Need honest opinions about moving to Jacksonville with a family (Englewood: appointed, fit in)

[parks71]

I would never leave Denver for Jacksonville. Who says its cheaper to live here? Check salaries.com cost of living website, says its the same. Plan on putting your kid in private school if you live in Duval county, the schools in Florida are TERRIBLE since there is no state tax, the schools suffer. Property taxes are high, house insurance is high due to hurricanes.

If your going to live in Mandrin which I agree is probably the over all nicest area other than ponte vedra you are FAR from the beach. 40 plus minutes. I really hope you know what your getting into moving here. Maybe you guys are sick of Denver and want change, I am just not sure Jacksonville would be my choice. The crime rate is very high, bad schools, nothing to do other than the beach which sounds like you will live far from.

If you dont enjoy what Colorado has to offer, skiing, hiking, biking, rafting ect and you are a indoor type person sure, go for it. If you think living in jacksonville is like the corona commercials with pretty water and white sandy beachs, thats down south. Florida has ugly dark water you cant see 2 feet in since the st johns river dumps into the ocean and the gulf stream is 60 miles offshore.

[fsu813]

actaully, if you'd like your child to go to a good school, it's relatively easy. you tend to exaggerate, i've found.

if by 'nice' you mean suburban, then yes, Mandarin is very suburban.

crime is not an a big issue unless you live in certain areas of town, which are easy to avoid.

your assertion that "there is nothing to do besides the beach" shows how ignorant you are to your surrondings. it's an embarrassing statement on your behalf. good Lord man, get a grip.

[fsquid]

40 minutes is "far" from the beach? Do you expect to time warp there or something?

[parks71]

OK well 40 minutes might not be far for someone living in Denver, I live 10 mins from the beach so 40 minutes seems far.

The beach is the only thing to do here that denver doesnt have isnt it? Other than hot humid weather which some may like. If you like no winter, hot humid summers then sure.

Most major musicians skip jacksonville for concerts, you real types of traveling shows although one will come through every now and then. Are you guys trying to say jacksonville has as much as other major cities for things to do? Not even close.

Jacksonville USED to be a place with a very low cost of living, low crime and good all around quiet big city to raise your kids. It has all changed. Its not the worst place to live by any means but there are much better places and Denver is one of them.

[BabyBoomers2]

We have lived here for almost 9 months and Jacksonville has it good points and it's bad points..........just like any other city! It really depends on what people want out of area! Yes, there is crime here, but tell me where there is NOT crime or very little of it (like in the farming/ranching communities of the U.S....like where I grew up).
To the OP: We don't have kids and are (probably) much older (60-61) than you and your husband, so don't know how much help we can be. But, I do know that "where to live when kids are in the family" is a major concern today, as it should be. We use to live in Parker, Colorado, and, after 5 1/2 years of "inches-to-feet" snow/ice/cold weather, we were ready to leave. We do like living here quite a bit, but it does take some time getting use to the (sometimes) torrential downpours of rain, heat and humidity. We live on southern end of Jax (295 and 95 meet) and really like it here! We are into boating and fishing and, even though the St. John's River is "root beer" color (brackish water), we still enjoy cruising on it.
Don't get us wrong, we REALLY enjoyed living in the Englewood/Parker areas.....had a nice house in Parker........but the winters just got to much for us! While living there, I had to surgeries and one of them was from a fall in ice/snow! The Front Range is beautiful and probably more to do there than here (IMO), but we still like it here very much!
Good luck!!

[fsquid]

I've been told by a few boaters that they prefer to boat on "root beer" water. no idea why since I'm not a boater myself.

[fsu813]

parks71,

you continue to amaze me....not in a good way.

- most of jax residents won't need 40 minutes to get to the beach, 30 minutes or less is much more likely.

- no, the beach isn't the only thing to do here. that's like saying the mountains are the only thing to do in Denver. ridiculous.

- there are lots of major concerts on the first coast, lots. i can run down a list of recent and upcoming if you like.

- i think some Jax girl broke your heart, now you're jaded.

[BabyBoomers2]

Hummmmmmm, very interesting! Oh, and by the way, wife and I thought that EVERYONE who moved to the coastal cities in Florida were boaters! Thought wrong, we are finding out!

Originally Posted by fsquid

I've been told by a few boaters that they prefer to boat on "root beer" water. no idea why since I'm not a boater myself.

[parks71]

No girl broke my heart, been married for 17 years and still happily married. I am not going to get in a pissing match with you, those are my opinions so dont let it hurt your feelings ok?

The MAJORITY of major concerts, you know the BIG names, will pass up Jax and go to Tampa, orlando or miami. For example, just recently the Jonnas brothers came to florida, did they come to Jax? NO. When Linkon Park just came to florida, did they come to Jax? NO. Britney ever been here? Hanna Montanna did which I was shocked.

There is not a lot to do in Jax in my opinion other than the beach or rivers that you can NOT do in any other city. But while were at it, lets talk about the beach. If your going to come to florida for the beach, is there any other beach in the WHOLE state for a big city that is uglier than Jacksonvilles? Tampa, pretty clear water, white sandy beachs. Miami, pretty crystal blue water, white sandy beaches. Even in the panhandle, white sandy beaches, nice clear water. This what a lot of people think of florida, Jacksonville is the only major city that does NOT have this.

Jacksonville may seem like paradise for someone moving from some cities and if I were older, like the person that posted above me, this is a good place to retire. I would still prefer Tampa but thats just me. However, if you have kids and cant afford to put them in private school, you need to be aware that MOST, not all, of duval county schools are TERRIBLE.

The crime has went off the charts in the past 10 or so years. Sure, some of you might say "not in my area" but any city if you can afford it you can live in a area that has much less crime. Did you know Jacksonville beach led the NATION for the MOST FELONY CRIME PER CAPITA I think last year or the one before? Have you done a search for sex offenders in the city of jacksonville? The numbers are SCARY compared to other cities.

Jacksonville is not Hell, I am just giving my opinion on it and I would give it it a 4 out of 10, below average if you have kids. If your retired, I would give it much higher since no kids are involved and no state taxes.

[BabyBoomers2]

Have to admit, even though we do like Jax, Parks71 (above) does make some interesting statements......IMO, that is.

Shoot, we have never gone to the beach enough, here or in So Calif. to know a good one from a bad one! Although, the beach areas of Mission Bay in San Diego, CA are extremely nice!

Earth, Wind & Fire will be here this month! AC/DC was here! Go to JaxEvents.com and there are a number of things coming here to Jax! Anyone moving here must understand that Jax is NOT one of the "Entertainment" cities of the U.S. That is a fact!
True, we are older, but not yet retired. We also don't have any kids. Other than the Water Park and Zoo, there are no large "family entertainment Parks" in Jax. If I had a family with pre-school, pre-teen or teenagers in it, I'm not sure if I'd want to move to Jax either.......not too much to do like some other cities.

As stated before, we are into boating/fishing and the waterways around Jax were a big draw for us to move here. BUT, being the fact that not all families are into boating/fishing, the waterways here would not be a large factor for some families to move here.
Ok, let's put it this way:
If I was single (which I'm darn glad I'm not), would I move here?
Absolutely NOT! IMO
If I was married in my 20's-30's-40's w/children, would I move here? Have to give it some very serious thought/consideration! Again, IMO