Thinking of moving to Jacksonville (Orange Park, Golf: mover, crime, homes)

[easternshoregirl]

I have been thinking about moving to Jacksonville, Florida but is unsure. I am so uncertain due to what I have heard about the area. I hear the area is ghetto, crime infested, and poor. Then others have told me it depends where you live at. So which is true? Do you recommend a single mother moving to the area?

What is the cost of living like in Jacksonville?

[Joe 4520832257]

"Jacksonville" is over 850 square miles. Let the sheer size of that sink in a little.

So yes, it 100% depends on where you live. I'll be the first to admit that the Northwest side of town is a crime-ridden hellhole. But the reality is that crime in Jax, for better and worse, is highly segregated along racial and socio-economic lines. Most places besides that one area are quite nice and safe.

Actually, because Jax is so sprawled out, I'd wager that - in terms of actual distance - you're likely to be further away from crime than in most major cities. I think Jax gets a really bad reputation because the city limits are so large that EVERYTHING is called Jacksonville, and crimes are reported accordingly.

[NorthsideJacksonville]

Yea, NW Jacksonville is the equivalent of Baghdad; even some Northside gangsters won't go over there. Jacksonville's crime is concentrated, meaning you can trace it to the inner-city parts of Westside and Northside, and of course NW. Southside has a few hood spots but none too serious. Yon can drive 45-50 miles and still be in the city limits.

[psouth]

It depends on what you are looking for but I would not even consider moving to Jacksonville or any other part of Florida for all that matters without a good job already in hand. The job market in Florida is terrible at best. Too many people come to Florida unprepared and just hoping to strike it rich somehow. The job would be my first concern followed by other issues.

[joe.attaboy]

I arrived in the Jacksonville area in 1985, by way of the Navy. Long story short, I worked for the Navy for most of that time (first as an active-duty sailor, later as a civilian federal employee), until my federal job was eliminated by reduction-in-force in 2006. I've since worked away from my home as an IT contractor. I'm currently working in the Washington D.C. area.

However, I maintain my home in the Jax area (we own a home in Clay County, in the Fleming Island area of Orange Park, zip 32003). If my current company offered me a million bucks a year, I wouldn't give up my home there. My wife and I basically live apart 90% of the year and see one another on weekends. But we love our home.

Yes, there is crime in the Jacksonville area, but as others have said, the perception of "crime in Jacksonville" can be offset by the sheer expanse of the region. When you add in the suburban bedroom communities that surround Duval County, you're talking hundreds and hundreds of square miles.

Like any large metropolitan area, there are pockets of crime. Avoid those areas, most of which have been mentioned already.

I agree with psouth that having verified employment in the area first is a wise idea, but I would think that's wise advice no matter where you're going. There are parts of Florida where the unemployment numbers are worse than other areas...in the Jacksonville region, the last figure I hear was around 8%, which isn't as bad as some parts of the country, but certainly isn't ok by any stretch.

You chances of finding a job will be based on what you do or what you're looking for regarding employment. Just like anywhere else. Your chances of success in Jacksonville are directly related to your motivation to succeed, as well as your abilities. Just like anywhere else.

The advantages to the Jacksonville area?

The cost of living is still reasonable, compared to the rest of the nation.

Housing is affordable, and some areas of the Jax metro region have managed to keep their home values relatively sound, since the values of those homes didn't exactly skyrocket unrealistically in the last ten years anyway. The current value of my home in 32003 is probably down 10-15% from the appraisal I had in March 2007 when we did a re-fi. Considering the market and especially other parts of Florida (especially the southern part of the state, which has taken a real beating), I figure that's not bad. I'm not selling anyway.

There is no state income tax.

Taxes in general are lower, compared to the more populated areas of the state.

There is no state income tax.

The weather is incredible pretty much year round. We have enough of a change in the winter to contrast the hot summers. The summers are hot, from mid-April through mid- to late-October. But if you want to avoid heat, Florida isn't for you. This is why 99% of the buildings and cars in the region have air conditioning. The spring (before the heat) and fall (after the heat) are simply perfect.

There is no state income tax.

If you like the outdoors, you couldn't ask for a better place. Water activities, all kinds of fresh and salt water boating, swimming, diving, etc. The North Florida surf is some of the best on the easy coast. Golf is everywhere. There are thousands of parks, hiking and biking trails, streams and creeks for exploring, etc. The beaches are annually rated some of the best, and you're never more than 30-40 drive from them in the region.

There is no state income tax.

We have an NFL team (I'm a season ticket owner since the beginning) and a Sunday at Municipal Stadium is always a blast. We have a great baseball park and a Double-A team, the Suns. A night at the Baseball Grounds is a fun, inexpensive way yo spend an evening with the family. They even have fireworks at Friday home games, and the quality of the baseball is always top notch...we've had quite of string of famous names come through the Suns early in their careers. If you like college football, Florida and Florida State are both a short drive away.

We have very fine schools (especially in Clay County) and good higher education, including one huge community college, a couple of smaller ones in the region, one state university (UNF, my two-time alma mater) and a few private universities.

There is no state income tax.

Now, there is one downside:

Traffic can be a bear, especially at rush hours. However, having grown up in the Long Island-NY metro area (three blocks from the Long Island Expressway) and now working in the DC-Merto area, the traffic in Jax is NOTHING compared to those regions. It can be an issue, so prepare for it, like any city. Drivng is literally the only way to get around. There is public bus service in the city limits and some out to the 'burbs, but in the 23 years I've lived there, the only time I take a bus is when I'm going to a Jaguars game, from the lot where I park my car. I've used the "People Mover" one time, on Super Bowl weekend in 2005, when the game was hosted here. Mass transit is pretty much non-existent, unless you live in or near downtown.

Hope this helps.

[Joe 4520832257]

Originally Posted by joe.attaboy

Yes, there is crime in the Jacksonville area, but as others have said, the perception of "crime in Jacksonville" can be offset by the sheer expanse of the region. When you add in the suburban bedroom communities that surround Duval County, you're talking hundreds and hundreds of square miles.

Very true. And in fact, if you add all the suburban bedroom communities, you're talking well past a thousand square miles!!

I also agree that the no state income tax is a huge deal. Even with the Federal deduction, you're still talking about flushing 3-4% (ish) of your income right down the drain. Just for the privilege of living in a state with worse weather than Florida!!

[tercel95]

I just moved from MD to Fleming Island and love it here. But as mentioned above make sure you have a job in hand before moving... There are a lot of people in this area and a lot of traffic during rush hour but it is nothing like the DC/Metro area... The difference here is that the infrastructure was designed to handle large volumes of traffic... I commute to work during rush hour and traffic is never dead stopped or gridlocked like it would be in MD all the time...

[stanleyandjoan]

We like the south side, actually have a st augustine address but easy access to JAX from I-95.

[HIF]

Originally Posted by easternshoregirl

I have been thinking about moving to Jacksonville, Florida but is unsure. I am so uncertain due to what I have heard about the area. I hear the area is ghetto, crime infested, and poor. Then others have told me it depends where you live at. So which is true? Do you recommend a single mother moving to the area?

What is the cost of living like in Jacksonville?

What is it that has you considering a move to Jacksonville? What is it that appeals to you to the point that you are thinking of moving here?

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by easternshoregirl

I have been thinking about moving to Jacksonville, Florida but is unsure. I am so uncertain due to what I have heard about the area. I hear the area is ghetto, crime infested, and poor. Then others have told me it depends where you live at. So which is true? Do you recommend a single mother moving to the area?

What is the cost of living like in Jacksonville?

No, you don't wanna do that. Yes alot of that is true I could see it on one trip. It's not for kids anywhere near the city. Unless you have a job that takes you there. Then you commute. So you have to be pretty far outside of the actual city downtown area in other words.

I am moving to Jax because of a job offer there but my son is grown. I would definitely NOT recommend you moving there with kids unless you have family there. The entire downtown area is off limits to families it's only a working corporate type urban center and/or courthouse business except for trips downtown for events like going to museums and stuff like that. Then the rest of it is suburbs and huge...but you'd have to move where you found the job first not in the reverse. When you look on the internet you see housing that looks normal till you get there and see it's in the middle of a terrible neighborhood filled with check cashing, bars, strip stores of takeout and auto dealers ....that's not just Jax but everywhere when you look long distance.

To compound the reasons, I think I just heard on the radio that the schools in some places if not the entire state is cutting back on hours so the kids are going to be out of school even earlier now than usual so that adds to the problem of being a parent with kids of any age if there's nobody to be home after school.

I just read the cost of living is lower than average by a few points but it's not really the place to focus on. Even working downtown you have to pay for parking. That adds at least 25 per week to your expenses.

LOL I was in Walgreens in Southside and the clerk there was a 20 something guy giving me tips. He said don't worry about the bums in the park, I got mugged there and the bums were the ones who saved me. LOLOL.....

This park is DIRECTLY NEXT TO the "upscale" 1616 Riverside development with higher price housing and alot of stores and restaurants (about 20). It looks pretty normal during the day but everything closes really early all over Jax from what I saw.

The farther suburbs may be an entirely different story I only was looking within 10 miles of the city center.