another moving thread.... (Jacksonville, Plantation, Orange Park: for sale, cheap apartments, rental)

[ashnavygirl]

Hi all!

I'm sure you read so many of these in a day that it's disgusting, but I'm adding to the list of questions about moving to Jacksonville. My husband is in the navy and will be stationed at NAS Jax some time this summer/ fall. I've been starting to look into apartments/ townhomes, etc., and I've been having the classic " I like the apartment, hate the neighborhood" situation. I'm not expecting there to be zero crime, I'm just looking for an area that I feel safe to live in. Here are the things I'm looking for, and maybe someone can give me a few suggestions!

2 or 3 bed, 2 bath, 1200 + square feet ( I don't expect anyone to know this stuff, it's more for the purpose of excluding one bedrooms )

I have a one year old son and a dog, so we'd prefer a townhome set up rather than an apartment, but I haven't seen many townhomes in my search so far.

Since my husband will be working at Jax, something within a reasonable distance from the base. 20 min-1/2 hour one way is good. He will have to be to work by six, so I'm thinking he will miss morning rush hour. (We live in Hampton Roads now, so I don't imagine traffic is as bad there...well hoping!)

Semi-convenient, it doesn't need to be walkable, but I'd prefer not to have to drive 1/2 an hour to get to the grocery store.

Essentially, the most important things are going to be safety, proximity to base, and fitting into our budget. We're looking to stay in the $1000/month range, lower if it all possible, but I'd be willing to pay a little extra to be somewhere I'm happy with.

In regards to what I have found/ researched, I think the "number one" on our list as of now are the Lighthouse at Fleming Island apartments. How far is that traffic-wise from the base? Nice area?

Some of the other places I'm glancing over are:

Fieldstone/Millstone Apartments- Oakleaf Plantation Way 32065

Century Bartram Springs- 14951 Walden Springs Way 32258

Sonoma Southside Condos - 7740 Southside Blvd 32256


If anyone has any info on what I've mentioned, or can offer some "general rule of thumbs" about searching for housing in Jax, I would greatly appreciate it. Trying to find somewhere to live when you're unfamiliar with the area is so difficult! Thanks so much in advance!

[jsimms3]

I know there are some townhomes on Gate Parkway on the Southside that are fairly new, but I don't know if they are for rent (most townhomes are for sale).

I know there are some new, probably cheap apartments right across from NAS Jax on Roosevelt Blvd. You won't like that neighborhood because it's not really a neighborhood, though.

Jax is lacking in townhomes, but there are more apartments all over than you can shake a stick at.

Many NAS Jax employees tend to stay on the westside of the river because while traffic is not necesarily bad (did not know it was in Hampton Roads, either), there are limited river crossings and that can become a hastle and present occasional backups (especially on the Buckman Bridge, which you would be using).

Most townhomes that I can think of are not for rent, but rather for sale in the $150-$450K range. One word of caution: Blanding Boulevard and Argyle Forest can get really backed up. You will regret moving anywhere that forces you to use Blanding Blvd, as it is a parking lot at all hours of the day with lights! Maybe avoid Orange Park/Argyle around Blanding. Oakleaf is way out there towards rural areas, but it's picking up. You should try looking in Ortega/Avondale/Riverside/Murray Hill or Orange Park along Roosevelt/US-17.

[fsu813]

Originally Posted by ashnavygirl

Hi all!

I'm sure you read so many of these in a day that it's disgusting, but I'm adding to the list of questions about moving to Jacksonville. My husband is in the navy and will be stationed at NAS Jax some time this summer/ fall. I've been starting to look into apartments/ townhomes, etc., and I've been having the classic " I like the apartment, hate the neighborhood" situation. I'm not expecting there to be zero crime, I'm just looking for an area that I feel safe to live in. Here are the things I'm looking for, and maybe someone can give me a few suggestions!

2 or 3 bed, 2 bath, 1200 + square feet ( I don't expect anyone to know this stuff, it's more for the purpose of excluding one bedrooms )

I have a one year old son and a dog, so we'd prefer a townhome set up rather than an apartment, but I haven't seen many townhomes in my search so far.

Since my husband will be working at Jax, something within a reasonable distance from the base. 20 min-1/2 hour one way is good. He will have to be to work by six, so I'm thinking he will miss morning rush hour. (We live in Hampton Roads now, so I don't imagine traffic is as bad there...well hoping!)

Semi-convenient, it doesn't need to be walkable, but I'd prefer not to have to drive 1/2 an hour to get to the grocery store.

Essentially, the most important things are going to be safety, proximity to base, and fitting into our budget. We're looking to stay in the $1000/month range, lower if it all possible, but I'd be willing to pay a little extra to be somewhere I'm happy with.

In regards to what I have found/ researched, I think the "number one" on our list as of now are the Lighthouse at Fleming Island apartments. How far is that traffic-wise from the base? Nice area?

Some of the other places I'm glancing over are:

Fieldstone/Millstone Apartments- Oakleaf Plantation Way 32065

Century Bartram Springs- 14951 Walden Springs Way 32258

Sonoma Southside Condos - 7740 Southside Blvd 32256


If anyone has any info on what I've mentioned, or can offer some "general rule of thumbs" about searching for housing in Jax, I would greatly appreciate it. Trying to find somewhere to live when you're unfamiliar with the area is so difficult! Thanks so much in advance!

I think Flemming Island sounds just the place for you. It's 15-20 minutes from NAS Jax. Have fun there.

[mississippimagnolia]

I think Flemming Island sounds just the place for you. It's 15-20 minutes from NAS Jax. Have fun there.

We had some good friends in DC who had moved from the Fleming Island area. He worked at the NAS. They loved Flemming Island! It was one of the places they suggested we look when we found out we were moving to Jacksonville.

[BabyBoomers2]

We have some NAS people living in our complex at Southside & Belle Rive. Fleming Island is cool as well.

[ashnavygirl]

Thanks everyone! I think I'm going to stick around that area, looking at cobblestone at eagle harbor and lighthouse at fleming island, and looking into some houses to rent around there as well. I appreciate all the advice, if anyone can think of anything we shoud know about living in jax in general, that would be great too

[mawipafl]

I can only comment on apartments/townhouses in Fleming Island because I live here.

I have friends living at Cobblestone -- 2 bedroom/2 bath townhouse maybe in the $800-900 range (I'm not sure) with laundry hookups; they have a dog (I believe there's an extra fee); they enjoy the pool and fitness room; I think the complex is considered part of the Eagle Harbor CDD (Community Development District) and therefore they pay an additional minimal fee on their water bill for that. I don't know what the monthly fee is for trash and pest.

My daughter lives at Lighthouse -- she has a 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment w/ screened porch for $760; trash and pest is $15/month; the complex has a pool, laundry room (her apt. does have laundry hookups though), fitness center, community garden, small off-leash dog park (thus yes pets allowed for a fee), garages and storage units for additional rental fees if desired.

The rent at Lighthouse seems to be a bit more than at Cobblestone, but I think it's offset by the CDD water fee at Cobblestone. Lighthouse doesn't pay that fee.

Regarding TV, I think the only choice at Lighthouse is satellite or BroadbandCTI cable (BroadbandCTI has an exclusive contract with Lighthouse I believe preventing ATT or Comcast -- but I'm not really sure). Satellite is only available in certain apartments because of the direction the screen porch faces. But no problems with BroadbandCTI for TV and internet and it's a bit cheaper than Comcast and DirecTV.

It's an easy commute to NAS from Fleming Island. There are plenty of stores and restaurants here within minutes. It's even possible to walk to a grocery store from either place (not a short walk, but not a marathon). Both complexes are near the post office, library, YMCA. Off the top of my head I cannot remember if the complexes have playgrounds, but there are plenty of them here.

[ashnavygirl]

Thanks mawi, that's great!! I'm definitely going to call the two and get more details and go from there. I'm just relieved to have found something, I have a pretty decent stack of index cards of places we don't like, but that was also before I really understood what areas to look at/ stay away from in Jax. Between that and the commute, it definitely narrows things down for you pretty quickly I've never heard of Broadband CTI before, how is their internet? My husband and I are pretty frequent downloaders, but then again, I don't think I'd let that make or break my decision to live somewhere unless it was a major issue. Yeah, I'm not too worried about playgrounds, my son loves being outdoors, so I'm sure we'll be exploring Jax every change we get I'm really excited to get out of Hampton Roads and come to Jax, although being a northerner (I'm from Michigan), the heat might be "interesting" for me

[JBtwinz]

Coming from Hampton roads, I think you are really going to enjoy Jacksonville

[rafflynn]

I have a similar situation as you except I am single and really only need a 1/1, but more would be fine. Fleming Island is a great area. Nothing is currently available there though in my price range, so I'm looking for the next best area. Not sure what that is yet. But yeah, Fleming Island is very nice.