Want to relocate to Jacksonville (Gainesville, University: apartment, for rent, house)

[Myrain188]

Hello all. My husband, 2 children and I are relocating to Jacksonville in August 08. I just don't know were to go. Let me give you some info. about my family and maybe someone can suggest were would be a good place. I am from NYC moved to Tulsa OK and we hate it here. Too racist, to boring, to country. The place is like a plantation. Just horrible place to be for a black middle class family. We have a 5yr old & 17yr old girls so we need good schools. My 17 is a straight A student. She wants to be a Vet. She already works for the Tulsa zoo, so she need to go to a college for Veterinarians. We are very a close family that does everything together. We are very quiet and love to be in a quiet family type area. We don't like drama or getto type living. My husband has his CDL A so he can work for any company as a driver. I am a Payroll Assistant Manager/Exec. Secretary, so I should not have a problem working anywhere. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you.

[riveree]

UF in Gainesville is top notch for Veterinary Medicine. It's very competitive, but it's the one to go to.

It can get country around NEFL pretty quickly once you move away from the city centers, so you'll want to keep that in mind. It's probably a different kind of country than Tulsa, but I don't know Tulsa - only driven through Oklahoma, never stopped.

I don't consider it boring here, but some might. We're East Coast and we're a city of a decent size. There's always something to do and there's some great history here (some great black history in particular ).

Racism can be found anywhere, of course, and nowhere is completely free of it, but I don't think you'll find it to be a significant problem here. There are many diverse areas where you can live and there are many predominantly black and predominantly white areas - if you prefer one over the other just take a good look before you leap (maybe rent first).

You said you liked "quiet family type" areas, so are you looking for a suburban locale? What kind of suburban? Could it be urban-suburban or do you want solid suburbia well outside the city?

[Myrain188]

Thanks for the quick response riveree. I like the long Island New York type of living. Not to urban not to suburban. You know I would like to be close to the beach but still able to go to a store that is close to my home. We will be renting when we get there. 2 or 3 bdrm house for rent or apt. Any idea's of were to look for a place like that?

[Myrain188]

I was checking out an apt online in the Arlington Village Apts 840 Bert Road
Jacksonville, FL 32211 near the Regency Square mall area. Any feedback on how that area is?

[Karla with a K]

Myrain
I echo Riveree in University of Florida being a great vet school, our vet went there.

My first though on reading your post was to suggest the southside /intercostal area
around JTB 9A area.
This will have you close to the beach as well as some great shopping (St Johns Towne center)

Do you have a range that you want to spend for rent?

Some of the areas right off of Arlington expy can be a bit sketchy

[cellson]

Hi Myrain...I third the U of F kudos and have a cousin who is an equine vet and did her undergrad work there and went to Vet school there too. Go Gators!

I'd stay as far away from Regency Sq as possible, no offense to anyone, but it's dicey as Karla says. If your daughter is a scholar you'll want to try and get her into either Paxon or Stanton, DCPS 2 academic magnet high schools. Here's a link for the Magney Program. Duval County Public Schools Magnet Programs And don't worry, wherever you live there will be transportation provided.

The beach is a great area, although it's more expensive to rent or buy when east of the Intracostal Waterway. Those zip codes are 32250, 32266 and 32233 for the Duval County Beaches. But, if you wanted to be close to the beach the San Pablo area would be nice. The zip code for that area is 32224.

Other area you may want to consider are; 32256, 32207, 32216. That said, I've lived most of my life in Jacksonville, but think I've grasped what you're looking for...good luck and welcome to Jacksonville!

[riveree]

Originally Posted by Myrain188

I was checking out an apt online in the Arlington Village Apts 840 Bert Road
Jacksonville, FL 32211 near the Regency Square mall area. Any feedback on how that area is?

I agree with the others, there are definitely better choices.

I like all the zip codes mentioned above, and I'd add 32225 & 32246 into the mix. Between all these zips, you can search online and see what type of apartment suite you best.

[lightheaded1der]

As a Stanton grad, if your daughter is already 17, it is probably too late to get her into the programs at Stanton or Paxon that are worth getting in to. If she is an A student, she shouldn't have problems getting into UF from any public high school in Jacksonville. I do agree with the other posters that 32211 is a littly sketchy. There are lots of homes for rent in 32225 and 32224 that would probably work nicely for you.