For those enjoying life in Jacksonville, please respond... (Miami, Jacksonville Beach: apartments, condominiums)

[phdnmoi]

I live in St. Nicholas. I love it here. I am near the St. John river and 20 minutes from any destination in Jacksonville. The older communities are the best. If you are looking to buy a fixer-up home...try the St. Nicholas area. The homes are large but older. A lot of them have been restored and are quite beautiful. The best schools are right down the street and you are so close to 95, I-10 and 295. I wouldn't recommend anything in Orange Park or Mandarin. That area is becoming so saturated and the traffic is unbearable during rush hour. Green Cove Springs is nice but about 30 minutes from Downtown and you have to go through Orange Park - depending where you live. Jacksonville has had a lot of crime this past year but all growing cities experience that and no matter where you go...bad people will be there. If you decide to live in the Southside area...avoid Southside Blvd. That street is a bottle-neck of traffic during the day, at night...well, all the time. This is a lovely city with a lot of good people, good churches, lots of activities, theater, live music, NFL games, Georgia vs Florida is always a lot of fun. Each part of the city has its good and not so good aspects. All in all...amazing city. I have lived in San Diego and I would take the worst part of Northside over San Ysidro or National City any day of the week. I have lived in Vegas...I loved it. I lived in Summerlin (ten miles from the strip) and I thoroughly enjoyed my six years there. I have been here for 6 years as well. I have lived in Southside, Mandarin, Beaches, and now I will reside in St. Nicholas for as long as I have air in my lungs. Keep looking. You'll find your happy place. Good luck to you and your family.

[EchoCharlie]

Disclaimer:
I skipped most of this thread, so my post could be a complete repeat of everything above.

I've lived in Jax almost my entire life in many areas throughout the city. My family has been here since before Beach Blvd was the railroad and Atlantic was called Beach Road.

Positives:
We escape about every hurricane that comes this way (knock on wood)
Low unemployment rate - I've never had a problem finding a job (another knock on wood)
Great cost of living
Big City with Lots of trees - some cities don't have any, you know?
One of the largest cities in the world area wise - yards are bigger (usually)
You can ride a motorcycle almost year round! =)
Two MAJOR Interstates bisect the city (I-10 and 95)

Negatives:
One of the largest cities in the world area wise - longer to drive to get places
It's hot and humid.
Crime - I don't know if it's worse than elsewhere, but it's slowly growing

[fastninja500]

A bunch of us in my office came down from NJ & NYC to work in the Jacksonville office. And after a few months here, we've gotten a better feel for Jax, we've been comparing notes on the cost of living between Jax and where we came from.

Before anything else, lest this be construed as complaining or "whining", most of us have really grown to like living here in Jax. And the locals we've met have all been friendly (people who've been here at least 10 years, we consider "locals"). And I have no problem at all with the Confederate flags I see in a lot of places. Heck, I'll probably put it on a flagpole in my lawn, after the American and Florida flag, in a few years !

Back to point - let's dispense with the obvious: all taxes combined are higher in NJ than here in Jax. And energy costs, for us, are about the same between Jax and Northwest NJ.

Other observations are:

1.) Employee salaries are lower in Jax than in the NJ/NYC area. I've been telling my friends up north to make sure they retain their NJ/NYC salaries before accepting a transfer down here. Or put up a business here in Jax when they get here.
- thumbs UP for NJ/NYC!

2.) fuel /gasoline is more expensive here in jax than in NJ by about .10 to .15 cents per gallon. I monitor this daily by calling my wife who's still up in NJ and asking the daily gas prices. Then again, not many states can beat comparably low NJ gas prices.
- Thumbs UP for NJ.

3.) Some of us drive more here in Jax than up north because of the lack of mass transit. This is not true in my case, since I used to drive over 100 miles everyday to work in Manhattan.
- Thumbs UP for JAX (for me).

4.) Home insurance is definitely higher here in Jax than in NJ, since we don't normally need hurricane insurance in NJ (knock on wood). I would consider Flood insurance as EVEN, because in both states, we avoid flood zones, so no flood insurance needed.
- Thumbs UP for NJ.

5.) Car insurance is lower in Jax than in NJ or NYC.
- Thumbs UP for Jax!

6.) I've been car shopping (new and used) and prices here are higher than in NJ. Compared notes with my buddies and they all agreed. Better deals up north. I've decided to buy up there. A good excuse for a road trip.
- Thumbs UP for NJ!

7.) Car maintenance service is also more expensive here in Jax than in NJ. Probably because there seems to be less competition to drive prices down. I'll have to find an independent mechanic here I can trust. I don't mind paying for the service. Just within reason.
- Thumbs up for NJ!

8.) food prices seem to be more expensive in Jax too. This really suprised us. I mean, fast food type places like pizza, burgers, hotdogs, etc.... not the fancy restaurants. I still am amazed at how many people eat out during lunchtime, even with the prices a bit higher than even NYC and the comparably lower salaries. (Heck, you ex-wall streeters out there still remember Yip's?).
- Thumbs UP for NJ!

9.) for those lunch fast food places that are common to both areas (Subway, Burger King, Qdoba, Arbies, etc), the quality seems better here in Jax (with the exception of pizza and bagels). A friend of mine up in NJ who owns a couple of subways ventured an explanation: since the cost of doing business in NJ/NYC is higher than here in Jax, they tend to "save" or cut corners (i.e. quantity) on some things and that affects quality.
- Thumbs up for Jax!

10.) Food service is faster up in NJ/NYC than here in Jax. Probably because everyone up north is always on to "go, go, faster" mode. However, "faster" is not necessarily "better". The food service folks here in Jax are much friendlier and more laid back than in NJ/NYC. Love that Southern hospitality/ attitude! I've gotten used to being called "Honey"! (Question: I'm a guy, so them calling me "Honey" doesn't mean it's a derogatory term, is it?)

During my first few weeks here in Jax, I was like: "c'mon, this isn't rocket science, I just want a sandwich and soda, how hard can that be, get your act together, etc....." . Then I got used to the pace and realized the problem was me! I was too impatient. Always in a rush. And for what? To get back to work?!

I've since learned to adapt, slow down my pace, be friendlier, more courteous and ENJOY LIFE!

- EVEN, since service is faster in NJ/NYC but much friendlier here in Jax.

11.) the beaches (and the sea water) are definitely better here than up north (DUH!). Last weekend, I needed a break from studying and on a whim, drove towards the beach. Any beach. Drove down to the Mickler Beach area, saw the $6.00 parking. "Man, that's cheap". But decided to drive a bit farther south to see what's out further. Came up on beach parking spot further down, with picnic tables no less. And no parking fee. Hmmmm, let's check that out and take some beach photos to send friends up north.

Only a couple of families there. No crowd for miles. Perfect! Spent a couple of hours there. Excellent beach! And waves were coming in with a fury, probably because of the storm off of North Carolina. It's great to watch fathers and mothers having fun with their kids. Plus all the birds and .... other sea creatures!

Contrast this with the Jersey shore scenario: fight traffic on the Garden State Parkway where there are hundreds, nay, thousands of cars. PAY toll. Get to the beach area. PAY parking, if you can find it. Walk a mile to the beach (where the sand and water usually is). Search for a nice spot, .... preferably empty! Okay, give up on that. Find a 4x8 spot where there's no one blasting rap music or smoking dope. Okay, finally found one, 5x5 foot area. That'll do. Run to the water and jump in. Holy crap! The water's freezing! Later, my son needed to go to the little boys room. WHAT?! You have to PAY to pee? And so on and so forth..... PAY this, PAY that, Pay, pay, pay ....

Next year, if we do the Jersey shore, we're renting a beach-front house. For a few thousand bucks, that is. We'll have to get a another family to split the cost. Oh, what the heck. We'll just fly down to Florida and stay for a week?!

Conclusion: you can do the beach in Jax on a whim!
- Thumbs way , WAY UP for Jax!

DISCLAIMER: Obviously, there are better, less crowded beaches down the Jersey shore. But compared to Jax beaches, ... well .....

Okay. That's 11. Should be enough for this "novel".

Overall conclusion: The assumption by us northeasterners that "the cost of living is cheaper in Florida than NJ" is not entirely accurate. One would have to create a spreadsheet to really compare, .... category by bleepin' category.

I haven't even included the HOA and CDD (is that it?) of the newer homes. And after researching and comparing schools the past few months, my wife and I have decided to send our son to private school. So that's an additional cost for us. So I am really not sure that the cost of living is cheaper in Jax than our area of NJ.

Even a straight comparison of houses is coming up suspect, largely because one gets so much less land area here in Duval & St. John's county. I've tried to search for a comparable house to what we have in Northwest NJ and all I've found are in the area of 700 to 800 grand?! Holy Patootie!

BUT, the quality of life IS definitely better here in Jax than in our corner of NJ.

One valid whine: I will miss those spring, summer and fall days where our family and the dog, would go barefoot in the front lawn or the backyard and play catch or throw the football around. Rolling all over that luscious lawn.

If I tried to do that here on the St. Augustine grass, I'd probably rip my skin to shreds!

Ah,.... but, there's THE BEACH!

(Note: after reading this "article", my office buddy said: "you gotta add the most important Jax feature: there's wall-to-wall hot babes around!!!" - PRICELESS )

Oh yeah ....
Thumbs UP for NJ/NYC = 6
Thumbs UP for Jax = 4
EVEN = 1

And the winner is: Jacksonville !!! (its my contest and I say Jax wins)

[EchoCharlie]

After thinking about this last night, another negative I thought of was the lack of personality. I see Jax as a working city with some fun stuff around. But when compared to Chicago, DC, New York, Philly, we lack a personality. IMHO.

fastninja - lots of interesting points!

[Karla with a K]

great post fastninja500
oooo can I come car shopping with you

call me crazy but it is one of my all time fun things to do
I can say i am pretty good at it my friends and family drag me along every time they need to go car shopping lol
I 'll trade you poppy seed bagels for helping you get a great deal
karla

[riveree]

Love the post, FastNinja !

And yes, all the women here in Jax are babes, aren't we Karla and HIF?

Private school probably is the best way to go, you're right. Even if it means skipping the CCD/CDD (I never can keep that straight !) fee neighborhoods - the investment in your child is worth it .

By the way, you'll only have those fees if you choose a master-planned community. You can still buy in a brand new neighborhood, or a newer neighborhood without those fees. Then you'll only have to deal with the much smaller HOA fees (often just $200 or $300 a year). With a non master-planned community, you generally won't get a community pool, but you'll often get the exact same house by the exact same builder and you can always put in your own pool if you really want one.

One last thing...........please rethink hanging a rebel flag, especially if you're going to be living out my way ! In actuality, with the neighborhoods you're looking into, you won't be allowed to hang one, so problem solved .

[backtofla]

i wouldnt go that far. some management companies are worthless i think. how do you think we feel huh? ours hasnt done a thing yet --- ppl parking in the street, flags in yards (not the american flag --- i'm not going to say which one, but in orlando, you could guess), leaving trash cans out for days; they dont even close the gates.

[Karla with a K]

Originally Posted by backtofla

i wouldnt go that far. some management companies are worthless i think. how do you think we feel huh? ours hasnt done a thing yet --- ppl parking in the street, flags in yards (not the american flag --- i'm not going to say which one, but in orlando, you could guess), leaving trash cans out for days; they dont even close the gates.

the property management companies are only as good as the HOA board and the HOA board is only as good as the homeowners require them to be. If the board doesn't tell the PM to address the issues via letters or even legal avenues they can't just do it on their own.

If I was paying HOA fees to live in a gated community and the gates were left open all the time you bet I would be at the meeting asking why. My HOA fees pays for the management company so if their not doing the job they are being paid for maybe a new one is in order.

2 years ago we "ousted" the PM company the builder had because they were not addressing the issues.

riveree - yup you hif & I are some serious Fl babes

karla

[riveree]

I second what Karla said.

The Home Owner's Association is an association for ALL the homeowners of the community and you pay for the pleasure of being in the association when you buy a home in that neighborhood.

Unless you're lucky enough to have awesome board members, you will need to be proactive yourself to get things done.

As an example, I have the city on my speeddial.....well, not really, but I have the city's hotline memorized (630-CITY ). When I see something amiss in my general vicinity, I call it in. We have some woods outside of my neighborhood and from time to time someone will illegally dump something there. I make a call to 630-CITY, problem solved . I don't wait for anyone else to do it, and I don't assume the city, or anyone else, is looking out for my best interests, I call them up and say 'I need this taken care of'. I don't have a lot of patience to wait around and see if it gets taken care of, I make sure it does .

Where I live, our HOA is pretty good - they don't sit on their laurels, they actively address issues that come up. So, no, you would not be able to fly a rebel flag - or any flag - in my neighborhood because that rule is strictly enforced. Parking is definitely enforced in my neighborhood as well.

[joninclay]

Originally Posted by Karla with a K

the property management companies are only as good as the HOA board and the HOA board is only as good as the homeowners require them to be. If the board doesn't tell the PM to address the issues via letters or even legal avenues they can't just do it on their own.

If I was paying HOA fees to live in a gated community and the gates were left open all the time you bet I would be at the meeting asking why. My HOA fees pays for the management company so if their not doing the job they are being paid for maybe a new one is in order.

2 years ago we "ousted" the PM company the builder had because they were not addressing the issues.

riveree - yup you hif & I are some serious Fl babes

karla

Karla,

Two years ago, we ousted our PM company that the builder had selected because they weren't addressing the issues, too. You don't by chance happen to live in a subdivision out near Lake Asbury, do you?