Moving to Florida... Need Advice!!!! (Jacksonville, Tampa: to rent, violent crime, safe area)

[ThatGuy907]

Hello,
My girlfriend and I are moving to Florida (both in our early 20's), and we dont know where we should live.I have been to Orlando, and thats it. We are looking at Tampa and Jax, but since neither of us have been there, we could use some guidance. I have been reading the forums and notice that crime is abundant in both cities, so we're kind of torn. We are looking for a safe area, close to schools and the airport. Being close to the beach would also be awesome (I know, its a tall order). We will be renting, and our budget is around $800/month. She is a nursing major and I am going into video/film/media production. Which city/area would best suit us? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[llarge]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy907

Hello,
My girlfriend and I are moving to Florida (both in our early 20's), and we dont know where we should live.I have been to Orlando, and thats it. We are looking at Tampa and Jax, but since neither of us have been there, we could use some guidance. I have been reading the forums and notice that crime is abundant in both cities, so we're kind of torn. We are looking for a safe area, close to schools and the airport. Being close to the beach would also be awesome (I know, its a tall order). We will be renting, and our budget is around $800/month. She is a nursing major and I am going into video/film/media production. Which city/area would best suit us? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

if she is in nursing, i would say any of the cities, for film i would recommend orlando. Mod edit- advertising

[cellson]

I don't know much about Orlando or Tampa, but if you both are in school Jacksonville could fit the biil. I know that FJJC and UNF both offer nursing programs. If both of you were at UNF, I'd suggest the Southside as the campus is on that side of town. You'd be about 20 minutes from the beach and 30 to the airport. The zip codes you could look into are 32246, 32216 & 32224. Good luck!

[ShakenStirred]

Originally Posted by cellson

I don't know much about Orlando or Tampa, but if you both are in school Jacksonville could fit the biil. I know that FJJC and UNF both offer nursing programs. If both of you were at UNF, I'd suggest the Southside as the campus is on that side of town. You'd be about 20 minutes from the beach and 30 to the airport. The zip codes you could look into are 32246, 32216 & 32224. Good luck!

I've spend time in Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. Jacksonville is hands down the best of all worlds. You're still close to Disney, but here you have the beaches.

Jacksonville has so many different parts of town that you can easily find one that suits your style. Plus, if English is your only language, and this is not a dig, just a fact, you'll have an easier time communicating in Jax over Orlando. I've always thought Tampa kind of boring to be honest, but hey, it's just my opinion. Nobody go gettin' all offended now.

[jimbo13]

ha ha. yeah. move to hilliard! fun times abound there for a young couple in their twenties.

[apanda]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy907

Hello,
My girlfriend and I are moving to Florida (both in our early 20's), and we dont know where we should live.I have been to Orlando, and thats it. We are looking at Tampa and Jax, but since neither of us have been there, we could use some guidance. I have been reading the forums and notice that crime is abundant in both cities, so we're kind of torn. We are looking for a safe area, close to schools and the airport. Being close to the beach would also be awesome (I know, its a tall order). We will be renting, and our budget is around $800/month. She is a nursing major and I am going into video/film/media production. Which city/area would best suit us? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hopefully, you didn't go to the place I think you may have down there for Film .
Anyways, is there something that you like to do in your spare time, somethings that you may want to be close to? At this point either one would fit your bill, but specifics would help narrow things a bit

[riveree]

I responded inside your post...

Originally Posted by ThatGuy907

Hello,
My girlfriend and I are moving to Florida (both in our early 20's), and we dont know where we should live.I have been to Orlando, and thats it. We are looking at Tampa and Jax, but since neither of us have been there, we could use some guidance.

Tampa and Jax have a lot in common, where Orlando has a completely different feel.

I have been reading the forums and notice that crime is abundant in both cities, so we're kind of torn.

Eh, what's a little crime? I'm kidding . It's not as bad here as it's sometimes portrayed. Yes, we have crime issues, we have a high murder rate. But what is often overlooked is that there are roughly 120 murders per year...in a city of a million people, more or less. So, your odds are pretty good that you'll live through the year! On top of that, much of the violent crime is concentrated in a section of out city that it's unlikely you'd even be interested in living in .

We are looking for a safe area, close to schools and the airport.

Cellson pointed out UNF & FCCJ. You could live in this part of town (Intracoastal West) and be in a safe, convenient area and your drive to the airport would be about 25 minutes, door-to-door.

Being close to the beach would also be awesome (I know, its a tall order). We will be renting, and our budget is around $800/month.

If you live in the area I mentioned above, you'd be 10-15 minutes to the beach and your $800/mo. will buy you a lot more than if you try to rent at the beach (the beach is more expensive).

She is a nursing major and I am going into video/film/media production. Which city/area would best suit us? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I think Tampa is very nice and I think you could be happy with that choice, but I think Jax has a bit of an edge. For one, we're East Coast . For another, we have the ocean, they have a bay . Third, we're a younger city. Fourth, we're a less expensive city and the salaries are about the same (or possibly even higher in Jax), so your money will stretch further here.

And I don't know about Tampa's film scene at all, but Jax has a very successful Film Festival each year - last year John Waters was the main attraction (I didn't pay attention to who it was this year ):

Jacksonville Film Festival

Here are some other links that might be of interest:

( Jacksonville Silent Film Museum at Norman Studios )

Film and Television

Projects Filmed in Jacksonville

[ThatGuy907]

Thanks everybody!!! Both my girlfriend and I were raised in alaska and have realized that alaska has nothing more to offer us. So we're trying to find what city suits us best. We both love the ocean and the hot weather. I love to surf and be in the water. So we figure florida is our best bet. Since I am a fedex employee, I just have to see where a job opens up in either jax or tampa. Thanks for all of your help. If anyone has any other advice, message me or just post it. Thanks again.

[travelingfood]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy907

Thanks everybody!!! Both my girlfriend and I were raised in alaska and have realized that alaska has nothing more to offer us. So we're trying to find what city suits us best. We both love the ocean and the hot weather. I love to surf and be in the water. So we figure florida is our best bet. Since I am a fedex employee, I just have to see where a job opens up in either jax or tampa. Thanks for all of your help. If anyone has any other advice, message me or just post it. Thanks again.

We do have a large presence of Fedex here.

[ThatGuy907]

What are the areas to avoid near FCCJ and UNF? I got a job offer in Daytona Beach today, and dont know if Im going to take it, I have until Friday to make my decision.... what are your thoughts on Daytona?