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Old 03-20-2008, 01:26 AM
 
Location: Surface of the Sun, AZ
93 posts, read 421,980 times
Reputation: 39

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Hello All!

I am a s/w/f college grad. I am currently in line for a job transfer to Jacksonville from Phoenix,AZ. Some background on myself: My job requires me to travel approx. 30wks a year, so its kinda important that im within 20 min of the airport. Im young and I love to go out, so I'd like to be near nightlife, shopping and dining. I also love the beach. I'd like to spend no more than $850 a month for an apt.

A few questions about Jacksonville:

1. What are some safe, nice neighborhoods near dining/shopping/nightlife?
2. Ok, now are any of the answers from the first question near the airport?
3. I love the beach, what are some of the nicer beaches in Jacksonville area and can you surf there?
4. Is Jacksonville a good "young" area, i.e. does it have a progressive, positive mentality, or is it super conservative and resistant to outsiders?
5. I do not atttend church, will I be looked down upon for not going to church?

Lastly, if you all could please try to recommend a few cities/areas that I might concentrate my housing search in I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks so much for the advice!
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Old 03-20-2008, 07:47 AM
 
Location: St. Augustine FL
1,641 posts, read 5,017,099 times
Reputation: 2391
I'll take a stab at a few of them. Others will certainly chime in regarding apts and nightlife.

People are not resistant to outsiders, regardless of what others may tell you. What folks don't like is being told how much better everything was where you came from.

Surfing is ok if you keep in mind it's the East coast. The best surf in Florida is south of Jacksonville, but on any given day you will probably find folks out in many of Jax areas from Atlantic Beach to Jax and even further south to Guana (not so good there most of the time).

Here's a few photos from a little swell that came through last month (not my photos - no copyright though):

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg10/agreatlife99/jaxbeachpiersurfing.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg10/agreatlife99/jaxbeachsurfing.jpg (broken link)
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Old 03-20-2008, 08:09 AM
 
859 posts, read 3,611,589 times
Reputation: 288
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachel127 View Post
Hello All!

I am a s/w/f college grad. I am currently in line for a job transfer to Jacksonville from Phoenix,AZ. Some background on myself: My job requires me to travel approx. 30wks a year, so its kinda important that im within 20 min of the airport. Im young and I love to go out, so I'd like to be near nightlife, shopping and dining. I also love the beach. I'd like to spend no more than $850 a month for an apt.

A few questions about Jacksonville:

1. What are some safe, nice neighborhoods near dining/shopping/nightlife?
2. Ok, now are any of the answers from the first question near the airport?
3. I love the beach, what are some of the nicer beaches in Jacksonville area and can you surf there?
4. Is Jacksonville a good "young" area, i.e. does it have a progressive, positive mentality, or is it super conservative and resistant to outsiders?
5. I do not atttend church, will I be looked down upon for not going to church?

Lastly, if you all could please try to recommend a few cities/areas that I might concentrate my housing search in I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks so much for the advice!
1. JAX does not have nightlife past 9pm except some bars and shady clubs. Nice shopping neighborhood will be the condos around St Johns Town Center. It's close enough to the airport taking the 9A (295 East Beltway in the future). 20mins to the airport should be no problem, it's a straight shot.
There's also a smaller town center right next to the airport,but I'm not familiar with that neighborhood offerings.
4. It's a young town, almost everyone here is or was an outsider.
5. You won't be bothered, but you also can't avoid driving through the massive amount of churches we have in town. Besides, you're only here 22 weeks out of the year.

Don't tell any untrusty neighbors you're out of town that often. Set up some timer lights and hold mails.

Good luck out here!
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Old 03-20-2008, 08:42 AM
 
154 posts, read 644,632 times
Reputation: 80
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachel127 View Post
A few questions about Jacksonville:

1. What are some safe, nice neighborhoods near dining/shopping/nightlife?
2. Ok, now are any of the answers from the first question near the airport?
3. I love the beach, what are some of the nicer beaches in Jacksonville area and can you surf there?
4. Is Jacksonville a good "young" area, i.e. does it have a progressive, positive mentality, or is it super conservative and resistant to outsiders?
5. I do not atttend church, will I be looked down upon for not going to church?
1. I would also recommend the area around Town Center Mall/Tinseltown/UNF. Easy access to 9A and many young professionals in that area.
2. I would avoid areas around the airport. The new shopping center around the airport is River City Marketplace but Town Center is a much better area and just 20 minutes from the airport. The beaches are also 20 minutes or less from Town Center Mall area.

There is after hours nightlife out at Jax Beach and The Landing. Also, other small pockets in town. Not as good as somewhere like Tampa or South Beach but I've seen much worse in other towns. Good Luck!
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Old 03-20-2008, 08:47 AM
 
Location: Atlantic Highlands NJ/Ponte Vedra FL/NYC
2,689 posts, read 3,951,208 times
Reputation: 328
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelingfood View Post
1. JAX does not have nightlife past 9pm except some bars and shady clubs. Nice shopping neighborhood will be the condos around St Johns Town Center. It's close enough to the airport taking the 9A (295 East Beltway in the future). 20mins to the airport should be no problem, it's a straight shot.
There's also a smaller town center right next to the airport,but I'm not familiar with that neighborhood offerings.
4. It's a young town, almost everyone here is or was an outsider.
5. You won't be bothered, but you also can't avoid driving through the massive amount of churches we have in town. Besides, you're only here 22 weeks out of the year.

Don't tell any untrusty neighbors you're out of town that often. Set up some timer lights and hold mails.

Good luck out here!
I hate to be argumentative, there is plenty of nightlife around town, and most of the places are far from shady, San Marco, Atlantic Beach , Jax Beach, Tinsletown, areas have many places to go and 99.9% of them are just fine places to go. Just last week I went to a shady place on the west side, and I managed to make it out unscathed!

I don't get your comment about churches, those buildings that house churches are inanimate objects, how could they be a bother?
For the OP a lot of where you should live will depend on where you work, most places in JAX will be no more than 30 minutes or so from the airport. So if you give us a clue as to you budget and work location we can zoom in on the best places for you to locate
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Old 03-20-2008, 09:04 AM
 
859 posts, read 3,611,589 times
Reputation: 288
Quote:
Originally Posted by apvbguy View Post
I hate to be argumentative, there is plenty of nightlife around town, and most of the places are far from shady, San Marco, Atlantic Beach , Jax Beach, Tinsletown, areas have many places to go and 99.9% of them are just fine places to go. Just last week I went to a shady place on the west side, and I managed to make it out unscathed!

I don't get your comment about churches, those buildings that house churches are inanimate objects, how could they be a bother?
For the OP a lot of where you should live will depend on where you work, most places in JAX will be no more than 30 minutes or so from the airport. So if you give us a clue as to you budget and work location we can zoom in on the best places for you to locate
so nightlife=clubs/bars? we can add movie theater as well then sure there are plenty to do outside past 9pm. I'm imaging other types of nightlife in other cities.
Op's worried that people might look down on her for not attending church. no further reason was given and frankly don't care. will seeing a lot of churches in town change her desire to attend church? I don't know either. But hey I love reading funny church signs.
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Old 03-20-2008, 09:20 AM
 
Location: Atlantic Highlands NJ/Ponte Vedra FL/NYC
2,689 posts, read 3,951,208 times
Reputation: 328
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelingfood View Post
so nightlife=clubs/bars? we can add movie theater as well then sure there are plenty to do outside past 9pm. I'm imaging other types of nightlife in other cities.

such as? I'm from NYC, and NYC has a reputation for being a 24 hour city, but after 9pm there's not too much beyond bars, nite clubs and movies.
The one big difference here in JAX is that it seems it is impossible to get a decent meal in JAX after 9pm

Quote:
Originally Posted by travelingfood View Post
Op's worried that people might look down on her for not attending church. no further reason was given and frankly don't care. will seeing a lot of churches in town change her desire to attend church? I don't know either. But hey I love reading funny church signs.
while it is true that some people will look down on her for not being a church goer, so what? the op will probably have nothing in common with those types anyway, it's not a big deal, for every bible thumper out there she will find as many people who share her views. it's hardly worth talking about.
Live and let live, something the holy rollers and the non believers can all practice equally
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Old 03-20-2008, 10:45 AM
 
Location: Atlantic Highlands NJ/Ponte Vedra FL/NYC
2,689 posts, read 3,951,208 times
Reputation: 328
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelingfood View Post
And obviously, nightlife involving great place to eat was an important factor, or to me atleast. No way in hell JAX will have a place to eat Asian food 2 in the morning.
the lack of available asian food at 2am is a long way from saying that there is little to no nightlife here in JAX like your post stated, let's try and be helpful, noting JAX's limitations is fair but posting something that just isn't accurate is not helpful to anyone
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Old 03-20-2008, 11:19 AM
 
Location: Atlantic Highlands NJ/Ponte Vedra FL/NYC
2,689 posts, read 3,951,208 times
Reputation: 328
Quote:
Originally Posted by agreatlife View Post
I'll take a stab at a few of them. Others will certainly chime in regarding apts and nightlife.

People are not resistant to outsiders, regardless of what others may tell you. What folks don't like is being told how much better everything was where you came from.

Surfing is ok if you keep in mind it's the East coast. The best surf in Florida is south of Jacksonville, but on any given day you will probably find folks out in many of Jax areas from Atlantic Beach to Jax and even further south to Guana (not so good there most of the time).
My son surfs and has been told the best surfing areas are up by mayport, Jax beach isn't bad and the guana can be good but not too many surf there
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Old 03-20-2008, 05:40 PM
 
Location: Surface of the Sun, AZ
93 posts, read 421,980 times
Reputation: 39
Thanks everyone! I don't actually surf either, but if I am living close to a beach I'd love to learn. As far as night life goes, I am just looking for some fun, casual bars and clubs where people in there 20's and 30's can go and have a few drinks and tapas, nothing fancy. Being close to the airport is important to me because when I travel, I plan on leaving my car at home and taking a taxi to the airport. That said, I don't want to have to pay $50-$60 for a one way ride to the airport. As far as budget goes, I would like to spend no more than $850 a month for an apt. My salary if I get this job will be about 65K. Most of which I plan on saving for a down payment on a house. One more question, I know FL has a lot of bugs, do apt complexes usually provide pest control or is that something I would have to do on my own?

Again thanks for the advice
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