Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
luvingme123, I'll agree that compared to most larger urban cities, Jacksonville does not have much that caters to the young professional crowd, though that is starting to change. If the economy were booming, would I encourage single 23-30 year olds to move to Jax to work over NYC, Boston, San Fran, LA, or San Diego? Heck no! However, I think your experience here is largely exaggerated or coming from someone who is only looking for what you perceive as negative.
Having been around, I don't notice more churches than usual in metro Jax. The difference is that many churches up north are no longer used as churches and serve other purposes whereas most of the churches in metro Jax are still used as such. Also, you live in Mandarin and say that your life is dominated by WASPs, but Mandarin is very very Jewish. Have you not noticed?
Also, many parks and neighborhood improvements are actually funded through private donations and CIDs, which place higher neighborhood taxes on local businesses to fund improvements like curbside gutters, nicer parks, nicer landscaping, etc. Ortega is a wealthy area in Jacksonville that does not see a dime of city money, yet contributes more than its fair share. The residents of Ortega and San Marco also basically keep things like the JSO, the Cummer, the Zoo, MOCA, and various other cultural things that everyone in the metro uses running with their own private contributions (residents of PVB too).
Finally, let's not kid ourselves that Jacksonville is the only city with racial divides and poor areas and rich areas. Most cities go even beyond racial divides to ethnic, religious, sexual preference, and age divides. This is part of the problem for young, single, professionals in Jax. There is no "young" area like there are in other larger cities (so a little bit of dividing can be a good thing). Jacksonville is actually pretty mixed compared to many cities (actually much of the South is, which most people find surprising). Miami is more divided among racial and income gaps than Jacksonville is.
And you keep saying everyone hates Jacksonville, and on City-Data that may be true (and not surprising given the average poster on here), but Jacksonville is one of the fastest growing metros in the country. If it were so hated, people and companies would not be moving here in droves (and most of the people that move here are from SoFla, CA, Atlanta, New York, and New Jersey).
I also think that's kind of odd how you and your friend address each other like you have nothing better to talk about. Jacksonville is consistently rated one of the top 5 cities in the country for military people to relocate to (according to polls) and Navy personnel ranked it highest on their list of favorite homeports not 2 years ago. I think you are in the minority of people who hate it here so much, and it's clear that you only seek out others who hate it here, too. Try finding people who like Jacksonville (like myself ). You might enjoy life more.
ok i was just expressing frustration and sarcasm for the insane amount of racists and racist ideas that thrive in jville. Such as the amount of people that still support the confederacy which is NOT hard to find at all. the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant part has to do with my belief that jacksonville caters to white people while completely ignoring other races. if you want examples just look at how the city distributes its resources both publically (government funds) and commercially (private funds). over in my neighborhood (Mandarin), which is mostly white. we have palm trees in the middle of the street (completely unnecessary) we have well kept public parks even places that aren't needed. we have street lights, sidewalks, and all the public facilities that the city can offer. Over on the Northside they don't even have sidewalks and sewage in a lot of places. Fact: in the better jville plan that delaney created 4xs more money was set aside for 1 courthouse than upgrading the public works for the entire north and westside.
Commercially, we have every grocery story and shopping and entertainment complex within 5-15mins drive (with the exception of the beaches) and it still doesn't stop. The entire North and west side was without a mall and even a movie theater for almost 2 decades (west side might have had 1 independent theater).
this is racism at an institutional level. and yes those are only examples. i could literally write an entire book on all the discrimination and institutional racism in jville.
the WASP part also, is to acknowledge the overt favoritism towards a particular religious belief. unlike any other city i've been to, there is literally a christian church on every corner in jville. in my neighborhood it can literally take up all 4 corners. i also, don't see alot of tolerance for other beliefs. the first 3 questions i'm usually asked when meeting someone knew are what is your name, where are you from, and what church do you belong to? if i say i don't go to church the conversation either stops or i'm solicited to attend their church. you have to understand that from an outsiders perspective (which i am not) that is different and something to take notice of.
finally, there isn't a whole lot that caters to young professionals. it's mostly family oriented activities like professional and minor league sports and of course church functions that get the most attention in jville. they have activities here and there but you have to search hard for them. go to the beaches and you do not see a bunch of single young folks in their 20s and 30s like at south beach or even daytona. you see people with their families and kids. it's nothing wrong with that but my statement was to say that it's the type of town jville is.
PS. i talked to an old girlfriend of mine last night after some years. the first thing she asked was, "Are you still in boring jax?" (that was her words not mine). she was a young woman who went to school here and left as soon as she got into the military. that's how alot of people feel about jville. it's an old boring and backward city that they can't wait to leave. it will stay that way as long as people are dismissive of opinions just because they don't like them. face it, no significant amount of people are talking about going jville on vacation or just to see what it's like. they only come here because of family or some job is sending them here. that should be addressed at some point. people who aren't older white, conservative, and/or very religious usually leave here with an extremely bad taste in their mouth. that's why it's important to read different views of people even if they don't live here.
Unimaginative people who just reapeat what they hear other people say. (Jacksonville boring... Miami( or wherever) fun
If you look for something you will find it whether that is good or bad, sadly many people
Most cities suburban areas are probably similar to Mandarin in racial and socioeconomic make-up. The things you hate about Jacksonville could be said about most cities.
If your only experience in New Orleans was Mardi Gras. You would think that NO was the funnest, craziest good place ever. Compared to hanging with married friends and their kids in Gretna or Slidell, then NO would be boring lilly whiteWASPy church-going morons who dont know how to have fun
My mother is from Chicago, worked in New York and overseas, and then came to work in Miami. She did not know where Jacksonville was or much about the city, but because Jacksonville is a big business town, she went to a meeting here (decades ago) pretty much as soon as she moved to Miami. She quickly became oriented with it, and this was decades ago before Jacksonville had a sizable population or anything to put it on a map. Now there is no excuse. We had the freakin Superbowl.
I can understand if you have never looked at a map, did not go to high school let alone college, do not have a professional job, do not work for the military, never drove up 95 or 75, have never met anyone from northeast FL, never watch football ever, etc. Is that you?
I don't care what you think about the city, but I just can't believe that you grew up in Florida and can't even map Jacksonville. Heck, just by reading the news I can map Cedar Rapids, IA.
Sad but true
I went to HS with a girl who did not know where a town 10 miles away was. People pick out Brazil on a globe as the United States
don't take it personally, that's the type of mentality you will find amongst the residences here. most of which don't really go to many places unless its to visit family and friends or for a job related deal. it's the typical. love it or leave it attitude you find growing these days. in jville america is the greatest country on earth known to many. jville is the best except for where nonwhite people live (then it's worst place on earth). nothing you can say is going to change our mind, just because...
i never understood what my high school teacher said about patriotism being a bad thing until i got to be an adult. she likened it to racism and sexism. it keeps you from finding and fixing the problems of your own community. it makes you death of any criticism. even worse it allows you to falsely elevate your land and selective people in it above all others. thus, you crap on others who don't belong there or live in other places because you feel you are better. and if anyone has anything to say, you crap on them too.
Very strong post. The best advice is the advice that actually helps. What Jacksonville "is" is solely opinion based. Homers can be annoying in any city, New York City being the champion of annoying homers. If you think about, mostly when people complain about any city they are just seeking advice or acknowledgment of their opinion. Some things would make the city better for visitors, some things would make the city better for residence & some additions would make Jax better for transplants. It all depends on what catagory the person is in. Residents are almost NEVER aware of what goes on outside of their city. I am in Miami right now typing this. Im from Jacksonville & live in Atlanta. While Im here on vacation, Im looking for things I cant do in Atlanta, while others may look for in Miami what they had in Atlanta. Thats the main issue for Jacksonville, visitors & transplants look for what their old city had/has. Shopping, dinning, entertainment etc....More & more every major city is becoming the same. You name it Macys, Trader Joe, Ikea, NBA basketball, Nordstroms, Fudruckers, Hard Rock Cafe, an amusement park, metro train system, international flights, music tours...the list of things people want never ends. Some residents want "the good ole days" back....that will never happen & they fear the changes instead of adapting. Every city wants what another has, even New York City. Jacksonville is no different, but you gotta admit for 1.4 mil city, Jacksonville has a "lil engine that could" mentality sometimes. Everytime I travel I am always comparing. Does City A have this or that? Does City B have this or that? City C only has this but not that? Jacksonville gets compared often, even when people think there is no comparison sometimes.
luvingme123, you must be the most miserable person on this board. I almost wish you would either find a job or find someone to love, and if you already have both, then why the heck are you so depressing? I don't think I have ever read one nice or positive post from you, or one that was informative or useful in any bit. As others have said before, please don't let the door hit you on the way out! You turn every post into either a criticism of the town you live in (as if you have not been able to find one good thing about it) or a chance to renounce some conservative value in exchange for some liberal value. Your avatar, luvingme123, must be very fitting in the Bill Maher sense of the word.
Simms man, Im saying though that how she/he feels dude. no need to get vexed at luving123. We both live in Atlanta, I am sure there are things you dislike about Atlanta as I do. Sending people away is not the best advice. No one has once asked me what my interest are or what things I enjoy doing in life. Just like no one has ask Luving123 what interest they have. You have info, FSU813 has info, Northside has info....I wont even bring up all the people on MetroJax that dont even post here lol. Share the info man. Information can take people along way. Especially if you want someone to enjoy & explore the city you love most.
jsimms3,
first of all you being in atlanta and trying to tell about the actual neighborhood where i live is kind of presumptuous. but this thread is about what america thinks of jacksonville so i guess in a weird way it's appropriate. you think my neighborhood (mandarin) is jewish? i'm sure there are jewish people here but it's not nearly a high concentration like there is of the various christians. Preface: I am not saying there is anything wrong with christians or christianity (or any other religion). there is literally in a 2 mile radius about 9 churches. 3 of which have about 2-10 thousand members. 1 catholic church occupies literally ALL 4 corners of the busy intersection of Old St. Augustine road and Greenland/Loretto. So you have no idea of what you are talking about when you speak of mandarin. Also, you are trying to tell me that despite the 100million dollar budget that was set aside for MOCA & Library that i couldn't possibly function without the financial contributions of 1 small community of apparent rich people? then you through the Jacksonville Police department in there too? i would really like to see where you get your "facts" from. let me tell you something. there is not 1 single community that doesn't benefit from taxpayer money in jville no matter how wealthy they are. no one is building their own roads paying their own street lights and funding their own public schools without taxes.
the later part of your argument completely ignores everything i was talking about to begin with. i NEVER said everyone hates jville. but i see why you have to change my points and discussions around to satisfy your own misguided points. i pointed out what TYPE of people benefit most from jville. i also pointed out who comes to jville. which you actually agreed with when you stated top 5 among military. jville is growing because people are moving here for job and/or family reasons. most people aren't just looking for a move and saying, "Hey, let's go to jville!". There are cities that do get that type of attention, including the one you live in. jville is NOT one of them. there are certain types of people that do really enjoy jville living. they usually fall under the categories i previously listed older conservative WASP. others USUALLY do not enjoy it and never look back when they leave.
People on this forum know me and I think my posts and contributions speak for themselves. You are quite naive and that's all I'll say. For the record, JSO = Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra when the topic of discussion revolves around cultural venues, and Mandarin may have a large Catholic church and a large Baptist church, but it has 9 Jewish temples, some of them every bit as large as the two big churches you mentioned, right up the road. The Jacksonville Ed Parker Jewish Center (huge) is also about 2-3 miles from Mandarin.
In this snapshot, which is 1-3 miles from the center of Mandarin, you have: Ahaveth Chesed, Etz Chaim, Beth Shalom (huge), Beth Israel, Chabad-Lubavitch, Solomon Schecter Day School, another Etz Chaim, Jacksonville Jewish Federation, and the list can go on. There are Jewish retirement homes in the area, too (one where Robyn55 has her father in law, and she says she thinks it's the best retirement center in the state, which is strong coming from a lady who moved up from S FL).
Also, MOCA received about $160,000 from the city in the form of a special grant (not an annual thing), not $100 million. The Library does not even receive $100 million. The entire library system budget for 09-10 was $41.6 million, and $95 million was budgeted to build the new library a decade ago (voters approved this first) and the construction came in under budget, thereby allowing more money to be used for other purposes. The Library system is a public amenity that every city has, do you suggest shutting it down?
Also, I am going to provide this example again, just to demonstrate your lack of knowledge. Ortega does not have sidewalks. Its roads are the only thing that have seen city money. Residents are often on septic and are having to pay out of pocket to connect to sewer. The Stockton Park, Baker Point, and McGirts Park are all landscaped and funded by private residents. The city does nothing there. Streetscaping projects in the middle of Ortega were also funded privately with no city involvement. The residents of this neighborhood also basically fund the Symphony, the Zoo, the Cummer, MOCA, and various galleries and cultural venues around the city with their own money. I know this because my mother has sat on the board for the Cummer (and runs Cummer Garden week), for Wolfson's, and I know practically the entire zoo board and MOCA board (Haskell was my father's boss for a while a long time ago). Avondale, San Marco, a few San Jose, and Ponte Vedra residents also contribute, but Ortega contributes a huuuuge amount so that the 1.5 million other people in the area can enjoy these things. The city does not contribute to these *private* enterprises (except for grants to the zoo, and occasional small art grants...small being the key word).
Most cities run like this, except for a few. In St. Louis, the zoo, Forest Park, the museums, basically all of the cultural venues are city owned and run and paid for by the taxpayers. Other cities do this, too. I think that given what we have in this city, paid for by private donors and run by small endowments, our city does quite well. We have the only true symphony hall in the state, arguably the best zoo, the best and largest central library in the SE (designed by my favorite architect Robert A.M. Stern from New York), the 2nd best library system in the SE (behind little Palm Beach ironically), and arguably the best art museum in the state (the Cummer) and the largest purely contemporary art museum in the SE (MOCA).
Judging by your string of sentences, I can just hear the rage pouring out of you and I'm sorry for you. Maybe you should get some friends. There are lots of nice people trying to improve our city over at MetroJacksonville. They would be glad to get a drink with you and discuss your feelings and fill you in on why there is hope for the future.
Last edited by jsimms3; 01-14-2011 at 12:41 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). You might enjoy life more.
