Jacksonville fights to keep fleeing young professionals

[cityimrov]

There's one last thing I'll add. 

Jacksonville businesses also have a problem with letting young people have a bigger say in the table as well as offering them a larger salary.  If a young person provides ideas to a company that is worth $135,000/yr, then that's what they should pay them that.  Don't implement their idea, say how useful they are, and just pay them a measly $50,000 saying that they should wait until they are older to do stuff and how Jacksonville is a city with a low cost of living telling them how awesome Jacksonville is.  That's not right and smart professional young people know that.

[Purplebike]

I typed up a really long response, but it really all boils down to a few things.

There are really three types of young professionals, the single and usually younger faster living crowd, the married with children well educated couple, and the DINK couple who love to travel and are moving towards having their first kid.  I am in that first group of people, so I can mainly just speak to their needs.

There are four types, actually. The not-so-young singles make a fourth type. More specifically, those not coupled, or hell bent on being so. And believe me, the young singles are quite different from the not-so-young singles. Different enough to merit their own category. In fact, I would say those of us who are single, not in their 20s or 30s, have it hardest in this city, socially. So much is either geared towards those with kids and spouses, or young singles who like to party.

I'm a single young-ish professional, who doesn't want to party all the time (sometimes, though!). I wish there were more late night bookstores, late night coffee shops, that kind of thing. I'm not complaining, though, I make do. Still, what I wouldn't give for an independent owned coffee shop and bookstore that stayed open super late...where us night owls who don't necessarily want to hang out at bars all the time, could go on weekend nights. Thank goodness for Bold Bean's later hours, but wouldn't it be great if there were a handful of such options?

I think so.

I'll admit, Jacksonville has grown on me tremendously in my 6 years here. I love living in Riverside, going walking and biking around the hood, hanging out at the Starbucks or Bold Bean and running into so many people I know. It's lovely. And super affordable, here.

Still, I'd kill for a couple more late night places that didn't focus on alcohol. That served alcohol, but didn't focus on it. Cafes and bookstores.

Thanks for listening! Er...reading, I mean.

[fieldafm]

Jacksonville businesses also have a problem with letting young people have a bigger say in the table as well as offering them a larger salary.  If a young person provides ideas to a company that is worth $135,000/yr, then that's what they should pay them that.  Don't implement their idea, say how useful they are, and just pay them a measly $50,000 saying that they should wait until they are older to do stuff and how Jacksonville is a city with a low cost of living telling them how awesome Jacksonville is.  That's not right and smart professional young people know that.

I'm 33 and have a pretty large rolodex full of professional acquaintances.  I have never come across what you describe.

60%, have stayed in the Jacksonville area.

Very interesting(albeit not surprising) statistic.

[Purplebike]

I typed up a really long response, but it really all boils down to a few things.

There are really three types of young professionals, the single and usually younger faster living crowd, the married with children well educated couple, and the DINK couple who love to travel and are moving towards having their first kid.  I am in that first group of people, so I can mainly just speak to their needs.

There are four types, actually. The not-so-young singles make a fourth type. More specifically, those not coupled, or hell bent on being so. And believe me, the young singles are quite different from the not-so-young singles. Different enough to merit their own category. In fact, I would say those of us who are single, not in their 20s or 30s, have it hardest in this city, socially. So much is either geared towards those with kids and spouses, or young singles who like to party.

I'm a single young-ish professional, who doesn't want to party all the time (sometimes, though!). I wish there were more late night bookstores, late night coffee shops, that kind of thing. I'm not complaining, though, I make do. Still, what I wouldn't give for an independent owned coffee shop and bookstore that stayed open super late...where us night owls who don't necessarily want to hang out at bars all the time, could go on weekend nights. Thank goodness for Bold Bean's later hours, but wouldn't it be great if there were a handful of such options?

I think so.

I'll admit, Jacksonville has grown on me tremendously in my 6 years here. I love living in Riverside, going walking and biking around the hood, hanging out at the Starbucks or Bold Bean and running into so many people I know. It's lovely. And super affordable, here.

Still, I'd kill for a couple more late night places that didn't focus on alcohol. That served alcohol, but didn't focus on it. Cafes and bookstores.

Thanks for listening! Er...reading, I mean.

...well, anyway....until all that happens, see you in 5 Points this evening for Happy Hour!

[cityimrov]

Jacksonville businesses also have a problem with letting young people have a bigger say in the table as well as offering them a larger salary.  If a young person provides ideas to a company that is worth $135,000/yr, then that's what they should pay them that.  Don't implement their idea, say how useful they are, and just pay them a measly $50,000 saying that they should wait until they are older to do stuff and how Jacksonville is a city with a low cost of living telling them how awesome Jacksonville is.  That's not right and smart professional young people know that.

I'm 33 and have a pretty large rolodex full of professional acquaintances.  I have never come across what you describe.

Really?  It could be the people I know just got the unlucky end of a bad straw.  It's nice to know there are at least some people who are listened to and compensated appropriately. 

[fieldafm]

There are certain jobs that are just traditionally underpaid grinds (I'd never be an ad agency around town for instance), but telling someone they won't be paid commesurate with performance b/c they aren't old enough is age discrimination and illegal. 

If you aren't getting paid what you're worth... go somewhere else(talented people that have a strong network are always in high demand) or better yet start your own business. 

[Bill Hoff]

Still, I'd kill for a couple more late night places that didn't focus on alcohol. That served alcohol, but didn't focus on it. Cafes and bookstores.

Off topic - Are there any other urban/trendy cafes besides Chamblins Uptown, Bold Bean and Three Layers? Are there any others of the genre that I don't know about? If so, I'd like to check them out.

[Purplebike]

Still, I'd kill for a couple more late night places that didn't focus on alcohol. That served alcohol, but didn't focus on it. Cafes and bookstores.

Off topic - Are there any other urban/trendy cafes besides Chamblins Uptown, Bold Bean and Three Layers? Are there any others of the genre that I don't know about? If so, I'd like to check them out.

No, not that I know of. Those are the only places I know of. Chamblins is only open late on Wednesdays. Until 9 pm. Ideally, I'd love a couple bookstore / cafe options that were open until 2 or 3 am. There was a place, the...Coffee and Tea place (forget the exact name, on Lomax) that closed a couple months ago, that was open 'til late. It would be nice to have a couple options...one serving maybe the younger, hipster crowd, another serving the mid-age professional crowd...you know what I mean? But no, I do not know of any such places, beyond the ones you mention!

[ronchamblin]

I (Chamblin's Uptown) have been thinking about beginning a process of gradually opening till nine on additional evenings, other than only on Wednesdays, as has been our schedule for four years.  The candidates for opening another night seem to be Fridays and Saturdays.  Some have suggested Friday, some Saturday.

Anyone suggest which?  And the reason for suggesting which?  Or would another night be better?

Obviously if we had some neighbors in the area who also opened in the evenings, it would be better for us.  Thank goodness we have La Cena.  The library opens until six on Fridays and Saturdays, and until eight from Monday thru Thursday.  If there were more people living in the downtown area, I believe we would do better in the evenings.  It's a situation wherein we are ready to expand our hours, doing shift work, but we must do so without excessive losses while cultivating a nighttime following.

   



 



 

[finehoe]

If you aren't getting paid what you're worth... go somewhere else

Apparently that's what they've been doing.  And that somewhere else is not Jacksonville.

[Captain Zissou]

I'm a single young-ish professional, who doesn't want to party all the time (sometimes, though!). I wish there were more late night bookstores, late night coffee shops, that kind of thing. I'm not complaining, though, I make do. Still, what I wouldn't give for an independent owned coffee shop and bookstore that stayed open super late...where us night owls who don't necessarily want to hang out at bars all the time, could go on weekend nights. Thank goodness for Bold Bean's later hours, but wouldn't it be great if there were a handful of such options?

We already had and ignored uncommon grounds.  Any more ideas?

[fsquid]

If you aren't getting paid what you're worth... go somewhere else

Apparently that's what they've been doing.  And that somewhere else is not Jacksonville.

I haven't updated my work address in my company's HR database so that they still think I work in Charlotte!  Makes it easier when my boss tries to put compensation bumps in there.

[fieldafm]

If you aren't getting paid what you're worth... go somewhere else

Apparently that's what they've been doing.  And that somewhere else is not Jacksonville.

Jacksonville's problem isn't a compensation issue.  Jax's problems revolve around QOL and a general lack of innovation.     

[finehoe]

Jacksonville's problem isn't a compensation issue. 

The figures posted earlier by JaxByDefault would seem to dispute that.

[Bativac]

If you aren't getting paid what you're worth... go somewhere else

Apparently that's what they've been doing.  And that somewhere else is not Jacksonville.

Jacksonville's problem isn't a compensation issue.  Jax's problems revolve around QOL and a general lack of innovation.   

It's a combination of those things. Definitely compensation is part of it. I have peers (in the 29-33 age bracket) who left town for better quality of life and better pay in the graphic design, video production, and civil engineering fields. They weren't paid what they thought they were worth, so they went somewhere else!