should have picked the beaches or southside..... (Jacksonville: houses, established neighborhood)

[fsquid]

damn, there is no need to spike the football.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by fsquid

well damn. I'm still puzzled about how San Marco doesn't have a grocery store. That amazes me.

I know, right??

So annoying! There's not even a drug store like CVS or WALGREENS. At least THEY carry "food". If you're starving or the baby needs formula.

They have that corner lot with a sign saying coming soon since 2009 hahaha. Over near where the PANERA used to be but closed. Now it's a wing place.

And that lot is too small anyway.

It's a mystery to me but it is rather developed over there so I guess there's no available property. University isn't that far but the PROBLEM is they have a few mini marts that don't stock the necessities.

I did all my shopping at the BP station when I lived in the Strand

I worked for an ER doc who I'd run into there at 11 PM buying microwave sandwiches IF IT WAS OPEN.But even that gas station closes EARLY. I have ACTUALLY driven to the Avondale Walgreens or the Hendricks Ave gas station at night for something LOL. Usually when I couldn't GET A PARKING SPACE in the Riverside PUBLIX so I forgot to get what I needed earlier that day. RIVERSIDE PUBLIX like 5 miles AWAY!

People just don't open their eyes relocating they have a stylized version of what their life will be like until reality settles in.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by fsquid

damn, there is no need to spike the football.

I know hee hee.

But people give me a ration here. Calling me negative when I'm simply stating facts before they MOVE let alone BUY (FFS)

And THIS GUY was really TOUGH!

Poor Robyn55 spent lots longer than me, though.

ETA I just noticed one of your comments on the thread:hahahahaha

this thread is funny to read.

[tacosman]

Looking back on it, I don't completely disagree with the 'buy before you rent' angle.....but a few considerations:

1) The mortgage interest rate deduction for someone like myself(who already itemizes and pays the marginal rate I do) is HUGE. By renting, even for a year, that is thousands and thousands of dollars one is missing out on.

2) Moving expenses(and more importantly hassle) when you have acquired a good bit of stuff over the years is a big deal. Never mind the moving costs(which my employer will only pay once for), the hassle is something that is worth five figures to me alone. We aren't college kids anymore where you can just throw a bunch of stuff in the back of a van.


Again, I don't think it is a bad idea to rent. And perhaps I should have. But these two drawbacks to renting for a year or whatever are not trivial at all and do factor into the equation(at least in my case)

[tacosman]

Originally Posted by sanmarcomatt

Since We have lived in San Marco for years, (Love it and don't drive much on the weekends)I was about to offer some suggestions on what to do.
Then I saw this in the loving remarks about how great Homewood is-" You have schools that are 90% white"

Looks like it could be a huge loss to our area if you decide to sell.

I went to a *great* private high school that was very diverse and had students from all over the country.....I'm a big fan of such schools. needless to say, that's not the same sort of environment as you get in the run of the mill public schools in duval county. The terrible schools in our area is holding the area back bigtime.

[fsquid]

I also had to buy or lose out on thousands from my employer. I understand that and I picked my home in 4 days. Luckily, everyone in the family is happy with what I picked out.

[tacosman]

Originally Posted by runswithscissors

I know, right??

So annoying! There's not even a drug store like CVS or WALGREENS. At least THEY carry "food". If you're starving or the baby needs formula.

They have that corner lot with a sign saying coming soon since 2009 hahaha. Over near where the PANERA used to be but closed. Now it's a wing place.

And that lot is too small anyway.

It's a mystery to me but it is rather developed over there so I guess there's no available property. University isn't that far but the PROBLEM is they have a few mini marts that don't stock the necessities.

I did all my shopping at the BP station when I lived in the Strand

I worked for an ER doc who I'd run into there at 11 PM buying microwave sandwiches IF IT WAS OPEN.But even that gas station closes EARLY. I have ACTUALLY driven to the Avondale Walgreens or the Hendricks Ave gas station at night for something LOL. Usually when I couldn't GET A PARKING SPACE in the Riverside PUBLIX so I forgot to get what I needed earlier that day. RIVERSIDE PUBLIX like 5 miles AWAY!

People just don't open their eyes relocating they have a stylized version of what their life will be like until reality settles in.

Another consideration(that explains all the shopping places in the area) is the demographics......riverside, a lot of it, is poor. San marco and avondale, a lot of it, is working class to poor. That's why there are so many check cashing places, title loan places, and all these crappy food marts, pain clinics, pawn shops, etc....

And no, that's not endemic to all 'urban environments'. There are plenty of urban environments with single family residences(and heck places like san marco and riverside dont really qualify but whatever) that don't have tons of riff raff looking to get a title loan so they can buy a gallon of milk at a 7-11 equivalent.

What ties into this is all the low income people looking for transient housing.....are there are zoning/housing regs here? Can anyone in any city neighborhood just convert their breaking down house into 6 separate apartments or whatever? How many posts do we get in this very forum of people looking for rentals....their budget is something ridiculously low(650-800), they want to be in a 'vibrant' area, they either are on disability or have a menial job, and their moving not too many streets away from me. Fabulous. They aren't bad people but if I had bought a nice new house, brick construction, 1400 sq feet or so, in a decent area of pvb I wouldn't be dealing with this....and there would be more to do.

But at least living in san marco I can get on my imaginary bike and travel to a twice yearly arts festival where essentially unemployed artists try to push their drawings under a bridge.....hoooooray culture and vibrancy!

[fsquid]

But at least living in san marco I can get on my imaginary bike and travel to a twice yearly arts festival where essentially unemployed artists try to push their drawings under a bridge.....hoooooray culture and vibrancy!

ouch

[tacosman]

wow that's quite a rant runswithscissors. To address just a few of the points:

1) yes, you are right that I did have a good bit of indecision over where to live. That's because I wasn't really happy with any of the choices. After being a bit here I've come to realize that I would have been happier(but still not satisfied) on the beaches.

2) Just because I make good money doesn't mean I *have* to spend it on things like moving, rent, etc....lots of people with my income only spend 1300/month or whatever on rent when they do rent. That's how they build wealth.

3) Yes, it is easy to get a job as a psychiatrist, but I sort of work in a niche area of psychiatry and wanted something more specific to that. Additionally, just because it's easy to get a job doesn't neccessarily mean they will be jobs that have a practice style I prefer. There are a lot of subpar jobs out there that are easy to get.

4) You mention one elementary school in the area...what about the middle and high schools? And school ratings are worthless. They are often based on a bunch of data that is irrelevant. Everyone knows what a truly good school is. And everyone knows the schools in these neighborhoods, for the most part, are simply not acceptable. That's probably why some of these houses in my neighborhood are on sale *forever*

5) Maybe your dog walking business provides you with a 7 figure income(?) so money is irrelevant, but for me 15k(the figure you gave as an example) x 2 for moving expenses(30k) is not some trivial amount.

[runswithscissors]

But at least living in san marco I can get on my imaginary bike and travel to a twice yearly arts festival where essentially unemployed artists try to push their drawings under a bridge.....hoooooray culture and vibrancy!

Originally Posted by fsquid

ouch

Just another snide remark that's uncalled for. As if there are no art galleries in Jax.

OH WAIT he's from Birmingham; the MECCA of art. (no offense Bham, my favorite boyfriend ever was from there. Brilliant AND hilarious)

Jacksonville Art Walk | I Love Art Walk | First Wednesday of Every Month in Downtown Jacksonville

Let me Google that for you.