Has anyone moved from Jacksonville to Philly area? (St. Augustine: best neighborhoods, renting)

[masstoflor]

If you have moved from Jacksonville to Philadelphia, how has your life compared? Which suburb is suitable for a young family with a child? Prices are definitely higher in Philly area. So, where do people live if they work at the colleges (Bryn Mawr, etc.) Schools are important. Any advice welcome.

[ShakenStirred]

Originally Posted by masstoflor

If you have moved from Jacksonville to Philadelphia, how has your life compared? Which suburb is suitable for a young family with a child? Prices are definitely higher in Philly area. So, where do people live if they work at the colleges (Bryn Mawr, etc.) Schools are important. Any advice welcome.

My advice is don't. Most people go the other way.

SS

[masstoflor]

Originally Posted by ShakenStirred

My advice is don't. Most people go the other way.

SS

For which reasons aside from climate?

[deeni]

I moved from Philadelphia to Jax 5 years ago. I grew up in Philadelphia and the suburbs. I moved because of the terrible weather (so many gray days that we were all feeling so depressed). I was also tired of the gritty nature of the city and some of the people. However, I do miss the food, more open minded mindset, access to more amenities and culture, more job opportunities, and of course my family and friends.

IMO, living in Philly itself was never an option for us once we had kids. The city is dirty and filled with people who have no respect for their neighborhoods. Phila School District schools overall are terrible unless you want to pay for private. I do not mean to generalize but that was my experience.

The housing in the suburbs is much more expensive than Jax area, especially in the suburb neighborhoods with good schools. In general, the houses are older, less updated, and smaller. However, they typically have bigger yards than we do here. My house in Fleming Island would probably be double what I paid in the suburbs of Philly.

If you work in higher education, there are lots of opportunities. There are colleges all over the area, in Philly and in suburbs. Most people will have a 45 minute or so commute to their jobs. If working at the colleges in Philly, public transportation may be an option. Philly has a regional rail that runs from suburbs to downtown. Depending on where you work, living in either Montgomery or Delaware Counties would be good options. Maybe even Bucks County but I am not at all familiar with that area.

Downtown Philly is great for a night out. Lots of things to do...museums, world class restaurants, festivals, parks, shopping, etc. There is a super large mall in King of Prussia.

The Philly winters are more difficult. Some winters get storm after storm (ice and snow). Waking up to frigid temps, shoveling, cleaning off your car, warming it up, laying down salt, etc. can be grinding. There are some months when I felt like the sun would never come back. I came to absolutely dread every winter. Summers are great. It can be humid but nothing like it is here. Most people go "down the shore" all summer. The shore is much different than the beaches here. There are restaurants, boardwalks, rides for the kids, lots of recreation. Unfortunately, those shore areas are packed all summer so you also sit in traffic and fight for parking spots.

Anyway, lots to do in Philly but it is definitely a trade off. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[masstoflor]

Originally Posted by deeni

Anyway, lots to do in Philly but it is definitely a trade off. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Thanks so much for your post reply. We were in Massachusetts prior to Jacksonville and definitely miss a more open-minded general feel. There are things we like in Jacksonville (weather, house prices etc), but haven't really fallen in love with it. It's our 4th year here now. Moving to Philly area definitely would require a home purchase outside of the city for schools. Are people able to go to the city with kids easily or is traffic bad during the weekends? Are there a lot of things to do for children within the city itself? Also, my husband misses elevation and hiking.

[deeni]

Originally Posted by masstoflor

Thanks so much for your post reply. We were in Massachusetts prior to Jacksonville and definitely miss a more open-minded general feel. There are things we like in Jacksonville (weather, house prices etc), but haven't really fallen in love with it. It's our 4th year here now. Moving to Philly area definitely would require a home purchase outside of the city for schools. Are people able to go to the city with kids easily or is traffic bad during the weekends? Are there a lot of things to do for children within the city itself? Also, my husband misses elevation and hiking.

We are in the same boat. We haven't fallen in love with Jax area but are not quite ready to go back to Philly. This hurricane nonsense might push me over the edge. Lol.

Depending on where you live, the city is somewhat accessible from the suburbs. I would not say its the most accessible downtown as the drive can be annoying and parking is not easy. Which I am sure is the same in any big city. You can take the regional rail "train" into the city or drive. The train is low cost and an easy way to get to downtown. Kids love to take the train. If you drive, parking can be a pain although there are lots of garages. There will be traffic during rush hour but weekends are usually ok, unless some big event is going on. Although odd traffic seems to come up a lot. Or unless you have to take 76 which always has traffic. This highway needs to be avoided as much as possible. So take that into account with your commutes. Parking costs downtown can be maybe $25-30 for the day. I personally loved to go downtown when I was in my 20s/early 30s. Once I had kids, I rarely went. We took my kids down for events sometimes but not too often. Just too many crowds and hassle for me to drag young kids. Now that they are older, it would probably be easier. There is Rittenhouse Park, Please Touch Museum, Academy of Natural Sciences, and I can't really think of anything else. Lots more for us adults.

You can also take the train or a bus to NYC for the day. Taking the kids around the holidays is really fun. You are also a 2 hour drive to Baltimore. You have the Camden aquarium nearby. The shore in the summer. Sledding in the winter. The mountains are about 2 hours away for tubing. Hershey Park in the nicer weather is about 2 hours away. Philadelphia Zoo. Overall, I feel there is more to do with kids in Philly area than in Jax. I find that all I do with my kids in Jax area is the pool, beach, St. Augustine, or Disney.

Hiking I am not sure about as I am more of a couch potato. However, I think there are lots of trails and parks your husband can go to.

Schools are supposed to be better than Florida, resources are better, so many more medical care options (CHOP, St. Chris Children's Hospital, Nemours).

It is a hard decision. But overall I think if you can tolerate the weather and sometimes abrasive attitudes, Philly has a lot more to offer.

[karakartal]

Granted, I am not in JAX yet but moving soon, i would like to give my insights regards to Philly Suburbs

I lived in the Philly Suburbs for about 10 years and I can say that they are great, if you can afford it. City itself is a mess from what I hear and have only gone inside a handful of times. Traffic is probably worse then JAX but better then DC.

Suburbs are nice, very good school districts in both Delaware and Chester counties. In Chester, be aware of Coatesville School District as houses are affordable but schools are not good. Delaware county would be the closest to the city, Ardmore or Newtown Square would be good locations

West Chester, Malvern, Downingtown are great suburbs but be careful of Main Line, its a beautiful area but any house will start from 700K+. Rest of the areas, expect 300+ for townhouses, 400+ for single homes that needs touchups, 500+ for anything decent without too much work or newer builds. If you are handy around tools, then you can get something decent for 250-300 and turn it into something nice..

A lot of things to do around the suburbs, granted I cant compare yet to JAX. However, expect all activities to be indoors from November to March.

Weather wise, there will be Northeaster's - its no where bad as further north but everyonce in a while they will get it wrong and things will stay still for a day. But, assuming its the same in JAX, most are hyped up by the media.

Roads are curvy with lots of mature trees overhead. This also leads to lots of power outages (depending on your location) and closed roads. Keep your wood pellets close by for your fireplace (where there definetely is a purpose)

Lastly, potholes, be wary as they will be even in the best neighborhoods all the way till summer and will blow tires and even can cause more damage to the car.

Closest beach will be Delaware or NJ, 1-2 hrs away

Closest skiing will be around Allentown, around 1hrs away

Feel free to ask any questions, happy to try to answer.

[Quackers109]

I’m from Delaware and ready to go back after 4 months. Very different here. Drivers are crazy, no turn signals. I thought philly was bad! Winters aren’t that bad up there. It’s just a different world here for sure.

[BabyBoomers2]

Originally Posted by Quackers109

I’m from Delaware and ready to go back after 4 months. Very different here. Drivers are crazy, no turn signals. I thought philly was bad! Winters aren’t that bad up there. It’s just a different world here for sure.

Ahhhhh, someone else who doesn't think to highly of Jacksonville! Wife and I spent 10 1/2 years there and were very glad to move back to Colorado. I said "back", because we lived 28 miles south of Denver for 5 1/2 years and should have never left. However, we are now in northern Colorado, aka NOCO and don't think to highly of our new area either. Will most likely wind up in Wyoming.

There are lots and lots of folks that really love Jacksonville, but we seen it change way to much.

Cold weather and snow? Have already had three snowstorms and some pretty cold temps under 10 degrees, but that's all part of living here.

What's really weird is, just how many Seniors, as in Baby Boomers and earlier, live here.

[Journey2020]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

Ahhhhh, someone else who doesn't think to highly of Jacksonville! Wife and I spent 10 1/2 years there and were very glad to move back to Colorado. I said "back", because we lived 28 miles south of Denver for 5 1/2 years and should have never left. However, we are now in northern Colorado, aka NOCO and don't think to highly of our new area either. Will most likely wind up in Wyoming.

There are lots and lots of folks that really love Jacksonville, but we seen it change way to much.

Cold weather and snow? Have already had three snowstorms and some pretty cold temps under 10 degrees, but that's all part of living here.

What's really weird is, just how many Seniors, as in Baby Boomers and earlier, live here.

I am considering move to Northern Florida in the next 3 years, but may investigate further. I currently live in South Seattle and the whether here 10F - 105F in the last 10 years. It seems the best solution is renting in the new city for few months and go from there.