Good neighborhoods close to St Vincent's Hospital? (cul-de-sac, rentals)

[cdsoto]

My wife and I and our 2 yr old are relocating to JAX. The wife will be working at St. Vincent's Hospital and we'd like to live relatively close to the hospital (15 minutes or so). Our idea of a nice neighborhood is a family friendly development with swimming pool/playgrounds and that is very close to parks suitable for bike riding. We also want to be reasonably close to shopping. We will be renting for the time being and we are looking for a 3 - 4 bedroom about 2100 sq. ft in the $1200 - 1600 range. Any suggestions/recommendations about neighborhoods and/or developments that might fit for us? Thanks.

[Joe 4520832257]

St. Vincent's is located in one of the best (in my opinion) neighborhoods in all of Jax, which is the Riverside/Avondale historic district. However, it's an old neighborhood with beautiful 100 year old homes and there aren't "developments" anywhere nearby. It's a traditional city neighborhood, and a very nice one at that.

Honestly, it's kind of ironic that you want a development w/ pool and playgrounds, because St Vincent's is located in one of the only corners of Jax that isn't absolutely littered with suburban cul-de-sacs and gated communities.

I hope you'll give Riverside/Avondale a chance, because it's a very nice neighborhood. But if you absolutely need to be in a planned community/development just throw a dart onto a map of the Southside. Or St. Johns County. Or Clay County. There are developments like that all over the place. Although none within a 15 minute drive of St. Vincents that I can think of unfortunately.

[projectmaximus]

After Riverside/Avondale, you can also look at San Marco (just across the river).

[cdsoto]

Thank you for the insight. Riverside/Avondale does sound like an interesting option. To your knowledge are there any close by community pools, parks, etc that are kid friendly? Also, given that this is a historic district, would there be much by way of rental properties? In any event, I'm going to be visiting the hospital tomorrow w/ my wife so, we will definitely take a good look around the area. Are their any specific streets or sites that we should make a point of visiting?

[Joe 4520832257]

Tons of rental properties. And more importantly, the rentals and owners can coexist on the same street without a reduction in property values.

I would drive around St Johns Ave and Riverside Ave - which you'll do anyway to get to St.Vincents. Memorial Park and Riverside Park are great, but I think they are more civic parks than kid parks. I'm not as familiar with kid-oriented parks. Maybe try Willowbrach park, which is extremely close to St. Vincents. Also check out the Riverside extension of the Riverwalk. It's just North of I-95 and would be a perfect place for biking.

Also be sure to drive around San Marco and San Marco square, just on the other side of the river. Anyway, I think you'll get a pretty good feel for whether these neighborhoods are for you, or whether you'd rather commute to a house in the burbs. Best of luck.

[cdsoto]

Thanks a ton. I look forward to checking out the neighborhood