relocating (Jacksonville, Orlando: for rent, insurance, condos)

[mickea]

I am a kansas native and looking to relocate to a city similar to wichita. I have been looking into Jacksonville Florida. I work in the healthcare field and my husband has a business management degree. Our kids age ranges from 19 to 5. Four of our six kids want to be in the entertainment business. I do not want to live in Orlando though. Can anyone tell me if jacksonville is ideal for raising a family in? Thanks

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by mickea

I am a kansas native and looking to relocate to a city similar to wichita. I have been looking into Jacksonville Florida. I work in the healthcare field and my husband has a business management degree. Our kids age ranges from 19 to 5. Four of our six kids want to be in the entertainment business. I do not want to live in Orlando though. Can anyone tell me if jacksonville is ideal for raising a family in? Thanks

Not in my opinion, but I wouldn't consider anywhere that I have visited in Florida ideal to raise a family.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by moving123456

Not in my opinion, but I wouldn't consider anywhere that I have visited in Florida ideal to raise a family.

wow you've made such a bold decision based on visits? how insightful!
FWIW: the JAX area is one of the better places to live and raise a family.
just out of curiosity where is your ideal place?

[cricketfan]

It depends. The city of Jacksonville is a wide-spread multi-dimensional city with areas that are great for raising a family and areas that are not so great. I am not so sure about opportunities in the entertainment industry but pursuing a career in healthcare should not be a problem for you.

I suggest that you browse around in this forum and you will find all kinds of information about living in Jacksonville and raising a family. Plus you will get a sense firsthand of whether or not people who actually live here are reasonably happy or disenchanted like moving123456. I bet you'll find alot more positive threads than negative ones like moving123456.

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

wow you've made such a bold decision based on visits? how insightful!

Not just visits, I live in Southside Jacksonville and have lived elsewhere in Florida.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by moving123456

Not just visits, I live in Southside Jacksonville and have lived elsewhere in Florida.

and where would your perfect place for a family to live is???

[riveree]

Originally Posted by mickea

I am a kansas native and looking to relocate to a city similar to wichita. I have been looking into Jacksonville Florida. I work in the healthcare field and my husband has a business management degree. Our kids age ranges from 19 to 5. Four of our six kids want to be in the entertainment business. I do not want to live in Orlando though. Can anyone tell me if jacksonville is ideal for raising a family in? Thanks

For you and your husband, you should be able to find work - plenty of healthcare options in Jax and for business, we have lots of opportunities in finance, insurance, transportation, etc.

For your kids, I guess it depends on what exactly you mean by "entertainment business"........do you mean they want to be in entertainment management or they want to be movie stars? If your kids want to start working towards being on tv, etc., then I would say you need to be out in California or in New York - not Florida.

Jacksonville has a small film industry, but the talent is flown in with the exception of some extra work and behind the scenes stuff (lighting, etc.).

Here are a couple of links that might be of interest:

http://www.coj.net/Departments/Jacks...on/default.htm

http://www.normanstudios.org/

http://www.jacksonvillefilmfestival.com/

Jax itself is a nice city that has everything you'd need. The nature is beautiful and we have the largest parks system in the entire United States so there is plenty of unspoiled places to discover. There is water everywhere - from the Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway to the Saint Johns River (one of only 14 Heritage rivers in the US) and lots more in between.

It's vastly suburban here, and you can find anything from more urban-suburban areas to rural-suburban areas - it's very unique in that way. Jax is often called "the biggest small town" and it does have that kind of a feel. Even though it's a big city with all the big city amenities, it's very approachable and intimate in a way that other big cities often aren't.

It's not a perfect city (there's no such thing anyway), but it has a lot going for it. I've lived in big and small cities up North and out West and I'm very pleased with Jax as a whole .

[Karla with a K]

mickea
I live on the Southside , not sure where on the SS moving123456 lives but I love it where we are. We are 12 miles from the beach and very close to 2 grade "A" schools (elementary & middle) with a new highschool going up in the next couple years.
5 mins away from the st johns towne center
I have never lived in Kansas though I have driven through and have relatives that live there The one great thing about here is you will never experience the ice storms I have driven through out there

riveree has shared a lot of information that I won't repeat but along with the tons of health care options there are also some major companies here
Citibank/citigroup, bank of America ,AT&T(formally bell south) CSX to name a few

I would make a visit to see if the area would fit your needs.

karla

[JB77]

Hi all,
I currently live in Minnesota, and will soon be relocating to Jax for work. I've visited a handful of times, enough to know I'll probably like living there. As most folks who relocate, I've scoured the internet for information on where to live, and stumbled across this site (and really appreciated the insight of folks like Karla with a K and Riveree).

Ok, so I'm looking at apts that are in the Intracoastal area as well as the SS. Anything I should know about either? Pros vs Cons?

FYI..single male, early 30's, if that makes a difference.

[Karla with a K]

JB77
either areas would be fine
do you have a budget for rent?
I have noticed there are a lot of condos for rent, maybe because they have been able to sell them.
I would look at both apts and condos
There is also something to be said about being single and living at the beach

karla