Relocating to Jacksonville, FL... need help (to rent, neighborhoods, to live)

[rawkustk]

Hello, I am moving to Jacksonville for my job which is located near the airport. I am in early 30s, single and have no kids. I also am white Latino. I've been researching the area (A LOT) and would like to rent near Rivercity Marketplace which is near the airport as well. But I've seen a lot of people saying that north Jacksonville is very unsafe. Is it true for the I-95/I-295 intersection? If so, could you recommend some areas that meets criteria below?


My preference (in order)

1. Safety-- this is very important for me. I am coming from Los Angeles area and this is priority.
2. Commuting-- I despise commuting (one of the reason that I am moving from LA) and it should be less than 30 minutes.
3. Rent-- I am looking to spend between $900~$1100 for an one bedroom or studio
4. Amenity - Supermarkets, shops, river view, anything that can add to the better lifestyle experience



I appreciate your feedback in advance. Let me know your thoughts.

[projectmaximus]

Welcome to Jax!

North Jax or Northside is basically all of the city north of downtown. Huge swath of land. So it means different things to different people. That far north up by River City Marketplace is new and safe. It's like an outer suburb more or less.

As for your preferences:

1. This should be fine. I mean I don't get up there much but it seems like a nice area.
2. Well 30 minutes should allow you to live closer to the city...pretty much everything from the urban core neighborhoods and north.
3. This range allows you to rent in pretty much any part of the city.
4. Near RCMP gives you al the stores there, but it's really overall an unremarkable strip mall type of environment. If you want something more interesting/unique or even walkable you'll want to look in the urban core. Downtown, Riverside, etc.