Indian community near 32224 (Jacksonville, Mayo: apartments, rentals, houses)

[slicksj]

Me and family (kids 9 and 3) are moving for work in Jacksonville area in 32224 zip code.
Researching on Apartments that have slightly higher Indian population

Checked Baymeadows and near St. John's but the school rating does not seem good.

Any suggestion on good communities with good Elem school ratings (like a 9 or a 10 rating).
Prefer apartment that has good middle school as well.

Not sure about the peak traffic around the Mayo Clinic area in 32224 zip code.

Please provide suggestions.

Thanks in advance
SJ.

[sg2506]

Hello SJ,
I am moving to Jacksonville to work at Mayo as well in July 2018. I am from delhi and just completed my residency in neurology and will be doing pain at Mayo. Although I am in the same boat as you and dont know much about the apt over there in Jax but would love to acquaint with some indian folks before I move there. Feel free to message me over here .

Sahil

[CaryResident453]

I'm not living in jax at the moment but I'am familiar with the area. There has been a "boom" in the Indian population over the past month as I heard. However most of these Indians have temporary visas (H1B). I would like to advise you that H1B visas have been restricted recently (and it looks like its only going to get worse), so I would like to know if you are staying here permanently. There are a few indian communities (most of the Asian population is Filipino) around Jax but mainly in St. Johns county. You might want to check out that area. There are good schools, though not many Indian kids.

[Jax2PVB]

Hi - I am not too familiar with the H1B visa scenario, but I have worked with multiple Mayo relocation families this year - mainly from Mayo in Rochester, MN. At any rate, with the massive increase in population all around Jax I have seen increases in many "cultures" - including Indian families, Chinese families, etc and New Yorkers (I am a native NYer, so I am allowed to say that we are a culture of our own. lol)

As for the 32224 area that is right near Mayo and has a great mix of all people. Though I am not sure of Indian population ratios, many areas are zoned for Alamacani Elementary, Axson and Chet's Creek - these all score 9 & 10 on the Great Schools rankings. (www.greatschools.net). Once you get to the middle school level (6th-8th grades) these areas drop to about 4 & 5 on the rankings.

If you want strong rankings all the way through, you will need to look at St. Johns county. BUT I will say that I do not solely rely on the rankings because most of it is based on state and standardized test results.

Have you looked at the areas around Valley Ridge Academy in Nocatee? There are brand new apartments set to being open for lease in about a month or two and they are zoned for excellent schools. Nocatee has a great melting pot of cultures with Indian families included - my pediatrician, allergist and many friends are Indian and live there :-) Doctors and professionals, business owners, etc - great family area and about 17 miles from Mayo, but honestly a lot of Mayo people are in Nocatee. For a 20-30 minute commute, great schools may be worth it and if you get a brand new apartment it is something that could work great for the family. Otherwise, Nocatee has rentals pop up all the time with houses renting from about $2,400 - $5,000 a month just depending on how large and which neighborhood it is in. That said, there is a section of Nocatee that is in Duval county so you will have to watch that if you rent a house and verify that you are getting the school zone you want. Very easy way to verify: Google "st johns county school zone locator" and when you get to the page, click the blue text that says "locator" and enter the address you are considering - it will tell you, straight from the district where your kids will go. (The apartments are in the St. Johns County area of Nocatee)

greatschools.net and enter 32081 (Nocatee area) - Valley Ridge is a K-8 school that has a great mix of kids and I think you would like the area too. Reach back out if you have any questions.