Moving: Indianapolis to Hodges Blvd Area (Jacksonville, Keystone: loft, house, neighborhoods)

[IndyStorms]

Greetings,
I'm a 22 year old male and have lived in the Midwest in my entire life. I lived in the Cleveland suburbs until I was 9 and have lived in the quiet west suburbs of Indianapolis since. I have been to all of the states except Alaska and have seen plenty of what the country has to offer on many trips...but have never really "left home" for more than a few weeks for my entire life.

I hate the winter; cloudy and cold everyday is incredibly depressing. I've always wanted a tropical environment. There is no real 'social life' or even the ability to walk anywhere where I currently am...everything is suburban neighborhoods built in cornfields, with very little development in the way of eateries, bars, or even free activities. It's basically geared to 60 year old churchgoers, which is not me. I'd rather be learning to surf.

I've visited the area once for a day and have also been to St Augustine a few times, but am curious as to what others have experienced when moving from the Midwest to Florida have experienced, as well as what longtime locals can tell me...


What is the 'pace of life' like?
How friendly are random people on the street?
What is the walkability of the area?
Recommendations for places to eat? Buy food/other things?
Best places to get to the beach?
Places for 20-somethings to hang out...and meet others?
Parks to visit?
Notable differences in laws?



Any comments will make my day! Thanks.

[projectmaximus]

Very broadly, the Midwest and the South have similarities in population and culture. Life is a bit slower, COL is lower, there's a little less international diversity, friendliness and hospitality is perceived to be better, we've got rednecks and hillbillies, etc.

BTW, I lived in Chicago for a few years but it's not like I was born and raised there.

What is the 'pace of life' like?
Pretty slow and laid-back.
How friendly are random people on the street?
I think many people are friendly. It's maybe a tad superficial but it's still better than unfriendly. A 7.5 out of 10.
What is the walkability of the area?
On the whole, Jax is one of the worst metros for walkability. There are a handful of areas that are at least decent though.
Recommendations for places to eat? Buy food/other things?
Hmm, I'm quite snobby about food so there's no particular cuisine that stands out to me here. There's decent Vietnamese and Mediterranean food because of those larger ethnic populations, and there are definitely a handful standout restaurants, but on the whole Jax's culinary scene isn't that special.
Best places to get to the beach?
I like the Beaches Town Center (where Atlantic and Neptune Beach meet) or Jax Beach.
Places for 20-somethings to hang out...and meet others?
Generally speaking, the beaches, St Johns Town Center area, Riverside, San Marco, Downtown, Murray Hill, soon-to-be Brooklyn.
Parks to visit?
hmm, Hanna Park perhaps? There are tons of parks in the area but none that are terribly special.
Notable differences in laws?
not sure..

[BabyBoomers2]

Wife and I have been here since Jan 09.

Pace of life: Since we moved here, we've seen it get faster. Not like NY, but getting faster. Because of the amount of people who have moved here since we did in 09, the freeways and streets are much more congested than in 09.
Friendly: Not nearly as friendly as I'd like it, but I grew up in a small farming area in the East that was close to a small town. But, back in the 60's, people were much more friendly than today.
20-something hang outs: By far, the St John's Town Center!
Walkability? Not very good here! But, depending on where you live (like where we are), a short distance to grocery store and a few other stores. Don't see many people walking or riding bicycles........except at the beach.

[ChelcieRivers]

What is the 'pace of life' like?
Its very slow, since Jacksonville is known for its beaches. However the night life is amazing!

How friendly are random people on the street?
Very friendly, I just moved here from Texas and I love the people here.

What is the walkability of the area?
Jacksonville is one of the largest cities in America, so form one neighbor of jacksonville to another isn't very easy. However, If you live in Jax Beach or Riverside, Avondale or San Marco, everything is very walkable.

Recommendations for places to eat? Buy food/other things?
I would say anything is 5 points or on king street in riverside is pretty amazing! The Fresh Market and Publix are the most popular here.

Best places to get to the beach?
I don't live near the beaches so sadly I can't help with that. However, I know there are tons of bars and clubs and Restaurants there.

Places for 20-somethings to hang out...and meet others?
King street in Riveriside is pretty popular. Dahlia pour house, The Garage and The loft are cool places to hang out.

Parks to visit?
There are parks everywhere in Jacksonville so take your pick

Notable differences in laws?

[JMMH]

I lived in Indianapolis for three years from 2008-2011. Rented a house in the Pike area near 56th and Georgetown and worked downtown.

Quiet west surburbs of Indy = Avon or Brownsburg?

Did not move here directly from Indy but have been in the Jacksonville area since 2012. Weather obviously is much better, you actually see the sun during the winter as well as grass for that matter. Remember earlier this week we had a pretty gray and cold day and it reminded me of how Indy was daily from basically October to March. Coldest it really gets is in the 30s although you pay for that privilege during the summer when it's burning up.

Downtown Indy is much better from a walkable standpoint than anything around Jacksonville. Everything's so spread out here you really have to drive everywhere.

People mention St. Johns' Town Center here as a place to go. It's basically like an outdoors version of the Fashion Mall at Keystone in terms of the types of stores and restaurants.

Would say overall random people in Indy are friendlier, pace of life here is maybe a little more rushed. I'd say the drivers here are much better than those in Indy although traffic to me here is worse but overall not bad in the grand scheme of things.

Don't know much about differences in laws. You can tint your windows darker here than in Indy, I guess that's one thing.

[IndyStorms]

JMMH....I live in Brownsburg but work 65 hours per week in Avon. So yes. My windows are also tinted very dark so that's nice to know lol.

Thanks for all of the responses!
It sounds exactly what I was expecting. The summer heat is no concern to me, I love very hot weather. I didn't expect Jacksonville to be very walk-able considering it's so spread out...with the exception of the immediate beach areas. I'll be spending most of my time at the beach anyways.

[projectmaximus]

-It's hot AND humid.
-Beaches are fairly walkable, especially Jax and Neptune Beach, and overall is very bikeable.
-Walkable neighborhoods are Riverside and Brooklyn (potential live-work-play environments). San Marco and Avondale to a lesser degree. Downtown as well, but quite lacking in amenities.