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Hello,
My husband & I are young professionals who will be starting a family in the next few years. I'm from a very liberal, beautiful but cold city in Minnesota, and that's where we're living now. My husband wants to move to Florida and I want to see if I can find a place with the right fit. Please help! Here's what we're looking for:
"Walkability" -- ie, We dislike strip malls, suburban type areas, and anything where you don't have a nice outdoorsy place or urban area to walk around in or go to restaurants, libraries, museums, etc
Affordable housing (we're trying for under $250,000)
Family friendly
Environmentally friendly
Mild weather
Hills... I don't like completely flat areas
Liberal attitude
A large body of water nearby, the ocean, a river, lakes, anything really.
Lots of green space and parks
To give you an idea, we lived in Portland, OR and St. Louis, MO for school and were happy with both of these cities as far as liberal attitude, walkability, hills, bodies of water, and affordability are concerned. I work in Medicine and he works in Physical Therapy and so we would also need a place with job opportunities in these fields.
Are there any cities in Florida that may fit some or all of these criteria? If not, we're going to have to look at Colorado or California as alternatives.
It is probably going to be difficult to find all of that in one place in Florida. Hills are rare in most of Florida. The Tallahassee area has hills. Jacksonville doesn't have any hills.
I really thought that I wanted to get away from the cold of MN too until I actually moved to the south and spent some time living there. I am now back in MN with a new appreciation for the quality of life here and loving it more than ever.
MN is really the place to be for starting a family. I doubt you will find better schools, lower crime rates, or an overall better quality of life in Florida, California or Colorado. Colorado would probably offer the best of those 3 choices.
If you decide to make the move, make sure to rent for at least a year before buying a home. That will give you some time for the "honeymoon" period to wear off and decide if you really want to stay are not. Many that buy a house right away get stuck with a home they can't sell if they decide the move was not really right for them.
Hello,
To give you an idea, we lived in Portland, OR and St. Louis, MO for school and were happy with both of these cities as far as liberal attitude, walkability, hills, bodies of water, and affordability are concerned. I work in Medicine and he works in Physical Therapy and so we would also need a place with job opportunities in these fields.
Are there any cities in Florida that may fit some or all of these criteria? If not, we're going to have to look at Colorado or California as alternatives.
Ariel
If you like Portland and it meets most of your criteria the logical thing would be to move to Portland. It seems to me that your motive for moving is the weather. It's a good reason to move from cold MN but I can't think of any place including Portland that will meet all of the things you are looking for.
Speaking of hills, I happen to like the flatness myself, I do a ton of bike riding and I enjoy not having to change gears. But yes, I agree that hills and mountains are picturesque against a skyline but you won't find hardly any hills in Florida.
I think Jacksonville can provide most of things on that list, but here is some additional things to consider:
Walkability - Jacksonville is spread out over a very large land mass. There are only a few historic neighborhoods that have walkable neighborhoods where you can work, shop, and play without driving. Jacksonville consists mainly of parts of town that would be suburbs to Jacksonville had the city not consolidated into one during the 60's. However the few walkable neighborhoods are worth checking into if this is an area you want to consider. The main ones are Riverside, Avondale, San Marco, and Springfield. You can find a lot of information regarding those neighborhoods on this site and http://www.metrojacksonville.com
Affordable housing - With a budget of around 250 you shouldn't have a problem. Cost of living is a lot lower here than many large citites. Remember though that it can also mean lower wages for the same job elsewhere.
Mild Weather - I think our winters are next to nothing, and unless I am outside at night for a long stretch, I don't think you need more than a sweater or wind breaker around here. However, the middle of the day heat in the summer is oppressing, and the humidity is terrible. This only gets worse the farther south in Florida you go.
Liberal Attitude - Jacksonville is predominately a conservative city. This has changed some accorrding to more recent election results, but I would say there is a strong conservative base here. However, I would say that the historic, walkable neighborhoods I listed above would cater more to a liberal attitude, or a more moderate attitude than many other parts of Jacksonville.
Water - We have a beautiful river that runs through Jacksonville, as well as the beach. St Augustine is another nice beach area only a short drive away. Plenty of access to either.
Green space - In the historic neighborhoods you can find several park areas. There are also many State Parks and Forrests within Jacksonville and the surrounding area.
We just moved to St. Augustine (from PA) in June. You do have to search a bit for liberals, but we are here. So far we love everything. There is a ton to do, and it is a beautiful area. We like flat. Taking walks in the heat, if it involved hills, would not be fun!!!
Walkability - Riverside, Avondale, Springfield, San Marco...perhaps Murray Hill. These are the neighborhoods (all which are older, historic areas just outside of Downtown) which fit that criteria. Some parts of the Beaches also would qualify. In fact, i started a thread on this a couple days ago. This is a link to a newspaper article earlier this week : Homes with 'walkability' command higher premium | Jacksonville.com
Affordable housing - not an issue with 80% of Jacksonville neighborhoods, including the ones above
Family friendly - not an issue with 80% of Jacksonville neighborhoods, including the ones above
Environmentally friendly - eh, well. This varies. The neigborhoods listed above are generally going to be more progressive, so probably more eco-friendly too.
Mild weather - winter is late December to late Febuaray here, the rest is mild.
Hills - sorry, no luck here. The vast mjaority of Florida is flat.
Liberal attitude - In those neighborhoods listed above.
A large body of water nearby - there is water all over the place. The ocean obviously to the East (about 30 min from downtown), the St. Johns River cutting through downtown, many tributaries feeding the St. Johns, the IntraCoastal Waterway near the beach, etc. All the neighborhoods listed above are either on the water or just a few miles away.
Lots of green space and parks - again, the neigjborhoods lisetd above. There are lots, lots, and lots of parks in these areas....small & large. In fact, FYI, last night I attended a meeting with the Project for Public Spaces (PPS, a world renouned New York based non-profit firm who works with cities to revitalize or create green spaces) in which plans for renovating the "emerald necklace" of parks in the Springfield area were discussed. Lots of exciting ideas and plans being made for that area.
Most of what you are looking for are in those neighborhoods listed above. Here's some good info on each, copy & pasted from a previous post of mine in a different thread:
The Historic neighborhoods that surrond Downtown: Riverside, Avondale, Springfield, San Marco (and kinda Murray Hill) are great. These are all historic areas and very near museums, concerts, sports complex, the arena, etc.
These areas are about 1/2 hour from the beach, about 5-10 minutes from Downtown and are oozing with life, charm, unique architecture, restauarnts, walkable neighborhoods, parks, festivals, community organizations, giant mature trees, style, and young people. All these area's are relatively safe as well, none are in high-crime areas or are overly dangerous.
1) Riverside / Avondale: Tons of young professionals, lots of great restaurants, botiques, cafes, parks, weekly & monthyl festivals, and the river. Avondale is more expensive and slightly more stuffy. Riverside is more funky, artistic, "young", decent night life, though prices are rising in this area. A great mix of 2 story and smaller bungalows, lots of duplexes & apartments too. The two neighborhoods are right to next to eachother so the boundaries aren't always clear.
2) 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 but you can easily find a great, totally renovated, gorgeous historic home for a good price (new construction historic looking homes or original early 1900's homes) or one's to fix up if you like. There are a tons of great community organizations to get involved in as well. Very walkable as well with lots of parks, a few good cafes/restuarnts/night life, and Downtown is very close. Because it's not finished you can get the most for your money by far here. A neighbrohood in "transition" that's extremely tight-knit. Mostly 2 story houses here, with few bungalows. Good amount of duplexes, a few apartments.
3) Avondale. Like I mentioned, it might be hard to find a decent size home for a reasonable price, as it's a very expensive area overall. Very walkable with lots of parks, the river, botiques, restauarnts, etc and right next to Riverside. A little more stuffy 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.
Avondale's prominant community organization is the same as Riverside (above)
4) San Marco. Perhaps the most expensive of the areas, it does have some areas you could get a home for a decent price. It's on the otherside of the river (southbank) 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. Plenty of young people as well. a Mix of large and small homes.
San Marco's community organization: www.smpsjax.com - a note: RAP & SPAR are the 2 best community organizations in the city, the others pale in comparison, including this one and Murray Hill's.
5) Murray Hill. Situated right next to Avondale, this nieghborhood is mostly small bungalows with some larger houses sprinked in. A little further away from Downtown, it's right on the border what you'd consider "urban" or "historic". Not as much going on here as far as development, but it does have a few options for dining and nightlife. Much like Springfield, this area is in the middle of a huge renovation, though it never got as bad as Springfield and doesn't seem to have as high of a celing either. A mix of young and older people that have been there forever. Not quite as walkable, with less sidewalks than the other areas, only 2 good parks, not especially near Downtown or the river, and less to walk to over all.
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, Murray Hill too, though not as much activity. Also, just an FYI, the community organizations in Riverside/Avondale & Springfield are far & away the best, the others pale in comparison.
All in all, Riverside is probably what you are looking for, with Springfield, San Marco, Avondale, & Murray Hill following....in that order.
Now, as far as the employment situation goes....unlike most other fields, medical is not drying up: Jacksonville is now activley marketing itself nationally as a Medical Hub ( http://www.visitjacksonville.com/meeting-planners/medical-meetings/ (broken link)), since it has two of the most exclusive medical centers (Mayo & Proton Therapy Institute in the US) as well all other high-end and quality medical centers. The medical field is a huge part of Jacksonville's economy and there is no shortage of medical facilities to work at. My wife & I both work in the medical field too.
In the neigborhoods listed above, St. Vincents Hospital, Shands Hospital, the Proton Therapy Institute, & Baptist Hospital are prominant - with countless smaller variant's from & of those as well.
that's funny..........i'm a married, young professional, liberal and my wife & I rather like it here. An older friend of mine is also a liberal from Minnesota, the hippe-type, who has lived here for many years with her husband. Met them a little over a year ago.
basically, i wouldn't go by what a few people say on a message board - either way.
The area as a whole is predominantly conservative...one of the many reasons I enjoy living here!
But folks here are correct: there are areas and parts of town that are more to your liking. If you're looking for a liberal mayor or city council, you will be waiting a LONG time for that. If you're looking for pockets of liberalism, you would be well served to look at the aforementioned areas.
Take it from a like-minded soul, Jacksonville would not be a good fit based on your criteria. If you want more details PM me.
LOL .... Beware of some people who make a blanket statement and then say "PM me for details".
What the heck! Put your details out there, let's have a discussion.
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