Is Florida right for a liberal from Minnesota? (Jacksonville, Orlando: public schools, college)

[Pippin23]

I would second everything J30fini had to say.

I lived in Minnesota for 25 years. I’ve been in Florida for 10. We’ve made our lives here, are raising a family, and making the best of it. There are many positive aspects: the beaches are great, the people are friendly, and the winters are wonderful. Did I mention the great winters :-)? But while the wintertime is beautiful here, the oppressive heat and humidity of the summer make me want to cry. In fact, we went to the beach today (end of September) and it was just too hot. We lasted about one hour before packing it up and heading home.

Also, this is a very conservative part of the state. My spouse and I have grown accustomed to keeping our mouths shut while listening to friends, neighbors, teachers, bosses, etc. opine about their politics. We’ve found that a lot of people just assume that everyone else is a conservative, which is probably a correct assumption most of the time. But it's very tiresome and frustrating to us.

The other thing that still surprises me is that many here tend to be very open and vocal about their religious beliefs. In Minnesota, everyone I knew went to church, but it wasn’t something they talked about. That’s very, very different here.

And the laid back lifestyle. Oh, that drove me nuts the first few years here! It still does at times (I mean, the only reason I’m GOING to McDonalds is because it’s supposed to be fast) but for the most part it’s something I’ve gotten used to and am trying to enjoy.

[Moderate Guy]

Originally Posted by Pippin23

Also, this is a very conservative part of the state. My spouse and I have grown accustomed to keeping our mouths shut while listening to friends, neighbors, teachers, bosses, etc. opine about their politics. We’ve found that a lot of people just assume that everyone else is a conservative, which is probably a correct assumption most of the time. But it's very tiresome and frustrating to us.

The other thing that still surprises me is that many here tend to be very open and vocal about their religious beliefs. In Minnesota, everyone I knew went to church, but it wasn’t something they talked about. That’s very, very different here.

I believe that Americans of all poltical, social, religious orientations learn to adapt to their new environments if there are other personally rewarding aspects of life to compensate for living in specic areas. It might well be that some of the things the OP seeks that are independent of her political leanings cannot be achieved in North Florida or in Jacksonville specifically. Some have pointed out the oppressive summer heat, too laid back lifestyle (as they perceive it), and the geography that might differ from the OP's requirements.

However, an American living in an environment contrary to his/her political/social values is not at all unique. I daresay it might even be very common. For example, as a moderate to conservative New Yorker in NYC, I am overwhelmingly outnumbered by a population that is predominantly ultra-liberal in both political and social values.

As with Pippin, I too choose to remain silent most times when neighbors, friends, work associates, etc., assume that all New Yorkers share their political, moral, social values. However, one distinction between American society and many others is that it is a choice not mandated...a choice for the sake of avoiding contention.

Whether the OP can find a place for herself in Jacksonville would depend on whether she can learn to be as adaptive as Piipin is or as I am in NYC. And even if she isn't, America still allows people the freedom to disagree without anyone getting maimed, killed, or run out of town for having a different perspective. Only the OP can evaluate whether she and her family can adapt and enjoy Jacksonville for its other attributes enjoyable by people of all persuasions.

[fsu813]

omg.

perseverate. perseverate. perseverate.

after reading these skewed "descriptions" of Jacksonville i'm surprised anyone would ever want to move here (ha).


to various points:

- find some new friends if you're tired of hanging out with conservative, overly religous ones. this
isn't hard to do.
- there are plenty of great schools to go around, if this is a priority it isn't hard to enroll.
- the south is hot & humid half the year. everyone knows this. has been for thousands of years.

Here's the avg high for 12 months:
(18)67
(19)73
(23)79
(26)84
(29)89
(32)91
(33)89
(32)86
(30)79
(26)73
(23)66
(19)78
(26)64
and the average low for 12 months:
(7)47
(8)53
(12)58
(14)66
(19)71
(22)74
(23)74
(23)71
(22)63
(17)55
(13)47
(8)58
(14)45

perseverate. perseverate. perseverate.

ya know, i think a lot of people are just ill-informed about thier own surrondings, b/c they don't put forth the effort to find out or to investigate. Then they're left with a false impression.

I think it's good to see how others view our city, from the outside looking in:

Here are some examples:

- Jacksonville has been a Top 25 "Big City for the Arts" for 5 years in a row : http://www.americancraft.com/americanstyle/


- Jacksonville was recently profiled in Delta's SKY Magazine & Southwest's SPIRIT Magazine, here's thier impression of the city:

http://www.visitjacksonville.com/inc.../spiritmag.pdf
&
http://www.visitjacksonville.com/inc...sky-spread.pdf


- Boston.com's 8 Things you didn't know about Jacksonville & Top 10 Places to visit In Jacksonville (albeit, outdated......so there would be some changes probably): Eight things you didn't know about Jacksonville, Fla. - Boston.com
&
10 places to visit in Jacksonville - Boston.com

- in the past few years, Jacksonville has been named.....to Mobility Magazine's top 10 cities for Relcoating Families ('04), National Geographic's top 10 Beach Towns ('06), and Black Enterprise's top 10 cities to work, play, and live ('07), Forbes Magazine's top 10 Best Cities for the Outdoors ('08) & Best Cities to Buy a Home ('08), & Cleaniest Big Cities ('08), among Bizjournal's Least Stressful Metro-areas ('08), Fit Pregnancy Magazine's top 10 cities To Have Baby ('08), Stroller Friendly Cities ('08) & Best Cities for Childcare ('08), Next Generation Consulting's top 10 cities for Young Professionals to Live an Work ('09), and Healthcare Inc's top 10 Medical cities ('09).

I'm sure there are others.

Get out. Explore. Meet new people. This is how you find out what is in a city.

[Peter the Brit]

Great Post FSU
Sorry about USF!

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by Pippin23

In fact, we went to the beach today (end of September) and it was just too hot. We lasted about one hour before packing it up and heading home..

Coincidentally, we also went to the beach yesterday (Vilano Beach). It was a very windy day, several degrees lower than inland (as to be expected) and altogether very, very pleasant. I'm sure that was true up and down the coast. Our only complaint was the surf, a bit too rough for us non-surfers. This doesn't mean ofcourse that Pippin23 is lying, it just shows that we all have different sensitivities to heat although I find the comment strange since people usually flee to the beaches, not away from the beaches, to escape the heat. I would say that Jacksonville and St. Augustine beaches are the envy of people who have to drive miles and miles just to spend a day at the beach, ask the folks in central Florida. So which beach were you at?

[j30fini]

Cricketfan, you make a good point about some people having different sensitivities to heat. We obviously differ on opinion (haha), but it shows that if someone is considering a big move like the OP, the best way to know if you can endure the weather is to visit. Of course, not everyone can visit at the hottest and/or coldest time of the year, but a visit nonetheless would definitely help. Sometimes, just a visit can turn a person off or on about that specific region. If you don't like it, you can always move back or to an area more suitable for your tastes. Life is too short to dislike the area where you live!

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by j30fini

Cricketfan, you make a good point about some people having different sensitivities to heat. We obviously differ on opinion (haha), but it shows that if someone is considering a big move like the OP, the best way to know if you can endure the weather is to visit. Of course, not everyone can visit at the hottest and/or coldest time of the year, but a visit nonetheless would definitely help. Sometimes, just a visit can turn a person off or on about that specific region. If you don't like it, you can always move back or to an area more suitable for your tastes. Life is too short to dislike the area where you live!

I agree.

[justNancy]

I do not live in Jacksonville, but the OP said "Florida" so I'll comment, since I am a 15 year resident.

I've said this many times on different forums. Anywhere you live, you need to make the most of it. Sometimes it's necessary to go out of your way to join organizations if you want to meet people with similar interests. Florida has a lot of choices for everyone.

Regarding politics: we have a Republican governor with a Republican-dominated legislature. Before Crist, Jeb Bush was governor from 1999 to 2007. So that should tell you something. Florida has 56 known hate groups. Still, I lived in a very conservative town with about 40,000 people and there was an Obama field office. That's what I meant about searching for people with like minds. However, I wouldn't stand in a supermarket and start talking about illegal immigration or health care reform either!

By the way, I'm thinking about moving to Jacksonville too. Good luck!

[Pippin23]

Originally Posted by cricketfan

Coincidentally, we also went to the beach yesterday (Vilano Beach). So which beach were you at?

Cricketfan, We were at Crescent Beach. I should've prefaced my statement by saying that one of my children loves the sand but is a bit scared by the waves, so going in the water isn't usually an option. Had we been able to get wet, it would've been a better day at the beach. And then there's my obvious low tolerance to the heat...

[riveree]

Originally Posted by ArielE

"Walkability" -- ie, We dislike strip malls, suburban type areas, and anything where you don't have a nice outdoorsy place or urban area to walk around in or go to restaurants, libraries, museums, etc
Affordable housing (we're trying for under $250,000)
Family friendly
Environmentally friendly
Mild weather
Hills... I don't like completely flat areas
Liberal attitude
A large body of water nearby, the ocean, a river, lakes, anything really.
Lots of green space and parks

Though 99% of Jacksonville is flat as a pancake (this is Florida after all ), we actually do have some hills here. Along the river, there are bluffs. Some of these bluffs are obviously high, such as in the Fort Caroline area. The French used the bluffs as a lookout point during the 16th century. If you've never been, go check out the National Memorial and you'll see the vantage point the French had of the river. So some of the neighborhoods around the memorial have hills - some of which are steep enough to strain your car driving up them. My own neighborhood in the San Marco/San Jose area also has hills because we're alongside the river. So we've got a smattering of hills here in Jax .