Jacksonville dream crushed- Is there anything positive about living and working in Jacksonville? (Palmetto: apartment complex, how much)

[rs1n]

The weather here is not cold. It just feels cold because the temperature differential tends to be larger (e.g. drop from 72 to 45) whereas up north it tends to be more gradual (e.g. 45 to 20). In the north, most people are generally really bundled up already (by the time it gets "cold") and generally don't put on extra layers even if the temps drop from 45 to 10 -- at some point, you've already put on as many layers as you can possible handle. You will definitely feel the temperature drop from 75 to say 60 because you could be wearing shorts at 75 and suddenly have to put on perhaps an extra layer of clothing the following morning.

[Runninglikethieves]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

Before we relocated to Jax, we spent about a week here looking for an apartment to rent. We stayed at a motel off of 295/Blanding. It did cost us around $400. My wife had got laid off of her job in Concord, NC and we had already made plans/hotel reservations to go to the Christmas Boat Parade in Charleston, SC. So after the Boat Parade, we came down here. We found an apt. In the Baymeadows area, applied for it and got it. Went back to NC, packed stuff, called moving company and moved here. At the time, we thought we'd really love it here, but that "love" died off.

A month after moving here, my wife had a descent paying job downtown by the river. That was in Feb 2009, when less people lived here, no freeway construction going on and much less traffic.

I am used to New Jersey/California hotel prices, so I probably overrated the hotel cost per night by quite a bit. But $400 a week is still $800-$1200 for 2-3 weeks. A week seems fine, 2-3 weeks is way over-excessive anyway. I had been here before I moved and was even supposed to move, but only passing through. I spent a few days here before I moved, looking at houses and meeting the people at my job. I moved here because of a job offer, which I was originally offered 3 years prior but wound up moving to California from Jersey (where I'm from) instead. If you really have time to spend 2-3 weeks here, you might as well make a vacation out of it and go to the beach, maybe even spend a day at Disney and other Orlando area attractions, which is like a 3-ish hour drive. Spending 2-3 weeks anywhere just to see what it's like seems over-excessive to me. Just my opinion. Although if you're older and will be retiring or are already retired and don't have to take 2-3 weeks off from work to do so, I can definitely understand staying for 2-3 weeks.

I figured if I didn't like it here, I'm still young enough to pack up and move somewhere else and it's not like I have a family to drag around. I'm enjoying my time here and will be staying, barring the chance to move to Oahu or somewhere else in Hawaii.

Originally Posted by Thundarr457

We stayed here for 2.5 weeks in April of this year and liked the area but we couldn't find a house that we loved enough to buy. It cost us about $57/night. We were fortunate enough to find an awesome Real Estate agent (not the one we wasted 2.5 weeks with) at an open house and he was of immense help when we finally found our house the next trip 5 months later. We bought our house 1 day before Mathew arrived so we weren't on the hook for any storm related damage. We were concerned that we finally found a house and it would be trashed by a hurricane. Fortunately there was minimal damage. We will be moving next week and we can't wait.

Congrats on the new place! Enjoy!

As far as traffic goes, traffic here is nothing when you've spent most of your life living in North Jersey and also spent time living in San Diego and Los Angeles. It's kind of like the cold here. Those 45 degree high days are probably downright unbearable for those who have lived here forever. I know people who dread them before they even happen. I even get a little irritated when we get them a few times per year, since I've only lived here and in Southern California since 2010. The last time I've consistently spent time in freezing temps was the early part of 2010 when I still lived in Jersey.

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

Nice that you love Jax, but this city, or even Florida, isn't for everyone. This has been stated before and is true. A lot of folks here would never consider moving to Colorado, but we miss it. And, there are people who live in Colorado that would never think about moving to Jax or to anywhere in Florida.

Some folks move here and love it, while there are others that move here, don't like and end up leaving.

Where are you looking to relocate?

[BabyBoomers2]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

Where are you looking to relocate?

Northeastern Colorado, somewhere around Longmont.

Should have added, there are some in Colorado that would love to move to anywhere in Florida.

[Florida2014]

You have now been posting here for nearly 2 years that you are moving to CO. I'm beginning to think that is never happening for you.

[BabyBoomers2]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

You have now been posting here for nearly 2 years that you are moving to CO. I'm beginning to think that is never happening for you.

Finances have put it on hold for another year. Had to pay for a boat repair. We will be going!

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

Northeastern Colorado, somewhere around Longmont.

Should have added, there are some in Colorado that would love to move to anywhere in Florida.

Colorado is a beautiful state. So many outdoor activities to get involved in and most importantly...four seasons!

[Masterful_Man]

Originally Posted by lindaburnette

it sounds like a general consensus is that there's no good place in Jacksonville to live

Wrong.

Great neighborhoods: Ortega, Fleming Island, San Marco, Jax Beaches Area, Ponte Vedra.
Decent neighborhoods: Some parts of Argyle, Oaklead Plantation, Venetia, Mandarin, Orange Park.

Originally Posted by lindaburnette

low wages,

But the cost of living is also pretty low.

Originally Posted by lindaburnette

expensive housing,

Depends on the neighborhood, but you can find a decent $150,000 house in a decent neighborhood.
Beach front property is also cheaper here than most other places in the U.S., if you have the money.

Originally Posted by lindaburnette

rude people,[/qupte]
terrible traffic,

Depends on where you live and proximity to highways.
No where near as bad as larger cities, like Atlanta or Miami.

Originally Posted by lindaburnette

huge bugs, crocks waiting to eat your pets,

Bug problems are almost always related to proximity to forest or wet lands. The closer you live to the wild, the more bugs you'll get. I have very few bugs.

Originally Posted by lindaburnette

danger on every corner,

Hardly. Really depends on what area you live.

Originally Posted by lindaburnette

hookers everywhere...

Haven't seen any. That stuff is usually done over the internet these days.

Originally Posted by lindaburnette

We were looking specifically at Jacksonville to be as close as we can to NC should we have to commute back home and so our families won't have to travel so far to visit, and so we can enjoy the good climate, much shorter commute to the ocean, a change of scenery, an adventure of living somewhere besides our hometown, etc. Were we that far off base? I feel sad, like my dream was not well thought-out and far from reality based on most opinions on this site. Are there NO positives about living in Jacksonville? I'm so disappointed and sad, our dream has died before it ever became a reality. We aren't quite ready yet( paying down debt first) but the years they fly by; our 5-year plan is now only a 4- year plan. One year down... but we have much thinking to do!
Can someone post their positive experiences of living and working in Jacksonville? Please?

Like any other city Jacksonville has pros and cons.

Pros:
-Good weather, especially October through March.
-Plenty of sunshine.
-Rain usually falls heavy but quickly (rain storms usually don't last more than a few hours at most)
-Good road quality (since it doesn't snow here we don't get many pot-holes in our roads)
-The St. John's river.
-The Beaches
-Only 3 hours from Disney world or Universal Studios
-There's a Whole Foods market in the Mandarin neighborhood (if you like organic & gourmet foods)
-Gas prices are cheaper than most other places in the U.S.
-Vast majority of the serious crime is usually segregated from the good neighborhoods.
-Decent seafood.
-Beautiful St. Augustine is less than an hour away.
-There's a cruise ship docked at Jaxport if you want to take a cruise to the Caribbean.
-If you're a gambler, Florida has the best lottery and scratch off tickets in the entire nation.
-Lots of Republicans/Conservatives
-Palm trees
-Publix grocery stores
-No state income tax (hooray!)
-Low cost of living
-Pro NFL team
-Much of the rest of the country doesn't even know we exist ("Jacksonville? Where's that?")

Cons:
-Hot and humid summers (you're going to sweat whether you like it or not)
-Bugs/critters can be a problem, especially if you live near the woods or wetlands
-The schools aren't the best (compared to other parts of the U.S.)
-Not much of a fashion oriented city (people dress kind of plain)
-The restaurant scene is kind of ho-hum (nothing spectacular)
-Lack of culture (major museums or cool things to do in the city)
-The NFL team (Jaguars) suck
-The beaches can be crowded on the weekends
-Low wages
-Trailer parks and ghettos (we have them!)
-Too spread out (you'll be driving a lot to get to places)
-Public transportation sucks (hope you like driving!)
-Not much of a healthy vibe among the people (Good luck trying to find a vegan restaurant)
-Suburbia on steroids (lots of suburbs in Jax)

[Sun3]

I move to Jacksonville after eye surgery and found my soul in the daily worship of the sunshine here which to me is resplendent and encourages me to bask in the glory of the great creator. Otherwise, it is a typical American city. My suggestion would be to identify those natural elements that make you want to shout Glory! Hallelujah!! And move there. Then you can tolerate everything else accordingly. Let the redeemed of the Lord say, Amen 🙏

[Florida2014]

lol