Jacksonville: Paradise at Last :) (amusement parks, school, salaries)

[BabyBoomers2]

Ok...your right and everything you said is true. Now, no one will move to Jax and the entire population of Jax will now leave. The city will pretty much just SHUT DOWN. Are you happy now?????? One thing to remember, Jax isn'tgoing to change for YOU. Good luck, but please do find somewhere else to live.

Originally Posted by vdecapio

Its funny how when people realize that what was said is true and have no defense against it, they turn to criticizing the person who made the comments and not the actual material of the comments. Because everyone on here has been very effective and efficient at criticizing me....but really you have no defense against the comments. You all know that they are true comments....the only difference between me and everyone else on this happy forum is that you choose to accept the things on the list above.....or maybe enjoy many of the things on the list. About ten of you frequent posters have all sipped the kool-aid so to speak, and are quick to come up with anti-comments to anything I post on here.

But, they are true statements. I am just pointing them out to potential transplants.

[surfer boy]

Jax is Americanized? OMG! How dare a city be Americanized in America. Hey buddy, if you want un-American, go to Orlando or most of South FL.

[vdecapio]

Originally Posted by vdecapio

After moving to paradise a while back I have decided to post of a few of the things I think Jacksonville could improve upon. Here is a starter list of the things that suck about Jacksonville which are not mentioned too often on this forum.

• High percentage of adult male population has mullets
• Even higher percentage has tattoos…..not just a small, hidden one…..a massive tattoo… like all the way up the freaking arm…totally disgusting.
• Southern twang from the natives.
• Confederate flags here and there.
• Strip clubs zoned into strip malls. Literally, there is a strip mall that houses family dining, a dmv, and a strip club all in a row. That is messed up.
• A 15 years later follow the leader city.
• Low-density-unnecessary sprawl.
• Grits and fishin are number one social priorities.
• Not just one evangelical Christian station on the FM dial….more like ten. I just want to listen to Sublime…is that so wrong. Should I be preached to 24-7?
• Public transportation sucks. Almost worthless. Rare and empty buses driving around.
• Few walkable neighborhoods. Maybe 1% of the city’s population can actually walk to a store of any sort.
• NPR station only viable source of news-radio.
• I find the 6 and 11 o’clock news to be more humorous than informative.
• Going to a public festival is your chance to see thousands of rednecks. Butt cracks hanging out of the pants, beer bellies flopping, tattoos beaming, and enough cigarettes for the whole family.
• The city closes at 10. Except for a few pockets at the beach and downtown this city is fast asleep at 10….not just on Sunday nights every night.
• Ethnic food is limited and spread out like crazy. If you want variety in your ethnic food diet you are going to be driving around a lot. 15 miles to Indian, 10 miles to Korean, 7 miles to Puerto Rican….etc, etc.
• And when you go get ethnic food its usually just going to be you in the restaurant. Not you and the local ethnic population….just you. This city really has little appreciation for world foods or cultures.
• Very Americanized.
• Little identity of its own besides the Jags. Nationally this place is off the radar.
• Even off the radar in Florida. I mean when you are competing against the touristy and international destinations like Miami and Orlando….no one ever thinks of Jacksonville.
• Brownish, dark blue water at the beach….a little hard to compete with a lot of the beaches in south florida and the gulf.
• Rare to have educated or intellectually stimulating conversations here.
• Can’t grow the unique tropical fruits and veggies that you can in south florida.
• Not too much diversity of people. Very Americanized population. This is the last place a legal immigrant thinks of coming to.
• No real presence of a university. UNF and JU are off the radar in terms of influencing Jacksonville culture.
• Where is the nearest post office? Oh great….its ten miles away…and its in a drug store in a strip mall….its not even in a post office building. But at least I passed ten hooters restaurants on the way.
• Hooters restaurants on every corner.
• No big time fish market. For a place so close to the ocean….buying local fresh fish is a chore.

Sorry, I left out a few things on this list that I realized as I was driving around today.

30. Speed bumps all over the place. So unnecessary.
31. No ethnic neighborhoods. Except the redneck enclave on the northside.
32. All the modern, nice housing is in a planned community with HOA fees, etc. I hope my mailbox is painted the right color!! I don't want the organization I pay into each month to fine me.
33. Olives anyone?
34. Sadly, no Italian presence. Italian restaurants here warm up frozen manicotti from Publix. And where's the mootsarell at the neighborhood Italian market?
35. Imported cheese selection doesn't suck....it just doesn't even exist here. I guess it has to exist to suck.
36. Speed limits. I mean seriously does Hodges Blvd need to be 35 mph? Its a separated 4 lane. It should be at least 55.
37. Almost every other 4 lane here in Paradise is 45 mph. Come on. We all have places to go. We need to get to the nearest Hooters.
38. Generally, and surprisingly, people obey those speed limits. In any real city the speed limit sign is just there for show. If its 45...the flow of traffic is usually 62. Not here buddy. The flow is 42.

[agreatlife]

Originally Posted by vdecapio

34. Sadly, no Italian presence. Italian restaurants here warm up frozen manicotti from Publix. And where's the mootsarell at the neighborhood Italian market?

Sheesh. Not only are you ignorant, you don't get around the city you claim to know so well and hate so much.

[amy_sk]

i think you should come and visit airport. sit here for 40-50 mins and it will give you a very good idea of what kind of people (visitors as well as locals) are in jax.
I think you might change your opinion about atleast the 'type' of people here.
i have been sitting here for last 2 hrs and looking at the crowd, haven't seen big glaring tattoos yet

[riveree]

I'm really suprised that someone who listens to NPR is not aware that many of these issues are problems nationwide and not at all unique to Jacksonville:

Walmart gobbling up Mom & Pops....happening everywhere, destroying local economies and cultures.

Limited radio choices...insert the word "Clear Channel" where I have "Walmart" above - you must know this if you listen to NPR?

Jacksonville not a tourist destination like Miami and Orlando...when were we trying to be a tourist destination? We're a working Southern city, not created by Disney .

Lack of Post Offices and postal boxes...they've even been debating going to only 5 days of delivery...again, a nationwide problem.

Complaints of Hooters, strip clubs, rednecks......this is life! I'd expect someone who proclaims to love urban living to appreciate the different walks of life, not be disturbed by them .

[dolphin3]

Everybody has something to complain about! I've been here for 15yrs and I could complain but whats the use? It would be nice if the general pop was allowed to vote on a few more things instead of just leaving it up to our "city planners". If anything maybe we should think about ways to get a few new folks in office downtown. This is a WORKING city so it might be nice if there was a few less curbs in the roads and some more signs around to let out of towners know what to expect. I had not been west of downtown in awhile and the road contruction is quite scary to say the least. I wasn't sure what was going on or where I was headed. Tatoos? Yeh theres a few too many. I wonder what these folks will look like in 20 yrs. Can't see them running for mayor or city council. This is a good city but a little quicker action downtown would be nice. We are fixing to get real busy with the port expansion so let's put our youth to work and get them involved with whats going on. Have the courts clear out the jails and get those deadheads out on the road cleaning up. Just sitting around incarsurated is not going to at as much of a deterrent. Well at least we have some of the best weather in the country and hopefully the unemployment isn't to high! Things could be alot worse!

[jimbo13]

i think you are pretty spot-on and funny, vdecapio. i had the misfortune of spending 28yrs in jax and have to go back to visit family from time to time, so i feel that i am somewhat of an authority on the matter. i see everything on your list when i come back to paradise, ha ha. the festivals (we used to call them "jiffy feet festivals" are a gathering of toothless skanks dragging their babies around (with saggy dirty diapers), the strip clubs are only outnumbered by the baptist churches, you can find nascar parts (hoods, tires, etc) hanging on the walls in bars... wow. just wow. but, i digress... i got the heck out of that hole in the ground and only go back for two or three days once a year. i urge you to do what you have to do to escape. it's not gonna get better, i promise. quit your job if you have to, just get out and run like the wind.

[BabyBoomers2]

Here we go AGAIN!!! And, my wife and I don't even live there. All we can go by is the other postings in this Thread and other Threads which aren't "mean" to Jax like the OP and this person is. Just seems to us that there is wayyyyyy to many people who love/live/work in Jax to understand totally where these two people are coming from. But, as stated, wife and I don't live there and have never been there, so we really can't give an honest opinion on Jax and the area.

Originally Posted by jimbo13

i think you are pretty spot-on and funny, vdecapio. i had the misfortune of spending 28yrs in jax and have to go back to visit family from time to time, so i feel that i am somewhat of an authority on the matter. i see everything on your list when i come back to paradise, ha ha. the festivals (we used to call them "jiffy feet festivals" are a gathering of toothless skanks dragging their babies around (with saggy dirty diapers), the strip clubs are only outnumbered by the baptist churches, you can find nascar parts (hoods, tires, etc) hanging on the walls in bars... wow. just wow. but, i digress... i got the heck out of that hole in the ground and only go back for two or three days once a year. i urge you to do what you have to do to escape. it's not gonna get better, i promise. quit your job if you have to, just get out and run like the wind.

[jimbo13]

no, you don't live there... i did for quite some time. jax is viewed as a joke everywhere i go. i was at a large party for superbowl and everytime they showed the "skyline" of the moda building, the room would erupt in laughter. then they showed some of the other locations about town and more laughter. when i arrived here i would tell complete strangers where i moved from and they would laugh and call me a redneck. it got to where i am now just plain embarrassed to admit i am from jacksonville and now just say florida and leave it at that. i think vdecapio's comments couldn't possibly be more honest.