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Old 03-22-2008, 09:54 AM
 
Location: Atlantic Highlands NJ/Ponte Vedra FL/NYC
2,689 posts, read 3,934,507 times
Reputation: 328

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Quote:
Originally Posted by RottenChester View Post
Tampa has the reputation of the Retirement Capital of the Country so that's why I'm not considering it. Otherwise it would be an awesome place. Old people are dangerous drivers and I wouldn't feel safe there anyway, .
and you know this to be true because???
preconceived stereotypes can be very dangerous things to be saddled with
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Old 03-22-2008, 10:09 AM
 
541 posts, read 2,278,340 times
Reputation: 268
Quote:
Originally Posted by RottenChester View Post
Tampa has the reputation of the Retirement Capital of the Country so that's why I'm not considering it. Otherwise it would be an awesome place. Old people are dangerous drivers and I wouldn't feel safe there anyway, .
Dude, believe me Tampa is the place for young singles in Florida. The neighborhoods I mentioned, SoHo and Hyde Park, are full of young people. Also, it is fully walkable and has the same weather as Jax. Some winter days in Jax will have a high of 60 but because Tampa is warmer it will be 70 instead of 60. That is a difference between pants and shorts in January.

Jax also is much different culturally than anything in the northeast. There is about a 25% redneck population. I am not sure how Tampa is, but I don't think it as high. Just to let you know. It is something that blew me out of the water when I moved here from North Jersey (I also went to school in Ithaca, NY not too far from you).

Honestly, as a single person moving down here for a job away from my friends from school who mostly stayed in the northeast moving to places like Boston, DC, NYC, and Philly out of school I do regret moving to Jax. It is hard to hang out with young people here because of the suburban layout and there are not a whole lot of young people moving here from out of town. A lot of the young people that live here either grew up in Jax or moved here from southern Georgia or moved here from other places in Florida. Not too many people move here directly out of school from the northeast. It is just too far off the radar for a college grad to say "well I am going to move to Jax." No one knows about it. Most of the people that move here transfer jobs and come here from the northeast with their families. This is a huge family place. And they are young families too. Most of the people I have met who are younger than 30 have at least one kid. That is why the median age of people here is very young...because of young families.....but of those young people who are single it is a much smaller percentage.

So, I am just trying to help you out. I moved here about 6 months ago....I am single...26....male...grew up in the northeast....never before lived south of the Mason Dixon....and I do wish I would have stayed in the northeast. I just fit in much better. I don't care how warm it is.

Make sure you visit for a good week or two. Come down and see how easy it is to meet people in a one week period and experience the culture. Like I said before you can get good weather and less of a culture shock in south Florida, Tampa, Orlando, etc.
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Old 03-22-2008, 07:08 PM
 
Location: The Internet
355 posts, read 866,372 times
Reputation: 443
Quote:
Originally Posted by vdecapio View Post
Dude, believe me Tampa is the place for young singles in Florida. The neighborhoods I mentioned, SoHo and Hyde Park, are full of young people. Also, it is fully walkable and has the same weather as Jax. Some winter days in Jax will have a high of 60 but because Tampa is warmer it will be 70 instead of 60. That is a difference between pants and shorts in January.

Jax also is much different culturally than anything in the northeast. There is about a 25% redneck population. I am not sure how Tampa is, but I don't think it as high. Just to let you know. It is something that blew me out of the water when I moved here from North Jersey (I also went to school in Ithaca, NY not too far from you).

Honestly, as a single person moving down here for a job away from my friends from school who mostly stayed in the northeast moving to places like Boston, DC, NYC, and Philly out of school I do regret moving to Jax. It is hard to hang out with young people here because of the suburban layout and there are not a whole lot of young people moving here from out of town. A lot of the young people that live here either grew up in Jax or moved here from southern Georgia or moved here from other places in Florida. Not too many people move here directly out of school from the northeast. It is just too far off the radar for a college grad to say "well I am going to move to Jax." No one knows about it. Most of the people that move here transfer jobs and come here from the northeast with their families. This is a huge family place. And they are young families too. Most of the people I have met who are younger than 30 have at least one kid. That is why the median age of people here is very young...because of young families.....but of those young people who are single it is a much smaller percentage.

So, I am just trying to help you out. I moved here about 6 months ago....I am single...26....male...grew up in the northeast....never before lived south of the Mason Dixon....and I do wish I would have stayed in the northeast. I just fit in much better. I don't care how warm it is.

Make sure you visit for a good week or two. Come down and see how easy it is to meet people in a one week period and experience the culture. Like I said before you can get good weather and less of a culture shock in south Florida, Tampa, Orlando, etc.
Yes I completely get what you are saying. You know what they say, "Ithaca is Gorges!" hahaha. No really folks, that is their slogan.

I will probably end up visiting both Tampa and Jax anyway just to get the "feel" of both places.
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Old 03-23-2008, 12:27 AM
 
Location: Jax
8,200 posts, read 35,333,293 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthernStar View Post
I also think Jacksonville is not a good match for you. It has the largest area of any city in the lower 48. Definately not a walkable city, and it is the epitome of urban sprawl. Commutes there are awful, one of the worst in the country that I have experienced (besides So Cal, etc...). I moved from there a few years ago, and I am in my twenties.If you are open to suggestions, I would look more towards Tampa/Clearwater.
While I agree that Jacksonville has its' share of suburban sprawl, we also have one of the largest, if not THE largest historic district(s) in all of Florida. At the turn of the century, Jacksonville was the largest and most important city in Florida and many of our homes and buildings date to that period (1901-1920's). While I understand Tampa has Hyde Park/Soho, Jacksonville has Springfield, Avondale, Riverside, San Marco, Lakewood......these are all walkable neighborhoods that are much larger than Hyde Park.

Jacksonville also has the largest parks system, not only in Florida, but in the US - land protected from "sprawl".

Your statement about commute times is incorrect - Jacksonville/Duval commute time is LOWER than the state average - Tampa/Hillsborough county commute time is HIGHER than the state average (13th worst in the state, actually). Here's an article that explains it all:

Jacksonville.com

Nothing against Tampa, but I think Jacksonville edges Tampa out slightly on many quality of life factors.
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Old 03-23-2008, 07:12 AM
 
Location: Jacksonville, FL
236 posts, read 1,081,847 times
Reputation: 190
Speaking as an outsider, when I came down to visit in January I stayed in a hotel at JTB and Phillips. I had to be downtown at 8 AM. I had heard so much about traffic and commutes that I was able to sit in the parking lot at my destination for over 20 minutes. It's really not that bad.
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Old 03-23-2008, 09:52 AM
 
541 posts, read 2,278,340 times
Reputation: 268
Quote:
Originally Posted by riveree View Post
While I understand Tampa has Hyde Park/Soho, Jacksonville has Springfield, Avondale, Riverside, San Marco, Lakewood......these are all walkable neighborhoods that are much larger than Hyde Park.

Jacksonville also has the largest parks system, not only in Florida, but in the US - land protected from "sprawl".


.
Riveree I am going to have to disagree with you on these comments. You always give great information to posters, but I think these comments are not for the original posters age group.

Let me first say that Springfield is in my mind unliveable. The place is scary. You can not walk around that place at night by yourself. To me that place is not walkable even during the day. I would not want to walk around Springfield's main street even at daytime with the sketch black guys standing around at each corner. And most of the restaurant/store fronts are still empty. Not a whole lot of food/shopping options in this neighborhood.

I am also going to disagree with the walkability of Lakewood. Its main businesses are at the intersection of university and san jose. Each of these roads are 4 lanes. Yes, there are sidewalks there, but if I have to cross 4 lanes of traffic with the cars going 45 mph, in my mind that is not a walkable neighborhood. That is a neighborhood designed for cars to move them in and out of the strip malls. Just in comparison to what is available in walkable neighborhoods throughout this wonderful country, two strip malls at the intersection of two 4 four lane roads is in my mind not the definition of a walkable community. You really need to have a strong desire to walk anywhere in Lakewood and I assume that the majority residents will drive to stuff even if its just down the block.

San Marco, Avondale, Riverside are the walkable neighborhoods in Jacksonville. They are small and not too densely populated. Finding anything open in these neighborhoods past 10 is tough. Square One is the only nightspot in San Marco.....the Casbah is the only nightspot in Avondale (The Brick closes at 12)...and Riverside's nightlife is basically a tatoo parlor death metal music fest. San Marco and Avondale is an over 30 crowd. Riverside's age group is going to fit the original poster best and was discussed earlier in this thread, but he is most likely not going to fit in with nightlife there.

And I just can't agree about the parks. I would hope that the largest city would have the largest park system. That would make sense. But these parks are so underutilized and so hidden from view. I have to do hours of research and print a google map directions to find these parks. And when I go, they are empty.....it is like an exclusive park for me. This is nice if I am 35 and want to take a romantic walk with my wife, but for a young single person this isn't the best scenario. The best parks are the beach and Memorial Park in Riverside for the original poster's age group.
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Old 03-23-2008, 10:10 AM
 
Location: Atlantic Highlands NJ/Ponte Vedra FL/NYC
2,689 posts, read 3,934,507 times
Reputation: 328
Quote:
Originally Posted by vdecapio View Post
And I just can't agree about the parks. I would hope that the largest city would have the largest park system. That would make sense. But these parks are so underutilized and so hidden from view. I have to do hours of research and print a google map directions to find these parks. And when I go, they are empty.....it is like an exclusive park for me. This is nice if I am 35 and want to take a romantic walk with my wife, but for a young single person this isn't the best scenario. The best parks are the beach and Memorial Park in Riverside for the original poster's age group.
You need to find the places where people your age go, I am much older than you and I go out to bars, clubs, parks, wherever and I always see plenty of people in your age group, and there are many places I don't bother with because they are more for people in your age group, maybe your negativity shows so much and that is hindering your quest.
Lighten up, enjoy what JAX has to offer instead of being so hung up on what it doesn't have!
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Old 03-23-2008, 11:09 AM
 
702 posts, read 2,176,478 times
Reputation: 299
Quote:
Originally Posted by vdecapio View Post
...and Riverside's nightlife is basically a tatoo parlor death metal music fest. San Marco and Avondale is an over 30 crowd. Riverside's age group is going to fit the original poster best and was discussed earlier in this thread, but he is most likely not going to fit in with nightlife there.
I am going to have to disagree with you on Riverside. Yes, there is 8th Day Tattoo Parlor, yes there WERE a bunch of death metal kids around when Club 5 was open, due to the shows that played in the venue. Fuel is a very social, nice cafe' and the shops there do cater to a lower age group on the main stretch. There are good places to eat, a nice park, a museum and a pretty area just to take a stroll in. You are giving the area an unfair review because of your negative view of the environment. The area is strong in the arts and gays are in the area, I am neither artistic or gay (although, I have a few gay friends), but I can still enjoy the area.
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Old 03-23-2008, 09:24 PM
 
Location: Jax
8,200 posts, read 35,333,293 times
Reputation: 3441
Quote:
Originally Posted by vdecapio View Post
Riveree I am going to have to disagree with you on these comments. You always give great information to posters, but I think these comments are not for the original posters age group.

Let me first say that Springfield is in my mind unliveable. The place is scary...

I am also going to disagree with the walkability of Lakewood. Its main businesses are at the intersection of university and san jose. Each of these roads are 4 lanes. Yes, there are sidewalks there, but if I have to cross 4 lanes of traffic with the cars going 45 mph, in my mind that is not a walkable neighborhood. That is a neighborhood designed for cars to move them in and out of the strip malls. Just in comparison to what is available in walkable neighborhoods throughout this wonderful country, two strip malls at the intersection of two 4 four lane roads is in my mind not the definition of a walkable community. You really need to have a strong desire to walk anywhere in Lakewood and I assume that the majority residents will drive to stuff even if its just down the block.

San Marco, Avondale, Riverside are the walkable neighborhoods in Jacksonville...San Marco and Avondale is an over 30 crowd. Riverside's age group is going to fit the original poster best and was discussed earlier in this thread, but he is most likely not going to fit in with nightlife there.

And I just can't agree about the parks. I would hope that the largest city would have the largest park system. That would make sense. But these parks are so underutilized and so hidden from view...with my wife, but for a young single person this isn't the best scenario. The best parks are the beach and Memorial Park in Riverside for the original poster's age group.

It's true, not all my comments were speaking specifically for what neighborhood the OP should choose, I was replying to some other comments made that, IMO, needed further clarification/debate.

I agree with you about Springfield. My reason in bringing up Springfield - and the other neighborhoods mentioned - was to point out that Jacksonville DOES have some walkable neighborhoods. The posts I was responding to seem to say 'Tampa has Hyde Park, Jacksonville has nothing'. Now not every neighborhood that is walkable in Jax is going to be on the top of everyone's list, but they DO exist.

That was my point in bringing up Lakewood too. If you only zip in and out of there at rush hour, you may not realize that people who live there can walk to grocery stores, restaurants, a neighborhood park, Rose Creek, etc. I'm not saying it's necessarily the right place for the OP (probably not since the OP wants more of a "scene"), but I think it qualifies as a walkable neighborhood. If you only have to walk a couple of blocks to get to necessities, that's the definition of a walkable neighborhood, isn't it? Outside of rush hour, it's really quiet and there is no problem crossing the street (all that is slated to be further assisted anyway by the city...different parking, grass medians, etc.). It may not be the neighborhood for everyone, but if walkability is the request, I think it deserves consideration.

San Marco, Riverside, Avondale - sure, they're adorable and we all consider them "walkable", but can you walk to a grocery store in San Marco or Avondale? Kind of a basic necessity, right? All the upscale restaurants and boutiques are nice, but are they practical for everyday use?

I'm just saying that "walkability" is not about a coolness factor, it's about "what can you really walk to if you want/had to?".

As for parks, we do have the largest parks system, we also have the most underfunded parks system per park. Even still, I've been here long enough to see new parks added and old parks restored. They may not ALL be of the caliber of Memorial Park, but they don't deserve to be discounted because of it. Memorial Park is beautiful, but what if you want to shoot some hoops? how about some tennis? Different parks serve different needs.
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