Where in Jax should a single, 30-something man live? (Jacksonville: transplants, apartment complex)

[MisterCali]

I'm one of two final candidates for a job in Jacksonville. I'll be having my final interviews right after Thanksgiving. There's at least a 50/50 chance that I could get this job and then have less than a month to move out there, so I figured I should start researching the area now. The job is for a one-year contract from Dec. 2016-Dec. 2017, so I'm not worried about putting down roots.

I'm a single man in my early 30s. I'm openly gay and, yes, a big ol' lefty, progressive. I grew up in the suburbs of San Diego and Orange County, California and have lived about 60% of my adult life in big, liberal cities like LA, New York and San Francisco. I have a preference for urban living experiences, but have spent much of my life in the 'burbs as well, so I'm adaptable. I would be relocating from a medium-sized city in San Diego County.

I don't know all the neighborhoods/districts, but the office is located east of the St. John's River, North of the 295 and west of the 95.

I would prefer living in a neighborhood with some of these characteristics:

• A 45 minute or less commute
• A somewhat walkable neighborhood
• Fairly close grocery stores
• Diverse, non-chain restaurants
• A safe and (by FL standards) tolerant environment - a place where it's safe to, say, meet friends for dinner and then walk around well after dark
• Access to some public transportation (perhaps a pipe dream?)
• A somewhat younger population - I'm not going to bars and clubs every night, but I'd also prefer not to be the youngest person in my hood by two generations.

I'd prefer to spend less than $1200/mo on rent.


So, if you were me, which neighborhoods would you focus on?

[projectmaximus]

Good luck and welcome! Sounds like your work is on the east side of the river but close to it. Anywhere from the Southbank down to Mandarin and the Avenues area.

Forget about public transportation...the only quasi-useful transit might come in handy once a month (Perhaps skyway downtown when parking is difficult, the riverside night trolley or beaches trolley when you don't want to drink and drive but really uber is much more worthwhile in those instances)...

With that out of the way I'd say hands down the urban core neighborhoods around downtown are easily your best bet, with the beaches being a wild card option if you think being near the ocean would appeal to you. (It's not the nicest beach at all but you'll be hard pressed to ever find a cheaper COL at the beach of a major metro)

Urban core neighborhoods include Springfield, Murray Hill, and Avondale, but I'd say the three at the top of your list should be:

San Marco - falls within your potential work boundaries so most likely 15 min or less commute. Walkable but not too vibrant yet. Gorgeous historic neighborhood with excellent local fine dining options and growing in the nightlife area. Lacks a grocery store though one is SUPPOSED to break ground by year's end (not in time for you obviously) so you'd have to choose from 5 grocery options all under a 10 minutes drive.

Riverside - Bohemian, Artsy, hipster mecca for many years but now gentrifying to the point that some of that vibe has been lost. Most walkable part of Jax. Add about 5-10 min to your commute compared to San Marco. Nice parks, excellent nightlife, pretty dense and vibrant. All these urban core areas are the more LGBT-friendly, progressive, diverse parts of town, but really the base is Riverside.

Brooklyn - only two options for housing here...both high-end apartments that I believe have 1 bedrooms right around the $1200 mark. Living in either apartment complex puts about a dozen restaurants and a Fresh Market right at your doorstep. Adjacent to Riverside. Add 5 minutes to your commute compared to San Marco. Unlike Riverside and San Marco, almost half of those dozen restaurants are of the chain variety.

I've written a lot about all these neighborhoods so search the forums. There's plenty of info/insight from others as well.

[MisterCali]

Originally Posted by projectmaximus

Good luck and welcome! Sounds like your work is on the east side of the river but close to it. Anywhere from the Southbank down to Mandarin and the Avenues area.

Forget about public transportation...the only quasi-useful transit might come in handy once a month (Perhaps skyway downtown when parking is difficult, the riverside night trolley or beaches trolley when you don't want to drink and drive but really uber is much more worthwhile in those instances)...

With that out of the way I'd say hands down the urban core neighborhoods around downtown are easily your best bet, with the beaches being a wild card option if you think being near the ocean would appeal to you. (It's not the nicest beach at all but you'll be hard pressed to ever find a cheaper COL at the beach of a major metro)

Urban core neighborhoods include Springfield, Murray Hill, and Avondale, but I'd say the three at the top of your list should be:

San Marco - falls within your potential work boundaries so most likely 15 min or less commute. Walkable but not too vibrant yet. Gorgeous historic neighborhood with excellent local fine dining options and growing in the nightlife area. Lacks a grocery store though one is SUPPOSED to break ground by year's end (not in time for you obviously) so you'd have to choose from 5 grocery options all under a 10 minutes drive.

Riverside - Bohemian, Artsy, hipster mecca for many years but now gentrifying to the point that some of that vibe has been lost. Most walkable part of Jax. Add about 5-10 min to your commute compared to San Marco. Nice parks, excellent nightlife, pretty dense and vibrant. All these urban core areas are the more LGBT-friendly, progressive, diverse parts of town, but really the base is Riverside.

Brooklyn - only two options for housing here...both high-end apartments that I believe have 1 bedrooms right around the $1200 mark. Living in either apartment complex puts about a dozen restaurants and a Fresh Market right at your doorstep. Adjacent to Riverside. Add 5 minutes to your commute compared to San Marco. Unlike Riverside and San Marco, almost half of those dozen restaurants are of the chain variety.

I've written a lot about all these neighborhoods so search the forums. There's plenty of info/insight from others as well.

@projectmaximus - thank you so much for the detailed response; greatly appreciated. You've given me a a really good place to start. And, yes, from what you've described, it definitely sounds like the urban core neighborhoods would be the best fit. Riverside, especially, sounds ideal.

Are there other Jacksonville apartment rental sites you'd recommend checking out other than the obvious, Craigslist?

I'll definitely check the forum for older posts as you suggested. If anyone else had feedback, though, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I'd also love to hear from recent (or semi-recent) Jacksonville transplants about what your biggest adjustments were when moving to the area.

[projectmaximus]

So you could hook up with a company like traditions realty that manages a lot of properties in the urban core to find a rental. The problem with Riverside (and San Marco too) is that these historic neighborhoods are mostly old SFH, duplexes, or quadplexes. There are very few traditional apt complexes. Bell Riverside and Chelsea Lofts are two that come to mind...perhaps the only two. They are both in excellent locations for walking to restaurants/bars/grocery store. For more housing options, Craigslist or a PM company are pretty much the only choice.