Another moving to Jax post (Jacksonville, Vero Beach: apartment, rent, hotel)

[sanmarcomatt]

Originally Posted by tacosman

I would bet a months salary that the average St. John's co resident spends more time on a bicycle than the average resident in my neighborhood.

Well Of course. They certainly can't walk to anything

[tacosman]

Originally Posted by sanmarcomatt

Well Of course. They certainly can't walk to anything

Actually they can....many walk to the amenities in their subdivision. Pools, gyms, etc.....and then many walk or run for leisure/exercise on their big well paved sidewalks.

San Marco is not a walking place. What the hell would you walk to?

The last time I ate at bbs I doubt a single person walked there. I live right in the middle of San Marco and I certainly don't have a problem with people walking by my property to get to places from their house.

[sanmarcomatt]

Originally Posted by tacosman

Actually they can....many walk to the amenities in their subdivision. Pools, gyms, etc.....and then many walk or run for leisure/exercise on their big well paved sidewalks.

San Marco is not a walking place. What the hell would you walk to?

The last time I ate at bbs I doubt a single person walked there. I live right in the middle of San Marco and I certainly don't have a problem with people walking by my property to get to places from their house.

San Marco isn't walkable?Damn, I wish someone had told me. What a fool I have been! I have been wrong all these years.

Luckily, I have family that lives in Julington Creek so to get my "walk fix", we can get together and walk to the pool.

[judeK]

Originally Posted by tacosman

San Marco is not a walking place.

San Marco is much more of a walking place, than a drive around and try to find a parking spot place.

[fsquid]

I see people walking around all the time when we visit the San Marco.

[projectmaximus]

I gave up trying to make sense of taco a long time ago.
I just want to add my support to smmatt's post...very accurate. We do not have an old historic walkable neighborhood that is totally gentrified and homogenously high income. You have to deal with socio-economic diversity. Wayne Weaver (billionaire former owner of the Jaguars) lives in a condo in Riverside where he likes to go jogging with the common folk. Yep...it's an area where there are nice and expensive things mixed with less upscale things and poor folks too.
San Marco is pretty similar...multi-million dollar homes on the river within blocks of a "sketchy" area. I like it. Hope you enjoy your visit and do check out the St Johns Town Center so you have some basis for comparison.

[sanmarcomatt]

Originally Posted by projectmaximus

I gave up trying to make sense of taco a long time ago.
I just want to add my support to smmatt's post...very accurate. We do not have an old historic walkable neighborhood that is totally gentrified and homogenously high income. You have to deal with socio-economic diversity. Wayne Weaver (billionaire former owner of the Jaguars) lives in a condo in Riverside where he likes to go jogging with the common folk. Yep...it's an area where there are nice and expensive things mixed with less upscale things and poor folks too.
San Marco is pretty similar...multi-million dollar homes on the river within blocks of a "sketchy" area. I like it. Hope you enjoy your visit and do check out the St Johns Town Center so you have some basis for comparison.

Perhaps Tapestry Park on Southside Blvd if short commute is a priority and not a historical neighborhood? Maybe someone who is more familiar with the options (not sure if there would be an 3BR avl) may weigh in. My "expertise "is limited to III Forks Restaurant

Maybe Worth checking out while near the Town Center.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by sanmarcomatt

San Marco isn't walkable?Damn, I wish someone had told me. What a fool I have been! I have been wrong all these years.

Luckily, I have family that lives in Julington Creek so to get my "walk fix", we can get together and walk to the pool.

snip

Finally, one big warning about San Marco (and evidently what really bothers others). You may see people that are either poor, non-white, or *gasp*, both. I generally handle it by....wait for it....being friendly. Shockingly, I have found that most people regardless of economic situations are very nice and pleasant to talk to. Thus, if you happen to be a racist,elitist, or even just a run of the mill a-hole, you probably want to look elsewhere.Actually, please do.

That's outrageous you'd claim racism. The crack head girls who approached me were WHITE, btw. And judging from my experience being from Philly (a minority majority city, BTW) I'd say they were actually speed freaks not crack heads but I was using the term colloquially.

Here is one of your posts; I didn't bother to read all your posting history:

Originally Posted by sanmarcomatt

We like to walk to everything with Restaurants/Bars, public water access topping the list. Except for a trip to the grocery store(yes I could bike, but we buy in bulk), we often spend our weekends with a cars parked the entire time and it is glorious. We bike as well (jags season tkt holders and we love biking to the games) I have an irrational hatred (especially the obscene costs) for the automobile and cannot wait to get down to one vehicle.(at retirement)

While we thoroughly enjoy being so close to the St Johns River, the beach is quite a draw. The main reason we do not go more often, is that we have to drive. There lies are dilemma

As a DOG WALKER/ PET SITTER for four years every day of my life there, 24 hours per day - I guarantee you I have much more familiarity than you do about the crack heads in San Marco. I never said anything about "OVERRUN". But as it happens on the internet, people MUST exaggerate and hyperbolize to make their points. While you are in your little house watching TV at night, it's ME walking the streets. And San Marco is NOT just the cute little "square".

I'm sure you've been in all your friend's homes. How many strangers homes have you been in? I've been in something like >100 strangers homes in the Jax area. I worked downtown too, 24 hours a day.

The fact that you say you could "BIKE" to the grocery store tells it all. I usually have way more purchases that could fit on a bike. I imagine you don't eat produce either because it would be wilted by the time you got home. Warm dairy? YUM. meat? I imagine your wife does all the cooking. That's cute though imagining a 20 year old wanting to bike with his family to the grocery store.

Do you even HAVE a kid? A 20 year old boy no less. You are NOT in the same position as the OP and it appears only ONE of you commutes to work. And I'm betting you WIFE takes care of all the shopping that you can't be bothered doing. OBVIOUSLY a person can do their shopping when they need to be out in the car. We won't even discuss that there a likelihood she won't even be ABLE to find a rental where you're talking about.

Of course San Marco is WALKABLE. The entire ONE STREET of "things". Aside from that if you don't live on the river you can walk down to River Rd and fish with all the other people mobbing the riverbank.

Speaking of the RIVER - the person who sent me to The Strand when I was relocating was a lady who was renting a condo at the LeBaron. ON THE RIVER. She said "You don't want to rent here, it's boring and you can't walk around alone at night and you're too far from the square". I go "WHAT? You don't want to rent your condo?" She said: "I'm just being honest with you; if you can afford it - THATs where I'd be moving".

So that night I drove around and sure enough THAT's where the girls approached me. BEHIND the Euro St Cafe. OH WAIT. Since you live by the SQUARE you probably are NOT AWARE of all the ONE ROOM OLD MOTEL STYLE "apartments" there with transients or the sketchy complex River Run, and their esteemed residents, RIGHT?

I have SEVERAL stories of that nature I won't go into. INCLUDING being followed over the bridge from a concert DIRECTLY INTO San Marco/South bank under the bridge where a TON of sketchy characters were. A HOMELESS mentally impaired guy I KNOW from being a dog walker and I made a direct quick left and high tailed it to the hotel parking lot together.

Seems to ME that YOU are the elitist since you don't associate with the "common people" very much. Everything is sparkly white and clean in YOUR San Marco. Starbucks! Microbreweries!

So YAY. The OP and her kid can spend their entire lives in the house or at the what? 15 or so establishments on the San Marco square.

ME? I'll take The Strand or The Peninsula with actual DIVERSITY from all over the world and gorgeous views...SINCE I HAVE TO DRIVE EVERYWHERE FOR REAL SHOPPING ANYWAY.

I try and give a well rounded FAIR description of all the areas in the urban metro. NOT some idealized version or project my personal preferences - I state my preferences and why.

And it's really hilarious that you are so ~offended by my post. I have been sticking up for Jacksonville for over 5 years on this forum, warts and all. I could have moved my business to my mortgage free condo on the beautiful Intracoastal in Vero Beach at any time... but CHOSE to stay in Jacksonville because I liked it and had a wonderful relationship with all my clients. Regardless of their race and ethnicity. For that matter...what race am I???

[projectmaximus]

Originally Posted by sanmarcomatt

Perhaps Tapestry Park on Southside Blvd if short commute is a priority and not a historical neighborhood? Maybe someone who is more familiar with the options (not sure if there would be an 3BR avl) may weigh in. My "expertise "is limited to III Forks Restaurant

Maybe Worth checking out while near the Town Center.

I suggested Tapestry Park in my first post. It's not bad at all...but still priced quite high relative to what's available elsewhere. The block with III Forks has filled out quite nicely, and farther out by Aloft Hotel has also drawn a lot of activity. Distance-wise you can actually get to a TON of retail and restaurants by foot, however you'd be walking on a very suburban sidewalk (windy roads with far setbacks) and/or over a large surface parking lot to get to it all. Still, not bad if the goal is to be close to the SJTC.

[thatguydownsouth]

Fleming Island is much more than a 30-40 minute drive. That area is getting more and more congested every day. Youll be looking at upwards of an hour to the town center on a GOOD day.