Is there any one else out there who truley hates the place they live?? (Jacksonville: crime, schools)

[lazy_d]

I'm no Pollyanna so I don't like...

• How people drive across parking lots diagonally.
• How people change lanes in the middle of intersections.
• How the other men in my office building don't wash their hands after either 1 or 2.
• How in offices I have worked I hear all sorts of other racial slurs aside from the n-word. Apparently they have learned that is not OK.
• Beach Blvd and Atlantic Blvd (fast-food joint, tire shop, parts-store, used car lot, wal-mart, gas station, repeat, repeat, repeat)
• The crappy housing stock. Ever check out anything built in the '80s? Its all moldy and rotting.

[grsPAFL]

You know what Riveree - that was very nice and eloquent. I'm surprised and impressed.

Lazy_D, I'm right there with you. I used to work with a lot of men - at home office and in the field. Racist commentary can be made so casually. Don't even make me think about bathroom habits.

I think I just hijacked my own thread.

[movingforwork]

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I hate Jacksonville, but after living here for close to a year, I can't say that I am that impressed. For a city of this size there doesn't seem that there is all that much to do, and anything that is worth doing is a twenty minutes car ride away minimum, and it is almost certainly in a strip mall. The violent crime has been discussed to death (no pun intended) many other times, and it is true that it is localised to west and northwest parts of the city but living in the murder captial of Florida still doesn't feel all that great, even if I am on the "safe" side of town. Its nice to live close to the beach, but the beach scene around here seems... muted. I haven't seen any beach bars or too much other beach life type actvities, at least compared to other beach towns. I wouldn't have moved here except that I was offered a good job here, and if a position that let me move up opened in another office in another city, I wouldn't pass it up to stay. But I am not so miserable that I have my bags packed to leave.

[pinetreecity]

Originally Posted by lazy_d

I'm no Pollyanna so I don't like...

• The crappy housing stock. Ever check out anything built in the '80s? Its all moldy and rotting.

I have to agree about the housing stock. It seems that this is a harsh climate for buildings in general. Properties in Florida seem to require a lot more maintenance than properties in drier or cooler climates. The roofing does not last as long. The siding does not last as long. There is so much lime or calcium or something in the water that fixtures have to be replaced every few years. Properties get dirty very quickly, and are almost impossible to keep clean during the rainy season. Finally, most houses are not built on top of basements or crawl spaces. They are built on concrete slabs, which means that you live right on the ground. This is something that I never even noticed or cared about until I purchased a house. I never realized how much nicer it is to live up off the ground, even if it is just a couple of feet up.

Of course, if you live at the beach, you have even more wear and tear from the salt and weather.

[like2fish]

Originally Posted by R1v3rRat

I hate where I live (Greenville, SC)...thats why I'm moving to Jacksonville!

Why do you say that, "r1verrat?" I've been there , and its beautiful, people are lovely, excellent downtown..

[jcs2000]

I also relocated to JAX for a job and would echo the general sentiment--this place is OK to slightly below average compared to other larger cities. Major negatives are the exceptional sprawl, poor public school system, and as another user pointed out the poor (and often overpriced) housing stock. Housing insurance is expensive and difficult to find; high numbers of automobile accidents with above average car insurance premiums as well. Beach is nice but the humidity in July/Aug is pretty bad. The work ethnic is also much weaker than the Midwest and the Rocky Mountain West where I grew up.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by pinetreecity

I have to agree about the housing stock. It seems that this is a harsh climate for buildings in general. Properties in Florida seem to require a lot more maintenance than properties in drier or cooler climates. The roofing does not last as long. The siding does not last as long. There is so much lime or calcium or something in the water that fixtures have to be replaced every few years. Properties get dirty very quickly, and are almost impossible to keep clean during the rainy season. Finally, most houses are not built on top of basements or crawl spaces. They are built on concrete slabs, which means that you live right on the ground. This is something that I never even noticed or cared about until I purchased a house. I never realized how much nicer it is to live up off the ground, even if it is just a couple of feet up.

Of course, if you live at the beach, you have even more wear and tear from the salt and weather.

I read somewhere recently that Jacksonville's housing is broken down like this:

25% built prior to 1960
75% built after 1960

So yes, it is far more common to find homes on concrete slabs, I don't like them either, but they're a fact of life in Florida for the most part. If you like older homes you can find homes that are off-grade (on piers). It's a huge benefit if you can find one of these. In Jax, these tend to be homes built in the 20's, 30's 40's and sometimes later. Areas like Riverside, Murray Hill, San Marco, Lakewood, San Jose, Arlington and others have some off-grade homes.

I agree with the earlier comment, homes built in the 80's can be a maintenance nightmare - that T1-11 siding is the worst you can have for our climate .

As housing stock goes though, Jacksonville has some of the oldest homes in Florida. So while we have 25% built prior to 1960, most Florida cities don't even have that - their housing stock leans more heavily toward the "after 1960".

[riveree]

Originally Posted by jcs2000

I also relocated to JAX for a job and would echo the general sentiment--this place is OK to slightly below average compared to other larger cities.

But is it fair to compare Jacksonville to larger cities?

If we compare Jax to NYC or Chicago, Jax will always lose - those are first tier cities, Jax is not.

[grsPAFL]

'If we compare Jax to NYC or Chicago, Jax will always lose - those are first tier cities, Jax is not.'


I started this thread because I, not very secretly, miss Chicago. I've been in Jax for 5 years.

I just don't want to disrupt my family. Moving is traumatic, even for the right reasons. Also, it's not actually bad here, it just blandly pleasant. And the road ahead looks to be more of the same. The only time a crime is committed in this neighborhood is when some dufus forgets to lock his car door and a laptop gets stolen. Not a bad problem to have, I admit, and many people would crave this. People who belong to AARP, for example.

So thanks for the insight, Riveree. And now back to pier and beam construction...

[riveree]

Originally Posted by grsPAFL

'If we compare Jax to NYC or Chicago, Jax will always lose - those are first tier cities, Jax is not.'


I started this thread because I, not very secretly, miss Chicago. I've been in Jax for 5 years.

I just don't want to disrupt my family. Moving is traumatic, even for the right reasons. Also, it's not actually bad here, it just blandly pleasant. And the road ahead looks to be more of the same. The only time a crime is committed in this neighborhood is when some dufus forgets to lock his car door and a laptop gets stolen. Not a bad problem to have, I admit, and many people would crave this. People who belong to AARP, for example.

So thanks for the insight, Riveree. And now back to pier and beam construction...

I miss NYC too . For me, I miss NYC because I miss NYC, it's no fault of Jax (sounds like it's the same for you).

But then I remember schlepping laundry down to the machines in my building's basement - or worse yet, to the laundromat down the street. Having your own washer/dryer in your apartment/condo in Manhattan is a real luxury, one I never had .

In Jax, I have my own washer/dryer in the house...in the house! And I have a backyard, and I can park my car on my own property (heck, I have a car - I didn't have one in Manhattan).

I made good money in NYC and lived in nice places, but you have to make crazy money in NYC just to have the standard of living that so many Jax folks take for granted here. I still marvel at how I can drive to a grocery store, put my groceries in my own car and drive it right up to my house. That's much better than dragging your bags for blocks with your hands hurting from carrying them for so long....in the snow...or the rain .

And then there's the dirt on the streets of NYC (that black crud that gets in your nose ), it's hard to see the stars and the moon because of all the lights, it's never quiet, once you step outside your building you're never alone, people are always touching you and bumping into you...don't get me wrong, it's still an awesome city, it's just so different .

So I've gotten spoiled here . If I were to move again, I'd have a lot of expectations for that new location.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy it here for however long I live here. I have always wanted to live in Boston though.....