Jacksonville vs. Tampa (Clearwater, Spring Hill, St. Augustine: house, neighborhood, college)

[Leaving4Ca]

Great replies. Need to get down there to look around.

One of the big draws to jax is the ocean... I love the ocean, and have fond memories of St Augustine...would love to live under an hour from the beach. St Johns looks promising... And I did post questions about Clay County - Fleming Island and Orange Park...

I liked Tampa but honestly am not thrilled with the bay. No real waves, it does not have the same feeling as the ocean. Plus when we were there in the fall, I realized that there are not great sea breezes off the bay...

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Landing on Galaxy

...The biggest problem with Jacksonville is the people who are living there since it seems like most people were depressed or angry. I never met so many angry/depressed people in one city.

As they said in NPR (which was my way to the "outside" world when I was living in Jacksonville) PTSD is contagious. Depression is also contagious as well...

Boy - nothing like broad generalizations based on fleeting/casual observations of small numbers of people .

FWIW - at my age (late 60's) - and having lived in Florida for 40+ years - I have known people with serious depression in various parts of Florida. Some were depressed enough to kill themselves. And you know what - I was never creative enough (or perhaps more properly - dumb enough) to blame their depression on living in Miami - or Tampa - or JAX - or Tallahassee. Robyn

[Landing on Galaxy]

Sorry, you are right. I should have not said that.

Actually, I think it could also be a difference in perception. Maybe they were not "depressed." just laid back and quiet. And I took that as being upset or depressed since I'm so used to seeing people to express excitement or energy to be "happy" whereas most people in Jacksonville were showing contentment and calmness. I probably took that as being somber/depressed.

[NoleFanHSV]

Personally, I think it costs too much to live in Jacksonville vs the average salaries there. I also know people who've gone into all the various new condos and townhomes who are having all sorts of problems.

I think Jacksonville, unlike Orlando or Tamba, has no identity. It hasn't for years. I think too many people want to keep it more small town and family oriented while there is a whole other group who want a bigger downtown, better nightlife, and more attractions.

At one point I thought bringing the Jaguars would bring some sort of identity to the city. It lasted for a few years while the team was winning. Not so much now.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by NoleFanHSV

...I also know people who've gone into all the various new condos and townhomes who are having all sorts of problems.

What kind of problems?

I think Jacksonville, unlike Orlando or Tamba, has no identity. It hasn't for years. I think too many people want to keep it more small town and family oriented while there is a whole other group who want a bigger downtown, better nightlife, and more attractions.

After all these decades in Florida - I don't think there are many areas at all in the state with a unique kind of identity. Maybe Miami (Hispanic)- Palm Beach (rich) - The Villages (lower middle/middle class retirees from up north living in a "Pleasantville" in the middle of nowhere) - things like that. But what kind of identity does Tampa have?

FWIW - when I moved to my current location - I thought the identity was upper middle class suburban somewhat early retiree 50ish golf/tennis oriented - which was pretty much what we were looking for . Today the population in the county as a whole is getting both younger and less affluent. But the change where I live is restricted pretty much to just younger (and perhaps more affluent). Which doesn't bother me.

In terms of downtown - I think there are more people here who are willing to talk a good game than walk it. And this isn't only true of JAX - it's true of every downtown in Florida. People here in Florida just tend to like and live suburban lifestyles. Robyn

[Leaving4Ca]

Originally Posted by NoleFanHSV

Personally, I think it costs too much to live in Jacksonville vs the average salaries there. I also know people who've gone into all the various new condos and townhomes who are having all sorts of problems.

REALLY?!?! That really made me laugh! Try living where I live at the moment, Metro DC... $300K gets you a shoebox on the side of the beltway an hour commute from your job.

As for the job situation, I am a firm believer in that the cream rises to the top. If you are smart, have a decent resume and are enthusiastic and perservere you WILL find a job.

Every study I have read directly disagrees with NoleFan's post about the cost of living.

I would be happy to take an "average" salary in JAX and be able to buy a lovely single family home for $300K! Planning a visit down to JAX soon...

[NoleFanHSV]

I know lots of college degreed individuals with 5 to 15 years experience struggling to bring in 45 to 50k a year. Jacksonville is becoming younger and less affluent as the previous poster said, but property values aren't matching. An average salary in jax is 45k. That won't buy a 300k house for many folks.

Ime, this is Florida in general. Old money propping up property values on the coast. I'm not saying its as bad as DC or NYC, but after looking at Atlanta property values vs income, I'd personally be better off there. Even a few people I know living in jax are considering Atlanta as a better option. Sadly I'm making more here in Alabama considering the cost of living than I would in jax. Huntsville property values have surpassed Jacksonville, but so has the median income. When I left jax 15 years ago, the median income of Jacksonville was almost 20k more.

[JoJoCal19]

I wish I'd have seen this thread earlier, but I'll chime in now.

I have lived in the Jacksonville area from 1994 through 2013. Specifically I lived in Orange Park for about 6 years, Green Cove Springs for about 1 year, Keystone Heights for about 2 years, Middleburg for about 1 year, Fleming Island for 1 year, Jacksonville Southside for about 4 years, and Finally northern St. Augustine for 4 years. Last year we moved to the Tampa area, specifically Wesley Chapel.

I looked at a lot of areas in the Tampa area, and am working in the Eastside of Tampa. We are planning to move back to the Jacksonville area by next summer at the latest. Even though the ultimate reason is because our family and friends are there, there are some really important things one should consider about Tampa vs Jacksonville.

Before I go into positives/negatives I want to address the job thing. The job market and the amount of jobs in Tampa blows Jacksonville away. On pretty much every front that I've researched. Now I know it depends on what you do, but I've done research for tons of different types of jobs, and for what I do, Information Security. Do your research on that aspect. One good way is to use Indeed.com to do targeted keyword searches.

Tampa Area: First and foremost, real estate is atrociously high as compared to the Jacksonville area. We moved from a really nice master planned community in northern St Johns Co and the same builder is building in the same type of community here in Wesley Chapel and the houses start at roughly $80k more here in Tampa, than for a similar floor plan and size like we had in St Augustine. Even with existing homes, I'm finding for what we are looking for, we can get much much more for the money in NE FL. Then there is the issue of sinkholes. It is a real and concerning issue here. Also insurance as a whole is way more here. Auto is a good example. Our rates jumped up $50 a month just for switching from St. Johns Co to Pasco Co. It's worse yet in Hillsborough from what I hear. And oh yea, people cannot drive down here to save their lives. The frequency and severity of wrecks here easily quadruples what I experienced in commuting to/from Jacksonville for almost two decades. Traffic is also horrible. It's so awful. I will take the slowdowns and traffic in Jax any day over what I have to contend with here. AND THATS AT 6:15AM!!!! Good luck if you work at 8 or even 9 or have to get off at 5 or 6.

Now there are a lot of positives about Tampa. For one, Gulf beaches here are nicer than even St. Augustine beaches. Of course that's subjective but the sand is nicer, the water is beautiful, and there a nice variety of beaches. There is also so much more to do here in Tampa, most of which is listed above. If you're active and/or love being outdoors you'd be hard pressed to find as much to do in Jax as compared to here, and it's just nicer. You're also more centrally located to Disney and other stuff in Orlando, if you're into that. There's also much more diversity here, and likewise a lot more choices for non-chain restaurants. If you dislike the cold, it doesn't get near as cold here as it does in Jax. I don't think I need all the fingers on one hand to count the times during this past winter when it was in the 30's when I woke up. And lastly, Tampa FEELS like Florida. As was mentioned in another thread and I've stated there, Jacksonville feels like it's basically Southern GA. That's not a good thing. Here it just feels like Florida. The scenery, weather, architecture, etc.



Jacksonville Area: My biggest complaint is that Jacksonville seems too much like Southern GA. If you like GA, then good, but for most that's not a good thing. There is not as much to do in Jax as there is in Tampa, but there is most of what anyone would want to do in Jax. Also chain restaurants seem to prevail in the Jax area. I feel the beaches are not as nice as the Gulf side. The job market in Jax seems to be much smaller and pay less compared to Tampa.

Now for positives, again housing seems to be much cheaper, whether new construction or existing. Insurance both for the home and auto are much cheaper from my own experiences. Traffic is so much better. Yes there is congestion and things can slow down at certain times, but here it's so much worse than I ever experienced in Jax. Plus the amount and severity of accidents in Jax is nothing like I've experienced here. I feel like I play russian roulette with my life every time I get on the road. Yes, it's that bad.


If I could give one piece of advice, please spend a week in both places. Even then it's not enough time, because we found some things we didn't really like even after being here a year. But at a minimum you can get a feel for traffic at various times, get more detailed information on costs, etc. Feel free to message me if you have any questions you'd rather not ask here or want to chat directly.

[gardenpearl]

Good observations. Basically, I like many parts of the Tampa Bay area. But I have driven around all over Florida and the city of Tampa itself gets my #1 award for Scariest Highways. Intimidatingly huge with steep, sharply curving flyovers, double deckers, right lanes that suddenly disappear, heavy high-speed traffic and aggressive drivers. There are a couple of highways I drove on once where I felt like I was so in over my head that I never got on them again.

Once the sinkholes really started to hit over there - that was enough to rule that area out, although I love some of the areas south of Tampa. And I agree that housing and insurance are expensive for what you get compared to many areas because there is a lot going on.

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by JoJoCal19

Now there are a lot of positives about Tampa. For one, Gulf beaches here are nicer than even St. Augustine beaches. Of course that's subjective but the sand is nicer, the water is beautiful, and there a nice variety of beaches.

I strongly differ with you on this comparison. As you say, everything is subjective but in my book a beach is NOT a real beach unless there are waves and Gulf beaches are as lifeless as pools. The sand is nice but give me a roaring beach with lots of waves like Jax and SA beaches. They are more fun.