Catwoman Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 As I have posted in other threads, we may need to move close to a liver transplant center within the next year or so, and one of the places we are considering is the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. If anyone has any opinions on what it's like to live in that area (or anywhere within a driving distance of up to an hour away,) I would love to hear from you. I'm looking for both positives and negatives, as well as any specific recommendations about nice places to live, whether or not you know of other people whose kids are homeschooling through high school there, if there's a lot of crime, or if we'd have any problems fitting in there since we're from the NYC area and are pretty much clueless about that part of Florida. We have heard that St Johns county is nice, and that we should also consider St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra Beach, but we have never visited any of those places. We will be going to Mayo in a month or so, and it would be nice to have a list of towns/neighborhoods to check out. I will be starting other threads about what it's like to live in a few other parts of the country as well, because anything we can learn about different places will be very helpful as my dh chooses the best liver transplant center for him. There are tons of statistics about the different hospitals, but if we're going to live near one of them, it would be so helpful to hear what the places are really like, as it's a huge concern to us that our ds13 will be safe and happy in our new location. Thanks -- and I hope I'm not being a pest if I start a few new threads about different cities. :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 We love St. Augustine (which is St. Johns County)! The World Golf Village area is nice. The thing I like best about this area is that it is actually rather nice for pedestrians and bikers. There are lots of sidewalks and I feel it's safe enough to let dds walk alone the three mile round trip to the smoothie place or grocery store. There are lots of other kids doing the same thing so they're never really alone. Dh works in Jacksonville, but we didn't want to live there because we did plan on putting the kids in school. I will say we didn't have much luck with a good homeschool group in this area. They were all super conservative. I don't know what's out there right now since both of mine will be in middle school this fall. I hope you find the right spot and that your dh gets the care he needs and is well again soon! ETA: I did want to add that the schools here (at least in St. Johns county) have zero problem with homeschoolers. If you ever wanted, your ds could attend for electives (pe, band, art, etc) and sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 My sil lived in Ponte Vedra and loved it. The houses are amazing and the beaches are beautiful. She worked at a large episcopal church and said the kids were great. I don't know anything about homeschooling there, but I have a friend that teaches homeschool algebra in Jacksonville and she has been very happy with her opportunities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 There is a great Doula who lives in Jacksonville, and working with some pretty progressive folks. There seem to be quite a few hsers there as well. Here is her website: www.birthyourwayjax.com You may have no need for a doula, but I bet you could get opinions/a sense of the area from the chatter if you friend her on FB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 We own a house in Jacksonville, though we're in Houston now. I really love the Mandarin area in Jacksonville, which is where our house is. We rented a house in that area before we bought. It is a very nice area, IMO. It's the very southern area of Jacksonville. Jacksonville does have some high crime areas, but it has nice areas too. I love St Augustine too. I loved living so close and getting to visit so often. I didn't know anyone homeschooling in high school since my own kid is/was so young. I don't think there would be any problem fitting in. Jacksonville isn't as diverse as Houston, but it's still a pretty large area with a somewhat diverse population. I enjoyed living there and would go back again. I have a friend who lives in the Riverside area, which is also very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 We love St. Augustine (which is St. Johns County)! The World Golf Village area is nice. The thing I like best about this area is that it is actually rather nice for pedestrians and bikers. There are lots of sidewalks and I feel it's safe enough to let dds walk alone the three mile round trip to the smoothie place or grocery store. There are lots of other kids doing the same thing so they're never really alone. Dh works in Jacksonville, but we didn't want to live there because we did plan on putting the kids in school. I will say we didn't have much luck with a good homeschool group in this area. They were all super conservative. I don't know what's out there right now since both of mine will be in middle school this fall. I hope you find the right spot and that your dh gets the care he needs and is well again soon! ETA: I did want to add that the schools here (at least in St. Johns county) have zero problem with homeschoolers. If you ever wanted, your ds could attend for electives (pe, band, art, etc) and sports. We own a house in Jacksonville, though we're in Houston now. I really love the Mandarin area in Jacksonville, which is where our house is. We rented a house in that area before we bought. It is a very nice area, IMO. It's the very southern area of Jacksonville. Jacksonville does have some high crime areas, but it has nice areas too. I love St Augustine too. I loved living so close and getting to visit so often. I didn't know anyone homeschooling in high school since my own kid is/was so young. I don't think there would be any problem fitting in. Jacksonville isn't as diverse as Houston, but it's still a pretty large area with a somewhat diverse population. I enjoyed living there and would go back again. I have a friend who lives in the Riverside area, which is also very nice. Hmmmmm.....I cant figure out how to add a response inbetween these two posts. Horton is right. I was never able to find a homeschooling group to belong to that wasn't conservative. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough, idk. I do love St. Augustine, though. I was going to mention Manadrin, as well as Friut Cove. You might also want to check out Amelia Island and Fernandina in Nassau County (above Duval), and Fleming Island in Clay County. Traffic on Hwy 17 & the Buckman Bridge can be a bear, but they're not so bad if you don't have to drive during rush hour everyday. Jacksonville & St. Augustine are still quite southern, but not like Tallahassee or the panhandle. I think if you're friendly you'll fit in just fine :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Thanks for all of the suggestions so far! It looks like I'll be spending some time on Realtor.com tonight!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Lake Asbury (in Clay County) is also nice, but further out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 I tried pm'ing you but kept getting an error message. My 1st cousin is a liver transplant surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Let me know if you would like his name and/or want me to give him your info and what dates you will be there. Maybe you could meet with him. Thanks so much, Anna! I just made some room in my PM box. I hadn't realized it was full again! :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Hate Jacksonville. We lived there for 8 years, (just moved two years ago). The places you mentioned, Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine are beautiful though. Beautiful to look at. Ponte Vedra is the UPSCALE side of town. The mansions on the beach (add mansion to beach=MILLIONS). Even the apartments are super expensive. St. Augustine is a great tourist town, and has pockets of nice areas..but also has pockets of crime and poverty. Both will be a 45-1 hour drive for you to Mayo, depending on the time of day. If you are in Ponte Vedra, you could take Hwy 1, which takes you straight up the beach, but also in-town traffic, so stop-stop-go-stop....or you could go out the other way and get onto the Interstate....getting to the Interstate is 15-20 minutes, and then another 20-40 minutes on the interstate, again depending on traffic, to Mayo. It will depend on where you live in St. Augustine...closer to the beach, nicer, but then longer drive. Closer to the Interstate, not as nice, shorter drive. Someone mentioned World Golf Village, very nice housing area...but kinda out there by itself...gonna have to drive no matter where you go. Nocatee is a relatively new area, just over the St' Johns County line...close to Ponte Vedra, but closer to the interstate. Higher priced housing, probably starting in the 200,000's but if I moved there again, that's where I'd look. And that would be a good commute for you to Mayo. Wouldn't even have to get on the Interstate. My IL's still live there (we go back about once a year to visit), and FIL is actually using Mayo Clinic for his Liver transplant. They've had nothing but a great experience with Mayo. If you are going there JUST for Mayo, I'd recommend living on the Southside of Jacksonville. That's around Beach Blvd, Butler Hwy, etc. It again, has pockets of nice areas, and pockets of junk (that's pretty much Jacksonville in a nutshell). But you'd be within 15 minutes of Mayo. Homeschooling is very active. Lots to do...every type of class, activity, busy busy busy for homeschoolers. Mostly Christian groups though there are a few secular groups. If you need secular, let me know, I have some friends that participate in secular groups in Jax. Here's why I hate Jacksonville. It's dirty, crime-ridden city. Not dirty, in as filth,but dirty in personality. So much crime, and ignorance there. Read the Jacksonville Newspaper online...you'll see it. You start to live with a attitude of always looking over your shoulder...and you don't even realize it. It wasn't until we moved,and I started to feel my guard melt just a bit, that I realized how yucky we felt in Florida. Florida in general has alot of pedophile issues, it seems, and Jacksonville is horrible. A child was kidnapped from Walmart just last month and murdered. A few years ago a child was kidnapped and murded on her way home from school...all in the Jacksonville area. Yes, I know that happens everywhere but it seems to happen ALOT in that area. In the last few years,Jacksonville had the HIGHEST crime rate per capita in FL. Yes, higher than Miami, Tampa, Orlando..yep. The Avenues Mall, the main indoor mall....constantly hearing stories about women attacked in the parking lot, bathroom issues, etc. Constant stories about the police...doing things they shouldn't be doing....it's a well known fact they will shoot before thinking. The thing that alot of people don't realize about Florida is that it's actually very rural. So all around Jacksonville is these small town rural areas, and it seems people there just don't have anything to do besides drugs, and make babies they don't want to take care of. Constant new stories about the stupidity of these people and yep, sure enough, it was in these small towns. But they come into Jacksonville to go to Walmart, etc...so they aren't just in the small town. Wal-Marts are SCARY places in Jacksonville!! Stay away from the Northside and Westside....lots of crime there. Though if you are going for Mayo, neither of those would be convenient for you anyway. The downtown that looks so gorgeous as you drive through on the interstate..completely dead. Nothing down there but some businesses. Occasional events at the football stadium but for the most part, it's desolate. We went down once, when we first moved there, to look around, and a bum offered my 8 year old a cigarette!! My DH, who is toooo nice, stopped and acknowledge the bum, who came up asking for money...and as we kinda stood there, he offered the thing to my son..I reacted by smacking it out of the bum's hand...probably not the best thing to do. Don't take me wrong....there are of course nice people and places in Jacksonville. We made friends, enjoyed our homeschooling adventures, and managed to live a good life, loved being 15 minutes from the ocean, and have happy memories of things. It's just that crime is rampant and even in the nice areas, it's not really all that safe. You have to just be on constant HIGH alert for yourself and your children. You just don't realize it until you move away, and look back, at how bad it really is. Life isn't like that everywhere. If you have to go there, then yes, look at the Southside area for convenience to Mayo, or head out to St' John's County, where Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine are...the drive may be worth it...there's an exit 208...it is before St. Augustine, and World Golf Village....that's area has some nice housing, and is close enough to everything, yet not too close to the yuckiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 There were two secular hs groups in Jacksonville while I was there. One was more focused on elementary and the other on middle school and older, though both were open to all ages. Houston has definitely been better as far as finding good hs buddies. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 There's been two new secular groups that have started in the last two years...both are co-op oriented. From what I can tell on my friends' Facebook pages, they seem like active groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Okay, I've lived about 50 miles or so south of there. So, I can't speak to Jacksonville, but I can speak to Florida. Hot, humid, hot, humid, sand, humid, bugs, humid, love bugs that smoosh all over your car so bad you can't see out the windows, humid, palmetto bugs, hot, snakes, hot, alligators, hot, being a Midwestern girl, I can attest to the fact that the entire state does not contain a decent apple! You have know idea just how traumatizing this was. Behind our house, a new house was being built and it stirred up "critters". For weeks, I could not allow dd into the back yard and had to be very careful about exiting even from the front. Here's the laundry list of what ended up in our yard from it's habitat being disturbed - 1 panther, six venomous snakes, some scorpions which surprised the wildlife people but since we kept the body of the one I killed after it bit me, they decided they were wrong, several armadillos (which bothered me the least of all of the others), one constrictor snake of concerning size (okay, concerning to actual wildlife people which meant it was big, because if a snake of even 1 inch length lives on my property I AM VERY CONCERNED), and something rather dog like and very wild which ran off before they could apprehend it. I was slightly neurotic by the time the darn construction process was over. So, I can't say that I liked living in Florida. It scared the bejeebers out of me. Well, that and being a Midwestern girl, I am used to my hurricanes being without ocean water (tornados!) and decided I preferred it that way. But, my mother in law spent a good share of her nursing career in Florida, specifically Broward and then Brevard county, and she knows the ins and outs of all of the good hospitals because she was a nursing professor too. So, I'll ask her about Mayo for you tomorrow. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 There's been two new secular groups that have started in the last two years...both are co-op oriented. From what I can tell on my friends' Facebook pages, they seem like active groups. Oh, I forgot that my friend, Tabitha, was just starting a new group as we were leaving. There were four or five of us from one of the other groups, but we all moved except the one, but she got it going anyways and it does seem pretty active. How could I forget about that? I've mentioned to dh before that if we went back to Jacksonville, I'd have a good group to join. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I lived in St Augustine until I was 11. It's beautiful with tons of history. We loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 St Augustine is one of the things I miss the most about Jacksonville. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Someone mentioned World Golf Village, very nice housing area...but kinda out there by itself...gonna have to drive no matter where you go. It seems it's been a while since you've been here. We can walk to our eye doctor, our dentist/orthodontist, our doctor, to get sushi, to get pizza, to get smoothies, to get McDs, to the middle school, to the elementary school, to go to Publix, or to go to two different drug stores. Then, ten minutes down the road are two different outlet malls and more restaurants. The area has grown quite a bit but still isn't too busy. Nocatee is very nice in Ponte Vedra and is growing super fast. If we were just now moving, we may have chosen there over the World Golf Village. I would avoid Fleming Island/Clay county. We lived there and the traffic to get to Jacksonville was horrid. There was also a boom of townhomes and duplexes which were rented out at an astonishing rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 It seems it's been a while since you've been here. We can walk to our eye doctor, our dentist/orthodontist, our doctor, to get sushi, to get pizza, to get smoothies, to get McDs, to the middle school, to the elementary school, to go to Publix, or to go to two different drug stores. Then, ten minutes down the road are two different outlet malls and more restaurants. Nope, there last year. All those things are great, but you fail to mention that you only have ONE of each of those places, thus you have no selection. And that's ALL you have, and mostly in the one Publix plaza. It's like the small town Main Street, without the ambiance of it being an actual small town Main Street, but instead just a strip mall...and the Publix is possibly the smallest one ever, with the highest prices :). And the outlet malls are nothing to brag about. The enclosed one is mostly junk, usually dead whenever I went there. The long strip one is fine, if you want to fight the tourist traffic. So where do you go if you want to do real shopping because who shops at outlet malls for all their clothing and home needs?Into Jacksonville, right? And the general area around the outlet mall is kinda run down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 For what it's worth Cat, US News and World Report just released it's rankings for US hospitals. Now, obviously they look at specific criteria; it's not a comprehensive ranking, and it isn't done by a medical board. But, they do make some good points. The hospital in Indianapolis made the top 18 as well as Mayo in MN. Jacksonville did not. I didn't look through the comprehensive rankings to see where Jacksonville fell though. But, I thought I'd throw that out there. I can personally attest to the fact that IU hospital in Indy is amazing. We knew numerous people who got answers there when they couldn't get them anywhere else, and back then they treated people very pleasantly to the point of practically rolling out the red carpet. Of course, my experience isn't recent, however if it were not true now, I would wonder how they ranked so high when customer satisfaction type criteria is one that US News does look at. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in Jax Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 We've lived in Jacksonville since 1999 (with one short stint in VA for dh's grad school). I love it here and I'm frankly shocked that Samiam disliked it so much, because our experience has been very different. We live in north Mandarin, but we're in the process of buying a new house, so we'll be moving to a new neighborhood soon. The neighborhood we're in is very low crime; we're only moving so we can be closer to the water. (We'll be renting our house in north Mandarin soon, so if you're looking for a 4/3 with a fenced half acre lot, a pool, a large homeschool room and homeschool neighbors next door, let me know!) ;) Being near the water, Jacksonville is not as hot as other north Florida cities, but it *is* hot. I happen to like heat -- I'll take sun over snow any day. :) As others have said, Jacksonville is quite rural compared to other cities of similar size. This means that traffic is reduced -- unless you're near the Navy bases or on JTB at rush hour. (JTB is the main highway that would take you to and from Mayo, if you live any distance away). HIH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I am surprised that no one has mentioned Publix subs yet. They aren't Jacksonville specific, but still. I can't get them here in TX. :) lol This thread is making me a little bit homesick for Jacksonville again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Nope, there last year. All those things are great, but you fail to mention that you only have ONE of each of those places, thus you have no selection. And that's ALL you have, and mostly in the one Publix plaza. It's like the small town Main Street, without the ambiance of it being an actual small town Main Street, but instead just a strip mall...and the Publix is possibly the smallest one ever, with the highest prices :). And the outlet malls are nothing to brag about. The enclosed one is mostly junk, usually dead whenever I went there. The long strip one is fine, if you want to fight the tourist traffic. So where do you go if you want to do real shopping because who shops at outlet malls for all their clothing and home needs?Into Jacksonville, right? And the general area around the outlet mall is kinda run down. The small Publix closed over two years ago. There is the old Publix plaza on the way into the WGV, but that is a separate one from the one I am talking about that is three miles down the road near Murabella. There is a brand spanking new one that is huge as well as several other places and stores. The enclosed outlet mall was also redone a few years ago. It's actually very upscale now with Coach, Gucci, Micheal Kors, Saks Fifth Avenue, etc.We rarely ever go into Jacksonville because there is no need. We do frequent downtown St. Augustine, but that's just because it's fun. I'm not really trying to argue with you, but you're not painting an accurate description. We've been here seven years now and when we first moved, it was like you say. It is not that way anymore and hasn't been for two to three years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 The small Publix closed over two years ago. There is the old Publix plaza on the way into the WGV, but that is a separate one from the one I am talking about that is three miles down the road near Murabella. There is a brand spanking new one that is huge as well as several other places and stores. The enclosed outlet mall was also redone a few years ago. It's actually very upscale now with Coach, Gucci, Micheal Kors, Saks Fifth Avenue, etc.We rarely ever go into Jacksonville because there is no need. We do frequent downtown St. Augustine, but that's just because it's fun. I'm not really trying to argue with you, but you're not painting an accurate description. We've been here seven years now and when we first moved, it was like you say. It is not that way anymore and hasn't been for two to three years. Sure, it's all a matter of personal perspective. I still think the whole WGV is rural-ish, once you get outside of the actual neighborhood. My perspective, if one compares it to living in Mandarin, Julington Creek, Southside. Even Murabella, while again beautiful, is ruralish...once you get out of the neighborhood, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. And it's not a bad drive in order to live in the beauty of that area. BTW, I lived on the corner of Phillips Hwy, near Nease High School...so I was kinda rural-ish as well. So again, no argument, just personal perspective. Again, I come from a place of disdain for Jacksonville in general :). Loved St. Augustine for a day trip...wouldn't want to live there :). Loved the beach for the day, wouldn't want to live there :). Again, we lived there for several years, and we survived, and we made life happy....but I'd never CHOOSE to live in the area again if it was a choice we had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 It's pretty cool that I'm getting dissenting opinions here -- it's probably not much fun for you guys, but I'm enjoying it. :D I like the idea of that upscale outlet mall, and I spent my childhood summers at the Jersey shore, so I like being near the ocean. St. Augustine looks really cool!!! OTOH, as I look at the homes for sale, I'm not so sure I like the whole "gated community" vibe, mainly because we don't have much of that here and I'm not used to it. The positive aspect of the gated or country club type neighborhoods is the safety aspect, which is very appealing to me. Im not sure we would use too many of the amenities, so things like golf courses, community pools, and playgrounds aren't selling points for us. I'm not used to dealing with an HOA, but we're not exactly the troublemaking type, so I'm sure we'd pay our dues and they would leave us alone, so that's not a big deal, either, unless the dues are insanely expensive or something. It looks like, at this point anyway, we will be choosing between Jacksonville and Indianapolis, and they are so different from each other that even if we visit both and love them both, it will be a tough choice. Jacksonville has the warm weather and the ocean, but Indiana has all these cool towns and all four seasons. The final choice (assuming my dh likes both of the liver transplant centers as well as the doctors at both places,) may come down to which place will be best and safest for our ds13, and which will provide him with the best opportunities for the future. I'm really concerned about him being able to meet other kids who are homeschooling through high school. I'm also thinking about colleges, as ds may be on the young side when he starts college, and I want him to have the opportunity to live at home through his college years if he wants to do that. Safety from crime is a major thing for me, and overall, the Indianapolis suburbs seem much safer than a lot of the Jacksonville area (although Ponte Vedra Beach sounded quite safe, and looked very nice.) It's going to be a tough call. I'm hoping that we will visit both places and a clear winner will emerge!!! I'm going to be pretty busy checking out all of the towns and neighborhoods that everyone has suggested -- the best thing is that there are a lot of nice houses for sale in all of the different areas that have been suggested, and the prices seem pretty reasonable. We should be able to get a nice house for our money whether we choose Indiana or Florida, so that's a big relief to us! Thank you all for being so kind and helpful -- my head is still spinning from getting the news about my dh, and although we'd always kind of wanted to move to a new place, we didn't think we would ever need to make a relatively quick decision about it! I'm going to investigate every last place that was mentioned here, and if you have more ideas, please don't hesitate to post them. It makes me feel more like I'm taking positive action when I'm looking stuff up! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 For what it's worth Cat, US News and World Report just released it's rankings for US hospitals. Now, obviously they look at specific criteria; it's not a comprehensive ranking, and it isn't done by a medical board. But, they do make some good points. The hospital in Indianapolis made the top 18 as well as Mayo in MN. Jacksonville did not. I didn't look through the comprehensive rankings to see where Jacksonville fell though. But, I thought I'd throw that out there. I can personally attest to the fact that IU hospital in Indy is amazing. We knew numerous people who got answers there when they couldn't get them anywhere else, and back then they treated people very pleasantly to the point of practically rolling out the red carpet. Of course, my experience isn't recent, however if it were not true now, I would wonder how they ranked so high when customer satisfaction type criteria is one that US News does look at. Faith Thanks, Faith! I have only been looking at the liver transplant center statistics for Jacksonville, which are absolutely stellar, but the statistics at IU are almost as good (the differences are pretty negligible) and you are so right that I should be checking more closely into ALL the stats for the different hospitals in addition to just the transplant stuff. I did that with IU, Cleveland Clinic, and the Mayo Cinic in MN, but somehow completely forgot to check the overall stats for Mayo in Jacksonville. I'm glad you reminded me, and I'm going to do that today!!! I will say that the people my dh has spoken with at IU have been amazingly nice, and one particular woman has really gone out of her way to be helpful to him. He said the Mayo people have been nice, too, but his overall impression of IU seems to be a bit better. Of course, everything could change once he actually visits the hospitals and meets the doctors! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 It's pretty cool that I'm getting dissenting opinions here -- it's probably not much fun for you guys, but I'm enjoying it. :D I like the idea of that upscale outlet mall, and I spent my childhood summers at the Jersey shore, so I like being near the ocean. St. Augustine looks really cool!!! OTOH, as I look at the homes for sale, I'm not so sure I like the whole "gated community" vibe, mainly because we don't have much of that here and I'm not used to it. The positive aspect of the gated or country club type neighborhoods is the safety aspect, which is very appealing to me. Im not sure we would use too many of the amenities, so things like golf courses, community pools, and playgrounds aren't selling points for us. I'm not used to dealing with an HOA, but we're not exactly the troublemaking type, so I'm sure we'd pay our dues and they would leave us alone, so that's not a big deal, either, unless the dues are insanely expensive or something. It looks like, at this point anyway, we will be choosing between Jacksonville and Indianapolis, and they are so different from each other that even if we visit both and love them both, it will be a tough choice. Jacksonville has the warm weather and the ocean, but Indiana has all these cool towns and all four seasons. The final choice (assuming my dh likes both of the liver transplant centers as well as the doctors at both places,) may come down to which place will be best and safest for our ds13, and which will provide him with the best opportunities for the future. I'm really concerned about him being able to meet other kids who are homeschooling through high school. I'm also thinking about colleges, as ds may be on the young side when he starts college, and I want him to have the opportunity to live at home through his college years if he wants to do that. Safety from crime is a major thing for me, and overall, the Indianapolis suburbs seem much safer than a lot of the Jacksonville area (although Ponte Vedra Beach sounded quite safe, and looked very nice.) It's going to be a tough call. I'm hoping that we will visit both places and a clear winner will emerge!!! I'm going to be pretty busy checking out all of the towns and neighborhoods that everyone has suggested -- the best thing is that there are a lot of nice houses for sale in all of the different areas that have been suggested, and the prices seem pretty reasonable. We should be able to get a nice house for our money whether we choose Indiana or Florida, so that's a big relief to us! Thank you all for being so kind and helpful -- my head is still spinning from getting the news about my dh, and although we'd always kind of wanted to move to a new place, we didn't think we would ever need to make a relatively quick decision about it! I'm going to investigate every last place that was mentioned here, and if you have more ideas, please don't hesitate to post them. It makes me feel more like I'm taking positive action when I'm looking stuff up! :) There are many, many beautiful old neighborhoods that aren't gated and on the water :) One of the major benefits of these are the large Live Oak and shade trees. Some areas that come to mind are Manadrin, west of San Jose Blvd., Crescent Beach (just south of St. Augustine, both east and west of the intercoastal) and the area around Doctors Lake. My family has lived in the JAX area for over 20 years and I love it, most of the time ;) We're currently living in another country, but we still own our house there and it's probably where we'll end up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 The area I lived in in the Mandarin area was not only not gated, but the houses aren't cookie cutter either. We rented right on Mandarin Road and bought on a street off of Mandarin Rd. One of the cheaper houses, BTW. lol There is a wide range of prices there. Almost mansions on the river, then much smaller houses off the river and everything in-between. I'm not trying to sell you on Jacksonville, just thought I'd put that out there. :) I am biased towards FL though, since that is where i grew up (S FL). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker25 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I know a great Doula who lives in Jacksonville working with some pretty progressive folks. There seem to be quite a few hsers there as well. Here is her website: www.birthyourwayjax.com You may have no need for a doula, but I bet you could get opinions/a sense of the area from the chatter if you friend her on FB. She was my Bradley teacher when I was pregnant with Lily. :) Jacksonville is a BIG area. In the movie We Bought A Zoo we kept laughing at the guy complaining about driving 30m to get to Target. We drive 30m to get just about anywhere around town and it's no big deal. I would suggest you look in the area around Mayo and towards Jax beach. Those are nice areas and if you think you are going to be at Mayo more than a few times a week it will be a big pay off. We do have heavy traffic on the interstates around here AND our state tree seems to be the orange construction cone. If you don't want to live in that area you want to look for an area that is close to our beltway (or 295 or 9A all three are the same thing) I'm more conservative so I know of the conservative homeschool groups. Our big group Herijax.com is pretty conservative. I also have heard of some more secular groups popping up (which I think is a great thing). I'll try to find out more about those for you. I have a lot of moms in my particular group who homeschooled through highschool and sent through kids to college. A couple even went on to state schools after community college. It gets hot and HUMID here in the summer. The heat alone is usually not too bad the humidity will kill ya though. Jacksonville, while right on the coast rarely gets hurricanes and only the occasional tropical storm which to us is just a bad thunderstorm. It does rain almost every day in the summer. Usually just an afternoon shower. There are quite a few family friendly activities around town. We have an orchestra and a preforming arts center. St. Augustine is right up the road and Orlando is only about 2-2.5 hours away depending on how you drive. Check out jax4kids.com for more ideas on what we have around here for families and kids. Our library system is well stocked though we keep losing money and the hours keep getting cut. We have a homeschool library through Heri where you can check stuff out for the whole year. I've never joined Heri, but my friends all enjoy the library. It's a homeschool friendly town for sure. You file your intent to homeschool with the school board and then a year from the date you filed you turn in an evaluation (portfolio check by a certified teacher of your choice, testing, or I can't remember the third option) You can also enroll in an umbrella school. I do portfolio checks so I have no clue how the rest is handled. We also have Florida Virtual school where your kids can take classes through the public school system online. If you chose the homeschool option you can chose which classes and how many classesthey take and you don't have to FCAT. If you do the public school option you are given a schedule and you have to take the FCAT if it's applicable for that year. Of course it will be common core friendly so it depends on how you feel about that. I think that about covers our city. I've lived here my whole life. I want out, but only because I hate the heat, would love to experience seasons (BTW it doesn't start feeling like fall around here til about the end of October or sometimes mid November), and I really want the challenge of discovering a new city. LOL It's not a bad place to live. We do have our fair share of crime, but it's pretty concentrated to certain areas of town, in my opinion. Of course others might not think our crime rate is that bad... It's hard to find a job here. My husband worked security for two years after being unemployed for two years. He just got a new job at a call center with an insurance company. He went on many interviews and there was always hundreds of people applying for the same job. It was pretty discouraging. He almost did not get this job even though his interviews went well and he was overly qualified with 6 years in an insurance call center and 9 years at an insurance company. He was a back up in case someone did not pass the background check. Lucky for him someone did not. Sad for that guy because a good job is hard to find around here. I did not read all the responses, I got too excited about the post above. LOL I'm sorry if I repeated anything that was already said. I hope this helps you some. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help your family when you visit. I imagine it's hard with your husband being ill so I would love to help. Just PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leav97 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 It looks like, at this point anyway, we will be choosing between Jacksonville and Indianapolis, and they are so different from each other that even if we visit both and love them both, it will be a tough choice. Jacksonville has the warm weather and the ocean, but Indiana has all these cool towns and all four seasons. The final choice (assuming my dh likes both of the liver transplant centers as well as the doctors at both places,) may come down to which place will be best and safest for our ds13, and which will provide him with the best opportunities for the future. I'm really concerned about him being able to meet other kids who are homeschooling through high school. I'm also thinking about colleges, as ds may be on the young side when he starts college, and I want him to have the opportunity to live at home through his college years if he wants to do that. Safety from crime is a major thing for me, and overall, the Indianapolis suburbs seem much safer than a lot of the Jacksonville area (although Ponte Vedra Beach sounded quite safe, and looked very nice.) If you don't mind a little cold, don't rule out MN. Rochester has several smaller colleges or college satellites. The twin cities have an abundance of choices. There are both religious and secular homeschool groups in Rochester and if you are looking for something more specific it's probably available in the twin cities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I have lived in Jacksonville for 42 years and I love it. I love being near the ocean and with so many beaches to choose from: Little Talbot Island for when we are in the mood for some seclusion and nature along with our sun, sand and waves, Mickler's Landing when we are in the mood for finding sharks teeth, starfish, and watching dolphins, and we prefer Amelia Island or Anastasia for larger waves. There is a lot of support for home schooling through high school. You can utilize the virtual school for free, take classes at the public schools or participate in sports, homeschool PE at the YMCA and Rock Solid offers classes for parents to help navigate their way through those years and end up with a nice transcript at the end. The library system is pretty good. I can usually find what I need, when I need it. The website allows you to place holds on books, renew your books, or check out ebooks and audio books. I get most of my books for my Kindle this way. If you're a fan of football, the Jaguars stadium is an easy jump down town (we volunteered there for years to earn free entry into the games); if you you're a fan of baseball, the Suns play downtown as well and we often travel down to Tampa to see the Rays; if you're a fan of soccer, plans are in the works for a professional team. Oh and don't forget arena football and hockey. As for college, high school aged children can take classes at the local colleges and "The University of North Florida is among the nation’s Top 75 'Best Value' public colleges and universities, according to The Princeton Review." Parts of town differ as has been referred to above, but a good realtor or even research on your part can guide you in the right direction. I live on the west side of town near the Oak Leaf Town Center and I love it here. Every thing and every place I need to go is right here. I never have to go on a main road unless I am going downtown. Hope this helps a bit. I know there should be more I could tell you but my brain is drawing a blank and I'm feeling the silent pressure from my family to get started on dinner. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 I somehow managed to miss the last several replies to this thread until now -- I'm sorry if it seemed like I was ignoring you guys!!! I'm on my way out now, but will respond to your posts when I get back home. Thanks so much!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wesang Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Hi Catwoman, I am new to this forum, I was actually looking for other homeschooling families in my area and happened upon your post! We have lived in Ponte Vedra Beach now for almost 3 years and I have to say that I LOVE living here- it is by far my favorite of all of the places we've lived. Both me and my husband were born in West Palm Beach and we've relocated 4 times now. We've been to Alabama, South Carolina and Marietta, Georgia! Hopefully, this will be our last move (He's with AT&T). We've homeschooled our 4 children, ages 17 (daughter), 10 (son), 9 (son) and 6 (son) for almost their entire school years. There was 1 year that they went to public school, but we quickly realized what a mistake that was and have been homeschooling since! Our daughter will take her GED next month and once she passes it, will begin college at FSCJ. The boys will be using a curriculum that I've pieced together, including Saxon Math, REAL Science, Handwriting Without Tears, many online resources and local resources as well- they love computers (Minecraft mostly, haha), they play basketball at our local YMCA, and they love taking field trips to St. Augustine. I have not had too much luck finding other groups that are very close to PVB and would be extremely interested in exploring some of those mentioned on this board. If you do move here, Ponte Vedra Beach is a great place to live and we are very close to Mayo. There are areas of Jacksonville that can be scary (as with any large city), but we personally have never had a problem with it, we've been to the zoo (super fun) and MOSH (also cool) many, many times. We live within biking distance to the beach, Publix and Target. Jax Beach is only a few minutes drive to the North of us, and awesome St. Augustine is only about 20 minutes South of us. If you do end up in the Jacksonville area, I would be happy to talk to you about my experiences living here and give you any tips that I can about homeschooling in St. Johns County- it's very easy with the wealth of resources we have here. I wish you the best of luck with your relocation, no matter which place you end up moving to! Take care, Angie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfrumpable. Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 haha I am from WPB too! :) And I went to FSCJ while in Jacksonville. :) Great post. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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