moving to Jacksonville dfts of questions (renting, insurance, how much)

[dazee]

Hi

From my earlier post you will see we are considering moving to Florida from dublin, Ireland. Have been looking at a few places but are now focusing on Jacksonville as property seems alot cheaper, less chance of hurricanes and weather seems milder - I have lots of questions about the area any help would be greatly appreciated - here goes.

How much is house/hurricane insurance?
What are the utility costs and what exactly do you mean by utility costs what do they include/exclude?
Any 'hidden costs' in buying ahouse?
How do we go about getting our daughter into an A rated school? Do you have to be living in that area? or do you pay?
In Ireland children don't start school until they are 5 what age is it in US?
How much do private schools generally cost per year?

What would be considered a good salary in Jacksonville? I may not be working for first year as I am pregnant and will need to get my daughter settled. Is it possible to live on one salary and how much would you need to have a good lifestyle i.e 3 bed house with garage minimum 1600sq feet and 2 cars. Does anyone know what is an average wage for an IT consultant in Jacksonville.

We will be keeping our house in Dublin for the first year at least and renting it out in case we decide to come back. So any information on renting in Jacksonville will also be useful.

What is the weather like? Are winters very cold or just cold compared to South Florida?