Can an L.A. Girl adjust to living in Jacksonville? (Miami: transplants, crime)

[tabbi]

if your gay, don't even think abt moving to Jax. disgustingly homophobic here. backwards and beautiful is how I describe it. play tennis, run, golf, fish,....gee, u can do that anywhere. next city, please.

[jwolfer]

Originally Posted by GettingReadyToMakeAMove

I've spent my entire life on the West Coast and now live in one of the best parts of Los Angeles -- I absolutely love it here. I think L.A. pretty much has it all -- lots of culture and muesums, a great beach, some of the best restaurants, a fun bar scene, great outdoor activities (e.g., hiking, surfing, less than a 2 hr drive to skiing in the winter, etc...), amazing shopping, wonderful weather... I could go on forever.

But, I'm likely moving to Jacksonville in the near future (I could stay here, but would be giving up a lot in terms of who I want to spend my life with)...

I've only visited twice, and I don't know enough about the city to make a judgment, but if anyone can tell me what Jacksonville has to offer for the mid-to-late 20 crowd, I'd love to hear about it... Especially in terms of outdoor activities, restaurants (I'm a huge foodie), culture, etc...

But more importantly, does anyone think that someone from the West Coast can really adjust to living across the country away from her family and in a pretty much totally different cultural/political environment...

Thanks

Remember its not LA and if you just pine away for what you left behind you will be miserable. Enjoy what you have here and take it for what it is. Jsimms has some good points.

My wifes mom is from California( Palo Alto so not exactly LA) It will be weird to not have hills/mountains. She has been here nearly 40 years and likes it here but she is near her kids and grandkids so I think that is the main reason she is happy.

I have met people I have met that have moved from California find the humidity the hardest thing to get used to. It is nice to not have smog blanketing the city nearly every day. A few years ago I met a guy at the gas station pumping gas next to me. We got to talking and he said he grew up in LA and he said Jax reminded him of LA when he was growing up in the 1960s and 70s. I have seen the comparison made other places but definatly not the same scale as a city of 10 million that is the center of the entertainment industry.

When you go to the beach you wont need to bring a jacket in the summer. ( as an aside the show "Cougar Town" is set on the Gulf Coast of Florida and there was a show where they went to the beach and they all had jackets... you wouldn't need a jacket for the time of year shown on the show. that bugged me. ) The ocean is around 80 degrees all summer and in the winter it will be in the 50s for a couple months.

[Rock Newman]

Originally Posted by ComSense

I think that are shared fondness for NE Florida is the only thing you and I have in common

[StreetSmarts]

^^^ It's all good.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

I think some people can adjust but in your case, based on what you posted probably not, but you will never know unless you try it. You can always travel to get some of the stuff you like.

I like Jacksoville a lot but I'm not even sure if I can adjust to a southern city with older population, religious culture and colder weather. I love their natural beaches. Definitively one of the best places in Florida.

[StreetSmarts]

I agree Princess. However "colder weather?" Come on dude, it's not that cold in Northern FL.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

You know com, I hate cold weather without a purpose, if I'm gonna freeze, I better get snow. Anything below 65 is too cold for me. To me Anything between 20-60 degrees is the same. I travel to the NE on a regular basis and honestly I feel colder down here cause many places don't turn their heaters on. Cold is cold period.

[StreetSmarts]

Believe me, there's a big difference between 20 degrees and 60 degrees!

[fsu813]

Originally Posted by tabbi

if your gay, don't even think abt moving to Jax. disgustingly homophobic here. backwards and beautiful is how I describe it. play tennis, run, golf, fish,....gee, u can do that anywhere. next city, please.

Riverside and Springfield are not homophobic in the least that is for sure.

[jsimms3]

Considering that even in CA the general populace voted to make marriage between a man and a woman only, it's hard to generalize populations. There are more registered Democrats by far in NE FL than registered Republicans. Jacksonville is much smaller than LA, obviously, but it's big enough to have pockets of whatever you may be looking for. If you want a more dense, walkable, liberal/yuppie feel with a very large number of gay people, then Riverside and also kind of Springfield (getting more and more that way) offer that up. If you want palm trees, clean and new glass and mediterranean buildings, then the Southside near Gate or near Hodges Blvd offer that up. If you want to be around a bunch of chill people that love to surf and have a good time, and be able to walk to a lot of bars, then Jax Beach offers that up. If you want to be around stuffy families and private clubs and old people, then Ponte Vedra, Ortega, and San Jose offer that up. If you want younger families with activities for families/kids, well then you can find that just about everywhere.

Jacksonville is southern like Atlanta is southern. Maybe 10% of the population has a thick twang, but 60% of the population comes from either SoFla or north of the Mason Dixon, so it's an exaggeration to say that Jacksonville is some southern hick town. Families and well to do retired folks are attracted to Jacksonville, so they appreciate religion a little more than say South Beach, and they appreciate a few more manners/conservative social norms.

If you really want the best direct comparison, everything I have heard is that the exact same demographic in Orange County is in St. Johns County to Jacksonville's south. Duval, where Jacksonville is, will be a lot more varied.

**And Jax Beach is not quite like Venice or Manhattan Beach, but it is far from quiet. Jax Beach has high rises near the ocean, a pier, several clubs, tons of bars, diners open 24/7, a faux beach trolley, lots of cops ( stopping people for DUIs), and a young/hip/"chill" crowd. You will find beach volleyball and tons of surfing in Jax Beach, Neptune Beach, and to a lesser degree Atlantic Beach. Jax Beach also has good concerts (saw George Clinton there at a Hempfest in my early high school days), and it has events like Springin the Blues and the Puerto Rican pride festival.

I know I'm always up on my hometown, and it is impossible to compare almost anywhere to LA, but Jax is nowhere near as boring or as bad as some people make it out to be, and it favors very well with similarly sized metros.