Scenes from a Little Town Called Jacksonville

jeeff: 19th Apr 2005 - 15:42 GMT

Re: first photo

what a weird combination. the detailing on the tracks makes them look like some leftover from the Roman empire. And then a 70's po-mo train on top.

hasslehoff: 19th Apr 2005 - 15:53 GMT

Having heard a lot about Jacksonville from an old friend who once lived there, yet never having seen any pictures of it. I have always imagined it to be more concrete-boxy than these photos portray it to be. I'm inrigued by its supposedly random juxtaposition of architectural forms.

kobe: 19th Apr 2005 - 18:21 GMT

that last photo is enchanting. i wonder how long those windows keep repeating?

shaun: 1st Dec 2005 - 14:15 GMT

bah, jacksonville is a pretty average looking city, those pictures show off a few weird parts though

pretty boring place too

Dale: 10th Dec 2006 - 22:20 GMT

Heh I live in Jacksonville and yea its a pretty boring place and graffiti...good luck, this is a place of constant traffic.

Dave: 26th Jan 2007 - 05:19 GMT

Jacksonville is not boring. There is peace and quiet AND excitement and variety. It's hard to find another city that offers so many cross-sections of lifestyles and changes of scenery. You can choose to live in quiet places or you can choose to live in busy places with traffic and a faster pace. If you don't see that, then you're not looking. Get off your butt, get out, and you will enjoy Jacksonville -- it's truly one of the less pretentious and more enjoyable cities in the US.

Klyph: 10th May 2007 - 18:40 GMT

What was formerly said of Oakland, CA, is also true of Jacksonville: There's no "there" there. On the other hand, J'ville boasts 46% adult illiteracy, 33% high school drop-out rate, and the most murders per capita of any Florida city, and a high school named in honor of the founder of the KKK. Boring? You decide.

anon (c-66-177-176-226.hsd1.fl.comcast.net): 16th May 2007 - 00:47 GMT

I agree with Dave, Jacksonville is terrific! These 6 pictures are of buildings and over passes downtown...whoever photographed these should have ventured out to the beaches or intercoastal water-ways...Jacksonville is beautiful...if you don't like it LEAVE!!!

annah: 17th Nov 2007 - 20:24 GMT

Jacksonville is a great city to buid yourself up. It's easy to stay out of trouble if you are a teen, and if you have the proper mindset, you can really make something of yourself here, fccj is a great school. THen you can leave and explore other citys and realize there really is no place like jacksonville. I love to hate this city.

Kim: 21st Nov 2007 - 18:17 GMT

I live in Jacksonville, FL for the last 3 years and I still can't am unable to find anything to do. This is the most BORING city I have ever been in. I think once the housing market gets better, I want to move alot closer to Orlando, FL. Jacksonville needs to take a lesson or 2 from Orlando and get some sort of entertainment. It's not like they don't have the space to put whatever they want there!! They could easily put a six flags, mall of america anything entertaining to put it on the map. I HATE JACKSONVILLE, FL!!! The only thing that is good about Jacksonville, FL is the school my son goes to and THAT IS IT!!

Will: 9th Dec 2007 - 09:11 GMT

The last picture is the Jacksonville Electric Authority building. I owe them $110 currently. The Modis building is also interesting because it's like a 70's retro skyscraper. Oh and I love Jacksonville because there is no six flags. It's not boring either because we have a fair share of random stuff going on at all hours. The area in these pictures is actually pretty incredible.

colavitos: 9th Dec 2007 - 10:38 GMT

there is no such thing as a boring place. only boring people.

Andrew: 14th Dec 2007 - 03:48 GMT

I hate Jacksonville. I am from Atlanta and it was the biggest mistake of my life to move here. I have been here since Feb'07. In April of '08 when my lease is up, I will be doing something I have desired for months now: leaving this place and never coming back. Jacksonville is gross and so are the people who live here.

Andrew: 14th Dec 2007 - 03:55 GMT

--Addendum to previous message--

And just so people don't hate on me for saying what I did...Believe me, I have tried and tried and tried to find something I like about this city. It really makes me sad that I want to move so badly, and that I couldn't enjoy this place like some do. Well, I do enjoy some things about it...the outdoorsy things. However that alone isn't enough to make a city great. I have lived here almost a year now and still don't feel at home.

stephen: 7th Jan 2008 - 22:52 GMT

I would just like to say to the people who said bad things about jacksonville I would like to move but I have lived here for all my life and I love this city you people just have no life and like to sit at home there are plenty of things to do in jacksonville you people just need to leave if you hate it so much go move to a big city because if your talking about downtown jacksonville I believe we are not quite up to par with other large cities but we are getting there and they are trying to make it better

riana: 16th Jan 2008 - 02:56 GMT

I moved here in 1989 and if you people hate Jacksonville now you would of really hated it back then, there was really nothing to do, and everyone here talked funny. Ive seen it grow over the years and now I call it home I have been a single mother for 10 years and if I were somewhere else I may have not been able to support my son, it's very affordable living. If you want something to do all you have to do is go out and look for it,I'm never bored,we have a NFL team, baseball, hockey concerts all the time at the Veterans memorial downtown, a beach, St Augustine festivals at the beach all summer,the circus is coming, lots of movie theatres, the St Johns town center,the landing,What else do you need? quit complaining and get a life, GET OFF THE COMPUTER!! Movies at the beach in the summer on Friday nights,lots of good resturants,THE BEACH IS WERE YOU NEED TO BE.start living life and have fun.. If your worried about the schools move to the beach and put your kids in school there. I just bought my first house last year, If I can do it anyone can..

riana: 16th Jan 2008 - 03:00 GMT

Get the folio weekly, it has all the upcoming events and everything going on for the weekends.

Beni: 16th Apr 2008 - 16:12 GMT

I lived in Jax for one and a half years. I don't like it. My main problem with the city is the lack of public transportation, the non-centralized infrastructure and the low intellect of the population. Best example for that is the Skyway, which is displayed on the first picture. Nobody uses that thing, because there is barely anybody living in the area it operates. You always have to worry about getting a DUI, since all your friends are living miles away, and the designated driver idea doesn’t really always strike in a city with a very low population density. I do not recommend that city at all.

imon: 18th Apr 2008 - 05:46 GMT

jacksonville has a cove ,yeah its looking decent,yes its trying to compete with other major cities,but it is a racist city ,it has the good ol' boy mentality, paysucksno matter what you say, housing might be a bit cheaper but it balances out with high price food,clothing etc,i hate the factthat companies do not give you a fair share to work, they basically shoot you down ,without giving you reasonable doubt, i hate that right to work mentality because it is b.s as fast as they hire you they can fire you and make up anyreason, jacksonville is boring, people hang more at the many wal-marts here, so consider this you'll like the change temporarily because i did , but now when i visit chicago my hometown i regret coming here,oh yeah whoever says it is safe ,remember #1 in murder,aids, alot of sexual predators,so be aware what you sacrifice for a nice home research because the schools here are not that great and i supposedly live in a good area southside,remember,big city landwise,with a lot of backwwod secrets

jeff: 25th Apr 2008 - 18:23 GMT

i've lived here for 22 years and have often complained about wanting to "get out of here". the problem seems to be once i'm somewhere else i miss home terribly. there is something that draws people here and northeast florida in particular. i've been to all corners of the u.s. and canada and i can honestly say there is no place quite like it. yes, it;s sprawled out, but you should think of it as more of "metropolitan" area which has many different neighborhoods. some neighborhoods do in fact suck and some can totally transport you. my advice, if you are moving here or visiting, do visit riverside. i suppose it's the more bohemian area of town. very liberal, very historic. one of the few neighborhoods that gives you the feel of living "in the city" stay the hell away from the south of the st. johns river. bunches of yuppies and vacuous wage slaves. also if you are a musician or just enjoy the arts in general there is quite a massive thriving scene here. you'd be surprised. i think the last thing i can say is if you moved here from somewhere else and "hate" it and can't understand why anyone would live here then you most probably live south of the river in one of the truly boring subdivision type areas where all you are going to do is interact with shallow punks and other misguided folks like yourself. open your minds and realize that the stereotype of the south only extends to some not all. good luck.

Johnny: 5th May 2008 - 00:44 GMT

The cost of living is cheaper here but it still sucks. Why don't we leave you ask? Because now we are stuck here with the housing market and all the other crap. Jacksonville could be a cool city like Orlando or Miami but not enough people care to make it. Plus the churches control so much of downtown that you really can have a good club or bar scene. My first clue about how much this city sucked was when I saw a liquor store go out of business across form JU.

anon (205.173.35.130): 5th May 2008 - 16:45 GMT

I have lived in Jacksonville for all of 3 months now, and I have to say that I haven't found it all that great. Once you get over the beach and the shopping/dining, there isn't much more that I have found to do. There are many organizations for young professionals, and the social scene leaves a lot to be desired. You have to drive to Valdosta or Orlando for a theme park, the traffic sucks for there to be so many different routes. I came from a smaller town, Tallahassee, where I lived for 7 years. I thought that this place would be more "city like" as opposed to the country feel of tallahassee, but boy was I wrong. Sprawl everywhere! I actually do like the downtown area, but like Jeff side, I live on the Southside, and there ARE a bunch of yuppies there! So far I am not impressed. The problem is that some folks have become so accustomed to their lifestyle that their views are a bit myopic. I am just counting this as a lesson learned.

anon (205.173.35.130): 5th May 2008 - 16:47 GMT

In reference to the above comment--there are NOT many organizations

Shaun: 6th May 2008 - 03:17 GMT

I moved to Jax in Sept and my lease is up in June. I am outta here! I'm from the D.C. area and I visited Jax all the time. My family and I decided to move here because of the sunshine and the price of living is cheap. Now I know that was not the best move. I live in Clay county and I see Confederate flags everywhere I go. People here are soo slow and can't drive. Everything is so far, this is the biggest small town ever. My kids schools are in an A school, they seem to like it , but get racist comments sometimes. The job market sucks, unless your a teacher or military. Wages are low, and about time you buy gas, food and pay high taxes, I couldn't have stayed in D.C. It was cool for a while, but we had enough.Time to go home!

James: 17th May 2008 - 19:13 GMT

I've lived in Jacksonville nearly my entire life (I'm 39). I find people who have issues with Jacksonville are not from here. The ones who complain the most are not from here. Jacksonville is great place to live. I do admit our public education totally stinks, but so does most of the nation's schools. Regarding the comment about N. B. Forrest HS, named after the former Confederate general. It was NOT named to honor his attachment to the KKK no matter what the NAACP tries to tell you, it was named to honor his leadership in the Confederate army. This is the South people. We are proud of our heritage. If you don't like Jacksonville get the hell out!

RAY ALAN: 20th May 2008 - 18:40 GMT

I have lived in jacksonville fla. all my life 51yrs. to be exact.First I cant belive Jacksonville fla. is being called a small town because there est.800,000 people reside here and it is the largest city in the U.S in terms of land area.BOY HAVE I SEEN CHANGES.To a once beautiful city with a population 250,000 to 300,000 people this city has become a real hellhole and I plan to leave.Crime and conjestion is unbelivable in fact currently Jacksonville is the murder capital of Florida for about the last 3 to 4 years.Because of a large black population that is out of control who cant stay off drugs and like to rape white women and rob gas stations is not a pretty picture.To make things worse they whine and complain like in other cities that white racism is to blame for there actions and behavior.Nice areas of town are not exempt either low income blacks have flooded apartment complexs and I could tell to you plenty of horror stories.If there is a family planning on moving here make sure you own firearms and educate your children. If there are girls in the family warn them of dangers or will propably get there panties pulled down and get aids OR WORSE.

Lisa: 20th May 2008 - 19:02 GMT

Spent the first half of my life trying to get away from Jacksonville. Now here I am in San Antonio texas, wishing for home. :O(

Melissa: 21st May 2008 - 01:40 GMT

I googled "I hate Jacksonville" just to see what I would find... and I have found this site here. The only reason I "dislike" Jacksonville is that I have been ripped from my home in Hollywood, FL because my husband and I couldn't afford a house down south and we did not want to raise our children there. This totally sucks for me, now I have no friends and only my husband's family here in jville.
It is beautiful, but my husband is too busy with work and studies to hang and show me fun stuff. I feel so alone here and now with two children I couldn't move back home if I wanted to. AS mush as I love home, the schools and people here in Jville in general are alot better.
OK, I guess I like jville I am just lonely for my old friends and family. I am stuck like chuck!

anon (205.173.35.130): 21st May 2008 - 19:45 GMT

To Ray Alan. Maybe you should leave. It is racist attitudes like yours that make other people think that Jacksonville is a racist place. Blacks are not the only ones who commit crimes or are low income. Thank you for your excellent representation of Jacksonville.

yeah yeah: 27th May 2008 - 13:06 GMT

i think its amazing how people are suggesting that jacksonville should become like miami or orlando in order to become more "entertaining"... havent any of you people taken a walk around outside or a swim in the ocean or are you really as lazy and overstimulated as most americans appear to be? HELLOOOO!!!! we have a ton of small beautiful trails and preserves with beautiful scenery as well as numerous nearby beaches (all of which are seemingly different in style and crowd-size) and historic ladmarks... most of those things dont even cost any money, but hey, if youre looking to spend some money to feel like youve gotten REAL ENTERTAINMENT, rent a f*cking surfboard and learn a new healthy hobby... its better than sitting on your ass and letting some one else do your entertaining for you... its shocking to think that people need to destroy all of the natural, cost-free, self-motivating and healthy entertainment to make this a "fun" city... dont you think there are enough "fun" cities in south florida? orlando is only 2 and a half hours away- drive there for a day at disney or do you need to go every day to feel entertained? some people are just lazy and like to blame there boredom on everything else- once jacksonville's natural beauty is completely destroyed, you will probably complain about the disgusting polluted air and how theres nothing pretty to look at... seriously, just go play outside for a bit- you might do your body, your pocket, and those who dont want to hear your bitching, some good

dan: 29th May 2008 - 06:44 GMT

Life in Jacksonville is what you make of it. No matter where you live, there will be folks who hate and love that place. There are valid reasons for both sides - it kind of comes down to personal preference, just like everything else in life! As for Ray Alan, please take some sort of English or writing course before attempting to go off about others. Your delivery comes off as both racist and ignorant, no matter what your intentions.

Jilch: 1st Jun 2008 - 22:00 GMT

I agree with several postings here. I love living here in Jax. I am a technology professional, who lives in the south side of the city, which is much cleaner than a lot of parts of town. I love the weather, the beaches, the fact that we have 4 seasons with neither one dominating the whole year. I totally disagree with those who say Jax is a 12 month sauna in terms of climate. There are a great many temperate days here. And culturally the city is growing. It all depends on where you put your life's focus. As a working professional I don't have time to go to entertainment except on weekends, and there IS plenty of stuff, just many of you aren't looking.

CJ: 30th Jun 2008 - 18:53 GMT

Hello! I found this website because a co-worker of mine is considering a move to North Florida. I told her about my experiences but she didn't believe me. Perhaps she'll believe you guys though so I'll pass this link along to her.

My husband and I lived in Jacksonville for 4 years and I hated it more than you could possibly imagine. It was the most racist, sexist and homophobic city I'd ever lived in. I tried to like the city. I even went so far as to take a job with the Jacksonville Convention and Visitors Bureau hoping it would boost my opinon of the city. It did boost my opinion of all of the beauty that the land has to offer, but I still found the people unbearable. As far as securing a job was concerned, I found that having a degree, years of experience and a positive attitude counted for absolutely nothing if you were Black! It was so horrible that we left Jacksonville 8 years ago and moved to Seattle where we are VERY, VERY happy. My husband and I both have great professional jobs and own a home in a safe neighborhood with people of all races. God Bless the great State of Washington for helping us restore our self esteem and dignity after Jacksonville had all but broken it down.

A: 11th Jul 2008 - 15:59 GMT

Jacksonville is a really nice place to live compared to a lot of places in the country.

There are really only 3 good public high schools (Stanton [top 10 in the US], Paxon [top 20 in the US], and Mandarin). And they just finished building one and will be finished building another in 2010.

Crime is only bad in certain areas. It's the same with the rednecks. They concentrate in certain areas.

It's only boring if you're too lazy to go out and find something to do (beaches, restaurants, movies, parks, whatever).

A: 11th Jul 2008 - 16:02 GMT

By the way, Duval county is Jacksonville. Clay county is not. Clay county is probably home to most of the small-minded people you are complaining about because its right next to Duval.

Anonymous: 17th Jul 2008 - 18:26 GMT

I've lived in 17 states and Jax. is the only place where I've been robbed. I've had 4 apartments broken into here (one of them several times). I've been beaten up and robbed walking down the street at least 20 times over the last 10 years. Most of the times I have had to walk anywhere for any reason, I was harassed at least once. Jacksonville is a very scary place for a small, clean-cut, young white guy. The west side is anyways, riverside kicks ass.

Anonymous: 17th Jul 2008 - 18:35 GMT

In fact, I can know for certain, that if I were to walk out my front door right now and walk as far as past Ureka Gardens apts. with my i-pod on- I would see many young black dudes standing around in a group on the side of the road there and they would aproach me like allways and say something like: "What-chu got for me cuz?" and proceed to pat my pockets and take my i-pod. If I gave them any kind of look for it they would smash my face of course. I am so certain that these things would happen exactly like this that I would bet you everything I own against $5.00

Anonymous: 17th Jul 2008 - 18:39 GMT

Oh yeah, I allmost forgot the best part. After they beat me up and stole my stuff they would follow me (at a distance)back to my house, then they would run up on me after I open the door and stick their gun in my face and walk through my house taking whatever they wanted. Then I would move, AGAIN.

anon (12.156.245.34): 25th Jul 2008 - 04:44 GMT

It's a very quiet, working class city. It's family and church oriented. It's also very poor, old and run down in many areas unfortunately.