Author Topic: Any Los Angeles transplants here?  (Read 13105 times)

7107

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« on: December 27, 2017, 06:33:59 PM »
How was the move for you? Salary versus cost of living? Any recommended areas for a couple wanting to start a family soon?

My wife is an RN, and I'm an Internet Marketing Professional. We are looking to move to Jacksonville from LA. I know the salaries are lower, but the cost of living is lower too, so I'm wondering, after all, is said and done if we'll have more disposable income if we move to Jax.

The goal is to buy a house and start a family. Do you have recommendations for areas with good school districts? Do these school district areas get flooded when the weather craps up?

JaxAvondale

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 638
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #1 on: December 27, 2017, 07:27:53 PM »
If you live in the LA then I would assume that you are accustomed to driving to most places. So, there are many places that you can live. Rating wise the schools are the best in St. Johns County. However, you lose walkability and character of homes in those neighborhoods. There are some good elementary schools in Riverside/Avondale area if you prefer to live in the urban core.

Tacachale

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8405
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2017, 11:11:47 AM »
Welcome! The best public schools in Duval County are in the newer Southside, the Beaches, Mandarin, and San Marco. There are good elementary schools scattered around, like Fishweir near Avondale. The best individual public schools in the five-County area are the Duval magnet schools. The most consistently good local district is St Johns County (though the aforementioned Duval schools are equivalent to those in St. John’s, and the magnets are better). But it SUCKS to live there. Just another white flight-powered bedroom suburb, and not a lot else.

Cost of living in this area will be much less than LA, so your money will go farther. I had a friend in the Bay Area who payed over $1000 a month more for a third floor 2 bedroom apartment with no elevator, than I do on my mortgage for a house in a nice neighborhood here. The flip side is there’s a lot less to do than in a major metro. But we have a good time here.
Do you believe that when the blue jay or another bird sings and the body is trembling, that is a signal that people are coming or something important is about to happen?

remc86007

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 666
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2017, 01:11:54 PM »
You came to the right place. MJ generally has more informed posters than the reddit that you posted on previously.

Unless you live right along the river, along a creek, or at the beach, you should have no problems with flooding in Jacksonville.

I don't have personal knowledge about Internet Marketing, but I've seen and read about a lot of firms here, so it shouldn't be to hard to find a job. Although this is true of most of non-rural America right now, Jacksonville's ecconomy is booming right now. My wife is an RN and we moved here soon after she graduated. She had no trouble finding a job with good pay at a local hospital.

It cannot be understated how much living in St. Johns county sucks. Want to sit in traffic for over an hour to get downtown? St. Johns is the place for you. The population is growing rapidly yet the road infrastructure connecting St. Johns and Duval is more or less the same as it was 20 years ago when a quarter as many people lived down there. The schools are rated well, but the actual education is mediocre (in my experience). The phenomenon is easily explained when you look at the income demographics for those schools. When the 25th percentile come from a household with +$100k income, it's not hard to get good test scores. Duval has some very good public schools in certain areas, excellent magnet schools, and excellent private schools.

The cost of living is quite low here, especially if you plan on buying a house. Renting can be expensive in parts of the city most apartments here are not ideal for raising a family. Most college educated two income families here have plenty of disposable income after living expenses. While there isn't as much to do here as a larger metro, my wife and I never run out of things to do; in fact, we have trouble finding time do everything we'd like to do.

If you have any questions about specific areas, feel free to ask.

DavidWilliams

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 374
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2017, 09:42:25 AM »
And there is no State income tax in Florida.

jaxjags

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 439
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2017, 11:48:18 AM »
And there is no State income tax in Florida.
[/quote

No local income taxes and property taxes in Duval County are some of the lowest in the US for a million plus metro area. I pay around $2,800/year that would be in the 20's in NY, NJ and CA.

jaxjags

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 439
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2017, 11:57:25 AM »
Also, as the metro area is large, I suggest you rent first and get to know the area. DT, Southbank and Brooklyn area have several urban
options. For an suburban area to rent the St John's town Center is good. We complain here about traffic in that area, but compared to LA that area is more like a Sunday morning in LA.

Then you can explore San Marco, Riverside, Avondale, San Jose, and suburban areas.

Keep in mind JAX have quite a few private schools to choose from if the schools where you decide to live are not to your satisfaction.

Kiva

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 368
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2017, 07:25:12 AM »
Also, if you want to live close to downtown have a look at Springfield. The historic district has an interesting mix of 100 year old homes and new, net-zero energy efficient homes.

remc86007

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 666
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2017, 10:13:34 AM »
^This. I just moved into the latter and it is wonderful.

jaxnyc79

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 615
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #9 on: December 31, 2017, 08:47:49 PM »
It’s suburban, but drive on Monument Road east of I-295, and eventually make a left on Fort Caroline Road.  I really love that area.  It’s sort of hilly also, with a very mature oak tree canopy.  There are some beautiful neighborhoods there. 

jaxjags

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 439
Re: Any Los Angeles transplants here?
« Reply #10 on: January 01, 2018, 11:58:54 AM »
It’s suburban, but drive on Monument Road east of I-295, and eventually make a left on Fort Caroline Road.  I really love that area.  It’s sort of hilly also, with a very mature oak tree canopy.  There are some beautiful neighborhoods there.

I can second this. used to live in that area. Also convienent to DT, airport, beaches, and SJTC. Traffic in the immediate area and to DT is good, but travel to Southside offices can be slow on the 295.