Jacksonville area (Yulee, Baldwin, Callahan: best neighborhoods, sale, house insurance)

[aleksandra33]

Hi.

I'm relocating to Jacksonville, FL as my job requires so. I've done some research, and it doesn't seem that bad of a place.

My only concern are floods. I have seen maps of Jacksonville area, and they seem to show that Jacksonville has a great chance of floods.

I'm looking therefore to move a bit more West from Jacksonville, but again, not too far as my job will be in Jax.

Can anyone tell me good areas to live in Jax? I saw Baldwin is a bit west, but I'm having hard time finding anything more than that.

Thanks.

[daedalo]

Baldwin might not be a good idea west, beware of the commutes into Jax. I-10 into Jax is very bad in the morning. The commute from the North is the best into Jacksonville. On SR 200 between Yulee and Callahan they have built some new subdivisions. Its a nice area about 15 mins from the beach at Fernandina. The commute is very easy onto I-95 south.There is zero congestion in this area. But to get to a first class supermarket (Publix) you would need to drive either to Dunn Ave. down I-95 or drive onto Amelia Island on SR200 (A1A).

The big thing about flooding is drainage infrastructure. Older areas may lack this and may flood. New developments are required to design and build these systems to take care of the water.

[daedalo]

The FEMA Maps are here. Easy to use, just type in an address.

http://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/store...0001&langId=-1

[Karla with a K]

aleksandra33
Allot will depend on what you are looking for
as daedalo said 1-10 is always backed up in the mornings. IMO that far west and Yulee and Callahan are still rural. Fernandina is really nice but can be pricey ,The Flemming Island and Orange park area are very family friendly as is the Southside wich is actually east of downtown. If you have kids you want to check out the schools in the areas. Schools are on a grading system A to F.
I live on the Southside and as long as you are on the road by 7am or after 8:30 am you can be downtown in 30 mins. We are also 15 miles from the beach.
As far as flooding the only areas that are usually in the news when we have allot of rain are Riverside and San Marco. When I lived at the beach I never had any problems with flooding.
Is there any way you can visit before you move to drive around and get an idea of the different areas?
The one great thing about Jacksonville is I haven't seen the increases in house insurance that south fla has been experiencing.
Please feel free to send me a email if you want more information.
welcome to our city
Karla

[kpasa]

Up to now, I have used the public high school FCAT score (Mandarin or D.U. Fletcher) to choose which area of Jacksonville to move to (first rent, learn the area, then buy). I don't know if your (myflask) area is in the Mandarin or Sandalwood HS area (or other), but I see too many negatives regarding Sandalwood. A co-worker of my wife lived in the San Pablo area and said to stay away from Sandalwood, but did not have kids there. Some local kids that worked at a shop on Atlantic Blvd said I can't go wrong with Mandarin or Fletcher.

[aleksandra33]

Thanks, guys. That really helped, as I was just looking into West Jacksonville, thinking about floods, but now I'm definately moving in another direction. I appreciate your help.

[Karla with a K]

Kpasa
I am right near 9a & baymeadows we have twin lakes ele & middle schools both A schools right next door.
karla

[kpasa]

Thank you for the information on the schools near 9A/Baymeadows. I have a 5th grader and a 9th grader.

Man, I wish I was there! I was supposed to close a home sale in Missouri to move to Fla in July, but our buyer couldn't produce the financing.......ho hum.

[daytoday]

Even tho. they say its bad to travel I-10 hubby does it every day, and until you hit Jacksonville at 295 its not bad, yes if you continue going on I-10 its crowed. But he travels down 295 then it turn to 9A , he gets off at Alantic BLVD which is close to the beach area. Now where he starts from is Baker County and it takes him 1 hr to travel 45 miles and we have had no flood problems here. The town is still low crime area.

[IndyDiva73]

I have also had thoughts of moving to the Jacksonville area and would also like to know where the best neighborhoods are as far as raising children (mine are ages 13 and 7) and the best schools. I currently live in Indianapolis and I did a bit of research (and I'm not sure if this is 100% correct) but the website that I visited stated that the cost of living in Indianapolis and Jacksonville are just about the same. Can someone tell me if this is true? Thanks!