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Hi, I welcome your honest opinion for those of you who live in the Jacksonville/metro areas with families (married with children).
I am married, a stay home mom and have a 1 year old. My husband has a job in downtown Jacksonville, if we want to move here. We visited this past week to check out the area. We don't know the area and had a hard time figuring out where to live. We stayed on Amelia Island, but think it is too far to downtown. We saw Ponte Vedra, but it is too far too and too expensive. We want to rent for 7 months to a year first, but even then we aren't sure where we should live. At the last minute before we left we visited the San Marco area and liked it a lot, but we were only there for about an hour.
We currently live near Denver, CO which is very safe, has a great city night life, great things to do for kids (zoo, children's museum, aquarium, mommy groups). We aren't the kind of people that want to stay home a lot and don't want to commute too far to work as we value our time together. Houses are expensive here, at least the neighborhoods we like with a 3 bed 2 bath and short distance to downtown is like 400K+. we are fine with diversity.
My husband has lived in Florida so he gets the change we have to make with the humidity, bugs, hot summers, etc., but it will be an adjustment for me. I spent over 20 years in California and have traveled the US. We also lived in Germany for a while so we like change.
What I am really worried about is the crime rate and large number of registered sex offenders. I compared to major US cities and there's SO MANY offenders registered in Jacksonville and surrounding areas for crimes AGAINST CHILDREN that I am scared. I used the national database National Sex Offender Registry and this is the one thing holding me back from letting my husband move us. We have to decide in the next couple days.
Can other families/moms help me here and let me know the experience they have had. If I were single, I would stay in Denver, but with a family now it would be great to buy a nice house in an area we can afford for me to stay home. We can do private schools when it is time if we need and he'll be making more money than now so compared to where we live, the cost of living is really low, but putting us in a potential dangerous situation is that one thing left to figure out. Opinions?
I went on that website and was shocked to see how many sex offenders are in the downtown area. I even checked out Miami(I lived there most of my life) and not as nearly many offenders as in Jacksonville. I don't know what to tell you. I lived in Southside and I really enjoyed it. I also lived in Riverside but I think that's more for singles. Good luck everyone!!
If your husband's gonna make more and the cost of living is going to drop, then i think that's hard to pass up.
I grew up in Jax and never felt unsafe, never had any issues with sexual predators, and overall I think having the financial means to avoid bad areas in the city as well as using common sense, you'll be as safe here as any other big city. That said, Jax does have an alarming number of registered sex offenders. I've always found that strange cause it doesn't jive with my experiences, but just use it as a reminder to be careful.
I don't see how the number of sex offenders could be a legitimate reason not to move to Jacksonville provided you are okay with all your other concerns. The same National Sex Offender Registry that you looked up will also tell you where the offenders reside. Keep in mind that Jacksonville is the largest city geographically of any city. But even so, sex crimes consist of the widest range of crimes in the courts today but as a parent it is easy to get the impression that there are child snatchers lurking around every corner. You just have to be vigilant with your kid in whichever city you choose to live.
Hi, I welcome your honest opinion for those of you who live in the Jacksonville/metro areas with families (married with children).
I am married, a stay home mom and have a 1 year old. My husband has a job in downtown Jacksonville, if we want to move here. We visited this past week to check out the area. We don't know the area and had a hard time figuring out where to live. We stayed on Amelia Island, but think it is too far to downtown. We saw Ponte Vedra, but it is too far too and too expensive. We want to rent for 7 months to a year first, but even then we aren't sure where we should live. At the last minute before we left we visited the San Marco area and liked it a lot, but we were only there for about an hour.
We currently live near Denver, CO which is very safe, has a great city night life, great things to do for kids (zoo, children's museum, aquarium, mommy groups). We aren't the kind of people that want to stay home a lot and don't want to commute too far to work as we value our time together. Houses are expensive here, at least the neighborhoods we like with a 3 bed 2 bath and short distance to downtown is like 400K+. we are fine with diversity.
My husband has lived in Florida so he gets the change we have to make with the humidity, bugs, hot summers, etc., but it will be an adjustment for me. I spent over 20 years in California and have traveled the US. We also lived in Germany for a while so we like change.
What I am really worried about is the crime rate and large number of registered sex offenders. I compared to major US cities and there's SO MANY offenders registered in Jacksonville and surrounding areas for crimes AGAINST CHILDREN that I am scared. I used the national database National Sex Offender Registry and this is the one thing holding me back from letting my husband move us. We have to decide in the next couple days.
Can other families/moms help me here and let me know the experience they have had. If I were single, I would stay in Denver, but with a family now it would be great to buy a nice house in an area we can afford for me to stay home. We can do private schools when it is time if we need and he'll be making more money than now so compared to where we live, the cost of living is really low, but putting us in a potential dangerous situation is that one thing left to figure out. Opinions?
Wow. Honestly, you have brought out several issues worth considering here... I hope to help you make an educated decision that is best for your family, because there is nothing worse than moving an being unhappy! Here is what seems to be important to you: safety, proximity to downtown, affordable housing, schooling, culture/diversity.
Looking at your priorities, the first neighborhood that comes to mind is Epping Forest on San Jose Blvd. It's slightly south of San Marco, and it is a gate community. It is true that the crime is pretty bad here... and my concern with the San Marco area is that crime from other areas seems to be slowly seeping over that way... I don't live there, so I am sure others can give you a better opinion on this. I have just heard stories from some people that live there of break-ins, mentally unstable people on their property, etc. As far as child sex offenders, be sure to check out whatever neighborhood you are looking at so at least you know where they live. Florida is one of the worst states on this, and believe me... I understand your hesitancy! But if you are cautious and wise, and if you pick the right neighborhoods, you can greatly reduce your chances of being victimized. If I were going to live close to downtown, I would definitely pick a gated community. Epping forest is very pretty, and you would have great private schools & public elementary school close by. Close to downtown, too. Not sure what the houses run in there, though... it may be out of your budget.
My other thought is to consider moving further away from downtown. I know the commute is a negative, but there are several positives to consider for the sake of your growing family. The Mandarin area of Jacksonville is a consideration... an even better option, in my opinion is NW St. Johns County. True, the commute via I-95 will be 30-45 minutes, but you an excellent public school system, way more house for your money, and most important, way less crime. It's very family-oriented... the only other drawback is you will have to travel into Jax for major shopping and other outings. Right now, there's mostly only grocery shopping and some restaurants in St. Johns...but some of the neighborhoods have a lot of activities going on, great swimming pools, etc. The beach isn't too far, and you do have St. Augustine, which offers outlet malls and the historic district...
Hope this helps! Feel free to ask further questions.
Thank you so much. This information really helps us. We keep hearing Mandarin and haven't checked it out, but I think I am going to send my husband back to Florida next weekend and he will drive in those areas.
The honest answer from me is no. You should not leave an incredible city like Denver for Jacksonville, Florida. I'm usually never on the Jacksonville forum but am moving to Colorado from Jax in 2 days and had to respond. I really hate to be negative on these forums about a specific city. Most people want to hear great things about where they are considering moving. Unfortunately the honest answer you are seeking is no way!
Jacksonville will disappoint you in many ways in comparison to a beautiful, vibrant, tolerant city like Denver. From a stay at home mom of two great kids. Really....I wouldn't make that change.
We live for over two years in the St Augustine/World Golf village area (exit 323 on 95) and love it here! We feel very safe, and everyone is very friendly. I have never heard of any problems w/sexual predators around here, not to say they are not around, but we haven't heard of any issues.
There are no parts of town that are 100% safe, probably in Denver too. This is reflected by the SWAT team shooting in the upscale, suburban area of San Plablo road yesterday. But it's nothing out of the ordinary or lifestyle altering - just doing common sense things will appropriately address cirme in general (ie, lock your doors at night, be aware of your surrondings, etc).
Jacksonville, in general, is considered family-friendly & safe. There are certain parts of town that are not, where most of the serious crime happens. It's not hard to steer clear of those areas.
As far as the serious crime out side of those areas, only a small percentage of serious crime will be 'random' (ie, i wouldn't worry about it any more usual). Of course you could have a bike stolen, etc from anywhere, virtually, and it wouldn't be surprising.
Some people are more sensative about 'safety' than others on this message board, (ie, the person who suggested San Marco may just be a little too risky - which is absurdly laughbable, more on that later).
There are plenty of options in your price range that fit your criteria. All close to Downtown, have good nightlife, plenty of kid-friendly activities & families, centrally located in the city, have diversity, and are safe (ie, not unusually dangerous). I have lived in Jacksonville on & off for 20 years and never had an issue with child predators, or had anyone I know have an issue with them.
All of these will be neighborhoods below will : somewhat surrond Downtown, be no more than 5 miles distance from Downtown, fit your criteria, be historic districts (some more so than others), have lots of parks, have lots of unqiue non-chain restuarants & stores, and are very walkable - an exceedingly rare thing in Jacksonville. I know walkability & historic area weret in your criteria, but those are the kind of neighbrhoods that surrond Downtown. Here's an article discussing the benefits of these features: Homes with 'walkability' command higher premium | Jacksonville.com
In no particular order:
- Riverside: A vibrant area, with lots of unqiue restaurants, botiques, cafes, parks, weekly & monthly festivals, and on it's the river. Riverside is very walkable, funky, artistic, "young", has good night life, and prices range from inexpensive into the millions. A mix of 2 story and smaller bungalows, lots of duplexes & apartments too. Riverside lays next to Avondale, which make up the largest continous historic district in the state. This area is growing in popularity rapidly.
- Avondale: Lays right next to Riverside, creating the largest historic district in the state. It's hard to tell where one ends the the other begins, so they have a lot in common. Very walkable with lots of parks, the river, botiques, restauarnts, etc. A little more stuffy and regal than Riverside due to old money, but not too much. Much like Riverside, a mix of 2 story homes and bungalows with lots of apartments too. Home prices range here from moderate to in the millions.
Avondale's prominant community organization is the same as Riverside (above)
- Springfield. The oldest neighborhood in the city, it used to be bad news but is in the middle of a massive renovation now. It's not as finished as the other areas so you can get the most for your money here, with goregous old homes or brand new homes made to look historic. Very walkable as well with lots of parks, with a few good cafes/restuarnts/night life, and Downtown is very close. It's a neighbrohood in "transition" that's extremely tight-knit. Mostly 2 story houses here, with few bungalows. Good amount of duplexes, a few apartments - prices range from extremely inexpensive up to a million. No dearth of neighborhood organizations either.
- San Marco: Perhaps the most expensive of the areas (moderate into the millions), it does have a small area of less expensive homes. San Marco is on the otherside of the river (southbank) directly across from Riverside/Avondale. Very walkable area, with a good amount of shops, restaurants, cafes, parks, etc. More expensive, generally, than the other areas. Some decent nightlife options too. A mix of large and small homes, it's the least historic of these areas.
*** note, San Marco is perhaps the safest non-gated neighborhood in the city. that's why the previous posters concerns are ridiculous. there are some types on here that think if you don't live in a gated, HOA then your exposing yourself to danger***
In general the important thing to remember is that these areas are centrally located in the city and very close to one another, as well as Downtown. Biking from Riverside, Springfield, Avondale, & San Marco to Downtown or any of the other neighborhoods is easy. Driving to the outer areas of Jacksonville will no take no loner than 30 minutes max, b/c your smack in the middle. Plus these are all unique areas that you won't find in other area of the city, they are quite trendy because of that. Springfield is up & coming by leaps and bounds, though the unfinished, rough edges still can give people the wrong impression. Also, just an FYI, the community organizations in Riverside/Avondale & Springfield are far & away the best, the others pale in comparison.
Thank you - this is our struggle - Denver, CO and surrounding areas is really great and we've loved living here. We would also love to be by the beach though and you can't get that here. It's also so much cheaper in the Jacksonville and surrounding area than here too and I've always had a hard time trying to figure out why, but maybe it is the safety thing, not sure. I love the historical areas in and around Jacksonville, but when we look up houses we like online then look up the www.familywatchdog.us site to see how far away an offender is - it's like 5 blocks away which to me seems pretty close. I keep running the numbers and around here it's 1% or less for offenders - really low on the children crimes (like .0005) where a lot of the neighborhoods - even the ones like St. Augustine way down south are so much higher - 2.8% of the population offenders and 1% of the population against children. It gets higher the close to the city, but it's all over, even the nice areas. Here you won't find them in Cherry Creek, Washington Park or Denver County Club or the affluent parts of downtown (and we have a small downtown in comparison). The metro area outside of dowtown south and even north up to and in Boulder it's really low too. I just can't get my head around why there are so many offenses against children in Florida (I even checked down to Miami and same thing). Again, thank you for your responses. They all really help give me more perspective. We still don't know if we are moving or not so still welcoming more opinions.
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Opinion on Living in Jacksonville, Florida
