Moving to Jacksonville- Pros & Cons- Please share with me (Tampa: crimes, house)

[TyroneParker]

Hi all,

We don't mean to hijack this thread but our interests are almost identical to the OP except that I am retired and my wife is also in pharma sales. I am also into boating. We had been house hunting pretty much all over Fl, visited Jacksonville 9 months ago and really liked it. Particularly loved the amount of water everywhere. Also felt safe everywhere we went. I will tune into this forum from time to time to get as much info as I can since we intend to move there in another year or so.

PS: We would prefer NOT to hear from psouth who seems to have an anti-Florida agenda of his own but all other recommendations would be welcome

[runswithscissors]

After buying a condo in the wonderful town of Vero Beach, I'm moving to JAX. For an excellent job.

My son, age 28 lived in WPB and moved home to Philly recently, so we know something about crime since Philly is called "the city of murder".

LOL we still LOVE Philadelphia and never experience crime.

Anyway, he told me he considered Jax since it has a city feel and activities that are his style (like WPB which is much smaller) but he was able to move his business back to Phila and jumped at the chance.

I fully expect to LOVE living in JAX. FIRST OF ALL THERE'S A WHOLE FOODS RIGHT THERE AND I AM A VEG. Regardless of the prices, if you only need a bit of variety it's worth going there.

There are none near Vero and the produce is horrible unless you get lucky at the farmers market. You may laugh but eating is one of the things you have to do. Shopping at Nordstrom is not an imperative, and you can shop for anything you need online anyway except produce.

I think the water access is amazing, the proximity to the beach is fine if you are a "water person" like me. Plenty of people are not.

The rents are half the price of up north and I plan to move where the commute to downtown is minimal. I also have to say based on the people I've met here, the Jax crowd seems very welcoming and nice and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to get a great job in a city that seems perfect for my needs and interests. ie if you can't get to the REAL Broadway in NYC like we can from Philly, you can see the Broadway Across America troups right in Jax just like in FLL and WPB. (Wicked is playing right now as amatter of fact).

I'm also looking forward to the Jax Orchestra and "THe Music of Queen" is there TODAY. 8 pm

JAX orchestra is one of the few in the country with a dedicated concert hall and I think it's the ONLY true one in the whole state. There are museums, state parks, nature parks, neighborhood parks and plenty of walkable areas, too. There is a zoo, but I'm anti-zoo so that's the only "bad" thing here. imo.

THANK GOD there's no horse abuse drawn carriages like in so many other cities including Phila, where I must avoid a big area of the city including the Liberty Bell/Independence Mall tourist areas to not see that.

I don't understand all the focus on "macy's" etc. Life has alot to offer if you look.

[psouth]

Originally Posted by TyroneParker

Hi all,

We don't mean to hijack this thread but our interests are almost identical to the OP except that I am retired and my wife is also in pharma sales. I am also into boating. We had been house hunting pretty much all over Fl, visited Jacksonville 9 months ago and really liked it. Particularly loved the amount of water everywhere. Also felt safe everywhere we went. I will tune into this forum from time to time to get as much info as I can since we intend to move there in another year or so.

PS: We would prefer NOT to hear from psouth who seems to have an anti-Florida agenda of his own but all other recommendations would be welcome

Come to Jacksonville. It is absolutely booming. No recession here. You will love it. Pharmaceutical jobs everywhere. The entire city is safe. Jobs aplenty. By the way read thru some of the real Florida forums for other opinions. Every one just loves it here.

[joleneraichelle]

Originally Posted by CONTACTROXY

My fiance and I are both moving to FL. I am 29 and he is 33 years old. I have
mortgage and banking experience and he is in the pharmaceutical sale field.
We are looking for a nice area to move that is close to shopping malls and dinners and 20-25 from the water at the most. We would like to buy a boat eventually and start a family soon.

I will like to know about

Employment opportunities, Life style, how safe is the area? If you are from the area any feedback would help. Pros and Cons of moving to Jacksonville. THANKS !

NIce areas of Jacksonville near a mall would be Baymeadows and Mandrin area. Im pretty sure you just take JTB to the beach from there.
You want to look for places on the Southside of town, generally. The west side is a bit run down in most places, and i dont know too much about the north side. There are alot of nice places along the St Johns River. Riverside are, which is near the westside, if not included in it...not sure..lol, but Riverside is a historical part of Jacksonville, with reaaally nice historical houses and great parks, it's an area of town you could just go walking around to little shops and things.

[joleneraichelle]

My opinion of Jacksonville is that I can't wait to get to get out. There is alot of crime in this city, I dont why anyone would say the city was safe...because that is just not true at all. Jacksonville's crime rate has gone up significantly over the last 10 years. It's a big city, and there are some nice parts, there are alot of job opps here i guess, but I could think of a hundred other places to live.

[Jahservant]

[quote=runswithscissors;8616845]

I fully expect to LOVE living in JAX. FIRST OF ALL THERE'S A WHOLE FOODS RIGHT THERE AND I AM A VEG. Regardless of the prices, if you only need a bit of variety it's worth going there.

Well, you answered one of the questions I had before I could ask it.
I lived in Colorado Springs, CO for about 5 yrs and that is one of the stores I miss shopping at (Whole Foods). Loved there food bar. Right now the closest one to me is in Birmingham which is about 3 hrs away.
I was also thinking about moving to Jacksonville. I've been there a few times visiting friends. Been to Ronnie Van Zant's grave (Lynyrd Synyrd).
I'm back living in my hometown of Dothan, AL but it looks like my job options are much better here though it is a hundred times smaller than Jax. If your in the medical field you can certainly find a job here. Pharmacists, RNs, Dieticians, xray techs, etc. Even saw job postings for Doctors. To bad I'm not in the medical field. I do warehouse work such as forklift, ship/rec clerk.
I do miss living in a bigger city. This is why I considered moving to Jax and it seems to be a little cheaper than other big cities and for the beaches.

[runswithscissors]

[quote=Jahservant;8630902]

Originally Posted by runswithscissors

Well, you answered one of the questions I had before I could ask it.
I lived in Colorado Springs, CO for about 5 yrs and that is one of the stores I miss shopping at (Whole Foods). Loved there food bar. Right now the closest one to me is in Birmingham which is about 3 hrs away.
I was also thinking about moving to Jacksonville. I've been there a few times visiting friends. Been to Ronnie Van Zant's grave (Lynyrd Synyrd).
I'm back living in my hometown of Dothan, AL but it looks like my job options are much better here though it is a hundred times smaller than Jax. If your in the medical field you can certainly find a job here. Pharmacists, RNs, Dieticians, xray techs, etc. Even saw job postings for Doctors. To bad I'm not in the medical field. I do warehouse work such as forklift, ship/rec clerk.
I do miss living in a bigger city. This is why I considered moving to Jax and it seems to be a little cheaper than other big cities and for the beaches.

TTYTT, after moving to Vero the produce was a major issue and I was going to move elsewhere because of it. Then I found a local farmers market that was ok. Not great but ok. The next closest one is Boca pretty far down. I also found the grocery that is most often bashed, Wynn Dixie has much better produce than any of the Publix stores. So that helped.

BUT you won't find the cooked food in any Publix or Wynn Dixie like at WF that's for sure. Just some chicken and one meal like meat loaf and greens and mac and cheese or something like that.

LOL I used to go to that Whole Foods takeout and nurse the one meal into two meals to stretch it to make up for the price. Just ask the guy for extra gravy or whatever ha ha.

I was THRILLED to find the WF so close to downtown Jax.

There's a ton of medical here, too this part of Florida. That's one career I can't get with. Even the entry level stuff demands experience anyway now. My podiatrist had 400 applications for one receptionist job last MAY 2008. In a tiny town.

My "new" job is actually my "former" job in a former company affiliate that I took a package from in 12/07 thankfully it came through since I've been submitting since then!

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Jahservant

I've been there a few times visiting friends. Been to Ronnie Van Zant's grave (Lynyrd Synyrd).

So how bad can Jax be? The orchestra plays Queen and Ronnie Van Zant's buried there.

[psouth]

The rest of Florida has had Whole Foods for years. Jacksonville just got one now and it is the talk of the town. Big deal. Get a Publix Greenwise Market, Macy's, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Sax, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus then maybe talk then. Maybe some day the Hard Rock will actually make it to town. Wait there is a Hooters at Jacksonville Landing. Sorry I forgot.

[Jahservant]

Originally Posted by psouth

The rest of Florida has had Whole Foods for years. Jacksonville just got one now and it is the talk of the town. Big deal. Get a Publix Greenwise Market, Macy's, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Sax, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus then maybe talk then. Maybe some day the Hard Rock will actually make it to town. Wait there is a Hooters at Jacksonville Landing. Sorry I forgot.

I would have stayed in Colorado Springs If I wanted to shop at those stores. I never went to those places, too expensive. Shopped at Dillards sometimes but mostly JCpenny. To be honest with you me and my ex both bought a lot of our clothes at Goodwill. But these were really nice Goodwill stores, set up like mini department stores. A lot wealthy people in town.

psouth you obviously don't like Jacksonville but I think you would like Colorado Springs, CO. Plenty of culture (nothing like the South) and shopping, not sure about night life. There's a lot young people there because of the many colleges. Only 45 minutes from Denver. It's been named best city in america to live in more than once in Money magazine or maybe it was forbes not sure. I loved it and would still be there but after my divorce I was kind of bummed out so moved back to alabama to be close to family and I missed the Florida beaches.
Don't want to live in Atlanta. My dad lived in Norcross for years and I thought it was just to big, too many people and too much traffic but I have friends there who love it. That's why i thought Jacksonville would be just the right size and it has beaches. Don't want to move too far from my hometown. Mobile, AL is an option also though its much smaller.