I love it here! (Miami, Hollywood: school, living, shop)

[Karla with a K]

hey fastninja500
It is nice to see you back here. I am glad you have settled in well.

Ok I have been following this thread. As a former "jersey" & "phila" person.
I can say I love it here. I have to disagree that there are no good well paying jobs here. My husband does well enough that I am able to spend my time doing volunteer work.
I don't miss a lot of the "craziness" I found living up north. When I feel the need I jump on a plane.
If you go to the threads for all of the cities mentions you will find similar complaints. No place is perfect.
Life is to short to be miserable if your single with no ties take the risk and move to one of them.

As far as the shopping goes I am not a big shopper I would rather spend my "shopping time" at the local plant nursery.
Right riveree
Oh yeah They also had the same "car hopping" crime spree over in Orange Park
Where you live and how you chose to live your life is only as great as you want it to be.

[MaryG601]

Originally Posted by smash731

titanium,

I haven't been to Orange Park or St. Johns Center yet, I guess those are nice places to drive? It's JTB that I think is scary. I think that I'm so used to being in traffic that cars flying by and cutting in and out scares me...when you're in bumper to bumper traffic, no one can hit you hard enough to do damage

But really, that's nitpicking, I think the good far outweighs the bad.

This is so funny to me. Granted I dont live there yet, but I have been down there several times and I didn't find the traffic on JTB to be scary! I'm from a tiny, no traffic, no freeway town in Alabama and I didn't freak out at all once i got into Jax. Now the trip up there is scary b/c its all nothing towns in the middle of GA lol. but I assumed once I got down there the "bad traffic" everyone is always talking about was downtown not JTB!

[smash731]

This thread has turned very amusing.

I have found some of the "uneducated" people DVigor speaks of, but there are plenty of educated people too if you hang out in the right places. I have a master's in engineering and my roomie is a lawyer--do we pass the test?

As far as shopping, phase 2 of St. John's sounds good...if it turns out to stink, I'll just go to Orlando to shop.

Jax Beach doesn't seem dangerous to me...should I be concerned??

No, Jax isn't a "first-rate city," but I love that I work in consulting and only have to work 40 hours a week. That would be unheard of in DC for someone my age. I really love the low-stress work environment.

And I stand by my earlier opinion that Jax Beaches are beautiful. We call our street the "Miami block"...everything is new and pretty and manicured. And the sand is definitely as good as any beach in Fla. save Siesta Key!!

I came here kicking and screaming...actually, just wanting to learn the ropes at my job and then beg to be transferred to South Fla. I really think I'll end up staying here, but I'll prob. move on to San Marco eventually.

Go Jax!

[dvigor]

Yes very amusing thread now, Smash731. See what you started? JK. That's ok, I can take the heat. Actually you have all been very nice considering. Maybe I should give y'all a chance after all.

The stress depends on where you work. My job and company is about as stressful as you can get. Everybody is majorly stressed and barely talks. Maybe a company started and headquartered here might be different. I would sure like to try it.

I guess a lot depends on where you came from and where you have been. I don't believe one should have to drive 2 hours to find a decent store unless they live on a midwest farm maybe. As far as beaches go you need to check out South Florida. The best beaches in the state by far. Ft. Lauderdale would be the place to start. Much nicer and a million more things to do. You would probably never sleep. Then you could always check out South Beach, Palm Beach, Hollywood, Miami Beach,etc. No comparison. These beaches helped put Florida on the map years ago.

I am glad you are happy here and that's all that counts. When you are ready to move on and explore just know there is much more to experience and see in Florida.

[backtofla]

the ppl on the jax forum are nice folks...

[Samierra]

We just returned from our latest (and hopefully last) house hunting trip in Jax. We made an offer, so hopefully all will go well...

I just had to comment on all the great things about this great city. I've lived in several places, and travel frequently, and I do believe that Jax can compete on many levels with the best that the US has to offer. Here are just a few of my perspectives:
1. Airport - I flew in on Wednesday (DH drove up 2 days later w/ kids). I'm in the airport everyweek. JIA is extremely easy to navigate. And amazingly, people (i.e. the staff) were very friendly. Exiting the airport was such a breeze! I'm used to being stuck in traffic whether I fly out of MIA or FLL.

2. Traffic - we drove around at all hours - compared to what I'm used to (Miami) - this wasn't too bad. We did brave Blanding when we visited my BIL in Orange Park. All I can say is, I'm glad we decided against that part of town. While not the worst I've been in, I wouldn't want to deal w/ it every day. JTB did get a little congested around 9A.

3. People - everywhere we went we were greeted by waves, smiles - I felt like I was in a different world...after 14 yrs in MIA, this is not something that I am used to. DH went in to a convenience store. I sat there wondering what was taking so long...well, the store clerk lead him to the rack, pointed out the best maps, gave him advice on what to see in the area, wished us well. He was shocked at this service - again, this does not happen here.... On the other end of the spectrum, we went to a country club w/ our friend that lives in the area(not usually our style) - there too, the people were the nicest that we've encountered in a very long time. Everyone introduced themselves (it was happy hour) welcomed us to the city. While I will continue to work in my current position (consulting) my DH is job searching. He made quite a few contacts to network with.
One other note on people - it was a big concern of mine to live in a diverse area. Our girls are adopted, and we are a "mixed" family. We were so pleasantly surprised at how we were received here. In MIA, we frequently get the "stares" - or are flat out discriminated against. But everywhere we went, people were kind to my kids. This was my 4th trip with them, and each time has been the same.

Area activities - we went to the beach on Friday evening, after dining at the Town Center. What a great time! It wasn't the crazyness of South Beach - thank goodness. Just walking on the boardwalk, listening to the music. Seeing other families w/ thier kids...On Saturday we went to Ft. Caroline & explored - the kids loved it. We also explored San Marco (loved it!!!) Friends of mine in the area tell me that they never run out of things to do.

So thank you everyone on this forum (Riveree, Karla, Lawstudent (please don't stop posting)HIF and all the others) - you made me want to explore this great city. And now, we will soon be on our way to make Jax our home.

I love it!

- Samierra

[smash731]

Samierra--glad you like it too!!

Dvigor--I have been to all of the S Fla beaches and adore them!! But you can't win 'em all, and Jax Beach has been a nice compromise so far...it's much nicer than Cocoa Beach, where I just moved from. I'm a Marylander so I've spent lots of time in Fort Lauderdale watching the O's spring training. I would love to live in S Fla too no doubt...nothing is cooler than South Beach I'm sorry about your stressful job too, that's no fun--I wrongfully assumed everyone else has a "Florida lifestyle" job too.

[nyluvsjax]

Jacksonville is great - my family and I love it here as well. My family and I rented from an apt. complex before we bought our home and they did not recycle either - I too felt weird throwing everything in one bag. You may want to check w/the mgt, office about their procedures. So awesome you're practically on the beach. Good luck w/your life @ the beach!

[riveree]

Originally Posted by Samierra

JTB did get a little congested around 9A.

So glad it's all coming together for you Samierra !

We're in the last bit of growing pains with 9A . That connection - JTB & 9A is an important one and it's the last piece of the puzzle . There are some closures on the connection still so there can be some backups, but it should all be just a memory very soon .

[PinoyDoc]

Originally Posted by Samierra

...One other note on people - it was a big concern of mine to live in a diverse area. Our girls are adopted, and we are a "mixed" family. We were so pleasantly surprised at how we were received here. In MIA, we frequently get the "stares" - or are flat out discriminated against. But everywhere we went, people were kind to my kids. This was my 4th trip with them, and each time has been the same....

Welcome to Jax, Samierra. I am sure you will love it here. Your initial concerns about discrimination led me to reminisce about my own concerns when I first moved to Jax in 1991 (I lived here '91-'98, then came back in 2001). I am Filipino, born and raised in Manila, and came here to do pediatric training in the "Deep South". Many of my classmates chose the bigger cities up north, and more than once I was warned that I may be immersing myself in an intolerant and bigoted society.

As it turned out, my stay here was so satisfying and rewarding. Southern folks I worked for and whose kids I treated were, for the most part, very gracious and polite people ... and these were people from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Never have I been in a situation where I felt my being "different" was a liability. The friendliness and graciousness probably mirrored my own upbringing (if you have had a Filipino friend you will know exactly what I mean). To this day I am greeted by Moms and former patients whom I cared for. One was a greeter at Wal-Mart, now an adult, who remembered that I cared for her when she was 5 or 6!! ("I won't forget your face", she said happily)

Previous posters have alluded to their own reasons for satisfaction with living in Jax, its ills and shortcomings (some overly hyped) notwithstanding. Your experiences at the airport and elsewhere pretty much reflect mine.