Jacksonville Area A Good Move For Us? (Orlando, Yulee: insurance, Home Depot)

[riveree]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

We have, and still are, checking out things in the Jacksonville area. We have been to a few of the great websites that the Moderator has posted in this Forum. By the way, thank you to the Moderator for doing that......very helpful information.
The reason we did this Thread is to hear from people who are living in/and around Jax. There comments and opinions about the whole area. We know that in asking for these comments/opinions, we will get both good and bad about Jax, but that is ok.
Due to my two surgeries that I had in CO, I have to live in an area that just don't have much (if any) type of winter.....to much cold weather gives my hip and shoulder pain. And, as our Forum name states, we DO love boating.
Location wise, my wife doesn't want to live on the Gulf side of Florida and really doesn't want to go any further south than Jax. We would like to buy a house, but at this posting, we are still discussing price and location. We are reading and researching all posts that are being done to us.......thanks for all the help we are getting!

I had that from an old injury. The winters in NY made it flare up really bad. When I moved to FL, it nearly disappeared. At first, 2 or 3 days of straight rain could make it flare up, but we so rarely get that kind of heavy rain anymore, I haven't felt that injury (leg/hip) in a long time . The weather here can do wonders for a lot of ailments.

Boating and fishing are big pastimes here, so you'll find plenty of options. We have some big fishing events like the Kingfish Tournament:

The AT&T Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament & Festival

For boating, we have oodles of marinas and launches, you've covered for boating here .

What other questions did you have?

[JagFan27]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

We have, and still are, checking out things in the Jacksonville area. We have been to a few of the great websites that the Moderator has posted in this Forum. By the way, thank you to the Moderator for doing that......very helpful information.
The reason we did this Thread is to hear from people who are living in/and around Jax. There comments and opinions about the whole area. We know that in asking for these comments/opinions, we will get both good and bad about Jax, but that is ok.
Due to my two surgeries that I had in CO, I have to live in an area that just don't have much (if any) type of winter.....to much cold weather gives my hip and shoulder pain. And, as our Forum name states, we DO love boating.
Location wise, my wife doesn't want to live on the Gulf side of Florida and really doesn't want to go any further south than Jax. We would like to buy a house, but at this posting, we are still discussing price and location. We are reading and researching all posts that are being done to us.......thanks for all the help we are getting!

Good luck. We've been here since 1991 (moved from Dallas, TX) and love it. We don't want to live anywhere else!

[LoveBoating]

How are these areas for living in apartment or house: Bellair, Venetia Terrace, Westwood, Lake Shore, Hyde Park
Just don't want to cross back-and-forth over the river all the time to get home or go to work.
Is there a lot of boaters out on the river now? Mainly Cabin Cruisers or what? Are there any lakes anywhere near Jax?

[riveree]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

How are these areas for living in apartment or house: Bellair, Venetia Terrace, Westwood, Lake Shore, Hyde Park
Just don't want to cross back-and-forth over the river all the time to get home or go to work.
Is there a lot of boaters out on the river now? Mainly Cabin Cruisers or what? Are there any lakes anywhere near Jax?

So you're working on the Westside of Jax/Duval? Or in Clay county? When you say you "don't want to cross the river", do you need to stay west of the river?

What is attracting you to areas like Bellair, Lake Shore, etc.? If you're speaking of Bellair in Clay county (Orange Park), that is not a good area. Neither is Lake Shore.

I see a lot of boats coming up for sale....cheap! So I guess you'll have a little more room out on the water .

Lakes near Jax, yes - you can head into Clay county. Out in the Keystone Heights area you have Lake Geneva and Little Lake Geneva and some other big lakes. Remember the original Friday the 13th movie? The kids in the movie were at "Camp Crystal Lake"? It was filmed in Keystone Heights, lots of lakes around there .

Sadly, many of the lakes have dried up . Florida is facing some water shortage issues and many of the spring-fed lakes no longer have any water (it's eery when you see them today). The aquifers have been compromised. So keep that in mind as you're looking at the lakes on a map .

[LoveBoating]

Yes, if possible, we would like to stay on the West side of the river.....that is if there are any nice/safe area's there?! I mean, we are wondering, are all the nice areas of Jax on the East side of the river and people have to cross the river everyday to work in Jax? As far as what area we will be looking for work in, don't know Jax that well to say, other than my wife will be looking for a Senior Accountant type job and I will be looking for a job in Purchasing and/or Inventory Control.
As far as this median age of 33, do we have to worry about making friends with people in OUR age bracket??......we are 59/60 yrs. old. Will that age be a hinderance to us? I mean, obviously, we don't want to hang out with the 30's age bracket (or the 40's as far as that goes). Because of the age, should we reconsider a move to Jax?
Ok, NOW this "age" and "location" thing is really starting to worry my wife. Any suggestions will be VERY appreciated!!

[LoveBoating]

Ok, we don't necessarily crossing bridges over rivers (all the time). We looked at the bridges that cross the river and go into Jax and we both sort of "freaked out" over it. We know they aren't real high, but they are high enough. If we were younger, it wouldn't bother us as much as it does now. What we do see on one website is a fairly WIDE river going by Jax. This, and the median age bracket there (33, that read about from another poster) makes us unsure about Jax now. We do want a safe area to live and we don't want to cross any of those bridges all the time to go somewhere.
Suggestions still wanted. Thanks.

[agreatlife]

Hmmm. I think a Jacksonville Burma Shave ad is in order:

Welcome to the River City
And the Intracoastal waterway
If you're afraid of heights and bridges
Then you'd best stay away today.
... Jacksonville

[LoveBoating]

Ad could very well be RIGHT!!! But........

Originally Posted by agreatlife

Hmmm. I think a Jacksonville Burma Shave ad is in order:

Welcome to the River City
And the Intracoastal waterway
If you're afraid of heights and bridges
Then you'd best stay away today.
... Jacksonville

[JagFan27]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

As far as this median age of 33, do we have to worry about making friends with people in OUR age bracket??......we are 59/60 yrs. old. Will that age be a hinderance to us? I mean, obviously, we don't want to hang out with the 30's age bracket (or the 40's as far as that goes). Because of the age, should we reconsider a move to Jax?
Ok, NOW this "age" and "location" thing is really starting to worry my wife. Any suggestions will be VERY appreciated!!

Hey, I'll be your friend! Then you ocould take me out on the boat!

I've always wanted to take a boat to lunch at the Landing.

[deealina]

Loveboating, my husband (63) and I (52) moved to Jacksonville from Boston a year ago. We had enough of the winters. We love it here! We have had no trouble making friends here. We have found people to be very friendly and there is no shortage of folks our age even though we live in a family oriented community (Eagle Harbor). Due to the CDD fees Eagle Harbor can be a bit pricey but there are a number of other communities around here that do not have the fees. So you might take a look at areas around Doctor's Lake. Good Luck!