Considering Moving to Jax. Question about area (Jacksonville, Atlantic Beach: rentals, condos) - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

hcjandme · 06-03-2007, 04:43 PM

Hi everyone,

My family and I (we have 2 kids) are considering moving to the Jacksonville area this summer; hopefully before school starts. We currently live in Columbus, OH and we're not very happy here. Its not so much the lack of things to do, but rather the people that make living here almost unbearable. My husband is currently a retail store manager and would be transfering with his company. I am currently a stay-at-home-mom and a budding freelance writer. (Though I haven't bothered much to check my grammar and spelling on this post.

)

I've been conducting a lot of research via this forum and numerous websites, and it looks like Jacksonville may have alot of what we would like in a city, especially the proximity to the ocean.

However I do have a question. I've found a house for rent that fits our price range in the 32205 zip code. It is near I-10 and Casset, in the Riverside area. Is this a good area? How about family friendly? Our price range for a rental is up to around $1200.00/month, less if possible.

Our oldest child is 8, and is currently in a virtual or cyber charter school run by K12, I know they have an academy there in Florida as well. Our youngest is less than 2 years old, but we would need to have access to good doctors/hospitals for him.

Any suggestions, or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

kort677 · 06-03-2007, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hcjandme

Hi everyone,

My family and I (we have 2 kids) are considering moving to the Jacksonville area this summer; hopefully before school starts. We currently live in Columbus, OH and we're not very happy here. Its not so much the lack of things to do, but rather the people that make living here almost unbearable. My husband is currently a retail store manager and would be transfering with his company. I am currently a stay-at-home-mom and a budding freelance writer. (Though I haven't bothered much to check my grammar and spelling on this post.

)

I've been conducting a lot of research via this forum and numerous websites, and it looks like Jacksonville may have alot of what we would like in a city, especially the proximity to the ocean.

However I do have a question. I've found a house for rent that fits our price range in the 32205 zip code. It is near I-10 and Casset, in the Riverside area. Is this a good area? How about family friendly? Our price range for a rental is up to around $1200.00/month, less if possible.

Our oldest child is 8, and is currently in a virtual or cyber charter school run by K12, I know they have an academy there in Florida as well. Our youngest is less than 2 years old, but we would need to have access to good doctors/hospitals for him.

Any suggestions, or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

the area there is so-so, for 1200 you should be able to get something nice further south in better areas, I am sure the Jax experts will give you some good ideas

FLPL75 · 06-03-2007, 06:10 PM

Hi hcjandme
Woflson childrens hospital is wonderful. We also have Mayo Clinic.

What is location of your husbands store. Jax is a large area and if possible you would want to be close depending on the are.
I live on the Southside you can check rental out in the 32256 zip, manderian is also another area to look into.
10 & cassett can be rough in some areas.
Any chance of a visit before you move to check out the area?

karla

riveree · 06-04-2007, 02:36 PM

Hi HC,

I agree, I10 & Casset would not be my choice unless I had to be in that area for a certain reason, such as commute.

I10 & Casset would not really even be considered "Riverside", it's barely 'Riverside Area' - it's closer to Murray Hill than Riverside. Riverside is shaping up nicely, Murray Hill still has quite a ways to go. You'll need to drive through to see if you'd be comfortable living in this area.

hcjandme · 06-10-2007, 04:54 PM

Hi everyone,

I want to thank you all for your input and advice. My family and I are still looking in the Jacksonville area. We're taking our time, as we're not in a rush to move. We would just like to move before the school year starts, to make things easier on our older son.

I've taken your advice and started looking in other areas around Jacksonville. I've found some good homes in the areas all of you have referred to me too. I do have one question about an area.

What is the Atlantic Beach area like? Is it near Jacksonville? The house I saw online is Sebago Ave, at A1A.

I hope I'm not being a pest, I would just like to narrow down areas to look at, and the areas to stay away from.

I thank you all for your help, it is truly appreciated.

Gayle

kort677 · 06-10-2007, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hcjandme

Hi everyone,

I want to thank you all for your input and advice. My family and I are still looking in the Jacksonville area. We're taking our time, as we're not in a rush to move. We would just like to move before the school year starts, to make things easier on our older son.

I've taken your advice and started looking in other areas around Jacksonville. I've found some good homes in the areas all of you have referred to me too. I do have one question about an area.

What is the Atlantic Beach area like? Is it near Jacksonville? The house I saw online is Sebago Ave, at A1A.

I hope I'm not being a pest, I would just like to narrow down areas to look at, and the areas to stay away from.

I thank you all for your help, it is truly appreciated.

Gayle

it's ok up there, it is a diverse area, near the beach there are lots of petty crimes, lock your cars and keep your garage closed and you shouldn't have issues.
The concern is commuting, you have to see where you're going to be working, like that other newcomer noticed, things are very spread out here and atlanitic beach is not exactly at the center of things.
If you deal with the commute, and understand that while it is a nice area there are some warts, you'd probably love it there. Maybe someone else can clue you into the school situation, I think you would be in the jacksonville school system, you might want to consider private/ or one of the church run schools.

riveree · 06-11-2007, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hcjandme

Hi everyone,

I want to thank you all for your input and advice. My family and I are still looking in the Jacksonville area. We're taking our time, as we're not in a rush to move. We would just like to move before the school year starts, to make things easier on our older son.

I've taken your advice and started looking in other areas around Jacksonville. I've found some good homes in the areas all of you have referred to me too. I do have one question about an area.

What is the Atlantic Beach area like? Is it near Jacksonville? The house I saw online is Sebago Ave, at A1A.

I hope I'm not being a pest, I would just like to narrow down areas to look at, and the areas to stay away from.

I thank you all for your help, it is truly appreciated.

Gayle

When I saw that you found a house for rent in Atlantic Beach and your budget was $1200, I knew something didn't jive. That house is in Mayport. Atlantic Beach, which is very nice, would not have a home for rent for $1200/mo., it would be higher, much higher.

Mayport is probably not where you want to be. It can be very transient with a lot of military families moving in and out, there are some crime issues...in short, look elsewhere.

I would forget the beach simply due to your budget. Trying to find some family space at the beach is going to cost a fortune.

You can still be NEAR the beach by moving inland just a touch and the rental prices will drop dramatically. You can look 'across the ditch' (across the Intracoastal), just come in a few miles (5-10) from the beach.

That being said, $1200 rent is a little on the low side for renting an entire house in Jax. You can find something I'm sure, but there is not an abundance of homes for rent at this price in good neighborhoods (rentals are not cheap in Jax).

I know you're still early in the process, and where your job/jobs will end up being will play a major role, but I just wanted to point that out about the rental prices. Florida used to be a cheap place to live, but it's not really that way anymore, even here in NE FL.

T_Slim · 06-11-2007, 05:02 PM

If you get the chance, visit rentals.com and search for homes or condos/townhomes in Jax. I'm not sure how reliable the entries are, but there seems to be quite a bit of homes/townhomes for $1200 and under at first glance. This is my first post btw. I was born and raised in Jax and looking to move back in 2 to 3 years.

FLPL75 · 06-12-2007, 03:14 AM

t_slim
welcome to the fourms.

hcjandme
There are some condos that are nice that you can find for your price. Point Meadows Place, The reserve at James Island are a couple of the nice ones right around the 9A/baymeadows area and they are close to 2 "a" schools Riveree is correct that house rentals are higher. For example a 2100 sq ft house in our neighborhood was just rented for $1600 a month. you can also look at militarybyowner.com a lot of military folks that get trasnfered rent their homes. just put NAS or mayport bases in your search. You don't want to live in mayport though for the reasons riveree listed.

kort677 · 06-12-2007, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T_Slim

If you get the chance, visit rentals.com and search for homes or condos/townhomes in Jax. I'm not sure how reliable the entries are, but there seems to be quite a bit of homes/townhomes for $1200 and under at first glance. This is my first post btw. I was born and raised in Jax and looking to move back in 2 to 3 years.

the 3 best sources for rentals are stockton realty
watsonrents.com and jacksonville.com