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Old 01-06-2022, 09:35 PM
 
5 posts, read 10,281 times
Reputation: 33

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I'm puzzled by the hate Jacksonville receives across the county and even amongst Floridians.

Jacksonville as I see it as a native PNW person is more economically diverse, has milder "Florida climate" (think humidity and heat), less prone to direct hit of hurricanes, fewer sinkholes, fewer gators and the bugs/creepy crawlies are "milder".

I also seem to find that the population is getting more intellectual than the rest of Florida.

It has relatively inexpensive housing (although that is changing) and it has a professional football team, a reasonable Tier 2 university (University of North Florida).

Why do people want to live in Tampa or Orlando? I just don't get the appeal. Miami, I understand -- it is an international city.
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Old 01-06-2022, 11:00 PM
 
366 posts, read 296,930 times
Reputation: 937
Maybe because it has been viewed as South Georgia for years?

But I feel ya…we’re moving from PNW to St Johns County later this year.

And IIRC, Jacksonville area is the #2 destination for domestic migration. It’s future is bright. One of its big challenges will be the fact that there are 3 major airports in the region (Atlanta, Orlando & Miami), so that might make it difficult to become huge, but it definitely is on the up and up.
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Old 01-06-2022, 11:25 PM
 
5,390 posts, read 9,621,496 times
Reputation: 9977
people like florida for the beaches and warm weather. Jax has that, but its beaches are not as pretty as Clearwater, Sarasota, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale. Jax doesn't "look" like FL. Not many palm trees, colder, more southern in culture, not very appealing looking. Tampa and Orlando have more going on, more of a energy or vibe. Of course Miami does too. Tamp and Orlando have milder weather, theme parks, beaches, less southern feeling and close to the tropics and more interesting vibe, IMO. Jax is kind of podunk and south GA like someone said.....meh. It's blah for the most part.
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Old 01-07-2022, 05:51 AM
 
Location: NE FL
1,555 posts, read 2,122,662 times
Reputation: 1370
Zillow predicting Jax #2 hottest housing market for 2022 nationally.

https://www.firstcoastnews.com/artic...9-b69961ac3195

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...using-markets/
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Old 01-07-2022, 06:45 AM
 
Location: IN>Germany>ND>OH>TX>CA>Currently NoVa and a Vacation Lake House in PA
3,252 posts, read 4,267,368 times
Reputation: 13439
To be brutally honest, demographics. I don't really get your "intellectual" comment, and since you've not backed up your thought with facts, I'm ignoring it. Also, I don't really consider the Jaguars professional. More like minor league.
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Old 01-07-2022, 07:09 AM
 
Location: Jacksonville
11 posts, read 17,505 times
Reputation: 68
I think it depends on the person.

I moved here last year for exactly some of the things mentioned in this thread. More of a southern culture, more laid back vibe, less people than Orlando, Tampa, Miami. The weather is more acceptable. The bugs are tolerable. We don't have a screen room around our pool and after being here almost a year now, I don't see a reason for one. Other places on the other hand I don't think you could get by without one.

My wife and I did a lot of research over a couple of years before we decided on Jacksonville.

It takes quite a few years to transform a city with some issues into a large desirable city. We came from the Denver area. In the 90s the downtown area of Denver was NOT a place you wanted to be. Kind of like Jacksonville. With investment and some risk taking businesses, the downtown area was transformed from warehouses, crime and poverty, to a thriving downtown area with sports, entertainment, dining, higher end living space, etc. A destination to enjoy and not be worried. I do thing that some good public transportation development is part of that equation as well. Unfortunately now Denver is turning into homeless camps and panhandlers, but that is a completely different story.

From the short time I've been here I can see what Kahn, the city, and other businesses are possibly trying to accomplish. I can also see the other side of it and why he is somewhat hated. I don't think putting ALL of the large sports and concert venues within walking distance from each other and in the area that is quickest to get away from in the downtown area is a great idea. No reason for dining or retail to move into the surrounding areas if there's no reason for people to venture out of the entertainment venue area. I'm not a city planner though, I could be completely wrong.

And back to the OPs question, as mentioned by other posters, Jax is not "postcard" Florida. It's a bit more rough around the edges than other cities. Personally, I work all over the state on a week to week basis, at the end of my travels I'm always smiling when driving AWAY from southern Florida and back to NE Florida. I love it here, my wife loves it here, and time will tell if that continues. Almost 1 year in and extremely happy with our decision.
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Old 01-07-2022, 07:12 AM
 
486 posts, read 507,241 times
Reputation: 1058
I really don't understand the milder weather in Orlando comment... only milder if you like hotter and more humid. Every time I go to the theme parks outside of winter, I am so thankful to be home in Jacksonville afterwards because the humidity is not as brutal and there is an ocean breeze. Having been born in the Northeast, I love the fact that it gets a little colder here. Gives a break from the heat and makes the long summer much more tolerable.
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Old 01-07-2022, 08:33 AM
 
9,266 posts, read 8,163,930 times
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Lack of higher paying, professional jobs is probably the biggest reason. Slowly but surely certain organizations are setting up branch offices here, but generally they are more for lower-paying, administrative type jobs such as customer service. There are exceptions, of course, but until more higher paying jobs come this way I don't see the Jax area changing much.

Also, as others have said, the total lack of a viable downtown destination is another negative. While some people may prefer a root canal vs. going to a busy downtown area, there are many others who love to work and play in a downtown area. Someone above mentioned Denver, that is a great example. I worked in Downtown Denver for many years and there were so many entertainment options - restaurants, bars, nightclubs, comedy clubs, etc. etc. that it quickly became the #1 tourist destination in all of Denver. And once you have that in place, the surrounding neighborhoods will be more desirable and rebuilt with money from people who want to live near their office and where the entertainment.
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Old 01-08-2022, 06:26 AM
 
Location: Amelia Island
4,790 posts, read 5,953,784 times
Reputation: 6244
We have been here going on 32 years and also from the northeast but also one who has been lived somewhat nomadically throughout the US.

Jacksonville has a lot to offer and the last twenty years has seen dramatic growth on the north and south sides, and when I say the north and south sides were undeveloped in the late 90’s I mean rural like.

It is a great area for family’s and singles to relocate and the job market continues to offer better paying jobs and slowly company’s are choosing to relocate here.

My only two beefs are the downtown which seems to be one of the few in the US that hasn’t bounced back with a vibrant urban core and the overwhelming growth of the area.

The downtown has been a work in progress for the last forty years and except for Shad’s insistence on a state of the art football complex downtown seems to be losing ground with the loss of the landing and metropolitan park.

On the growth, it was inevitable but to those of us here for many years Regency was the emerald city for food and shopping and the north and south sides were vacant land (Saint Johns Town Center and River City).

I think Jacksonville will keep gaining ground on popularity and known as a place with a great quality of life but the icing on the cake will be someday seeing a vibrant downtown urban core that will become a destination for other things besides football!

On another note, I know Jacksonville is not known as a hot bed of technical company’s and a labor pool readily available for tech work but I really thought when Amazon was searching for a suitable site for another headquarters we had an airport where you can get connections anywhere, the port, railways, I-10, I-95, I-75 and an abundance of vacant land and affordable housing along with our many Amazon distribution centers.
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Old 01-08-2022, 10:44 AM
 
122 posts, read 253,995 times
Reputation: 545
Jax is a great city with a great airport and good freeway access, we love to visit and do to go to Costco. However, as a place to live we prefer St. Johns County rather than Duval. We feel the quality of life and access to wonderful uncrowded beaches with less traffic is a touch better. YMMV
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