Relocating to Jax (Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine: house, employment, neighborhoods)

[dawniemac]

I am relocating to Jax on Friday, 1/1. I am a 26 y/o female and am relocating alone. I have a house in the mandarin area-is there anything noteworthy I should check out? Preferably local places. Is jax a good place for young people to make friends? This is my first move away from home and I guess I am a bit anxious. I am looking foward to my adventure, but any help I can get along the way is appreciated! Thanks!

[fsu813]

Mandarin very suburban, married-with-kids type of area.

Anything of note there......Does putt-putt golf count?

Young adults & young professionals, out of college, generally live in 3 places in mass: The beaches and the 4 Historic neighborhoods that surrond Downtown. You can live, work, and play all these areas.......and not coincidentilly, all are very walkable. Living in Mandarin, wanting to meet other young adults, you'll be driving to these areas all the time.

[dsongreg]

good luck

[dawniemac]

Alright. Well, this helps. I picked mandarin because it was near by new
place of employment and everyone kept telling
me what a great area mandarin and julington creek were the places to be. (shrug).

Any bars and restaurants you can recommend in the beaches and downtown area? Or even a nice place to listen to live music?

Thank you for the information!! :-)

[dawniemac]

Thanks, dsongreg... Looks like I'll need it!

[EricBoyd]

I live in Mandarin, and love it! But, then again, I fit the mold of "married with kids". It's close to shopping, restaurants, I-95/295, good schools for Duval. But, if my wife and I want to go out, then we're going to the Beach or to Tinseltown for more selection of things to do. It's not that bars and eateries don't exist in Mandarin, there's just a limited selection once you get past the national brands (Chili's, Applebee's, Carrabba's, Ale House, etc).

[fsu813]

"Any bars and restaurants you can recommend in the beaches and downtown area? Or even a nice place to listen to live music?"

Different strokes for different folks, so i'm not sure what kind of "scene", so to speak, you enjoy. Here's a rundown, on a typical weekend evening:

In Riverside (lots of social things to do in Riverside and Avondale, which are neighboring areas. You can walk from one venue to another for many of these):

O' Brothers - O'Brothers Irish Pub (http://obrothers.food.officelive.com/default.aspx - broken link) Casual, fun irish pub with live music on occasion. Mix of ages, mostly mid twenties to late 30's.
Mossfire - The Mossfire Grill Fun restuarant with 2nd floor full bar. All ages here. Can be both casual or dressy.
Walkers - Walkers | Jacksonville Very metro & comso, a modern upscale bar. College age to mid 30's mostly.
Starlight Cafe - very casual, not particularly nice, more of a "locals" haunt. Mostly 30's and up here.
Steamworks - very casual, local bar.....but for the younger, indie/rock crowd. College age to 30's for the most part here.
Deco Bistro - Brand new "trendy" restaurant, from what I hear. Not yet open.
Bold City Brewery - Bold City Brewery Jacksonville, Florida Casual, fun local brewery in an industrial setting. Mid twenties and up here.
Kickbacks Gastropub - casual, fun, bar & restuarant. Mostly mid twenties to late 30's crowd here.

Of these, Kickbacks, O' Brother's, Walkers & Mossfire are the most popular. Walkers & Kickbacks are across the street from eachother. O' Bothers, Mossfire, Steamworks, Starlight Cafe, & Deco Bistro are beside eachother as well.


In Avondale:

Casbah Cafe - The Casbah Cafe | Jacksonville's Premier Hookah Lounge | Jacksonville, Florida Casual, fun lounge/restaurant/bar. College age to 30's here usually. Belly dancers are a nice touch.
Blue Fish - The Blue Fish Restaurant and Oyster Bar Casual, fun restuarant & bar. Live music too. Mid twenties and up usually.
West Cantina Inn - very casual bar, mostly locals. college age and up here.
Biscottis - Biscottis Restaurant Can be casual or dressy, depending. Restuarant with bar. Mostly mid 20's & up here.
The Brick - Very similar to Biscottis, but has a bigger bar.
Orsay - Restaurant Orsay Upscale & trendy restaurant/lounge/bar. College age to early 40's crowd for the most part.

All of these are next to eachother, execept Orsay. They are all very popular as well.

In San Marco:

Square One - Square One (Square One Jax) | MySpace - myspace.com/squareonejax Casual, fun bar/lounge wit dance floor. College to mid 30's crowd usually.
Mathews - Matthew's Restaurant | The Night starts at Matthew's Upscale restuarant/lounge/bar. Mid twenties & up here.
Bistro Aix - Home Upscale restuarnt with bar. Mid twenites & up here usually.
The Grotto - ~~~~ The Grotto Wine Bar & Shoppe ~~~~ Upscale bar and lounge, mid 20's to early 40's usually.

These are all popular as well, the Grotto & Square One are next to eachother.

In Springfield:

The Cellar at Three Layers - The Cellar at Three Layers on Three Layers a Coffee House Casual or dressy, very chill bar/lounge with full cafe as well. Rgular live music as well. Mid 20's & up here.
Fusion - FUSION*art*wine*jazz* - FUSION - Casual or dressy, a wine bar that serves the mid twenties & up crowd.
Shanty Town - very casual, fun bar that caters to the indie/rocker crows, usually college to early 30's age.
The Pearl - MySpace - The Pearl - 104 - Female - JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - myspace.com/thepearlofspringfield Casual, club/bar with college age to early 30's crowds.

The Cellar at Three Layers & The Pearl are the most popular of these.

In Downtown:

Marks - Marks Downtown - Jacksonville Nightclub - Home Slighty upscale club/lounge/bar. College age and up here.
Dive Bar - Dive Bar - Jacksonville Downtown Nightclub Casual club/bar, college age to 30's usually.
Dos Gatos - Dos Gatos - Jacksonville's Swank Downtown Neighborhood Lounge Casual to dressy bar/lounge. College age to 40's here.
The Ivy - The Ivy Ultra Bar | MySpace Casual to dressy bar/lounge/club. Usually college age to Early 30's here.
TSI - T S I : Jacksonville, Florida's Premiere Indie Night Club, DANCE HARD! Very casual indie rock club, college aged to upper 20's here.
London Bridge - The London Bridge English Pub & Eatery Casual, restuarant and bar with mostly locals. Mid twenties and up here.
Poppy Love Smoke - Upscale and trendy bar/lounge/cigar bar. Mid 20's to 40's here usually.
Twisted Martini - The Twisted Martini | Downtown Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach Casual to dressy bar/lounge/club, Mid twenties and up here.
Mavericks - Mavericks at the Landing Casual, country-rock bar/club with college aged to 30's crowd.

Marks, Twisted Martini, Mavericks, and Dos Gatos could be the most popular in this area. Marks, Dive Bar, TSI, & The Ivy are next to eachother, but the others are well with-in walking diatnce as well.

Beaches:

Lemon Bar - Casual, fun beach-front bar. Mid 20's & up here.
Brix - The Brix (Brix Taphouse) | MySpace Casual bar/club/lounge with college to early 30's crowd.
Rush Street - Casual dance club & restuarant (strange, i know). College age and up here.
The Ritz - THE RITZ (Ritz Bar) | MySpace Casual bar/lounge, mostly college age to early 30's here.
The Atlantic - MySpace - The Atlantic - 29 - Female - JACKSONVILLE, Florida - myspace.com/atlanticjax Casual bar/club/lounge, college age to early 30's here.
Ocean Club - MySpace - Ocean Club - 25 - Female - Jacksonville Beach - myspace.com/ocjax Casual to dressy bar/club/lounge, College age to 40's here usaully.
Fionn McCools - -: FIONN MACCOOL'S RESTAURANT:- Casual, very fun restuarnt and bar, live music too. College age to 40's here.
Twisted Martini - http://www.thetwistedmartini.com/ Much like the Downtown location, but a bit more upscale.
Caribbe Key - Florida Restaurants, Neptune Beach Restaurants and Bars, Jacksonville Florida Restaurants, Caribbee Key Tropical Bar and Grille Casual restuarnt with 2nd floor bar, live music as well. 30's and up here for the most part.

Of these, The Ritz, The Atlantic, Brix , and Fionn Maccools are the most popular. Lemon Bar & Caribee Key are with-in walking distance from eachother. Fionn Maccools, The Atlantic, Ocean Club, Brix, Rush Street, and The Ritz are next to eachother.

There are others in these different areas too, but you those are most of them.

If you have any other questions, just ask.

[fsu813]

Of those.....my personal favorites are......

Mossfire
O' Brothers
Kickbacks
Orsay
Biscottis
The Brick
Casbah Cafe
The Cellar at Three Layers
Fusion
Bistro Aix
The Grotto
Mathew's
Marks
Dos Gatos
The Ivy
Fionn Maccools
The Atlantic
Brix

As you can see....you've got a lot to experience!

[dawniemac]

WOW!!!! What a comprehensive list. Thank you so very much for the infortmation and for the time you took to compile it. I've always been a fairly laid back
person and tend to not pigeon-hole myself into one type
of atmosphere or group of people. Therefore, I really do appreciate the variety of places you've provided. It is really nice to learn of some local places. When I was on my househunting trip I stayed in town's center and noted that everything appeared very commercialized as Eric mentioned. I even asked
my realtor what would be a nice restaurant to try and she said "oooh, Cheesecake Factory and PF Changs!!". And not that there is anything wrong with those places, I just prefer to frequent local places. I'm coming from Columbia, MO where local shops, eateries, bars and markets are the norm. The place I liked the most while on my househunt was the Columbia restaurant in St Augustine (didn't care for the touristy nature of St. Augustine, however).

Anyway, thanks again for all of the suggestions. You are right, I have a lot to explore when I get there. Now, I'm just focused on getting down there. 1 hr down, 15 to go! Happy New Year! Hope it was fun and safe. Which one of your aforementioned places did you spend it? :-)

[FLPL75]

Welcome to Jax dawniemac
As you can tel there are lots of options for entertainment
Exploring is the best thing to do Pick a weekend then pick an area.
Also keep checking the forum because there are 12 to 15 of us that get together every month or so for pizza. We have lots of fun.