Moving in Jacksonville (Orlando, Springfield: best neighborhoods, apartment, rentals)

[indievox]

Hi. I'm a student at UNF. I'm originally from Orlando so I know nothing about Jacksonville and it's neighborhoods/areas. I plan on moving in with boyfriend in July/August into an apartment/condo close to school and in a nice, safe area. I've been looking at Riverside/Avondale, San Marco and Southside. I originally wanted to stay on the east side of the river but the Riverside/Avondale area is still pretty close to school and is also close to downtown. Plus I find rental prices in this area are cheaper than in San Marco or Southside, for some reason I don't know (maybe because it's on the west side of the river?). I'm looking for a 1br/1ba and my budget is $600-$700 a month. Anything lower than that would be great!
I hope someone can help me with information about these areas and which area would be best for a young couple. I appreciate any help you can provide!

[fsu813]

Riverside/Avondale & San Marco are both ideal for young adults. Riverside/Avondale is probably THE place to be if your a young adult in general. San Marco, Downtown, & Springfield also have a lot of youth and vibrancy (or what passes for vibrancy in jax).

Here are some realtors that specialize in these areas:

Traditions: TraditionsJax.com » Residential Rentals

Atkinson: Atkinson Realty Group, Inc.


A couple popular, relatively in-expensive Downtown highrises with many young adults: City Place Jacksonville - Jacksonville, FL - CityPlaceJacksonville.com

&

Price are slashed! (http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/apa/1563902940.html - broken link)



Some listings I found on Craigslist that would be very good options:

1. Awesome Downtown Living (http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/apa/1553993815.html - broken link)

2. 1332 Laura St-SPRINGFIELD-Spacious 2/1 in beautiful historic building! (http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/apa/1561853944.html - broken link)

3. >>>>> LET SOMEONE FEED YOU <<<<< (http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/apa/1562320330.html - broken link)

[indievox]

Thank you for your explanation
I will contact those realtors when my move-in approaches. I love the postings you found on craigslist. I think I will go check some of them out.

[parks71]

You said you wanted a place safe, do not move to springfield. It has terrible crime there, from a scale from 1-100, with 1 being the worst crime, this website has it rated a 3. People who live there say it is turning around but it is far from it at this point. PLease look at all the crime websites for yourself and see that its still a very dangerous place to live.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[jimbo13]

nice link usage there, parks!

[fsu813]

Unfortunatly, some posters are out-of-touch and don't have the best info.

Serious crime in Historic Springfield is not a major concerns anymore. Used to be, in the not-so-distant past.

Now, not so much. As in, at all.

If you'd like to ask JSO in-person, there is a neighborhood JSO meeting tomorrow (Jan 26th) at 6pm at 1321 Main Street (The SPAR building). Feel free to educate yourself.

Ex) Southern Living ranks Historic Springfield the #1 Up & Coming neighborhood in the South, with tons of young people moving in: The South's Best Neighborhoods - Photos - SouthernLiving.com






Other articles can be linked as well.

I have various realtor friends who I can get you in touch with too, who can varify that it's just fine overall. Though the one's listed above are experts on this area too, so you can just them. And I personally know 4 young people who ahve moved into the area in the past few months (Navyman, urban planner, realtor, & civil engineer). Nusanse crimes still occur on occasion (ie, a stolen bike, littering) but that's about it.
In the coming months, days actually, i'll link some interviews with real people who've just moved in, with pics. And long-time residents as well, who can chronicle the vast changes.

But again, don't take my word for it....................Ask the realtors who know the area. Ask JSO who patrol the area. Good luck!

[parks71]

Those pictures are funny. I might have to just go out there one night and have to take pictures of the hooker or homeless people or thugs running about.

Why ask JSO or a realtor? Why not just look at the crime statistics of the area and judge for yourself? Sure the people who live there want to turn it around and say there is not a problem. How do you dispute 2009/2010 crime statistics? Is the realtor going to tell you it really didnt happen?

One persons view of a safe area could be completley different than anothers. Several murders a year with in blocks of where you live might be ok for some, and not ok for others. Dont ask "realtors" "JSO" "people who live there". Look up the FACTS on several different CURRENT crime websites, look at the schools and community, then you decide if its safe enough for you.

I can provide you more crime websites which will say the same exact thing if you wish. Compare the area to the area where UNF is. HUGE difference.

I am not going to argue this point anymore. I just ask you look up facts instead of peoples opinions.

[indievox]

This past weekend I drove around and got lost in Jacksonville trying to find the neighborhoods I wanted to check out, like San Marco, Riverside and Avondale. I ended up in an area that I really didn't like while trying to find Riverside. Today I realized that that neighborhood was Springfield. From what I saw, there is no way I will move into that area. I believe there are some nice places, but as a young woman who will spend time alone in my apartment while my boyfriend is out of town, there is no way I could feel safe in that area.

Thank you for the help both posters provided. I will try to remain on the east side of the river as this is where I have found will best fit my needs.

[jimbo13]

you would be safer moving into compton than springfield.

[parks71]

Its funny you say that, I went and checked just for fun and compton is rated MUCH better than springfield. Compton has crime ratings as high as 70 and the lowest I could find is 10 compared springfields 3.

I am glad you were able to see it first hand though before jumping the gun. It sure doesnt look like those pictures in that article! Good neighborhoods don't have JSO meetings, that in itself is a bad sign!