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I'm single and in my early 30's, 31 to be exact and I currently live in Michigan(my entire life). I need a scenery change and since where coming off of the worst winter in history here I really don't want to go through next winter. I've wanted to move to FL for some time and have been debating the area, Central(Orlando area), West(Tampa) and North(Jacksonville). I think Jacksonville will provide me with the happy median I'm looking for right now. I work in IT and the job front looks promising in all of the areas I've been looking and at this point I'm ready to move without a job as I don't think I'll have a problem finding one once I get there. Of course I would like to rent for the first year so I can get a feel of the location. I plan to make a trip down the last week of April. Since I've seen the Southside mentioned so much in posts that's where I plan to visit. Does anyone have any suggestions on neighborhoods or restaurants I should visit?
Ideally I would like to live in a location that has good shopping, medical facility, restaurants, nightlife(I'm not a huge club goer so it won't kill me to not be near a club). I do like to frequent cool bars/hang out spots. I would also like for it to be a diverse area since I'm use to working and being friends with all types of people. If anyone is familiar with the Ann Arbor area (University of Michigan home base) that's the kind of feel I'm looking for. Also a location that has public transportation. Here in Michigan everything is spread out and a car is mandatory and I'm sick of driving.
I'm not picky, I don't need to live on the beach, I just want to live in safe neighborhood with great housing options. If you have any recommendations in Jacksonville or any of the surrounding areas I mentioned above I would soooo appreciate it.
...If anyone is familiar with the Ann Arbor area (University of Michigan home base) that's the kind of feel I'm looking for. Also a location that has public transportation. Here in Michigan everything is spread out and a car is mandatory and I'm sick of driving....
I'm familiar with the Ann Arbor area (I have family in Brighton - and my niece attended school in Ann Arbor and now lives there - we were up there last summer for my niece's wedding ). That Ann Arbor "feel" will be difficult/impossible to duplicate in this metro area. Off the top of my head - your best bets in Florida would be Gainesville and Tallahassee (both similar university towns).
Note that our local public transportation is pretty awful - and you will almost certainly need a car here. Robyn
Ideally I would like to live in a location that has good shopping, medical facility, restaurants, nightlife(I'm not a huge club goer so it won't kill me to not be near a club). I do like to frequent cool bars/hang out spots. I would also like for it to be a diverse area since I'm use to working and being friends with all types of people. If anyone is familiar with the Ann Arbor area (University of Michigan home base) that's the kind of feel I'm looking for. Also a location that has public transportation. Here in Michigan everything is spread out and a car is mandatory and I'm sick of driving.
With this description, you'll want to live in either...
Public transportation is lacking, but these areas, especially R & A, SPR, and Downtown will be better than most areas in Jax. In these areas, if you need to, you can get by with a bicycle. These areas are also hot for startups & IT, and many people just ride their bikes to work if they live near by.
Here's some sites that typically have a lot of rentals in these areas:
Public transportation is lacking, but these areas, especially R & A, SPR, and Downtown will be better than most areas in Jax. In these areas, if you need to, you can get by with a bicycle.
the problem with this line of thinking is that you either need a car or don't need a car. And once you have a car, you may as well use it. It's kind of like being pregnant or not pregnant.
Parts of riverside may be more 'pedestrian friendly'(marginally) more than others, but you still.....need a car. And you're still going to have to use that car a good bit.
One could easily make the argument that, for many people, areas of the southside around the better parts of gate parkway are the areas where car use could be most limited to shorter trips. You're going to need a car ANYWHERE you live in jacksonville if you have a normal life, but if you live in parts of the southside you are a more reasonable distance from everything.....plus lots of people work on the southside as well of course. but you're centrally located between downtown and the beach. If you live near the beach and want to go downtown(or vice versa), you're looking at a much longer drive.
But you're going to need a car wherever you live in jacksonville...which means all the expenses that come with it. being able to walk to The Brick and have lunch one saturday is sorta nice I guess, but it doesn't really have a lot to do with an area being 'pedestrian friendly'.
Reading between the lines I'm guessing that she wants to drive less but not necessarily ditch the car entirely. For most people, that wouldn't be feasible anywhere in FL.
Working off of that premise, Orlando may have the most walkable neighborhoods/options of your three city choices. Tampa probably a bit better than Jax but it's not a huge difference. Gainesville does have the closest feel to Ann Arbor (well, from the three days I spent in AA) but the transit won't be much of an improvement. Transit in Gainesville is very good if your daily commute centers around the university, otherwise not so much. It is an excellent biking town though.
In Jax my recommendations would be Riverside, Avondale or San Marco. These three historic neighborhoods are fairly walkable and diverse. The beaches are a wildcard cause they're very chill but still popular and have lots going on. And can be quite walkable/bikeable too. Also Southside, in particular the SJTC, is new, trendy, and popular, and increasingly walkable. But it is very generic and not planned well, resulting in lots of traffic issues and a less than ideal pedestrian environment.
Reading between the lines I'm guessing that she wants to drive less but not necessarily ditch the car entirely. For most people, that wouldn't be feasible anywhere in FL.
Working off of that premise, Orlando may have the most walkable neighborhoods/options of your three city choices. Tampa probably a bit better than Jax but it's not a huge difference. Gainesville does have the closest feel to Ann Arbor (well, from the three days I spent in AA) but the transit won't be much of an improvement. Transit in Gainesville is very good if your daily commute centers around the university, otherwise not so much. It is an excellent biking town though.
In Jax my recommendations would be Riverside, Avondale or San Marco. These three historic neighborhoods are fairly walkable and diverse. The beaches are a wildcard cause they're very chill but still popular and have lots going on. And can be quite walkable/bikeable too. Also Southside, in particular the SJTC, is new, trendy, and popular, and increasingly walkable. But it is very generic and not planned well, resulting in lots of traffic issues and a less than ideal pedestrian environment.
when people say 'drive less', it all depends on what they mean:
1) fewer small(less than 3 mile) trips?
2) fewer large(more than 8-10 mile) trips?
3) shorter commute?
4) walk to work?
5) less frequent number of total trips?
Because people have different goals. Also, regarding work....it depends on where people work when someone describes an area as less transportation dependent. If you work on southside(as a ton of people do) and you live in southside, your commute may just be a mile. That's a heck of a lot better than if one lives in a more 'walkable' neighborhood in riverside.
But I think the overall point should be that there are no real walkable neighborhoods in jacksonville. Anyone with any sort of means at all is going to have a car. And married couples where both people work are going to have 2. And that's true whether you live in southside, mandarin, riverside, ortega, downtown, etc....
when people say 'drive less', it all depends on what they mean:
1) fewer small(less than 3 mile) trips?
2) fewer large(more than 8-10 mile) trips?
3) shorter commute?
4) walk to work?
5) less frequent number of total trips?
Because people have different goals. Also, regarding work....it depends on where people work when someone describes an area as less transportation dependent. If you work on southside(as a ton of people do) and you live in southside, your commute may just be a mile. That's a heck of a lot better than if one lives in a more 'walkable' neighborhood in riverside.
But I think the overall point should be that there are no real walkable neighborhoods in jacksonville. Anyone with any sort of means at all is going to have a car. And married couples where both people work are going to have 2. And that's true whether you live in southside, mandarin, riverside, ortega, downtown, etc....
Good questions/observations. Exactly the ones I asked when my father moved here in his late 80's to be near us. He was driving then - still does at age 95 - and I want him to drive as little as possible (his senior facility has transportation available - but he wants to drive). The best place we found for him was the Carriage Club on Southside. Where just about everything he needs (shopping - restaurants - medical care - a bank - etc. - etc.) is < 5 miles away.
Note that we have pretty much everything we - in our late 60's - absolutely need in our late 60's within 5 to 8 or so miles too. Most of our wants (like the Town Center/Costco) about 10 - 12 miles away. And we still like getting around the metro area for the once a year stuff - like the Clay County Fair this weekend - the Tour de Farm and One Spark the next week - etc.
But my honest impression is you will live a very limited life here (or almost anywhere in Florida) without a car (unless you live in a senior facility with transportation services). Robyn
Thanks for all of the comments, truly appreciate it!
Robyn55 - I know it's going to be next to impossible to duplicate Ann Arbor, I wish I could just pick it up and move it to a warmer climate lol So I'll check out those areas you mentioned too.
fsu813- Thanks for all the links!
As far as driving, I don't rule out driving at all, I own 2 cars cause in MI with this weather I refuse to get stuck in the snow in a side ditch driving a little sports coupe lol Right now my commute to work is anywhere from 45-60min and it's just stop and go type traffic. If I could cut that in half I would be happy and if I could take a bus or something like that I would be super happy. My mom works in Downtown Detroit but lives outside of the city like 30-35 miles outside but she uses the park and ride system where she parks in the neighboring city's designated area and the bus picks and drops them off and from home she has like a 15 minute drive to this location. I would like something like this if possible. On the weekends I don't care about driving that much to stores or for entertainment.
Sounds like the Southside is a pretty busy area maybe that's why I've seen so may people mention it. What's the vibe there? How would you guys describe the area?
Thanks again for all the replies.
Last edited by Tardis2013; 04-02-2014 at 04:44 PM..
Check out Riverside (specifically 5 points) while you're here. I've lived in Jax for 18 years, and Riverside is the best side of town. 5 points offers lots of great restaurants and shops, as well as bars that have live music regularly (Rain Dogs and Birdies are the local favorites). If you're here on a Saturday, check out Riverside Arts Markets, located next to the Cummer Art Museum, from 10am - 4pm, for live outdoor music, food and craft vendors. Also check out Memorial Park by the river, it's beautiful, and there's usually a good amount of people hanging out there from all walks of life. Riverside has lots of people your age, lots of GenX and GenY people (I'm 29). For the most part, people are in Riverside are friendly and easy to strike up conversations with if you wanna hang out with some locals.
Also, I would recommend checking out Downtown's "The Elbow" nearly any night of the week. The Elbow consists of a small strip of bars and venues including Burro Bar (punk/indie bar), Dos Gatos (lounge and high class cocktails), 1904 (jam and funk bands, DJs outside in the back, hippy bar) and Underbelly (trendy/indie bar and venue with the best sound and light systems around). The Florida Theatre is also right there, which features national touring acts regularly, I've seen anything from Wilco to Three Dog Night to Billy Joel's "Movin Out" there. For some late night cheap and healthy eats, check out Chomp Chomp, it's right behind Burro Bar, SO GOOD! Never over $8 and is quality food, open til 2am most nights. Unfortunately, you are going to miss the One Spark event that starts this week and goes into the weekend (Google "One Spark Jacksonville"). It's the second one, and it's the best thing that's happened to Jax in a long time.
Hope that helps.
Last edited by Tyalder; 04-07-2014 at 10:12 AM..
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. I've wanted to move to FL for some time and have been debating the area, Central(Orlando area), West(Tampa) and North(Jacksonville). I think Jacksonville will provide me with the happy median I'm looking for right now. I work in IT and the job front looks promising in all of the areas I've been looking and at this point I'm ready to move without a job as I don't think I'll have a problem finding one once I get there. Of course I would like to rent for the first year so I can get a feel of the location. I plan to make a trip down the last week of April. Since I've seen the Southside mentioned so much in posts that's where I plan to visit. Does anyone have any suggestions on neighborhoods or restaurants I should visit?
- and I want him to drive as little as possible (his senior facility has transportation available - but he wants to drive). The best place we found for him was the Carriage Club on Southside. Where just about everything he needs (shopping - restaurants - medical care - a bank - etc. - etc.) is < 5 miles away.
