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

[grsPAFL]

*I borrowed this from the Chicago suburb forum*

I know the regular posters to this forum are uniformly positive about J-ville. So, to the lurkers and new transplants, what do you say?

People move here from way different planting zones, away from lots of family - several generations worth. You now have to make connecting flights to get back home, there are fewer mom and pops and lots of chain stores/restaurants. You may now be living with a HOA, CCD fees, landscape police for the first time. Your kids have been uprooted. The weather is fair for most of the year - but then gets oven hot during summer vacation.

The good things about J-ville are plentiful and often repeated. How about the flip side?

[5FLgirls]

I really enjoyed living in the Jacksonville burbs. It was a tough adjustment (somewhat) from South Florida and family but I really began to like it. When my husband left his job, he made absolutely no effort to find a job in Jacksonville. He said he liked living there for a short time but didn't want to continue living there. He can't give me a definitive answer as to WHY except been there, done that, don't ever want to do it again. It makes me sad because I loved Jax.

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by grsPAFL

The good things about J-ville are plentiful and often repeated. How about the flip side?

Believe me, I can think of a bunch of things that I don't like about where I live (Jax/St Aug). But the things that I like about this place far outweigh the things that I don't. So my question to you is "what's the point of dwelling on the negatives?" If I had to live in a perfect idyllic place I'd be moving every 6 months, and never stop moving.

[grsPAFL]

I didn't have to wait long for this one...

I didn't say DWELL. This is a simple request for the flip side of 'awesome' and 'sure don't miss the snow.'

Trust me, god won't strike you dead for expressing a negative view. That happens in cults.

[rtt]

It all depends on what you're looking for. I have friends who love to boat and fish, surf, etc. and its perfect for them. If you're not into that or golf there's not a ton going on. We get new movies later, broadways shows up to 25 years later (!!), etc. and the big box thing does get to me sometimes, too. On the flip side, we're completely OUT of the rat race and that agrees with alot of people. Just depends. The dining options have improved tremendously in the past few years with some pretty diverse cuisine out there.

[R1v3rRat]

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

[apanda]

I can think of 2 things right now that I do not like about Jax. The first developed just recently, the sprawl. I like driving so this was not really too much of an issue until just recently when gas tipped the 3+ range. The second is really not exclusive to Jax. I don't like the humidity. I am a life long resident of Florida and dread June- August.

[riveree]

Sure, there are aspects of Jacksonville that I wish were different, but most of my issues with Jacksonville are not exclusive to Jacksonville, they are issues I have with America as a whole right now.

Crime, poor quality schools, sprawl, big box and chain stores, loss of culture - these are nationwide problems, Jacksonville has not cornered the market on these.

I think Americans have developed unreasonable expectations on a lot of levels, but I'll just focus on where we live...

We want zero crime, but we don't want to get involved.

We want culture, but we don't even make an effort to get to know our neighbors.

We want a beautiful neighborhood, environment, etc., but someone else needs to clean it up, or not pollute it in the first place.

We want excellent schools, but we're quick to give up on and dismiss a system that struggles.

Instead of being part of the solution, people just complain. Why not focus on what you can do to make things a little better?

I can't stop crime, but I can attend ShadCo meetings; get involved with the issues of my neighborhood.

I can't improve the school system, but if I had kids I could get involved at their school; the PTA.

I can be sure to shop local at mom & pops whenever possible, keep my lawn organically so I don't add to pollution, plant natives to support the local wildlife, rescue local dogs in need to keep them off the city streets, restore a home in an aging urban neighborhood, and on and on.......there's always something each of can do to make the place we live a better place .

[Callie_D]

Excellent post, Riveree, reps to you!

[CBB]

Whenever you move to a place far away, no matter where, you'll leave family and friends behind, have to fly back "home" and uproot your children. This has nothing to do with Jax.

I moved away from family and friends 20 years ago because my husband got a better job in Munich. It wasn't easy to leave my liberal hometown of 2M up north and adapt to the conservative and traditional people in the Bavarian countryside, but you can stay in touch with everyone you love, call, e-mail, exchange photos, visit from time to time. You lose some friends back home and you make new ones in your new town. Children usually adapt very fast.

When you are so negative about moving, you will have a hard time. Why not think about it as an opportunity to learn some new things, meet new people, get a different perspective? Who knows - you might even fall in love with Jax!