Help point me in the right direction for areas of Jacksonville (Miami: best neighborhoods, oceanfront)

[septimus]

I'm just doing preliminary research as my husband is interviewing for a position next week in Jacksonville.

We are currently in suburban Nashville which has its pluses and minuses. We relocated here from Boston and I think I'm just more of a city person.

I would prefer to be in a walkable neighborhood. We have three very different kids so strong public schools are important but best to me doesn't just mean highest test scores. My kids are all in elementary school. One is grade accelerated in math and has a gifted IEP. He goes up to 6th grade for his math instruction and will take the 6th grade state math test this year (took 5th grade last year).

One kid is on the autism spectrum but high functioning.

One kid is just a happy go lucky kid.

I'm not opposed to private but I doubt there is a school that could accommodate all three

Our budget can probably go has high as $1M but I'd like to stay closer to $700k.

Before we get to far into the hiring process I want to make sure this is a feasible relocation. Thanks


Thanks

[projectmaximus]

1st of all, from all that I've read and seen (although last visit to Nashville was in 2013), Nashville's urban infill and development is easily outpacing Jacksonville's. Suburban Nashville is still quite a bit less dense than suburban Jacksonville, but the "urban areas" are more dense and vibrant than ours.

For good public schools people almost universally run to St Johns County (SE suburbs) with one of the top districts in the state. Some folks also do Clay County (SW suburbs) which is about average. They stay away from Duval (the core county) because it is rated one of the worst. That said, there are some good schools in Duval, a very strong magnet program with several nationally ranked schools, and a couple very good private schools.

Nocatee would put you in St Johns County and is a new urbanist community, meaning it does have some good walkable characteristics. But it would put your husband at a very long commute especially if he's working downtown.

Your only other real options for semi-walkability are the beaches areas and the urban core neighborhoods surrounding downtown. In the latter, you can get some really nice historic homes for under budget in Riverside, Avondale and San Marco. Riverside is the most "city" like atmosphere in Jax. The most vibrant, the most dense, and the most balanced mix of residential, retail and office space within a walkable area. San Marco, on the other hand, puts you very close to both Bolles and Episcopal, the top two private schools.

Good luck!!

[septimus]

Thank you Projectmaximus

Nocatee looks a lot like where we live now albeit a bit larger (We live in a large TND).

Currently my husband's commute is 15 minutes so by long commute do you mean 1 hour or 30 min

How hard is it to get into the private schools like the ones you mentioned? In Nashville lots don't get in and end up moving to the burbs.

Are there any beach communities you would recommend?

Thanks

[hornsch]

Atlantic Beach!

[projectmaximus]

Originally Posted by septimus

Thank you Projectmaximus

Nocatee looks a lot like where we live now albeit a bit larger (We live in a large TND).

Currently my husband's commute is 15 minutes so by long commute do you mean 1 hour or 30 min

How hard is it to get into the private schools like the ones you mentioned? In Nashville lots don't get in and end up moving to the burbs.

Are there any beach communities you would recommend?

Thanks

There are two large employment centers, downtown and the JTB-Southside area. From Nocatee, downtown would probably be about 40 minutes in normal traffic and JTB-Southside only about 25. But during regular commuting hours I'd add about 10-15 minutes to that. If it's a really bad day then perhaps worse. Jax doesn't have horrendous traffic compared to most big cities but it's been gradually getting worse and for the next couple years several major interstate arteries will be under construction. Of course this all depends on his job location, it could certainly be somewhere besides these two areas.

I do not know for sure but I'm under the impression it's not all that difficult to get acceptance to the private schools. FYI the ones I am thinking of are Bolles and Episcopal. The Bolles School Episcopal School of Jacksonville - Homepage There are also the "Country Day Schools."

Neptune Beach through the lower portion of Atlantic Beach would be my focus area. Neptune Beach is a bit more family-oriented and older, though it does still attract some younger party-minded folks. Atlantic Beach, to its north, turns a bit more suburban and if you go too far you start to encroach on Mayport and some sketchier areas. But right where Neptune and Atlantic meet is the Beaches Town Center, which is a really nice couple blocks of restaurants and shops so being walking distance to that is great. Jax Beach, which is south of Neptune, is more or less a young, nightlife district so it would tend to scare away families, but there are portions of it that may be quiet enough. Ponte Vedra Beach, even more south, is basically a wealthy suburb on the ocean...not really walkable at all. Also note, the beaches aren't a wonderful commute to downtown either. JTB-Southside is not as far but can be very frustratingly slow.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by septimus

I'm just doing preliminary research as my husband is interviewing for a position next week in Jacksonville.

We are currently in suburban Nashville which has its pluses and minuses. We relocated here from Boston and I think I'm just more of a city person.

I would prefer to be in a walkable neighborhood. We have three very different kids so strong public schools are important but best to me doesn't just mean highest test scores. My kids are all in elementary school. One is grade accelerated in math and has a gifted IEP. He goes up to 6th grade for his math instruction and will take the 6th grade state math test this year (took 5th grade last year).

One kid is on the autism spectrum but high functioning.

One kid is just a happy go lucky kid.

I'm not opposed to private but I doubt there is a school that could accommodate all three

Our budget can probably go has high as $1M but I'd like to stay closer to $700k.

Before we get to far into the hiring process I want to make sure this is a feasible relocation. Thanks

Thanks

Where will your husband be working (traffic isn't dreadful here - but it sure is worse than it used to be)?

I've lived in the Boston area (Cambridge) but not in or anywhere near Nashville. There isn't really anywhere in Florida that has a city like Boston or similar places up north. There are almost no areas that are "walkable" in the sense that you live in a "downtownish" area - walk to work - pick up some groceries on the way home - etc. (like I did when I lived in downtown Philadelphia). There are some houses that are close to schools. But - at best - you're usually talking about a bike ride along streets that may or may not be safe for bikes. Most kids take the bus to school - or their parents drive them.

In general here - even when you're talking about the most "walkable" neighborhoods - you're perhaps talking about having a few restaurants where you can walk to dinner. Even if there's a grocery store 1/4 mile away - you're not going to want to walk your groceries back home in 85-90+ degree heat (we have warm ---> hot weather over 50% of the year).

IOW - the best "walkable" neighborhoods here aren't anything to write home about - and that factor shouldn't be an important one IMO in terms of where you would relocate here. If you really want a "walkable" area - and that is high on your list of priorities - I wouldn't move here.

The public schools in Florida aren't great for the most part or even good (my parents didn't move to Florida until my youngest brother graduated from high school). Although some are better than others. The best way to find a good neighborhood school (as opposed to a magnet or "specialty" school) is to find a zip code where people have money - are white - and speak English as a first language. Another good indicator is having a very high % of kids in a school who don't qualify for free lunches. This isn't a politically correct thing to say - but it's true. Critics of Florida school rankings point out that the standardized test scores used in the rankings merely reflect the demographics of the schools - not their quality.

The Bolles School is the undisputed top non-religious private school in the area. It does not have a single campus for all grades (there are 2 elementary school locations - one in San Marco - one in Ponte Vedra Beach) - a high school location in San Marco - and the middle school is here (I'm not sure what this neighborhood is called):

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bo...01ca5b9c27c32a

Most of our neighbors who care about education and have enough money send their kids to Bolles (the kids take the Bolles bus).

You can get a nice house here for $700k.

There is no substitute for coming down here - driving around - and seeing various parts of town for yourself. It's very easy to rule out lots of areas just on the basis of casual "look sees".

Note that my husband and I have lived in Ponte Vedra Beach for about 20 years (we moved from Miami). We are 70ish and retired. We have a nice house - and are close to things that were/are important to us (tennis and now golf) - decent but not great shopping (has gotten much better over the years) - excellent medical care (also has gotten much better over the years and is increasingly important to us as we get older). FWIW - many people in our neighborhood walk - run - ride bikes - etc. But basically for recreation - not as a "lifestyle". Robyn

[Robyn55]

P.S. One thing to keep in mind when looking at houses/neighborhoods here is insurance. We have big deal insurance issues in Florida (getting decent coverage and cost). You will in general want newer construction and also want to stay a reasonable distance from oceanfront (for example - when we moved here - our insurance company - State Farm - wouldn't insure anything less than 2500 feet from the ocean). Another consideration is flooding. Even in areas where you might not suspect flooding (like parts of Riverside and San Marco and JAX Beach). If/when you become interested in any particular part of the metro area - it's a good idea to come back and ask specific questions about specific neighborhoods.

[projectmaximus]

Where have you been, Robyn?!! It's been too long!

Originally Posted by Robyn55

In general here - even when you're talking about the most "walkable" neighborhoods - you're perhaps talking about having a few restaurants where you can walk to dinner. Even if there's a grocery store 1/4 mile away - you're not going to want to walk your groceries back home in 85-90+ degree heat (we have warm ---> hot weather over 50% of the year).

I agree with everything Robyn said, except with the walkable neighborhoods I think she's a bit harsh. I have always had the feeling she hasn't spent too much time in walkable neighborhoods of most mid-sized cities. Jax is behind its peers in walkability and transit but its best neighborhoods (particularly Riverside) hold up well vs other top neighborhoods. She also probably hasn't spent a lot of time at the Publix in Riverside or the Fresh Market in Brooklyn, who both see quite a substantial amount of pedestrian traffic. I think they only have about one-third of the normal parking spaces required, and they received the zoning variance in large part due to their walkable locations. Also note, I walked to the grocery store often in 85+ degree weather in DC, and also often in sub-freezing temps in DC and Chicago. In Hong Kong we walk everywhere (grocery store included) in mostly 85+ temps. Granted these cities are very different from Jax but my point is weather is not the primary deterrent.

[septimus]

Thanks Robyn. We lived in Cambridge.

I make my kids walk the 3/4 of a mile to school every day unless we have severe weather, mostly because I've seen the benefits of them going into the school building a lot calmer just by that 12 minute walk to school.

We will definitely drive around once we find out more about the job.

Good tip Project Maximus on the insurance. I guess I'm trading tornados for hurricanes.

[snuffybear]

Here are the schools to look at:

Suburban: Ponte Vedra, Bartram Trail, Creekside (and elementary/middle that feed those)

Private: Bolles, Epsicopal (actually considered more academically challenging than Bolles)

Magnet: Stanton, Paxon (both rated in the top 1-10 public schools in the US, Stanton sometimes gets the #1 spot)


Sounds like you'd like the areas by the river that are urban, I don't know them....but many there go to Bolles, Episcopal, Stanton, Paxon, etc. Problem is the diversity of your kids' needs....and they are young so need good elementary/middle schools.
With $700K budget you will have a lot of choices.