Moving from Chicago to Jacksonville (2015, retirement, party)

[fsu813]

getting a head start it seems

[Junior32]

Originally Posted by fsu813

getting a head start it seems

yup i am, jax is crossed of my map. im thinking N.O now or Olrando, if not prbly head to ATL

[stnewton09]

I'm from Jacksonville, lived most of my life here. Believe it or not it's a nice place. Half of the northside is trash, the eastside is also. Westside is kinda in-between (I live here). Southside and Beaches is where a lot of rich people live, and there's less crime there also. It's hot and humid. Ferrets are legal, and so is shooting a guy in the face if it's what it takes to protect your own life. Just like everywhere else, there are jobs, but only literate people with a high school diploma/GED can get them. There are some "Southern" oddities, like school names. Jefferson Davis Middle School (named for the Democrat who was President of the Confederacy), Nathan Bedford Forrest High School (named for a Confederate General who co-founded the original non-racist KKK). Most people don't know or care about either, but some crybabys try to change the high school's name (when the middle school's name is far more offensive). Other than that I have seen no racial issues. You don't hear as many redneck accents here either, until you get further from the actual city or in the trailer parks. Jax is like a bunch of cities in one 'cause it's really, really big. We are on COPS a bit more than we should be, but compared to NYC, LA, or Chicago, it's Preschool here.

[kaabye]

Originally Posted by Junior32

Hey, i am a nineteen year old college student. i plan on moving to Jacksonville after i complete my BA degree, and starts my Master in Jacksonville. i want to know how life is living in Jacksonville, since i am lving in the nation 3rd largest city. only reasons i want to move out of chicago is the cold weather, the high taxes currently at 10.25%, the violence, and the racial violence between Blacks and Latinos. Plus i want to start a new live, anyone lives in Jacksonville, and advices?

jax is a very spread out city so if you are used to riding the train in the windy city and you rely on it you will have a major transition to make in JAX. The down town in JAX is not really the hub of the city like Chicago either. There is a huge military presence in Jax so that plays a role on the "feel"of the people as well. I would suggest spending a week or so in Jax to get a better feel for it. In my humble opinion a city in the South that is a little more similar to Chicago would be Atlanta.

[luvingme23]

Originally Posted by Junior32

hey, thanks and congs on your sister. yea i did some more research on Jax, and it crossed out now. im thinking of Tampa Bay Area and Orlando, have you ever been there or have some knowledge about it? im black by the way. aint no diff from the north only diff is the confedrate...

i used to live in tampa. it's opening up to black people imo, however, they still have an ultra conservative thing going on. just recently a group erected the largest confederate flag in the US just off the interstate. that's very distracting. ybor city and university area (two opposite sides of town) are where all the action is. gets pretty lively in ybor city at night. women there are decently attractive. however, i just wouldn't want to live there cause i know of the internal politics that seem to hold the cities diverse population down. however, orlando imo is more welcoming all the way around. i wouldn't call it a mecca or anything thing like atlanta. however, the over a decade ago the Florida Classic (big game between FAMU and BCU) moved from tampa to orlando and has stayed there. they moved because of how tampa treated the population when they came to town. FAMU about 5 years ago i think, opened their law school there. of course they were the city that accepted Disney when Jville refused over like half a century ago. to me they are just a more progressive city on the outside, but there are still a lot of conservatives there too i think. there will always be stuff to do there but it's mostly for tourists and can get pricey. there is stuff there for locals but not nearly as much. international drive has everything for entertainment so the closer you are to there the better. orlando magic games are fun but i will take a jaguars game over that anytime. my short visit there i had no problems with women. much better luck there than in jville saddly. however, i usually don't have problems in that area when i visit places, so it's hard to compare. my personal preference would be orlando but that's not to say that it's the best choice. i just haven't seen any overt signs of "blacks not welcome here" like when you see a huge confederate flag over the highway.

[Junior32]

Originally Posted by luvingme23

i used to live in tampa. it's opening up to black people imo, however, they still have an ultra conservative thing going on. just recently a group erected the largest confederate flag in the US just off the interstate. that's very distracting. ybor city and university area (two opposite sides of town) are where all the action is. gets pretty lively in ybor city at night. women there are decently attractive. however, i just wouldn't want to live there cause i know of the internal politics that seem to hold the cities diverse population down. however, orlando imo is more welcoming all the way around. i wouldn't call it a mecca or anything thing like atlanta. however, the over a decade ago the Florida Classic (big game between FAMU and BCU) moved from tampa to orlando and has stayed there. they moved because of how tampa treated the population when they came to town. FAMU about 5 years ago i think, opened their law school there. of course they were the city that accepted Disney when Jville refused over like half a century ago. to me they are just a more progressive city on the outside, but there are still a lot of conservatives there too i think. there will always be stuff to do there but it's mostly for tourists and can get pricey. there is stuff there for locals but not nearly as much. international drive has everything for entertainment so the closer you are to there the better. orlando magic games are fun but i will take a jaguars game over that anytime. my short visit there i had no problems with women. much better luck there than in jville saddly. however, i usually don't have problems in that area when i visit places, so it's hard to compare. my personal preference would be orlando but that's not to say that it's the best choice. i just haven't seen any overt signs of "blacks not welcome here" like when you see a huge confederate flag over the highway.

wow thanks, that a lotta insight you gave me. but damn wit the confedrate...it over they lost the civil war. i aint know the flag still exist ^_^, nor the decendents of conferderate...forget tampa then i rather get away from all that politics...wat does imo means? have you ever been to New Orleans or any experience knowlegdes? beside katrina

[Ryde41]

IMO_ in my opinion. (You're typing badly on purpose, maybe because you were offended.)

[luvingme23]

Originally Posted by Junior32

wow thanks, that a lotta insight you gave me. but damn wit the confedrate...it over they lost the civil war. i aint know the flag still exist ^_^, nor the decendents of conferderate...forget tampa then i rather get away from all that politics...wat does imo means? have you ever been to New Orleans or any experience knowlegdes? beside katrina

yeah i lived in new orleans back in 2008 for about 6months. worked in the french quarter. it really depends. it's a great place to visit. but i had a couple of friend girls (not girlfriends) who stayed there a little longer than and complained. they were both from bigger cities. there is always a party and a festival. however, it's all about the french quarter and around that area. other than that not much to it. i met some great people. however alot of the locals seemed to be just easily agitated. that was completely different from my experience 10 years ago when i was there. i had a girlfriend there so mostly i just worked and hung out with her. so i was pretty content. in comparison to other southern cities, i would chose orlando or atlanta to live. to visit short term nothing is like new orleans. as far as katrina goes. it is absolutely obvious to this day the devistation. many locals are still making there way back. many business outside the french quarter and areas across the bridge are gone. rent is ultra high. ultilities are equally as high. food is also high for groceries and stuff. i don't know about prices in comparison to chicago. compared to jville living is just really high. i had to work my butt off to maintain my lifestyle which isn't even very high.

[jenniferashley99]

I lived in Chicago and Jacksonville. So I'm probably the best in giving you advice. I missed Chicago as soon as I moved to Jacksonville. I respect people's opinions on Jacksonville so I will be nice. I think you should visit. That's all. Simple. You'll see.

[jimbo13]

i moved from jax to chicago, holy cow, almost ten years ago. they are nothing alike. i put 20k miles on my jeep in SIX years here because its so walkable here and public transportation is so plentiful. I do miss the warm weather in jax right about now and the ocean, but i also really like it here because there is something to do all the time. my sister comes to visit and is always amazed that all the bars and resturaunts are crowded all day and all nite, regardless of what day of the week it is. both places have their qualities for sure, but they are at opposite ends of the proverbial spectrum. i would probably move back to jax later in life when i am ready to settle down once and for all.