I'm trying to compare Jacksonville to Charlotte and

[erinavery]

Originally Posted by he's so hott

There are pine trees. Just not as many as you'll see in your typical NC neighborhood. The pine trees you see in and around Jax are the ones left next to the expressways. New home developments have no trees (see Oakleaf Planation) and neighborhoods with older homes really don't have the amount of trees that you see here in NC. Personally, I like the lack of trees when comparing Jax to NC (there's more sky to see). But then again I'm orginally from Jax and I've lived in the desert out west where there are no trees.

funny huh? I came to charlotte from dallas and really only like it here because of the pine trees and it's proximity to the beach/ mountains because dallas has very little natural beauty around and nowhere to go for quick weekend trips....and having lived my whole life w/o that I just feel starved for it...I need to live amongst the nature now..he he...Portland Or. would be perfect but my husband can't deal with the rain and the job situation isn't so great there....so yeah I need an older neighborhood with trees and somewhat close to the beach and downtown that's safe and under about 230k...does it exist there??

[cricketfan]

The 840 square miles of Jacksonville, which include urban, suburban and rural areas, was being compared to entirely urban cities like the 36 square miles of Miami.

"

Jacksonville is the most expansive city in the US so you can choose to live far away from crime-infested areas right here in Jax.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by David in JAX

We sold our home for just under $300k. The same home in the most similar neighborhood in Jacksonville (not quite as nice, but as close as I can get) runs about $1M. The cost of groceries is about 25% higher here. Why, I don't know. Dental costs are about twice as much here. I have no explanation as to why. The only thing I can think of is that it's Florida, and people expect to pay more due to retirees, investors, foreigners, etc. There's also a lot less competition here for goods and services which drives prices up. But, I think it's just Florida.

And it's East Coast, that accounts for higher prices too.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by erinavery

...I don't have any zipcodes written down because I'm not seriously house shopping but I did see a lot in the Fort Caroline area that seemed nice/ decent for a good price and maybe a few in Mandarin and Orange Park the others just said Jacksonville so I don't really know....it's just 5 1/2 hrs. from charlotte so maybe we'll just have to plan to take our next beach trip there to get a feel for the area.

Are there specific areas we should look at that have lots of pretty pine trees and are nice family neighborhoods that you think might be more in line with our price point?? Thanks again.

Fort Caroline is very nice, and while we have no mountains here in FL, Fort Caroline has hills . It's one of the highest points in the area (hence, historically it was a Fort; a lookout on the river ). Fort Caroline is one of my favorite parts of Jax - lots of trees, quiet, very close to the beach and very close to everything else.....great location. You can find homes in Fort Caroline under zip 32225.

Mandarin is a popular choice too. It has a different look than Fort Caroline, but still has plenty of trees and there is a lot of shopping, restaurants, etc. right there in Mandarin. It's close enough to the beach (roughly 30 mins), but it's even closer to the River. My favorite part of Mandarin is the Beauclerc area - under zip 32257. Another nice zip in Mandarin is 32223 (am I doing good HIF? ).

Orange Park is not part of Jacksonville, it's in the county just to the west of Jacksonville/Duval called "Clay County". You'd be getting further from the beach here (Clay is landlocked), but if you don't go very often, then you probably would not mind the drive (roughly 45 mins).

Other zips to view online are:

32246
32224
32256
32207
32217

Pine trees are everywhere here, usually specifically Slash Pines. Other natives are Live Oaks, Sweet Bay Magnolias, River Birch, & Maple.

$250k will buy you a home in a nice neighborhood, but it might be a more modest home than what you have now. We have a lot of homes in that price range right now in Jax, many of them in new/newer developments, some of them on conservation lots (backing up to woods).

There is plenty to do in Jax - you could find a different thing to do every weekend if you wanted to, from nature to events and festivals to museums, the zoo, day trips to other little towns/cities - there's a lot to do here .

[erinavery]

Originally Posted by riveree

Fort Caroline is very nice, and while we have no mountains here in FL, Fort Caroline has hills . It's one of the highest points in the area (hence, historically it was a Fort; a lookout on the river ). Fort Caroline is one of my favorite parts of Jax - lots of trees, quiet, very close to the beach and very close to everything else.....great location. You can find homes in Fort Caroline under zip 32225.

Mandarin is a popular choice too. It has a different look than Fort Caroline, but still has plenty of trees and there is a lot of shopping, restaurants, etc. right there in Mandarin. It's close enough to the beach (roughly 30 mins), but it's even closer to the River. My favorite part of Mandarin is the Beauclerc area - under zip 32257. Another nice zip in Mandarin is 32223 (am I doing good HIF? ).

Orange Park is not part of Jacksonville, it's in the county just to the west of Jacksonville/Duval called "Clay County". You'd be getting further from the beach here (Clay is landlocked), but if you don't go very often, then you probably would not mind the drive (roughly 45 mins).

Other zips to view online are:

32246
32224
32256
32207
32217

Pine trees are everywhere here, usually specifically Slash Pines. Other natives are Live Oaks, Sweet Bay Magnolias, River Birch, & Maple.

$250k will buy you a home in a nice neighborhood, but it might be a more modest home than what you have now. We have a lot of homes in that price range right now in Jax, many of them in new/newer developments, some of them on conservation lots (backing up to woods).

There is plenty to do in Jax - you could find a different thing to do every weekend if you wanted to, from nature to events and festivals to museums, the zoo, day trips to other little towns/cities - there's a lot to do here .

Thank you for the possitive feedback. I think I would be willing to live in a more modest house if it was still in a pretty neighborhood and was close to the beach...maybe I won't write it off just yet. I'll look into those zips thanks.

[roam512]

I agree with Riveree....Mandarin is probably a good choice. I know a lot of people who live there. You don't have to drive far for groceries, restaurants, shopping..etc. It's not too far from downtown, beaches, or even the zoo. Pine trees everywhere...just watch the tree sap on your car. Plus, you're not that far from St. Augustine (30-35 mins) which has the Alligator Farm and beaches and Historic Downtown. I also agree to come down and stay a few days and check it out, that's really the only way to know.

[guyL]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

there is no way JAX can compete with Dallas, and while not knowing much about Charlotte, I don't think that there is too much that I would like there.
JAX is a nice if very unexciting place to live, if you are looking for nature activities rather than glamourous activities JAX will suit you well. we have seasons here in JAX, summer lasts from May through Sept., and winter is from dec through Feb., March, april, may, most of june are just great as is oct and nov.

Yes because Dallas is a pathetic place

[mkgolfer]

Erinavery,
Everything is relative just like the previous posts have said. I've never lived in Dallas, and have only passed thru Charlotte. I love JAX. I have a client that moved to Charlotte, and she misses JAX. She loved going to the beach and having a nice choice of churches to go to, and shopping. Another client just moved here from NC, and even though I think NC is Beautiful and think I'd like to live there, they hated it. They have small kids, and said they could never find a library, or many parks for the kids to play in, and they had to drive so far for shopping. It all depends what you want.
There are so many things for kids to do here in JAX. And because the weather is warmer year round, you can do many outdoor outings. Check out www.Jax4kids.com .
This is a slow economy, and Jacksonville's housing market is definitly a buyers market these days. You can get a Very nice home for under $250,000....just depends on which part of jacksonville you'd want to live. In the Southside/Mandarin area, you can find many homes around 2,000-2,200 sqft in your price range in very nice neighborhoods. Out in Argyle, past Orange park, you can get MORE home for that money. The Builders have slowed down the amount of homes they are building since the market slowed...but they still have inventory homes for sale for GREAT prices!!
It's always a great idea to come down for a vacation to visit us. Like you said...That's why we like it here, you can get to many places from JAX.... a two hour trip to Gainesville, 2 hours to Orlando for Disney, 1/2 hour to St. Augustine, 2 hours to Savannah, 15 minutes to the beach, 20 minutes to downtown, Lots of shopping malls, libraries, movie theaters, parks, golf courses, etc.
MKGolfer