Moving to Jacksonville from NY City (house, community, buy)

[Coffeecake]

We lived in Ponte Vedra Beach for 5 years and absolutely loved it. It was beautiful, upscale, plenty to do with kids, with a very active family community and wonderfully close to the beach. Excellent, excellent public schools! Unfortunately, Ponte Vedra Beach is fairly exclusive and housing prices one would be hard pressed to find a home under $350,000. Nocatee, a gigantic community being built at Ponte Vedra's backdoor, is currently being built along the CR 210 corrider. (Check it out on the web.) They are boosting a population of 35,000- 40,000 people over the next 25 years. But, now is a good time to buy there as building has only just begun. They are still in the process of constructing the roads.

Julington Creek area, about 25 miles west of the beaches, is a very nice development. However, I heard that since it has become massive, lots are a lot smaller and closer together. The area is very congested now as well. The Mandarian area is also very nice, but check out the schools. World Golf Village is beautiful. Plenty to do right on the grounds, but the homes can be pricey. They can't build schools fast enough there. I heard schools are good. Palencia, in North St. Augustine, beautiful, beautiful development. Nice that everything, stores, restaurants are right in the development. It has a small town center feel. Check it out on the web. St. Augustine Road in Jacksonville, (Bartram area) is very up and coming loads of stores being built. They can't build schools fast enough for that area and I heard they are very good. Try to stay in St. John's County. Schools are better. As far as crime, Ponte Vedra Beach statistically barely makes a bar on the scale.

Most of the people that live in Ponte Vedra are well off. They are executives, doctors, lawyers, top ranking military personnel as well as football and golfing celebrities. Golf's biggest purse is played at the TPC Headquarters in Sawgrass right in Ponte Vedra every March. To the annoyance of the locals, traffic for the week is slow and sluggish, especially on days that Tiger Woods plays. The stores are full of golfing spectators wandering around the aisles looking for water bottles and munchies. All the restaurants are packed. Regardless, it's only once a year and most of the time, it's fun to play spot the celebrity at the local Sawgrass Publix.

[pmichaelmd]

The elementary schools in Clay County are excellent. There are several that come to mind and they are associated with three of the biggest communities in Orange Park: Fleming Island Plantation, Eagle Harbor, and Orange Park Country Club. Also check out Orange Park Elementary. All of these schools are A-rated and did well with the FCAT (for what that's worth). I would caution you that most of them have also experienced a population boom and have some classes held in trailers due to overcrowding. I think the schools are only as good as the population that attends. By that I mean to say that the communities listed above tend to have strong parental involvement, both at home and in the school, so the kids do well. There is a website, www.greatschools.com that gives you more information on academics.

Good luck...I'd be happy to answer any questions.

PMMD

[daedalo]

There has been a lot of discussion about good and bad schools in Florida. But if you are relocating from nearly any other region of the country you need to look at comparative SAT scores for families of similar incomes. Florida is in the bottom quarter of all states for SAT scores from students of similar income groups. In other words a student in Florida from a family of $100k income scores lower than students from 100k income families in most other states. Why? Most other states spend more per student on their schools, they pay the teachers significantly higher salaries, and class sizes are significantly lower in other states. And it is a myth that private schools do better-- again controlling for family income, private schools do no better than public schools. Also, while the county form of government in Florida is efficient in handling large populations and large geographic areas, it doesn't allow for a particular small town to determine that IT will have quality schools. The county form of government largely degrades to the lowest common denominator, and that is pretty much what you have in Florida. As an example, Massachusetts has the very inefficient town form of government with each town having its own School Committee and school facilities. Only the cities in Massachusetts- the Bostons, Lowells, Springfields have school systems resembling those in Florida. You can go through one town and it has superb facilies while its neighbor town can be run-down. But the key is that on average the facilities, class size, and teacher pay are much more favorable in the smaller school systems. In addition, those running the show have less bureaucracy surrounding them and can be held accountable by those directly impacted by fiscal and educational decisions. Again, Florida is way too big, and buries itself in a morass of bureaucracy, which, when all is said and done translates to what we have now in this state: mediocrity.

[daedalo]

There has been a lot of discussion about good and bad schools in Florida. But if you are relocating from nearly any other region of the country you need to look at comparative SAT scores for families of similar incomes. Florida is in the bottom quarter of all states for SAT scores from students of similar income groups. In other words a student in Florida from a family of $100k income scores lower than students from 100k income families in most other states. Why? Most other states spend more per student on their schools, they pay the teachers significantly higher salaries, and class sizes are significantly lower in other states. And it is a myth that private schools do better-- again controlling for family income, private schools do no better than public schools. Also, while the county form of government in Florida is efficient in handling large populations and large geographic areas, it doesn't allow for a particular small town to determine that IT will have quality schools. The county form of government largely degrades to the lowest common denominator, and that is pretty much what you have in Florida. As an example, Massachusetts has the very inefficient town form of government with each town having its own School Committee and school facilities. Only the cities in Massachusetts- the Bostons, Lowells, Springfields have school systems resembling those in Florida. You can go through one town and it has superb facilies while its neighbor town can be run-down. But the key is that on average the facilities, class size, and teacher pay are much more favorable in the smaller school systems. In addition, those running the show have less bureaucracy surrounding them and can be held accountable by those directly impacted by fiscal and educational decisions. Again, Florida is way too big, and buries itself in a morass of bureaucracy, which, when all is said and done translates to what we have now in this state: mediocrity.

[limindi]

Originally Posted by eysheikah

Hello All,

We currently live in Staten Island, New York. We are planning to move to Jacksonville, FL due to an employment opportunity with a company based out in Duval County. Prior to this, we never have had relocated out of New York City boroughs.

As we are not very familiar with Jacksonville, we need a little help deciding which area would be best for us.

We have two young children going to 1st grade and KG, and as such, top schooling is a priority along with safest neighborhood.

Although we will be looking for a reasonable to an upscale housing areas, at this time, the Realtor would like to give us a tour of housing constructions at:

1. Julington Creek Plantation
2. Ponte Vedra Housing

We would like some opinions from people who currently live in Jacksonville as to their opinions on these housing constructions or areas. Moreover, any further recommendations on other areas from top rated schooling and safest neighborhood will be much appreciated.

Thank you and regards,

ASH & NICOLE
New York

Hi we were wondering if you have made the move yet. My husband and I were thinking of doing the same move and we were pointed to the same areas to live in.

We are currently living in Dix Hills in one of the top rated school districts in the area (and I think the country). Or that is what Newsday newspaper says. So schools are a main priority.

It also seems as if the housing is MUCH lower than Dix Hills and the taxes are sooooo much lower. (or Dix Hills taxes are just so high!)

I have a son in kindergarten and another one in the 3s nursery school program at our temple. Because my younger son's b-day is in Oct, he will be repeating the 3s.

We are also looking for an area that has some jews. We are not religious but we do belong to a reform temple and would like to do the same here.

Would love to hear what you decided on as well if anybody else has any opinions.

[vdecapio]

Originally Posted by daedalo

Beware of Jacksonville

Hyper conservative- City is owned by the First Baptist Church.
The school board *still* has some imbedded racism
Very small percentage of city council is black/minority even though 35% of the Jacksonville population is black/minority. Rednecks *still* have reb flags on thir pickup trucks.

Pay is low as compared to other large cities in FL
Commuting traffic to-from the Jacksonville beaches is horrendous
Ponte Vedra is 95% white or asian

The press-newspaper- is unbelievably right wing- you better like to read about the republican agenda.

The most liberal neighborhood in Jacksonville is and will be for the forseeable future- Riverside.

Jacksonville has an excellent new library, and a couple of art galleries. But for its overall population it has almost zero "culture". Great football and golf.
University of Florida in Gainesville has all the college sports (75 mi away)- Now that is a great progressive town- Gainesville!

The best and hottest area in NE FL right now is Fernandina Beach (Amelia Island), about a 40 minute commute to the downtown from the north on I-95. It is fillling up with many from NY/NE. Beautiful town, beaches, facilities. An annual art festival the first weekend in May. Has a historic downtown with coffee shops sidewalk cafes great restaurants and pubs. The marina is at one end of main street with the beach at the other. About the scale of Oak Bluffs on the Vineyard.


Bill

Daedalo....your posts are truth my friend. I like reading your honest, clear viewed posts on Jax.

[mawipafl]

ASH & NICHOLE ... the Jacksonville area has so many great places to call home that it can be overwhelming, and it's my advice to pinpoint on a map where you'll be working in Duval, and then radiate out from there based on the length of commute you want.

So first things first, get a good map of the Jacksonville area (I also recommend getting three county maps: Duval, Clay, St. Johns.)

Since schools are important, within that circle you can add or eliminate areas based on desirable/undesirable school systems.

If you want to live in a "community" (as example Julington Creek Plantation, Oakleaf Plantation, Eagle Harbor, Pace Island, etc.), then eliminate all non-community areas and focus on communities only. Conversely, if you want to live in a general neighborhood, eliminate "communities".

Besides commuting and schools, if easy access to other things such as shopping and entertainment is important, mark those spots on the map, too (Towne Center, Tinseltown, beaches, Gator Bowl (oops, I mean Jacksonville Municipal Stadium), etc.)

We just moved here last summer and since we were so unfamiliar with the area, we had to use this "process of elimination" system. We ultimately chose Eagle Harbor on Fleming Island in Clay County. We're 8 miles south of I-295. Currently the commute is to the westside of Duval: up 17 to 295 north past the I-10 interchange - it's about 25 miles and a 30-minute ride (the "worst" of it being the 4 miles on 17 just before 295 where there's traffic congestion - all the rest is a breeze.) In the not-too-distant future the commute is changing to the east side of the river, off San Jose Blvd. This will mean up 17 to 295 south, over the Buckman Bridge to the first exit (San Jose), then 2 miles south on San Jose. I did a dry run one evening at the height of commuter traffic about 6 pm. Heading north on San Jose towards 295 was simple - the commuter traffic was going in the opposite direction towards Fruit Cove, Julington. Once on 295 north and going over the Buckman Bridge to exit onto 17 (the first exit on the west side of the river) was not so simple - traffic moved but it was thick. Traffic on 17 south was very, very heavy for those first 4 miles. So, the 15-mile commute from San Jose to Eagle Harbor took 30 minutes, the bulk of the time spent crawling those 4 miles on 17.

My daughter commutes from Eagle Harbor to school on Beach Blvd. Depending on the time of day, it can be a snap or a pain. Her commute is up 17 to 295 south which becomes 9A at the I-95 interchange. Her traffic woes (besides the 4 miles on 17) can be at the I-95 interchange of 295/9A, and where 9A and JTB (Butler Blvd) meet, as well as the Buckman Bridge - commuter traffic on 295 over that bridge runs south in the morning and north in the evening. At certain times of day her commute is a little over 30 minutes, whereas at other times of day it can be an hour.

Going into downtown from Eagle Harbor is an easy straight shot up 17 and takes 30 minutes or so even during "rush hour". Sometimes the traffic can be heavy at the Naval Air Station, but I've never seen it stop-n-go.

However, having done the NY/NJ commuter thing which meant dealing with many miles of congestion there, the few miles of traffic here is not a bother at all for us.

When we were househunting here last April, we spent a day WITHOUT our realtor and just drove around and around all over the place. That's how we were able to add/eliminate all the multitudes of possibilities, and we could then focus and zero in on houses to look at WITH our realtor.

[riveree]

All good advice, this is an old post though - the OP posted March 2006.

[mawipafl]

oops that it's an old post ... one disadvantage of copy/pasting the url from the email alert is that one doesn't see the original post and its date ... I'll pay more attention in the future :-) So, now, this poses the question to ASH & NICHOLE ... where did you end up??

[Karla with a K]

mawwipafl
that is great information I wonder if your post could be moved to its own thread maybe called "travel times from the Orange park area"

Once they complete the interchange at 9A & JTB I think that will ease the congestion there.

I know what you mean about the NJ traffic, traveling south on the Garden State Parkway in the summer was a nightmare.


p.s. what is this "email alert" of which you speak ?