Just how Southern is Jacksonville? (St. Augustine, Orange Park: housing, rent, lease)

[Mr_Timm]

Jacksonville is more like "South Georgia" than North Florida.

All of the people who are Jacksonville Natives tend to live on the Westside, or in places like Callahan, Yulee, Glen St. Mary - which are all small towns that surround Jacksonville.





Mr. Timm

[Since 1972]

Originally Posted by riveree

Yeah! That is unique!

The first time (okay, the only time! ) I had one of my SILs to lunch at my home, she was appalled that I did not offer iced tea with lunch! I didn't know it was the "rule"!

On one of those food shows my wife watches , they described iced tea as the house wine of the South.

I am, of course, a total iced tea addict. And the sweet/unsweet depends on my mood or how much sugar I've recently consumed. Maybe the calming effect of tea is why Southerners are so laid-back.

[jaxnative]

As my moniker states, I'm a JAX native. I grew up in the beaches, but have lived all over town; Regency, San Marco, Intercoastal West and now the Northside. Are we Southern? There are pockets. For the most part everyone here is from somewhere else. SO they bring the cultures and traditions of thier home state/country with them. Yes we serve sweet/unsweet, but this town has some great features all within reach. The river, beaches, historic areas, music, art, culture, great and diverse restaurants and some wonderful people, no matter where they came from.
This town is a wonderful place, but you have to make it that way. No one is going to hand it to you. There are great areas of town and there are some blighted areas, you'll know when you see them. Is this Philly, no way. But can you still get a decent Cheesesteak or Hoagie (ahh, my Wawa days) yes. Just explore. Even after living here for 34 years I still find great pockets of diversity. You just have to venture beyond the gates of your community and take advantage of the wonderful things this town has to offer, again, it's what you make it!!

[LuAnn245]

I had to post this here as I thought is was worth it, last night we ate at Cracker Barrel and somene made the comment near us how great this southern cooking was...Cracker Barrel is never my choice, lol, but my family likes it...how little people realize how much of that food is right out of a box...lol, life is funny

[agreatlife]

I'm a NJ transplant, I had no culture shock moving here, but I also didn't have relatives that I was leaving behind. The biggest change for me was not having to pay for refills on the sweet tea! I thought I wanted to live at the beaches, but my REALTOR convinced me to look at Mandarin, and I just love it. I don't think you'll have any problem getting a teaching job, all the teachers I know say the same thing. You may want to first secure your job, then decide if you want to live close to where you will be teaching.
Best of luck to you.

[apanda]

Jax is a great place to live! Every area of town is almost like a different town all together. I would not really consider the city as a whole very Southern, sure there is sweet tea, grits, we self-serve, there is the Westside, Orange Park, and Middleburg... But the city as a whole is very diverse and unique.
On a side note, be prepared to take a pay cut being a teacher down here. I am not sure of the cost of living in Philly, it may balance out for you, but just know teachers around here don't do it for the pay! Also, be sure to research the school you pick. My mother-in-law is a 2nd grade teacher to a 5 year "A" school and they were just networked for computers last year! The county admitted they "forgot" about the school! And that was far from the first time things like that have happened to them!

[palenciacondo]

Originally Posted by Since 1972

On one of those food shows my wife watches , they described iced tea as the house wine of the South.

I am, of course, a total iced tea addict. And the sweet/unsweet depends on my mood or how much sugar I've recently consumed. Maybe the calming effect of tea is why Southerners are so laid-back.

I am also an iced tea addict. Each day, I brew a pitcher for the day's consumption. Sweet tea is just plain unhealthy; way too much sugar. Try it with Splenda...and of course lemon.

Cheers!

[Since 1972]

Originally Posted by palenciacondo

I am also an iced tea addict. Each day, I brew a pitcher for the day's consumption. Sweet tea is just plain unhealthy; way too much sugar. Try it with Splenda...and of course lemon.

Cheers!

With/without lemon? Them's fightin' words! My tea habit started with hot tea, which I only put sugar in. I'm just not a lemon guy.

But the fresh brewed pitcher in the morning sounds like a great idea. Cheers to that!

[unfgrad94]

I have family in Philly and have spent some time there. I am a Jax native. Hopefully I can provide you with some perspective.

I would also agree that there are pockets of "southerness" in Jacksonville. Definitely stay away from the westside of town. Confederate flags on pick-up trucks are the norm on this side of town. "Get R Done" is a proudly used phrase here. Racisim can be a problem on this side of town.

If you move to Julington Creek, Orange Park, San Marco, or Riverside you will avoid a lot of this mentality.
Whatever side of town you decide on, people of all neighborhoods are church going in Jacksonville and take the bible very seriously. Clay County (Orange Park, Green Cove Springs) is a semi-dry county and alcohol purchases are forbidden before 2pm on Sundays.

I would guess one thing you would miss the most about Philly is the night life and the cultural offerings. Jacksonville has come a long way in the past 10 years, but still has a long way to go. If you're used to seeing major artists when they go on world tours, you will have to travel to Orlando, Miami, or Tampa to see them. Jax is frequently skipped.

Also- keep in mind - Jax is a red city all the way. Not sure if politics is a consideration for you but it is overally, a conversative, pro-military (there is the naval base here) city.

[Ocklawaha]

Good question, population within the City limits? Only New York City, and Philly are larger then Jacksonville on the East Coast of the USA. We are the sleeping giant that is starting to stir.

I agree with UNFgrad about the West side, though I would say more out toward Cecil Field area. Not so much in the Riverside - Orange Park corridor. Jacksonville, has an improving school system, and the schools both North and South of us are excellent. We do have some of that old big inner city trouble, but seem to have a good handle on the system.

If your liberal, their is a thriving gay community here, we are home to the State President of NOW, and have a small but vocal Blue side too. Most of all, Southern or not, we are a very accepting city. Reason? Maybe because of a booming World Port? Maybe because within the MSA, we don't have a Naval Station, we have 7 Military installations Navy-Army/Guard-Marine. With so many from so many places, it is a very open and blended community. Arts? Well from Oliver Hardy, to Ray Charles and Lynyrd Skynyrd, botanical gardens, and the Cummer Art Gallery or Museum of Modern Art, to the little clubs and bars of 5-Points, we are very alive.

As for "Why I'm Here", Well, you won't see Trolley Cars, or Commuter Trains, in Jacksonville, and that is something you will probably miss being from Philly... But I'm here to tell you all, "NOT FOR LONG." Our train is in sight.

Ocklawaha