Hello...need advice!

[b4bama26]

To all of you locals out there,

I will be moving from AL to Jax January of 2011. My husband is Navy and will be stationed at Mayport. I need some info on the neighborhoods. We would like to settle in a nice neighborhood close to the base. Any suggestions? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanx,
b4bama26

[coredumped]

That's a loaded question on these forums, many people have a bias to their own neighborhood.

There's lots to do all around Jax, in all kinds of neighborhoods. Mayport, like the rest of Jax has it's good parts and its bad. Have a look at the crime map here:
http://www.coj.net/Departments/Sheriffs+Office/Uniform+Crime+Statistics++Mapped+Statistics.htm

Good luck, and welcome to jax!

[Lunican]

I would also suggest looking at the neighborhood section. There are a lot of photo tours.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/neighborhoods/

[b4bama26]

There isn't much difference between the average of crime in Jax and the national average. Would it be your personal opinion that crime is not really an issue in Jax or should I worry? I know people are going to be partial to their on neighborhood, but if there are any that you yourself would not want to live in...that's what I'd like to know.

[jandar]

Other than right around Mayport (which the Navy will probably advise you on), you shouldn't have any issues with any neighborhood. All have pros and cons.

[JagFan07]

To all of you locals out there,

I will be moving from AL to Jax January of 2011. My husband is Navy and will be stationed at Mayport. I need some info on the neighborhoods. We would like to settle in a nice neighborhood close to the base. Any suggestions? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanx,
b4bama26

If you have children, and you plan on putting them in public school, I would first look at the school performance for any area you are looking at.

[Joe]

If you're trying to live close to the base, you probably won't have to worry about bad neighborhoods. The areas immediately adjacent to Mayport are a little trashy. Beyond that, the other beaches neighborhoods (Atlantic, Neptune, Jax, Ponte Vedra) are generally pretty nice. The whole "Intracoastal West" area on the other side of the intracoastal is pretty good too. I can't think of any neighborhoods to really steer you away from.

Arlington is a declining area, but once you get over into East Arlington or Ft Caroline it's fine.

It's hard to get more specific than that unfortunately. Jacksonville has very vague neighborhood boundaries - when it has them at all. The good thing for your situation is that most of the bad neighborhoods in Jax are north or west of the river.

[coredumped]

I myself wouldn't live in some parts of Springfield or the northside, but that's just me (and I live in Arlington, which I don't think is on the decline). Both springfield and the northside are a bit too far for you if you'll be commuting to the base daily.

I've lived at the beach, southside and arlington. The beach is pretty fun (festivals, etc), arlington is the most conveniently located, and southside is a typical suburb.

Like I said, you'll get all kinds of opinions on this forum. I put the crime maps link up there so you can get an idea of the bad pockets (available in all neighborhoods!).

Lunican's link is also very good, the photo tours on this site are amazing. And if you're buying a house you're probably making a good investment no matter where you buy given the market!

Good luck!

[TheProfessor]

Queens Harbor is nice and near Mayport in Arlington.

[hooplady]

Surprisingly we have quite a few Navy families here in Springfield.  Whether they work at Mayport or NAS Jax I'm not sure - I'd think either would be too far to commute.

Atlantic Beach is quite nice too, and the prices would be much more affordable now.

[b4bama26]

Thanks so much to all of you!