County. The St. Johns River separates the Northside from the Southside, near the the part of the river that flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Northside is also the "black side" of town. That may be why your co workers say stay away. The entire side of town is not black though, areas like Pecan Park & Oceanway are not "black communities" The Jacksonville Airport is on the Northside of Jacksonville.

Westside Jax is separated into 2 divisions, Southwest Jax & Northwest Jax the dividing line is I10. Northwest Jax is sometimes called the Northside, but it is not. Westside perimeters are bounded by Clay & Baker County similar to how Nassua bounds the Northside. Westside is the 2nd largest division of Jacksonville, 2nd to the Southside.

Southside Jax is the biggest division of Jacksonville. The St. Johns River separates the Southside from the rest of the city. If you cross one of the 7 bridges you are either leaving or entering the Southside. 5 connect to the Westside, 2 connect to the Northside. Southside is broken down into 3 pieces. Southeast, Arlington, The Beaches. Everything north of Beach Blvd is Arlington, south of Beach Blvd is Southeast Jax. 3 main roads (Beach, Atlantic & JTB) that parallel going east-west will all take you the beaches area of the city


Always remember 3 sides. If you are on I10 you are on the Westside.