Jacksonville, Fl

[bandit1978]

Has anyone been to Jacksonville, Florida, or know anything about it??

I found out that is where my BF and I will be moving to next June (because he got into a training program there), so we will stay for 3 or 4 years.

[bandit1978]

Actually, we'll be in Jacksonville (proper), not Gainesville.  (BF got a cardiology fellowship at University hospital Shand, or something like that).  

What is Ybor city?

[Nihilanthic]

I lived there about a year. Better than Raleigh by all accounts, but not terribly spectacular.

For one thing, its fucking HUGE. Its sprawled out to take up all of Duvall county. And, as flat as it is, you could mistake it for a humid, east-coast L.A.. but good god its sprawled out. It has a teeny tiny down town, and giant bridges out the ass crossing the river.... St. Johns?

Its also basically a giant redneck-metropolis, but sophistication is starting to come becuase of the money there. Shit is cheap in florida, taxes are lower, etc. Also, IIRC there isn't emissions testing because it sits between the gulf and the atlantic - no need.

The North side of town is the bad one, and well, downtown is kinda crummy at any rate. Gangs are present but its not as bad as say, the REAL L.A. :silly:

For the most part we inherit our opinions. We are the heirs of habits and mental customs. Our beliefs, like the fashion of our garments, depend on where we were born. We are molded and fashioned by our surroundings.
--Environment is a sculptor -- a painter.

[bandit1978]

Niles-  What is IIRC and emissions testing?

How big are the bugs, really?  Have you seen many spiders, and what kinds?  (I really hate bugs, particuarly spiders)

Actually, I don't know which is worse- insects or rednecks.  Do people there have southern accents?

Where are the immigrants from?  Am I to expect lots of good Cuban resteraunts?  Or Mexican, Jamaican, what? (thats excellent, cause I generally don't like American food too much, and BF &I were concerned about a potential lack of diversity in population and resteraunts).

We are an interracial, non-Christian couple.  Will the locals burn crosses on our lawns?  

It is real humid in DC too, and I love it!  (while at PCS, the air in those damn mountains was so dry, I got headaches and nosebleeds every damn day, then got in trouble for "manipulating" (?) if I asked for Tylenol!)

Are there many young people there?  What do you think of "southside"?  There seems to be a lot of new housing coming up there.

I am so stoked to move there, really.  I want to get out of the city and have a regular sized townhouse and no winter and be near the beach and get out of this way-too-trendy-overcrowded-overpriced-social-climbing-wish-they-were-new-york-and-trying-too-hard city, with all these idiots ("urbane", they like to call themselves) paying 500K for lofts w/ "exposed brick" and stainless steel.  (okay, I have a loft w/exposed brick and stainless steel.  But I'm ready to leave this ratrace and have a small yard of my own and some drywall)   And with the money these fools will pay for my "exposed brick", I'll be living like royalty in Jacksonville.  BTY, I really don't like NY too much either- had BF gotten position there, we would be fighting half the city for a shoebox rental unit.  I am really too old for that.  

Anything else you can tell me would be truly appreciated.  Thanks!

[Nihilanthic]

IIRC is "If I remember correctly". Emissions testing is when you take your car to a mechanic, and pay him a bunch of money to stick a sniffer up its tail pipe and make sure your EGR valve works.

Uh.... the bugs are big but harmless. Tons of lizard s and birds to eat them and such. Just dont flip out like my mom did when a palmetto bug flew into the car... by slamming the brake and running out screaming because of a PALMETTO BUG. BTW, they look basically like flying roaches, and they are, but they live out in forests and in wooded areas. They dont go in your house... just like 99% of all roaches.

OH SHIT, just remembered... heh. Fireants suck majorly. Dont step on their hills and if you get one on your lawn dont stop trying to kill the bastards. They hurt badly and could hurt small children. One sure-fire trick (heh heh) to kill them is scatter gunpowder on and around the next. They go "MM SALT PETER" and drag it inside, then just ignite it after a few hours. Dull thud from below, and no more ants!  

Good restaurants? Yeah, by now, but a few years ago, no... LOL. And no cross burnings. Its redneckey, but not hateful. Its just now getting sophisticated, give em a break. There is the 'middle class' and the yuppies and such you can hang out with if you really must do so :razz:

Also, most new houses are ranch style with high roofs and ceilings so all the hot air goes up  and the cooler air is at you. Basements are non-existant and yards can be big or small. The grass is also pretty thick bladed... very unique but nice to walk on. One downside - new subdivisions tend to defoliate the area... find an older one with some damn shade and do yourself a favor.

For myself, I do not believe in any revelation. As for a future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting vague probabilities.
--Charles Robert Darwin, English naturalist

[Anonymous]

On 2005-07-31 10:43:00, bandit1978 wrote:

"Has anyone been to Jacksonville, Florida, or know anything about it??



I found out that is where my BF and I will be moving to next June (because he got into a training program there), so we will stay for 3 or 4 years.  "

Jacksonville is a vile city.  The cops suck, the Baptists run the place, and the rednecks and yuppies suck.  Lotsa racial tension too.  My condolences.  I grew up there, it's vile and getting viler.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-07-31 10:47:00, Three Springs Waygookin wrote:

"I have been there once. Going to Florida State is he?
"

Florida State is in Tallahasee, they're  the Seminoles.  UFis in Gainesville, they're the Gators.  Important stuff to know if you're living in N. FL.

[Nihilanthic]

I never ran into any damn racial tension or any baptist jerks... but then again it was back in like 1996 when I last lived there :razz:

Those who control the past, control the future; and those who control the present, control the past.

--George Orwell

[Anonymous]

On 2005-08-01 01:05:00, Nihilanthic wrote:


Its also basically a giant redneck-metropolis, but sophistication is starting to come becuase of the money there. Shit is cheap in florida, taxes are lower, etc. Also, IIRC there isn't emissions testing because it sits between the gulf and the atlantic - no need.

The state did away with emission testing about ten years ago. In the 80s, the air quality was worse than LA, but that has improved somewhat. It's still a very dirty town.  If by "sophistication" you mean gated communities and an excess of golf courses, you are right.  At least they sell liquor on Sunday since the early 90s.

The North side of town is the bad one, and well, downtown is kinda crummy at any rate. Gangs are present but its not as bad as say, the REAL L.A. :razz:. Oh, and uh... Jacksonville has spent a TON of money on setting up a monorail system, but so far it connects maybe two buildings downtown. Its a joke, and theyve spent more money to get less rail than any other place on earth... so, theyd be prime candidates for being hustled.  :lol:

Arlington/Southside's getting bad too, crime-wise.  Westside is still rednecked as all hell.
The monorail is a fucking joke.  For a 'non'Christian, interracial" couple, I'd recommend Riverside, it's the only neighborhood in Jax with a semblence of tolerance or intelligence.  Lotsa artist types, gays, etc.  Cool old architecture, the gentrification has been going on for a decade or so.  Riverside between Park St. and the St. John's river is OK, but getting pricier.

What else.... er, Gas was cheaper last time I was there than anywhere else in the USA, big fat wide ass highways going all over, public transportation is either not existant or sparse, and Florida is FLAT. FLAAAAT. Its weird. Uh, big bugs, shit grows there really big and stuff, it has this kind of sweet/sorta rotten smell al the time, people wear coats if its 60°F, sometimes there are wildfires and it snows ashes (very rarely) aand theres alligators and tons of seafood... but all the rednecks there tend to eat like they just came out of west virginia, ignoring all the shit thats coming out of florida itself. Also, naturally, lots of immigrants, if it matters to ya.

Gas is more expensive than in Georgia 'cause they tax everything to make up revenue that the state misses from not having an income tax.  Jacksonville recently raised the sales tax to finance the "better Jacksoinville" (read: graft for political contributing contractors) plan.

The smell is from the paper mills on the Northside of town.

[Antigen]

On 2005-08-01 02:05:00, Nihilanthic wrote:

OH SHIT, just remembered... heh. Fireants suck majorly. Dont step on their hills and if you get one on your lawn dont stop trying to kill the bastards. They hurt badly and could hurt small children. One sure-fire trick (heh heh) to kill them is scatter gunpowder on and around the next. They go "MM SALT PETER" and drag it inside, then just ignite it after a few hours. Dull thud from below, and no more ants!

Yeah, that's one way to harass them. Doesn't usually kill them off, though. A better way is to abstain from spraying poisons that kill off their natural predators.

Another thing you'll have to deal w/ is sand spurs (the real Florida state flower, here's a pic http://fortdesoto.com/images/pool/im_sa ... 0027_a.jpg )

One way to keep them down is to mow w/ a catcher as soon as you see a lot of seed heads and before they dry off and fall. Mowing this often will usuall kill off your lawn, so I've found it more effective to pull the heads off or pay a kid w/ cookies or candy or some other cheap treat to do it for me.

Unfortunately, neither of these methods are the least bit effective against red neck cops or Baptists. Sorry.

Totalitarianism is like a specter which drinks the blood of the living and so achieves reality, while the victims go on existing as a mass of living corpses.

http://www.whitecloud.com/fight_vs_totalitarianism.htm' target='_new'>Karl Jaspers, The Fight Against Totalitarianism (1963)

[bandit1978]

Thanks for all the info!  

Yeah, rednecks could be a problem.  I'd rather live with immigrants.  But anyway, so best neighborhood for me (young couple, interracial, buddhist/hindu, from up north) would be RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHSIDE?  

Okay, I'll look into that.  Any other ideas/suggestions/info, holla back.

[Anonymous]

You didnt work at Eckerd or Outward Bound did you?

[Shortbus]

On 2005-08-03 08:41:00, Three Springs Waygookin wrote:

"Well its a 50 50 chance you may be right. "

Forgot to log on, I was the one that asked. I too have worked at a couple progreams.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-08-03 06:59:00, bandit1978 wrote:

"Thanks for all the info!  



Yeah, rednecks could be a problem.  I'd rather live with immigrants.  But anyway, so best neighborhood for me (young couple, interracial, buddhist/hindu, from up north) would be RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHSIDE?  



Okay, I'll look into that.  Any other ideas/suggestions/info, holla back.
"

Riverside by far.  Southside in getting crime-ridden, Mandarin may be OK, but you've still got tons of rednecks and Baptists, and worse....Republican yuppies.  Riverside's got a couple of decent restaurants, and is just across th river from San Marco, which has quite a few, too.  Try out European Street, they have one in each neighborhood.  If you're vegetarian or vegan, you might have a hard time, although there are a couple of good Indian restaurants, one is in Arlington/Southside at the corner of Arlington Rd. and Atlantic Blvd., it used to be called Bombay Tandoor, but changed it's name a couple of years ago, there's another good one (that's near a good Japanes restaurant) on San Jose in Mandarin.