Jacksonville is known to be a little slower paced, which is 100% true, but this is an area of about 2 million people from South Georgia to the Palm Coast area, so there are most definitely things to do for everyone. One of the best things about Jax is its proximity to the other major cities. Orlando is a two hour drive so you have the theme parks “close” without all the tourist traffic. The entry to South Florida is only a 4 hour drive or a $110 American Airlines round trip flight to Miami, amongst other cities. Flights to NYC and other major cities on the East coast and mid west are 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Our airport is easy to fly in and out of. So if you are looking for something a little busier, it’s always easy to get away for the weekend. You can come home to your peaceful neighborhood. Last but not least, Jax is more affordable than other cities near the water. This alone is the best part about being here! You can be by the beach at a fraction of the cost.
Lets see..........it is hotter and more humid in summer than south Florida, if you buy an older house, home owners insurance will not cover you if the roof is over 15 years old, if you have older piping as they will require you to have your whole house re-piped and then when you do they still won't insure you because they don't like the old drain piping under your cement slab, when you do get insurance it is at least 3 times what you would pay in any other state and really doesn't cover hurricane or flood, it is a right to work state and you will not receive holiday pay or a Christmas bonus at many places of work. In general workers rights are few and far between and expect to get paid about 1/3 less than you would be paid elsewhere. In the meantime grocery prices are sky high. Expect to spend $100 or more per person per week. Rents are also high but of course not as sky high as say San Francisco or NY city. Oh yes...and although they say Jacksonville doesn't get hurricanes, in the last 2 years I have experienced 3 near misses to the city with wind damage each time.
Jacksonville is really a bunch of small communities stitched together to make one large city hence the large population. There is no real central downtown core that in many big cities develops over time is usually a hub for great restaurant and night life. Jacksonville has few really great restaurants and the night life is negligible. People say they love that it is an easy commute to other cities but when you think about it why would you expect to have to travel to other cities for entertainment and good food when you should have that available in the city where you actually live..Just saying...
