Rdu vs. Jax (Jacksonville, Greensboro: quality of life, to live, restaurants)

[Trusses]

Originally Posted by AB2009

Well, I'm not into nightlife since I have two toddlers. I just want what's best for my kids. I'm actually moving to Melbourne from CT in a few weeks but am having second thoughts. I wonder if the sunshine is worth it? I keep reading all of these negative posts and to be honest, I'm petrified!

I've been to Raleigh and it somewhat reminded me of CT but much prettier (not that I'm looking for a place like CT..ugh) but the people were so surprisingly nice. They actually said hello in the stores etc. It took me off guard!

You said you lived in Orlando and Miami, but do you think it would be different outside of those areas? I've heard Melbourne is nice and more laid back than Orlando.

If I didn't have two small kids, this wouldn't be such an issue!

I would definitely choose Melbourne over Orlando or any of the big FL cities. More laid back, more "old Florida" I guess you could say, which many of us natives miss about FL.

I never lived there, so I dont know about the schools. Sorry. If you were asking me, as I said, what my point of view is and my criteria, I'd pick Raleigh over almost any place in FL. A beach house in the panhandle or north FL might make me think twice, but other than that, Raleigh wins hands down in my opinion.

But like I said, my criteria might be different. I like NC and especially Raleigh when I look at what's important to me when comparing two places: (not in any particular order)

-the people
-how friendly/unfriendly they are
-the drivers (does it make u wanna pull our hair out or not)
-schools
-weather (even as a FL native, I like the change in seasons. Some like 83 degrees on Christmas day, I dont)
-safety
-jobs/economy
-etc...

[BabyBoomers2]

When we lived in Colorado (just south of Denver) we were seriously considering moving to Orlando, Florida area. We wanted to get as far away from "Old Man Winter" as we could, but hearing some stories about the hurricanes and gators sure made us wonder. Well, we decided on Huntersville, NC/Charlotte area........wrong move for us! We didn't really like Lake Norman and the area does get a winter, unlike Colorado, but still a winter w/some snow/ice. After being in NC for 9 months, we were back again thinking about Florida. We flew into Orlando in Aug '08 to go on a Cruise and decided it was just too hot there. After the Cruise, we decided that Jax could very well be for us........no winter/snow/ice like in either Colorado or North Carolina! Wife got laid off from her job in NC, so we visited, obtained an apartment and made the move in Jan '09. We do like all the water here for boating, but the employment here is pretty poor. But, the word "poor" for employment is pretty much in every State right now.......not just in Jax! We are getting use to the humidity/heat and torrential rain downpours, but really do like it here! We are in our "perfect" apartment (1-story "bungaloo") and don't have to worry about a snowshovel or ice scrapper!
So, when we left Colorado, we should have moved to here instead of NC!

[he's so hott]

Originally Posted by Trusses

But maybe he's younger, maybe in college, and things like entertainment are more important to him.

Well, I'll just say that I'm early 30s, not married, no kids and no girl friend and prolly won't be married or have kids any time soon. You're going to find families and married people in all cities but the city should have a good mix. My experience with NC is that the cities don't have a good mix. Makes it very hard for singles.

I've seen threads on this board that kind of imply the same thing about jacksonville but having lived in several different cities in the last 8 years including jacksonville its not bad and you're not limited to 21 yr old college girls b/c the ones in their late 20s or early to mid 30s are married or in relationships.

[wjsluvskaz]

My fiance and I have lived in Raleigh for 1.5 years now... It's Just OK, we have been looking for a safe walkable area (restaurants, pubs, shops) the areas in Raleigh that fit this description are very expensive. Does JAX offer areas like this that are affordable (rent< $900 a month) ?

[abvavgjoe]

What are some of the things that are better in Jax?

I'm not familiar with the Raleigh area, but for me, the weather is better in Jax. According to weather.com, lowest normal winter low for Jax is 45, Raleigh is 30. Highest summer highs are about the same, 88 vs 90. Some people like a major change in seasons. Just depends on what you like.

Does JAX offer areas like this that are affordable (rent< $900 a month) ?

My wife and I have only lived here since the beginning of April, but I would say yes. We rent a 2 bedroom apartment in the Riverside area for $750/mo and I would call the area "safe". There are lots of restaurants, shops and such as well. It's a very popular historic neighborhood near downtown along the Saint Johns River.

[Trusses]

Originally Posted by he's so hott

Well, I'll just say that I'm early 30s, not married, no kids and no girl friend and prolly won't be married or have kids any time soon. You're going to find families and married people in all cities but the city should have a good mix. My experience with NC is that the cities don't have a good mix. Makes it very hard for singles.

I've seen threads on this board that kind of imply the same thing about jacksonville but having lived in several different cities in the last 8 years including jacksonville its not bad and you're not limited to 21 yr old college girls b/c the ones in their late 20s or early to mid 30s are married or in relationships.

So you're comparing Jax single life to Charlotte or Raleigh, and saying it's harder to meet singles in Raleigh or CLT than Jax? Jax is very family oriented (a good thing) but as single person, I'd leave Jax for Charlotte anyday - no comparison.

[Trusses]

Originally Posted by wjsluvskaz

My fiance and I have lived in Raleigh for 1.5 years now... It's Just OK, we have been looking for a safe walkable area (restaurants, pubs, shops) the areas in Raleigh that fit this description are very expensive. Does JAX offer areas like this that are affordable (rent< $900 a month) ?

Walkable and Florida dont mix, lol.

[Trusses]

Originally Posted by abvavgjoe

I'm not familiar with the Raleigh area, but for me, the weather is better in Jax. According to weather.com, lowest normal winter low for Jax is 45, Raleigh is 30. Highest summer highs are about the same, 88 vs 90. Some people like a major change in seasons. Just depends on what you like.



My wife and I have only lived here since the beginning of April, but I would say yes. We rent a 2 bedroom apartment in the Riverside area for $750/mo and I would call the area "safe". There are lots of restaurants, shops and such as well. It's a very popular historic neighborhood near downtown along the Saint Johns River.

I understand that. But for some, winter temps dont mean anything. And the summer temps in Jax are far higher and less comfortable than Raleigh. The temps are pretty similar, but when you factor in that humidity... a BIG difference. But again, some folks like change of seasons, and some folks move down here from up north only because they never want to see snow again. It doesnt matter what other factors are, for some it's all about not seeing snow ever again. But if you factor in the residents (how friendly they are, sense of community), the education of the residents, jobs/economy, crime, etc... (basically what they look at factoring a "quality of life" standard), then Raleigh is way ahead of Jax. And I say this as a ntive Floridian and I like Jax.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Trusses

So you're comparing Jax single life to Charlotte or Raleigh, and saying it's harder to meet singles in Raleigh or CLT than Jax? Jax is very family oriented (a good thing) but as single person, I'd leave Jax for Charlotte anyday - no comparison.

What kind of business interests do you have up there? Is there anything that Charlotte isn't good for? I bet the air is really clean up there too.

[he's so hott]

Originally Posted by Trusses

So you're comparing Jax single life to Charlotte or Raleigh, and saying it's harder to meet singles in Raleigh or CLT than Jax? Jax is very family oriented (a good thing) but as single person, I'd leave Jax for Charlotte anyday - no comparison.

Its easy to meet single women of one variety in their early 20s in Raleigh and Charlotte. Yes that is what I'm saying. What I'm not saying is that if you want variety and you just don't want to limit yourself to early 20s, then saying Charlotte or Raleigh is better than Jax is a FAIL. But I guess you would know b/c you've lived in both including Jax. Right?

Bro, trust me. I currently live in NC and have lived in Jax and other cities in FL and in the western part of the country. As I said before, there are families in every city but the mix is what is important. You can't tell with a straight face that any city in NC is better for singles than any city I've lived in. But then you're single and you have lived in Jax and Charlotte, Raleigh or Greensboro as a single in the last 5 years and not just visited. Right?

All I'm saying is that I have experienced those places and I know how the women react and what you see and don't see and who is open to certain 'things' and whom isn't. Everyday life brother, every day life. Your impression of Charlotte or Raleigh isn't as accurate as you would like to think.

So no Charlotte, Raleigh or Greensboro are places I want to live as a single in his early 30s but I guess you would know better.

But then again what would I know as single man in his early 30s that likes to date a variety of women that are age approps?