Dayton, Ohio or Jacksonville, Florida?

[Tobin S.]

I live in Dayton, but I can transfer to Jacksonville. I'm a trucker and things would be a lot easier down that way from December to April. The cost of housing is low here in Ohio, though. To give you an idea of how low, I live in a one bedroom condo that I paid $33,000 for. A 3 bedroom, 1 bath house in the suburbs can be had for around $90,000 in good shape. I don't know about the cost of housing in Jacksonville, but I'm betting it's higher than here. I don't know if I'd get a raise by going to Florida, but I don't think I'd have to take a pay cut. Any info on housing in Jacksonville would be appreciated. Of course, there is the hurricane season to consider. How bad has Jacksonville been hit in the past?

Other? Tell me where I should live. :) I can also go to Kansas City, MO; Louisville, KY; and possibly the Bay area out in California, and stay with the same company. Otherwise I'd have to get a different job. I don't think I could afford the Bay area unless I had a couple of room-mates.

[SteppingRazor]

1. Been to all those places, except where you are now.

Loved Kansas City. Great music, the best barbecue joints in the world, and the housing market's just as cheap as Dayton, I'm sure.

Louisville has a nice downtown area. Very gentrified, redesigned downtown, just a couple blocks from the Louisville Slugger plant. I can't comment more than that, though, as I was only there for a couple days. One thing: If you like bourbon, you'll love Kentucky. Maker's Mark has its own bar in that downtown area, and you can get oddities such as Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale at bars around town that you just don't find other places.

Jacksonville has its ups and downs. It is the largest city in the country by area, but nowhere near the largest by population. That means it's incredibly spread out -- a trip to the grocery store can take a while. But given the nature of your business, I imagine you don't mind driving. :)

Still, J-ville takes driving to a whole new level. You cannot exist there without a car. That said, it's easily the best, climate-wise, of all the cities you mentioned. It doesn't get the crazy-hot summers of South Florida, and in the winters you might occasionally even have use for a sweater or two. And by nature of its being so spread out, it's a pretty diverse city. Jax Beach is fun in a seedy sort of way.

All in all, I'd probably live in Jax if my options were there or Dayton. Like I said, I've never been to Dayton, but after a few years in Colorado and Missouri, I never got used to those harsh winters.

On edit: Oh, and the housing market here in Florida was utterly decimated in the crash. You can get a 3/1 house in Jacksonville for even less than your Dayton price, if location isn't much of an issue for you. I just ran a quick search on Realtor.com out of curiosity, and a search for single-family homes with 3+ bedrooms and 1+ bathrooms for $80,000 or less turned up more than 900 listings in Jacksonville.

[Tikki]

2. It's the high humidity that gets me every time...

Tikki

[SteppingRazor]

3. I agree high humidity is a pain, but that's true of just about everywhere on the East Coast...

and most places in central time, even. Missouri, for example, had summers that were just as nasty, humidity-wise as anything I've seen here in Florida. And NYC or DC in the summer is just horrific. You can spit on the ground and watch it sizzle.

[Tobin S.]

6. I appreciate all of the info, SR

I had no idea about real estate down in Florida. I figured it would be much higher than that.

[Captain Hilts]

14. Jacksonville's pulp mill plant was closed and they lost some Navy, so they lost

some population, but they're preparing a new eight million dollar pier so they can get an aircraft carrier - about 4,000 folks without the air wing - out of Norfolk.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

11. Exactly.

What I tell to all my friends up North--summer is essentially the same here in Florida as it is up there (although I don't mind either the heat or humidity, peronally). The big difference is we don't get knocked with snow and ice in the winters.

[Dappleganger]

21. The thing about Jax is that we have a breeze which makes it tolerable.

The heat is definitely up there, it took about 4 years for me (a cold-weather lover) to acclimate fully. When the breeze is blowing it really isn't that bad. Just treat mid-summer like a winter up North--stay inside during the day and do most of your activities in the early morning and evening.

Summer heat in places like DC, Philly, etc. are stifling because there's hardly ever any wind movement.

[auntAgonist]

4. I voted and for purely selfish reasons I chose

DAYTON.

I wish you all the best no matter what you do Tobin.

kesha

[Tobin S.]

7. Thanks, aA. Did you enjoy the show last night?

[auntAgonist]

10. Tobin if you ever get a chance to see it ..

go for it. Hal Holbrook is amazing and in person so captivating.

He's very passionate and truly makes you believe you're seeing Mark Twain on stage right before your eyes.

It was an excellent show.

The heat got to me on the way home though and I became very sick. ( :puke: ) I am not a heat and humidity person!



Hope to see YOU again soon Tobin.

:hug:

kesha

[JanMichael]

5. I've never really liked Jacksonville (a little too fundy/conservative for me).

KC is nice, lived there as a kid, and I'm not that familiar with Louisville but I've heard it is a decent town.

[Tobin S.]

8. Living in a conservative area doesn't bother me as much

as it does a lot of people here even though I'm quite liberal- I'm a long time Kucinich fan. I think the reason for that is that I rarely talk to anybody about politics, even here at DU :D The way I figure it, those conservative areas could use more liberals.

The weather is a much greater concern to me, being a trucker and all. I don't think I'd mind living in Texas.

[Dappleganger]

23. Which is why we need you!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. Jacksonville is actually a nice city (or at least parts and aspects of it)

The major drawback is there are a large number of conservatives living there, as Jacksonville--as the most "southern" of Florida cities--might tend to attract that crowd. On the other hand, the city came close to voting for Obama last election, so perhaps things are changing for the better. Plus there are certain neighborhoods that tend more liberal than others (5 Points for example, and some areas along the river.)

Hurricanes aren't as big a threat as they are to other Florida cities. The last time Jacksonville got hit head on by a hurricane was back in the 1960s (as opposed to us in South Florida, when we got whacked by Wilma in 2005, and two hurricanes in 2004). The reason? It's further west inland.

But as a city itself, I love Jacksonville. It's probably my favorite of all the Florida cities, and as you know, I love all things Florida (with the noted exception of Disney Hell). Beautiful beaches, beautiful scenery along the St. Johns, the bridges downtown, etc. Cost of living in Jax should be pretty good. The zoo there is pretty nice, the airport is attractive easy to get in and out of (albiet a little limited on non-stops, but there are some non-stops available). A lot of nice places within a short drive of Jacksonville--Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, the Ocala Forest, Florida's springs, I can go on and on.

Jacksonville sometimes gets a bad rap for its image of a couple of decades ago--institutional racism (as was tragically the norm back then for many places in this country) and industrial pollution from the paper mills. I'm glad to say the paper mill stench is gone, and things have progressed socially as well (albiet maybe not to the extent we as liberals might want, but they have gotten a lot better).

One thing I like about Jacksonville--it's the little city that can. I think it is always thinking of ways to continuing to better itself and improve itself. They rallied to get a NFL team against the odds. They rallied to get a Super Bowl against the odds. They've built a new city library, new baseball stadium, new arena. They actually have a world class sympthony orchestra and performing arts center, and several nice museums. All in all, I wouldn't talk you out of moving there.

I have no idea as to Dayton so I can't say yea or nay. But because I love Florida I'd encourage Jax.

[Tobin S.]

12. Thanks, Tommy

I appreciate the detailed post. I didn't know that about Jacksonville and hurricanes. I thought it might not take as severe a hit as other areas of Florida, but still get rocked pretty hard. I think that's my only fear about living down that way. I love the warm climate and I can handle some humidity.

[SteppingRazor]

15. And it's not just the inland thing.

Hurricanes generally head west from West Africa and then they either continue westward into the Caribbean (and South Florida) or they veer northward. If they do the latter, then they'll follow the Gulf Stream and -- GENERALLY SPEAKING (because there are exceptions to every rule) -- they'll keep turning northward and either crash into the Carolinas or head back out to sea.

Thus, Jax (and also Georgia) tend to dodge most of the bullets, because they're situated right between the two paths hurricanes take.

[KamaAina]

13. The Bay Area need not be as off-the-charts expensive as you think

check out the East Bay (Alameda and Contra Costa counties), or maybe Solano County (midway between SF and Sac).

[mopinko]

16. where ever you go, here is a link for you

http://www.homepath.com/
this is the fannie mae reo disbursement site. some of the homes have problems, but some are great. all are pretty cheap.

i was in louisville once, and thought it was a sort of sad little town. but i bet you could get a nice little place in the country there.
never been to kansas city, but would love to visit. i know they have a really renowned art museum and school.
i could never live in florida. i can barely stand the heat in chicago.

i do think a change would do you good, tho.

[RadicalTexan]

17. Lousiville

Based on my having never been to any of the cities you mention with the exception of the Bay Area, which I would avoid because it's more expensive than Monaco and their state economy is about to be the first to enter total freefall as the collapse nears.

$0.02

[woo me with science]

18. No question for me.

[BlueJazz]

19. Christ...that's like asking: Should I live in Redneckville or Hicksville ??

Jacksonville is hick and VERY proud of it.

I mean, the fine people of Jacksonville elected a Woman named Tilly Fowler who happened to be on the far right of Phyllis Schlafly.
:)

[SteppingRazor]

24. Well ... that should have a couple caveats.

First, it's impossible to bring up congressional districts in Florida without discussing how badly gerrymandered they are. With the possible exception of Texas and one or two others, Florida's are the worst in the nation. Given that, it's hardly surprising that the 4th district, heavily Republican, elected Fowler. But, if you're going to note that, you should also point out that the other district that covers parts of Jacksonville, the 3rd, is currently represented by Corrine Brown, and she's about as liberal as they come.

Second, while the 4th was once represented by Fowler, it's currently represented by Ander Crenshaw who, while deeply conservative, could hardly be called unusual among his compatriots in the House Republican Caucus. Indeed, if I were to rank House Republicans by their conservative bone fides, I don't know that Ander would finish in the top 20 or 30.

And finally, far be it from me to defend the late Rep. Fowler, but I don't know that I'd refer to a pro-choice Republican who refused to accept gun-lobby funding as being "on the far right of Phyllis Schlafly."

[BlueJazz]

25. What you say is true. I was speaking from the time that I lived and worked there. (Jax)

I had some good times but the Newspaper and the First Baptist Church finally got on my nerves enough for me to move to St. Petersburg.
Also, from what I've read on this Post, Jax has maybe? worked out some of the Redneckedness. :)

PS..Is Homer still in charge of the downtown area ??

[SteppingRazor]

26. Totally agree about the Times Union. Pretty conservative paper, to say the least.

At least you've got a much better one now. The St. Pete Times is one of the best in the country. (It's no coincidence, of course, that it's owned by the Poynter Institute rather than a media corporation.) And, while Jax certainly still has some, er, less-than-forward-thinking elements in its society, I wouldn't go so far as to call it redneck central or anything.

Who is this Homer of which you speak? The mayor is currently John Peyton.

[BlueJazz]

30. Oh...That was Homer Lindsey (SP?) the head of the first Baptist Church.

He used to close roads on Sunday so his Flock could park in the street plus a lot of other rather nasty things.
The police would look the other way when he pulled that crap.

Never liked the Man.

[SteppingRazor]

31. Ah. No idea about that. I actually don't live in the Jax area.

But I'm familiar with that type of situation. When I lived in Colorado Springs -- the fundie christian capital of the world -- there were only two roads that went into my neighborhood. One of them went into the mountains, and one went into town. On Sundays, the one going into town was a madhouse. There was a megachurch down the road, and not only did the police look the other way, they actually would halt traffic for the church.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

27. I was about to mention Corrine Brown.

As well as the fact Obama nearly took Duval County in 2008.

Jax is still conservative, but not as conservative as one might think.

[SteppingRazor]

28. Ah, Tommy. Whenever I'm on a thread trying to defend the indefensible (i.e. my state)...

I can always depend on you for back up. :toast:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

29. Florida is simply awesome, even with each and every one of its flaws.

It's why I moved here. It's why I'll die here. I love everything about this state.

Well, almost everything....

[Dappleganger]

20. We live in the Jacksonville area, ask me anything.

You can even send a PM with specific questions about neighborhoods.

If you already have a job then you'll do fine here. It's definitely a sunnier, happier place to be. There's a huge glut of rental homes now due to the high rate of foreclosures, and in about a year's time the market should bottom out enough for a buyer to get a very good deal.

We live just outside the city in St. Johns county because they have the better schools.

[Dappleganger]

22. Some forums to visit about Jacksonville

http://www.city-data.com/forum/jacksonville/
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/

MJ has quite a few progressive people on there so you can get the ins and outs of Jax government.

[AngryOldDem]

32. Formerly from Dayton....

and there's a reason why the cost of living there is so relatively low. It's gonna take a long time before that city makes it back from the dregs.

I'd go where you have the best job potential. As for hurricanes...everything is a tradeoff. You could get blown away by a tornado in Dayton just as much from a hurricane in Jacksonville.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

33. Ohio for greater likelihood of breathable air.

:cry:

[RagAss]

34. Not JacKKKsonville !