should have picked the beaches or southside..... (Jacksonville, Miramar: real estate, renters)

[tacosman]

Well I finally moved to Jville a little while back(still a few months later than usual and still occasionally traveling back to my old area for work reasons), and because the main location of my job changed from what was originally intended bought a house in San Marco area. Several months ago I made several postings on where I should buy, and now that I'm in San Marco I can see I probably should have picked the beaches. Yes, it would have been a long commute but I could have switched around my work schedule a bit to spend much more time at one facility where it actually wouldn't have been a bad commute.

The problems with san marco(or at least where I am) in san marco are as follows:

1) there isn't a lot to do. I mean real stuff to do, not half assed events advertised around here. Moving to jacksonville(or any similar city) you're pretty much throwing the towel in on such things anyways, so the little trivial things they try to put together are embarassing. Things like the river run or some local play opening I have no interest in. If those sorts of things were important to me I'd have moved to a real city where they actually exist. Now I'm realizing there is much more that can be done in the beaches area- the beach(an actual thing), golf, outdoors activities, better shopping.

2) Too far to things like a grocery store. I'm driving driving driving long distances everywhere. Which is fine because I have a car and all, but everytime I go to the grocery store, target, etc it's a jaunt. Had I lived in PVB or especially southside that would be shorter and more convenient and less driving.

3) The schools here are terrible. In talking to people it's almost child abuse to send your kid to a public school here. Now that doesn't matter to me as much because I don't have kids, but when I sell this house eventually I'd imagine it's going to be a big issue. And yes I know maybe I should have rented first to figure this stuff out, but when your job is paying a one time moving fee(that they won't put off or convert to other forms of compensation), thats not a negligible thing. Moving twice in a year for people with lots of stuff to move across the country is not a trivial expense if only one of those is going to be reimbursed.

4) The area is too rough around the edges. And I'm one of the supposedly 'better' streets, for whatever that means. For the same money I could have gotten something in an established neighborhood 0.5-1.2 miles from the beach in AB......

Life is about living and learning I guess.

[hornsch]

The beach is the best!

[fsquid]

you live and learn.

[JMMH]

Seems like San Marco still has relatively expensive real estate values. Think most of the people who can pay for an expensive property there probably send their kids to Bolles anyway.

I agree though that a lot of the really nice houses in the San Marco area aren't too far away from some rougher looking properties. I drive through San Marco daily to get to work from St. Johns and you make a good point--I have no idea where the grocery store is for people who live there.

Hopefully things will work out for you or you'll have an opportunity to move in the future. With your job do you envision being in Jacksonville for a long time?

[USMCPOG]

To be honest, the problems you have there are going to be pretty much the same anywhere you go in Jax. Jax doesn't really have a lot to do in terms of activity unless you look really hard, but the Beaches are definitely better than San Marco. I rate the Beaches/intracoastal and Riverside the best places to move in Jax. Southside would be next.

[tacosman]

sure people who buy 1.7-2.0 million dollar houses in san marco or ortega can drop 20k per child easily for private schools. But people who are in the market for a 400-500k home(which is the value of 1600-2500 sq ft homes in my area of san marco) don't typically have(or want to spend) 40-60k per year to drop on private schools. There is no way around the fact that the terrible terrible schools for areas like san marco, avondale, the better parts of riverside are a HUGE problem for this area going further.

The equivalent area in Birmingham is a section of town called Homewood, and it is completely different as far as public schools go. You have schools that are 90% white, highest scoring in the state, upper middle class educated parents, etc.....and the neighborhood is going(and will continue to go) in a completely different direction because of this factor. The difference is that Homewood(and mountain brook and vestavia hills) broke away from the terrible Birmingham City Schools and Jefferson county schools, and do their own thing. Because san marco, avondale, ortega, etc can't/didn't do that, well these are the results you get....

the presence of families in places like Homewood also adds to the convenience. They actually build things like grocery stores, real pharmacies, etc nearby. Rather than an endless series of a bunch of sketchy convenience stores, oxycodone clinics, etc.....

[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.

[runswithscissors]

Well for the record, I told you so.

Life is about RESEARCHING PROPERLY too. And listening to good advise even if you THINK you know better or want to dismiss the advise. AA recommends that alcoholics LISTEN to ALL advise and consider it.

I've been posting for YEARS what you said about everything but the schools because I don't care about schools. I do know there is a private prep school there and some catholic elementary I THINK. But statistically normally your good schools are in good neighborhoods meaning families who value education.

To the dismay of the locals who can't believe you don't LOVE having a "deli" that doesn't actually sell LUNCHMEAT or a STATIONARY STORE in walking distance. And who IGNORE the Oxycontin center and random crackheads around and all the RENTERS in ugly properties with bad landlords.

I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS SAY NEVER BUY JUST RENT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR BEARINGS.

WHY WOULD YOU BUY? I just don't GET IT.

It's obvious there' s no grocery store, either and the closest one in on University which really is not all THAT far so you're being a little dramatic too haha.

You can also SEE with your own eyes that there's only one tiny old retro movie theater. HOWEVER, downtown has symphony etc so you IGNORED that you actually BOUGHT in the URBAN METRO.

And it's not like there aren't listings of WHAT TO DO. Wouldn't that have been the FIRST thing you looked at if "things to do" was important?

I personally have addressed that very topic a zillion times.

But I agree in general. You can't even find milk, break or eggs in those stupid mini marts in San Marco half the time but you CAN find all the wine you want. YES it's a HAUL to a normal store like down to Target or Walmart or Kmart. YES there is basically "nothing to do". YES there's nothing in the square but a couple restaurants. NO if you're not on the RIVER what's the point unless you have a family and a reason to move there or to say, Miramar. So you're WRONG to criticize the people who DO move there who have a FAMILY.

I laid it out just the other day for about the 50th time haha:

//www.city-data.com/forum/jacks...rth-drive.html

SO I'd say you have BUYERS REMORSE because the shiny thing you thought you saw never existed to begin with and you rushed INTO it.

I AM sorry though, since you could have at LEAST bought a couple years ago before the market started to come back. So you bought at a higher price than you could have too, ironically. J/K

[fsquid]

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

[runswithscissors]

DUDE

LOL YOU AND I HAVE PERSONALLY HAD THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT HERE BEFORE YOU RUSHED INTO BUYING.

I even predicted this on one of your threads (I just googled your name and mine):

Anyone who buys a house in FL after 2 visits is nuts - unless you have specific concrete desires. Rent FOR A YEAR.

Usually the biggest disappointment for people moving to Florida is that it doesn't match what they thought it was going to be in their imagination.

SORRY NOT SORRY hahaha. And poor Robyn55 - she really invested ALOT of time on it.

//www.city-data.com/forum/jacks...her-visit.html