areas to live in Jacksonville (Orange Park: job, house, subdivision)

[etoj]

we are moving to jacksonville in a few months (by Oct to be exact) and would welcome suggestions on where to live / purchase a house.

1. we have 2 children, 2.5 yrs and 5 months so we would like to be in a place with great schools and family friendly neighborhood while at the same time close to NAS Jax. We've pretty much shortlisted it to one area - Orange Park zip code 32073 as it seems OP grade school, junior high and HS are really top rated. we are looking at staying for about 5 years, and we'll see how that goes.
- what are your thoughts on this area / zipcode 32073?
- would there be other areas worth considering? (good schools, great neighborhood, short commute if possible to NAS Jax)

2. i wanted to ask too about the job market? my field is in Marketing Management / Brand Management. Would you guys have any inputs on how the job market is for my area of expertise? And, how close is OP to the downtown area in terms of commute time as well as distance.

3. While we are on the subject of commute, would it be possible to bike from OP to NAS Jax or do you need a car? We would prefer not to get a 2nd car, so DH will just bike to work but i don't know if this is possible - if his work route actually goes through the I.

your thoughts and opinions will greatly be appreciated.

[Karla with a K]

etoj
My sister lives in Flemming Island in Orange park you might want to check out that area. Lots of nice sub-divisions. It is a straight shot down rt 17 to NAS.
However I would not reccomend your DH biking to NAS. Allot of people that work at NAS live in the OP/FI area maybe there would be a co-worker he could car pool with.
I have made it downtown from OP in anywhere from 25 to 45 mins depending on traffic.
You could also consider living on the other side of the river in Southside or Mandarin, he would actually be going in the oppisite direction of traffic.
Karla

[jmc]

Hello! My husband and I are probably moving to Jacksonville, also, due to a job transfer to NAS Jax. We've been doing some research, and we checked out the area in June and really liked the Southside area. Flemming Island was great, too, along with Eagle Harbor. Personally, I didn't like the feel of Orange Park compared to Southside, Julington Creek, etc., but friends of mine have a house in Orange Park (Oakleaf subdivision) in a wonderful, new community. He had a 15 minute commute to NAS with no traffic even though they are on the Orange Park side of Jax. Many people live off the two Orange Park exits, so there will be traffic congestion leaving in the morning and coming home at night. I agree that a plus to living on the other side of the river (Southside, Mandarin) is that your husband will be heading against traffic for his commute. On the minus side, it seems you can get more house for your dollar in the Orange Park area. Good luck with your move!