We Can't Believe How Cool Jacksonville Is Being Right NowDo you like surprises? Come see what's happening in this fast growing Sun Belt city. DAVID LANDSEL January 31, 2018On a sunny winter morning in North Florida, temperatures have already climbed up into the 70's, and down along the St. Johns River, Jacksonville is having its weekly farmers market. This happens every Saturday, year-round, as part of the city's popular Riverside Arts Market; underneath a soaring highway overpass, people are lining up for organic Meyer lemons, kale, freshly-baked morning rolls, locally-grown rice and Filipino lunch plates; one of the city's dozen-plus microbreweries has its mobile taps out, because 10 o'clock in the morning is really not too early for beer, not when it's good beer, anyway.If you blindfolded someone, dropped them down here, and asked them to figure out where they were, they might guess Northern California before this part of Florida—that is, until they have the opportunity to get to know Jacksonville a little better. This is not something a ton of people are looking to do, if we're honest; while the region is growing faster than most, outperforming other places in the Sun Belt, even, Jacksonville, with all it has going on at the moment, has yet to break out as a must-see destination. Too cold, too far north to belong to the Florida of our imagination, not nearly Southern enough for the South, Jacksonville, despite being close to a lot of things people might know (Amelia Island, St. Augustine, even Orlando isn't that far away) remains pretty much off on its own, doing its own thing, which for years meant it was kind of, well, nowhere.Cut to the present day, and you have all this growth, all these people piling in from everywhere—turns out, Jacksonville's outsider status, and the relatively low cost of living here, has made it a natural fit for a stream of doers and makers, for creative, often quite young entrepreneurs either attracted here for the very first time, or lured back home by the promise of change. There is something exciting about the opportunity to grow with a city, rather than have to claw your way in, and then there is that abundant sunshine to consider, particularly at this time of year. As Jacksonville evolves and matures, so has the regional palate—one of the greatest surprises out of many, spending time in the city today, is just how much good stuff is going on here, how much there is worth eating and drinking. Should you find yourself here now, consider yourself just a little bit lucky—and then go check out these terrific spots....
"There is something exciting about the opportunity to grow with a city, rather than have to claw your way in"That's why I came back.
Quote from: remc86007 on February 01, 2018, 07:48:47 PM"There is something exciting about the opportunity to grow with a city, rather than have to claw your way in"That's why I came back.Me too! I've always known we could be so much better. I'm liking the new Jacksonville. Don't stop progressing.
Nice article... we need more of those...
