Businessweek: Jax is 26th Best City in the US (2011) (Jacksonville: best cities, foreclosure)

[fsu813]

America's 50 Best Cities: Jacksonville - BusinessWeek




Jacksonville

America’s Best Places Rank: 26th
Population: 802,843
Mayor: Alvin Brown

Why it’s ranked: With miles of Florida beaches nearby and thousands of acres of parks and preserves, residents of Jacksonville are spoiled with outdoor activities. The Atlantic Ocean provides both great air quality and a hurricane now and then. The city has good schools, low poverty rates, and plenty of great options for nightlife.

How it ranked:
Percent with bachelor's degrees: 24.3
Percent under poverty level: 13.5
Median household income: $48,514
Violent crime rate: 836
Property crime rate: 5,157.7
School score: 70.71
Pro sports teams: 1
Foreclosure rate: .0127
Percent Unemployment: 10.5
Park acres per 1,000 residents: 54.2
Bars: 156
Restaurants: 1,648
Museums: 46
Colleges: 14
Libraries: 28
Air Quality Index: 78

[FlyiMetro]

I just saw this on Metro Jacksonville | Covering Downtown Jacksonville FL, Northeast Florida, Jacksonville Transit, History, Neighborhoods, Photos

I am curious about this list, being that is supposed to be the first from BusinessWeek.

[FlyiMetro]

Atlanta comes in at 32?? LOL

What is the difference between Irvin TX, Dallas TX & Arlington TX?

What is the difference between Phoenix AZ, Scottdale AZ & Glendale AZ?

This list is stupid. Cmon Businessweek really? A city is BASED on it METRO!!!! Say it with me...M E T R O....

[parks71]

I stopped reading when it said good schools and "great" nightlife. This list is a joke.

[bmfphaedrus]

Originally Posted by parks71

I stopped reading when it said good schools and "great" nightlife. This list is a joke.

The "good schools" part certainly is interesting. I'm guessing that some of the magnet schools like Stanton & Paxon artificially raise the overall perception of duval county schools on a list like this.

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by bmfphaedrus

The "good schools" part certainly is interesting. I'm guessing that some of the magnet schools like Stanton & Paxon artificially raise the overall perception of duval county schools on a list like this.

LOL!!! I was thinking the same thing. But only if you also included Episcopal, Bolles and Bishop Kenny.

[fsu813]

Duval County Schools are rated a B overall, fyi.

Want the report?

[madcapmagishion]

B??? Not good enuff. I know they can do better. Try harder! They're grounded until their grades improve.
St John's down the street is gettin A's your as smart as it is.
A familiar parents speech to the kids.

[parks71]

I am not sure how they get the overall rating of a B but I know when they rate schools, like A,B,C,D yearly its not based on test scores alone, a lot of it has to do with improvement. A hardcore example is, if they are an F school, and they improve their test scores by so much, they might now be an B school even if the test scores are much lower than a real B school. So you really dont know what your getting. Another HUGE problem is over crowed schools due to lack of funding.

I know my daughter had AP classes throughout all high school and the way they grade you is a JOKE. about 20% of their grades come from tests, the rest of it from crap a monkey can do. Open book notebook checks and stuff you get full credit for and dont even have to study for.

I have been very happy with the elementary schools though, just seems like when they go to middle and high school the pickings for good schools get very slim to say the least.

And yes, the public magnet schools I believe boost the ratings possibly too.

[GadgetRick]

OMG, whenever someone writes something nice about Jacksonville a bunch of people jump in and say, "Ha! They're crazy! That list means nothing!"

While I understand where many are coming from, why can't people accept the fact that many people actually do like Jacksonville? There's always good and bad in any place. I can tell you this is much better than living in Northern NJ. It's much better than living in CT. It's much better than living in PA. I'd certainly rather live here than Atlanta any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Ok, there are better places to live but it doesn't suck here in Jacksonville nearly as much as it sucks in many other places.

Just don't get the whole mentality of many people when someone compliments Jacksonville...