You choose the comparison city

[Ocklawaha]

Chattanooga is the place for the whole family... Take in Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls and Rock City, incredible stuff. Downtown the Choo Choo and the Aquarium are stuning. I just wish old "Union Station" were still there, somewhere I have photos of them tearing it down.

Ocklawaha

[thelakelander]

I'm in Chattanooga right now.  We checked out Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain and the Chat Choo Choo today.  I also found a neighborhood springing up south of downtown with several live/work lofts mixed in with old warehouses that have been converted into lofts.  Although the city is fairly small, there is a critical mass of development along the riverfront and the hotel I'm in.  Within a two block walk there's an Imax Theater, Aquarium, baseball stadium, movie complex, and a few museums.  All share two pretty large parking garages that have restaurants in them at street level.

I'm going to explore the riverfront, North Chattanooga and a few older neighborhoods in the morning, before hitting I-75 to Detroit.

[reednavy]

I remember as a youngin in Murfreesboro,TN, lol, who am I kiddin, I'm 20,a nyways, takin field trips to the TN Aquarium, then walking down the street to IMAX for a movie. Honestly, downtown Nashville is better than Indy, at least we got stuff to do. I'd definetly choose Louisville over Indy, FFA Nat'l Convention moved to Indy 2 years ago, and it sucks, way to spread out. In Louisville, it was all either at the EXPO Center by Six Flags, across from Louisville Int'l Airport(Standiford Field), or at the convention center downtown. 4th Street LIVE! was badass. Jacksonville, just milk the St. Johns for all its worth to better yourself!, damnit!

[reednavy]

To continue my rant.

I'd actually compare JAX and Nashville in many ways. Both are major U.S. cities on rivers of navigable depth, unlike Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, and many others. Each city has several distinct neighborhoods full of their own flavor. Nashville has West End, Green Hills, The Gulch, SoBro, Music Row, East Nashville, Oak Hill, Forest Hills, and Belle Meade to name a few. Jax has many of the same caliber one, mainly in the residential component side. Nashville does have a much larger, busier, and actual international airport. Jacksonville, is developing int'l flight plans, and has PLENTY of expansion room to grow the needs of NE Florida and SE Georgia. Both cities have a broad economic base to pull on, and don;t rely on a few sectors. Jax has a thriving blue collar sector and equally powerful white collar, office jobs, yet, this city still is mainly blue collar, with its location as an actual gift. Nashville, is becoming a more office city, but still has a good sized avg. joe sector. Location is prime for both cities, Jax actually has an edge over Nashvegas in this sector. I-10 terminates/begins here, I-95 crosses thru, and is the gateway to Florida. This is huge for transportaion sectors, hence, JAXPORT really getting a leg up. Both highways cross significant population centers, and one crosses the whole country. Nashville, 3 interstates(40, 24, and 65) juncture here, and TN borders 8 states. 70% of the U.S. population is within 650 miles of Nashville as well! Rail is big here, no further explination needed for JAX, other than CSX. Nash has a large CSX yard, Radnor Railyard. These states have quite a bit in common, well, except for the fact Jax is on the coast, and Nashville wins the entertainment department hands down.

[thelakelander]

I wanted to stop in Nashville on this trip also, but I'm going to have to push it back to be a part of another road trip or just fly there for a short stay.  However, I do plan to hit Indianapolis and Louisville later this week and early next.

Btw, I spent a few hours in Downtown Dayton, Ohio yesterday.  Now that's a place that seems to be light years behind us when it comes to downtown revitalization.  We had to search for a while to find a spot for dinner.  Most of the buildings seemed vacant (they're still standing so that's a good thing), and it seemed like a ghost town (imagine downtown with no Landing...but they did have a CVS), but we finally found a Uno Chicago Grill to get a bit to eat.  They could use a "Learning from Jacksonville" thread of their own.

[fsujax]

What??? you mean there is another city that has a more dead Downtown than we do? man, what a relief to hear.

[thelakelander]

Toledo has a pretty dead downtown too.  I'll probably stop through there Saturday morning.  I spent most of yesterday in downtown Detroit.  Campus Martius Park was pretty crowed with visitors in town for the Motor City Bowl skating on the seasonal ice staking rink.  We parked the car for free at the riverwalk, walked a few blocks to the RenCen building and took the peoplemover to Greektown.  After lunch at Fish Bones, we took the peoplemover on a tour around downtown and then watched a movie at a four screen theater in the RenCen.  I also spent a little time exploring Brush Park.  Brush Park is a neighborhood close to downtown like the Cathedral District.  Suburbanites are moving into it at a rapid pace.  Lofts start at $149k and townhomes at $220k.

As far as Jax goes, our attractions, retail, restaurants and bars are too spreadout to create a visible critical mass, which makes it seem deader than it really is.  Hopefully the Library project will help end that.

[gatorback]

Gosh, too bad you couldn't check out Austin, TX.  There's the Domain--it's a Simon Mall.  Plus, you can hear them testing the RedLine.   Then, you could hit 6th's street, check out the damn, and have fun with old hippies...

[thelakelander]

We did a Learning from Austin series a little over a year ago.

Here's a link: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/225/118/

[gatorback]

Thanks for reposting that.  Much has changed in a year.  Did you mention Austin City Limits.  I saw Bob Dyla there and um, what's her face was suppose to perform but I think she went to rehab.  I'm sending tickets back home for my family and friends to come to ACL this year.  ACL is awesome and so much fun.

[thelakelander]

If you want to submit a guest story on an updated Austin series, just email us the text and a few photos and we'll run it as a front page article.

[thelakelander]

Toledo - still on life support, but looks better than it did when I visited in 2004.

Fort Wayne, IN - downtown was larger and nicer than expected.

Indianapolis - pretty vibrant considering it was 27 degrees.

Louisville - the most urban of these cities by far.

I'm in Greenville, SC now.....almost back to Jax. 

[RiversideGator]

Have a safe trip back, Lake.  I cant wait to see your pictures.   

[second_pancake]

I'm in Chattanooga right now.  We checked out Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain and the Chat Choo Choo today.  I also found a neighborhood springing up south of downtown with several live/work lofts mixed in with old warehouses that have been converted into lofts.  Although the city is fairly small, there is a critical mass of development along the riverfront and the hotel I'm in.  Within a two block walk there's an Imax Theater, Aquarium, baseball stadium, movie complex, and a few museums.  All share two pretty large parking garages that have restaurants in them at street level.

I'm going to explore the riverfront, North Chattanooga and a few older neighborhoods in the morning, before hitting I-75 to Detroit.

I lived in TN for many years and only went to that site (Ruby Falls, LO Mt., etc.) last summer.  It was truly amazing!  Did you happen to take a drive through the old Fairytale Subdivision?  It was originally built around the late 20's early 30's (alot of 50's homes in there too), and there are some really cute homes in there that are very reminiscent of...well, a fairytale book;-) I'm a sucker for the arched and dutch doors.

I remember as a youngin in Murfreesboro,TN, lol, who am I kiddin, I'm 20,a nyways, takin field trips to the TN Aquarium, then walking down the street to IMAX for a movie. Honestly, downtown Nashville is better than Indy, at least we got stuff to do. I'd definetly choose Louisville over Indy, FFA Nat'l Convention moved to Indy 2 years ago, and it sucks, way to spread out. In Louisville, it was all either at the EXPO Center by Six Flags, across from Louisville Int'l Airport(Standiford Field), or at the convention center downtown. 4th Street LIVE! was badass. Jacksonville, just milk the St. Johns for all its worth to better yourself!, damnit!

OMG, I grew up in Smyrna and I have family that still lives up there in the 'boro today.

[thelakelander]

Well I'm back in Jax, just in time for the New Year.  I had a great time on the road, but there's nothing like home.  Btw, I visited two more cities today.

Greenville, SC - Vicupstate gave me a tour of this city.  Considering the size of the community, there's some great things going on there.

Columbia, SC - Main Street in Downtown needs some help, but the Vista District is vibrant and there are several well maintained historic residential districts north and south of downtown.

I'm downloading images from the trip now, so look for a "RoadTrip" series in January 2008.