Specific neighborhoods to check out....

[Momma2ncjd]

So the husband drove all over creation today! Even sent me some selfies from the beach, that punk!

Of course he wants to live near the beaches but our house will have to be much smaller..... He also liked the look of Mandarin, we like the established look. If you could all keep him in your prayers as he goes for his final interviews tomorrow that would be awesome! Thanks!

[mawipafl]

Originally Posted by Momma2ncjd

So the husband drove all over creation today! Even sent me some selfies from the beach, that punk!

Of course he wants to live near the beaches but our house will have to be much smaller..... He also liked the look of Mandarin, we like the established look. If you could all keep him in your prayers as he goes for his final interviews tomorrow that would be awesome! Thanks!

Ok, fingers crossed!

Before finally choosing to buy in northern Duval, we looked in Mandarin, did like it, and actually saw one particular house three times (and to this day feel badly for putting the seller through that with no positive end result for them). The neighborhood was off Mandarin Road not far from Walter Jones Park. We liked it that we were away from the hustle and bustle of San Jose Blvd. and yet had easy access to all the stores and restaurants, including a back way into Publix so that we could do grocery shopping without getting out onto San Jose. What also drew us to Mandarin were the big trees (signifying the feeling of establishment), closeness to the St. Johns, stroll-ability of the area, friendliness of people (strangers waving at strangers kind of thing).

[EricBoyd]

Originally Posted by mawipafl

... We liked it that we were away from the hustle and bustle of San Jose Blvd. and yet had easy access to all the stores and restaurants, including a back way into Publix so that we could do grocery shopping without getting out onto San Jose...

This is a good point. I've living in Mandarin most of my 26 years in Jax. There are a LOT of cut-throughs, that allow alternate means of travel to avoid San Jose Blvd. I will also say that, short of any backups caused by an accident, since they've improved the timing of the traffic lights at Claire Lane and San Jose Blvd, that area doesn't back up for nearly as long as it used to. It flows pretty good, for being the main thoroughfare out of SJC.

[Momma2ncjd]

Originally Posted by EricBoyd

This is a good point. I've living in Mandarin most of my 26 years in Jax. There are a LOT of cut-throughs, that allow alternate means of travel to avoid San Jose Blvd. I will also say that, short of any backups caused by an accident, since they've improved the timing of the traffic lights at Claire Lane and San Jose Blvd, that area doesn't back up for nearly as long as it used to. It flows pretty good, for being the main thoroughfare out of SJC.

We have a road near us not that has just about every store and chain restaurant you could want plus two malls all within 4 miles so we are used to finding back ways to get to the stores we want. I avoid driving on that street at all costs!