Jacksonville from abroad (real estate, apartment, mortgage)

[jeffpv]

Hi all.
My wife and I currently live in Russia. I am American (from MN) and she's Russian. We have a three year-old son, and are also looking to move to the States in the near future (with in a year or two).

We own an apartment here (and some other stuff) which we would sell upon leaving Russia. All-in-all, we'll have around $100K for moving-back funds.

We are both professionals: She is an accountant (non-CPA, at least thus far), and I am in management. We are both in our mid-30s.

I have some questions regarding Jax:
1) Can we find a townhouse (2-3 bed) in a *safe* area for $100-150K? If so, which areas would those be? I do not want a big mortgage hanging over our heads, so $150K is really the limit; we don't need a big house, just safe neighborhood.
2) Does anyone know if it's difficult for qualified, legal immigrants to find accounting/auditing/bookkeeping work in Jax?
3) Obviously, our son's education is important. However, my main concern is his safety. Taking into account what I'd written in point #1, what affordable areas could we feel safe sending him to school in?

We are looking a many cities (and I'll post this on other cities' forums) but Jacksonville is one possibility. I thank you for you insight.

JP

[fsu813]

ive seen a lot of scams on citydata from people sayign they are from overseas so i think thats why noon has responded to you!!

[jsimms3]

Doesn't like a scam to me. Where do you get that idea Chean? I checked out his other posts. They are consistent. Anyway, I can't really answer these questions, anyone else?

[Dappleganger]

Just an FYI, there's a significant russian population in the Jacksonville area. If you'd like a russian dentist, we really like Dr. Elena Gutu in Bartram Park.

[jeffpv]

Scam? Perhaps you're talking about the multiple posts I've made with the same message. I simply copied and pasted onto cities we're considering to save time. I can assure you that I've very real, and my questions are genuine.

Thanks for the heads up about the Russian community, Dappleganger! Although my wife doesn't say it, I think it would be a help to know that Russians would around.

[KatrinaR]

I am Russian living here almost one year .I Didn't met one single russian.Thank you for information about russian dentist!

[Elena_FL]

Originally Posted by KatrinaR

I am Russian living here almost one year .I Didn't met one single russian.Thank you for information about russian dentist!

I am russian too. I've been here for 3 years. I've met a lot of russians since I moved. However, a lot of people from former Ugoslavia or any former USSR country are often called russians because of similar accent.

[Elena_FL]

JeffPV, check real estate in Mandarin area. It a safe area with an A rated schools and nice neighborhoods. I think that it is one of the best areas in Jax. There are a lot of townhomes in this area within your budget. For example:

Jacksonville, FL - New Homes - Villages of Bartram Springs a KB Home Community (http://www.kbhome.com/Community~CommID~01200505.aspx - broken link)

[jeffpv]

Spasiba, Elena! :-)

[Elena_FL]

Originally Posted by Dappleganger

Just an FYI, there's a significant russian population in the Jacksonville area. If you'd like a russian dentist, we really like Dr. Elena Gutu in Bartram Park.

What is the name of denistry where russian dentist works?