My husband has a job offer in Jacksonville, FL. I've never been to that city, just the southern part of FL, years ago. Anyone have good and bad points about the city? We are in TX now.

cm...where in TX are you--that gives us something to compare with. Ie, if you are in Brady or San Angelo, you might be thrilled (or perhaps not), but if you are in Dallas you might find some aspects lacking...

JAX is up and coming, growing by leaps and bounds. I really can't help you with the city but our Scarlett has recently moved there from NYC so she's a good source of information, positives and negatives. (And this post will top it for her)

The only thing I can say is that when we moved from Dallas to Savannah, although we gave up a lot as far as arts, dining etc, we were thrilled to be near water and found that made up for a lot of short-comings otherwise. (I must say...I never have gotten Dallas completely out of my system though and return a couple times a year.)

Hi cm!
Darlin OO is so kind to top this for you/me
We moved here in January this year from NYC. We decided that we had enjoyed one too many cold loooong winters. For now we are enjoying the final stages of re-decorating our new house and learning our way around the area as well as visiting some nearby cities.
We had never been here either, with the exception of a visit last March and a weekend at the end of the summer to look for a house.
Email me and ask any questions you have, or ask me something specific and I will try not to bore everyone with answers.
For now I will say:
Good:
nice people
fabulous winter weather
great housing prices
lots of good restaurants
some reeeeally nice beaches
My husband is a freelancer so work is not a priority, jobs do seem to be abundant though.
They expect the city to really take off when the Super Bowl is here next year.
Bad:
There is always a shock to the system of someone moving/traveling away from a major city such as New York. We are still in the throes of that shock.
It is hot and will get hotter, humid and will get more humid.
Can't think of more than that, I try not to be a negative person so some bad stuff might be repressed

I lived in Jax for a while & still have family there & in the nearby areas. If you are from the Houston area or other big city then you should be fine. We used to live N of Houston too & the heat & humidity are similar.
So is the traffic!

Jax is nice because it is large enough to attract good concerts, sporting events & have decent schools & shopping.

The beach is nearby but you can still get chilly weather so there is a hint of changing seasons. Something for everyone.

If you are adventurous then head down to St Augustine to see the oldest city. Then when you crave strawberries take a drive up to Starke & pick them yourself...delicious!There is always something to do if you want to. If not, head for the beach & relax.

Depending on where you are in Tx then the cost of living in Jax might be less. It's worth checking out.

Am reviving this to see if OP moved. To all, what are nice areas to house hunt. Not on the water is preferred. Thanks.

Nobody?

You should ask your question on this relocation forum:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/jacksonville/

Hi Austin and thanks. I'll look closely at the link Still hope Fodorites weigh in on this.

Orange Park is very nice. My brother has lived in Lockrane for years. He lives around the corner from the house on Sharone on this link. I think you will really enjoy living in the area.

http://www.firstcoastre.com/professional210.shtml

Thanks Saraho. The prices in Florida are amazingly lower than Maryland.

Yes, they are. We live in Virginia. The prices in Jacksonville have gone down with the recession. I was in Jacksonville last week. I've actually walked past the house on Sharone. I'm sure it would be $300,000 plus in VA or MD. Or well over $400,000 in Arlington.

Have fun getting a lot of house for your money there.

I always get a kick out of the comparisons of prices. A house on a top street in a great location in one city may be more expensive that one in a remote area of a less desirable city, but to say "the same house would be more in another state" is just plain meaningless. Are we suggesting that the price difference between the same house in two different locations in Maryland or Virginia couldn't double, just like they could in Florida?

I've known people who move to Florida and buy on the water or on a great golf course and complain that the same house would have been much less in other states. It's really hard to compare apples to oranges.

Neo, it may be meaningless to you but to someone living on SS, to go from 1100 sq ft to 2500 for half the money means something to me even if some of the other costs will weigh in.

Well gee, that begs the question of why on earth would someone on a fixed income buy such a big house in hurricane country? Sorry if that's off-topic, but that's just the first thing that popped into my head, TDudette.

TDudette, you missed my point entirely. My point basically is that you can't compare one house in one state with another house in another state and say that the house in one state is half the price it would be in the other. Within one town in any state the exact same house can basically be gotten for half the price also -- depending on where it is. That is certainly true in Florida, and I'm pretty sure it's true most anywhere. Interestingly I have two friends in Naples who have the exact same condo (built by the same builder at the same time), but one is worth double the price of the other. One is in Olde Naples, one is in East Naples. That is not unusual anywhere, so far as I know.

I'm also moving to Jax from TX, interesting. I wonder how it worked out for you.

"My point basically is that you can't compare one house in one state with another house in another state and say that the house in one state is half the price it would be in the other. "

√You are right neopatrick, I don't get what you are saying at all. The prices of houses are generally lower in Florida than in Maryland. What's to get?

Actually, the paths of hurricanes are very ON topic newbE and something I'll also consider. We've had 2 hurricanes have impacted us where we live in Md. Weather is everywhere!

At this point, I'm still looking at Florida because of prices but am taking my time. Have visited a couple of places in FL, GA and NC. Hope to be fairly prepared to make a good decision.

No word from OP. carole293, please let me know how your move goes.

"You are right neopatrick, I don't get what you are saying at all. The prices of houses are generally lower in Florida than in Maryland. What's to get?"

What's to get is that you can't compare apples to oranges. If you mean there are more cheap houses in Florida than there are in Maryland, then yes I'll agree with you. But if you're saying the same house in a residential area of Baltimore is more expensive than one in say Palm Beach or Naples, then no -- you are wrong. I've just seen many people move from a northern very nice area to a rather nebulous tract home in Florida and think they got a bargain because it was cheaper -- but the two really can't be compared. Can a person living in a nice home in a nice area in Maryland save a lot of money by moving to Cape Coral, Florida? Yes. Can he save by moving to a similar sized home in Palm Beach or Naples than he has in Maryland? No.

Regarding hurricanes, I still am amused that good friends of mine have a house near the water in Naples (where they've had a place for 35 years) as well as a house in Massachusetts. They've had MAJOR damage in Massachusetts five (count 'em) FIVE times from hurricanes, and have never had a single issue in Florida.