This is an article I found on AOL. It lists the top places in the country to retire. Jax ranked 11th and was the only city in Florida to make the cut. http://money.aol.com/bp_retire (http://money.aol.com/bp_retire)
Jacksonville, Fla.
Best place to retire:
Riverside/Avondale
Pros: Weather, art, eclectic shopping, and river views.
Cons: There's little public transportation, a lot of traffic, and limited real estate and rentals. Real estate: A comfortable loft can be found in the $300,000s. A two-bedroom rental near the river is $1,400.
Little Public Transit - shocking
Also note.... the neighborhood is almost as old as many of the retirees. :)
The article focused on Riverside/Avondale was a short but interesting read. The best part was the more info on Jax link which had great stats about the area. Median age 34.
Are the cons listed above, and it made the list for what?, cost of living and climate, well hell, throw most of the Panhandle in there as well.