Hi Ladies,
I have a few questions about Jax.....the last time we were stationed there was in 1989. I know that it has grown alot since then. DH was there when we had to evacuate for katrina, but I didn't go with him....(long story), anyways, he loved it there. He said the growth was unbelieveable but he fell in love with it again. Now my questions, he is up for orders and Jax is a choice, so, how is the cost of living there? crime? schools? traffic? pros and cons? and anything else you can think of. He of course wants to go back, he started his career there and now has a chance to end it there, plus that is where we met almost 21 yrs ago. thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Brenda

Hi Ladies,
I have a few questions about Jax.....the last time we were stationed there was in 1989. I know that it has grown alot since then. DH was there when we had to evacuate for katrina, but I didn't go with him....(long story), anyways, he loved it there. He said the growth was unbelieveable but he fell in love with it again. Now my questions, he is up for orders and Jax is a choice, so, how is the cost of living there? crime? schools? traffic? pros and cons? and anything else you can think of. He of course wants to go back, he started his career there and now has a chance to end it there, plus that is where we met almost 21 yrs ago. thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Brenda
Cost of living is decent but the cost to buy a house has gone up alot. Crime is bad. They said on the news the other night there has been something like 67 murders in 6 months(none gang related). Traffic is like any city. Times in the morning and evening are horrible but any other time not bad at all. Just certain highways and streets get backed up. The school my kids attend...I love it. Its an "A" school. I would not send my kids to middle or high school in Duval county ever. I recommend Clay county. I go to college here and its not bad. To me there is not much to do here besides eat, shop, and beach. Iam just from a bigger city that offers so much more so it might be just me. I know alot of people love it and alot dislike it. I guess it depends on the person. Anything else let me know. Good luck on your choice. I hope these websites help.
http://www.jax4kids.com
www.educationcentral.org
http://www.clay.k12.fl.us
www.coj.net

John was there the first time he was in. He lived on the westside, right of Roosevelt. He loved it. He was single then so he went to all the clubs and stuff like that. When he came back in the Navy he took orders there again. This time we were married and we were at Mayport. He was stationed to the JFK. When we first got there we lived off Atlantic Blvd. in military housing, Johnson's Housing. It was nice but I hated the lady who lived below our apt. so we moved right off Assissi in Cypress Cove when he got back from deployment in 2002. We lived there until we came here in Nov. last year. We had a 3 bd/ 2 Ba duplex with a fenced in yard. We paid 750 for rent, water was 27-46, electric 60-160, local phone was 20, cell phone was 55, cable was 75, internet was 25, and insurance for 1 car and 1 truck with full coverage on both was 130. We were right by the beach which was nice and just 5-10 minutes, depending on traffic, from base. I know the prices to buy a house went up a bit while we were there but I don't think it was too bad. The zoo was nice. It was kinda small but it is growing. There is supposed to be a petting zoo that either just opened or is about to open. I had our daughter in some classes there and she loved it. At the end they would take them on a train ride. I'm not sure what ages your kids are but if we moved back there I would put Breanna in the schools from San Pablo to St. John's Bluff and from Atlantic to JTB. I went to UNF and I loved it. The teachers were great and the curriculm was really nice. I was taking Psychology and Sociology and they had alot of classes I wanted to take besides just the ones to meet my 120 credits for my degree. There is also FCCJ which is nice to get your AA. Alot of their classes can be taken online. Plus it is less expensive than UNF. Alot of people go to FCCJ and then switch over to UNF. There are other colleges but I really don't know anything about them. When we were there we took frequent trips to St. Augustine, Daytona, Pensacola, Fort Myers, and we went to Kennedy Space Center. We would have gone to Orlando but Breanna was too little and when she started to get old enough I was pregnant with Johnny and John was gone all the time. As far as the crime. I didn't notice anything horrible. I know some people say it bad but I never had a problem. I never locked my doors or my car and never had anything happen. Of course, there are going to be things that happen. And there are areas you want to stay away from but you have that anywhere. Oh, and from Mayport it doesn't take long to get to the airport. We would take 9A to 95 and it was right there. Our fav. restaurants there were Sticky Fingers, CiCi's, Sweet Tomatoes, and St. John's Seafood and Steak. We absolutely loved it there. When John is up for orders again we are going to try to go back.

If you have anymore qustions feel free to ask.

Christy and Stephanie,

Thanks so much for all the information. We used to live right next to Nas in a trailer park and then in an apartment on Timiquana (sp) and finally in Mandarin. Not sure where we'll be looking if we decide to choose Jax. My children are older, my oldest is in the Navy, so he won't be with us, my other son will be graduating high school mext May and my youngest will be 12 in Sept.Crime doesn't surprise me much, coming from New Orleans, anything is better, besides there is crime in every city. Everybody just keeps telling me how crowded it is there and all the traffic and that was my main concern, especially since I will probably be driving in to get to and from work. Well actually the school would be a major concern as well, since my baby will be starting the 8th grade.
Thanks again for the replies and Christy the web sites help alot!!!
Brenda

Well...I've lived here my whole life. Cost of living is basically, if you don't want to worry too much about having your car/home broken into, expect to pay around $1000 at least a month in rent if you don't buy a home. The crime has definitely gotten worse. There's not much more to do than when he was here before, you just have more places to shop at now. The traffic depends on what road you are on. Roosevelt is cake even in rush hour, but Atlantic, JTB, Blanding, 95, etc....forget it! The schools aren't all bad...it depends on the school. My mom teaches out at the beach at Atlantic Beach Elementary, and it is an excellent school. There is a school close to my work that has an awesome reputation that I will try to get my stepdaughter special assignment for when she moves here. It's like the crime and traffic...the school just depends on what area you are in. I would definately recommend touring the schools in the areas where you are looking to live to compare the faculty, students, etc.