Moving to Jacksonville

S.,

Welcome to the area! I moved here in 2001 and I love it. I know exactly what you mean about your girls growing up too fast. Sometimes I am at once so proud and horrified at all the things my oldest can do!

Check out Newsweek's rankings of public high schools: http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380/?q=2008/rank/1 . I realize that your children are a long way off from high school, however I think the fact that there are 3 Duval County Schools in the top 100 is very telling. The students who attend these high schools also attended our elementary and middle schools. There is only one St. John's county school inthe top 100 and none from Clay County. If the schools in Clay and St. John's are so much better, then why aren't their high school students entering IB programs, taking AP tests and scoring high enough on the SAT to make the top 100. Clay and St. John's are great school districts, undoubtedly. However, saying that Duval is not is misleading.

Duval is a HUGE county. Jacksonville is the biggest city in area in the United States. We have a lot of schools with a lot of varying levels of success. You do have to research the area that you are moving to and find out about the schools. Florida gives schools letter grades based on students' FCAT scores. I believe that this is similar to what is done in Texas. You can see all Duval County Schools grades here: http://www.duvalschools.org/reseval/FSAP.asp . There are PLENTY of great schools in Duval County and I believe it is completely unneccessary to buy a home and hour or more away from Baymeadows (Orange Park or St. Johns County) in order to live in a good school zone. If you couldn't tell, I'm a teacher. My two children will attend public school in Duval County when they are of school age.

I also recommend the IntraCoastal West and Beaches area. I live in Jacksonville Beach and I love it. It is like a small town in this big city. There are a lot of kid-friendly things to do, it is laid-back, it is close to Baymeadows and the schools are great. Most of the neighborhoods are nice without having meddling homeowner's associations.

I used North Florida Obstetrics for both my pregnancies. The doctors are Dr. Green, Dr. Bing, Dr. Sievert and Dr. Morgan. I delivered at Baptist Beaches. I had wonderful pregnancies and deliveries and I wouldn't change anything.

I use Beaches Animal Clinic for our furry family members (2 dogs and 2 cats). They are wonderful. It is a practice of 3 doctors. There is very low turnover there, so many of the staff members that were there when I started going 8 years ago are the same ones now! I recently found out that my dog has cancer and when I broke down in tears in the exam room, Dr. Daniel was so kind and comforting. I will never forget that.

My children , 3 1/2 and 20 months, go to Jacksonville Beach Pediatric Care Center. It is a 24/7 Pediatrician and this has been a God-send on many occasions. My favorite person to see there is actually the nurse practioner. I do have some complaints about the practice, and I'm on a waiting list at another pediatrician's office. They aren't bad, but I'm also not OVERJOYED.

There are a few great dance studios at the Beach...Nancy Dance is the only one I can recall by name right now. We also have Kindermusic, Artoga (Art and Yoga), My Gym, Public Art Walks, Festivals, Infant Swimming Resource, Adventure Landing, the Pier, tons of parks and of course- the beach! :-) There are also lots of mother's morning out programs to choose from. Our Branch library has family storytime and I know of at least two playgroups that are specifically for this area of Jacksonville.

I also love my hairdresser, know a great real-estate agent, and have worked for a builder- let me know if you want any of that info :-)

Hi S., Welcome to Jacksonville. As for recommendations, I like Jax Pediatrics and there is one on Southside Blvd. not too far from where your husband will work. North Florida OB/GYN has a wonderful staff that I like. I think we have a lot of great hospitals in Jacksonville, but I like Baptist and St. Lukes particularly. As for the schools, depending on where you live, you'll find many good options. We have a magnet program in Jacksonville that is very good and you should research for your oldest daughter (check http://www.duvalschools.org). I used to live in Clay county but moved to Jacksonville to be closer to work and shopping. I didn't like the traffic in Clay County and the commute time is ridiculous. I now live off of Kernan Blvd. with is perfect if you like to be close to everything (great shopping, restaurants, beach, etc). There are wonderful neighborhoods (and a lot of them) in this area. There are three and soon to be four elem. schools around me that are all "A" schools and all within two miles of my home. My son is now in a public Montesorri school that he absolutely loves so we are very happy. Providence is a good private school but I think that if you get your daughter into a good elementary public school, no point spending on a private school...unless you have other reasons for doing so. As for homes/neighborhoods, try "Waterleaf" on Kernan Blvd. It's a shady neighborhood with low homeowner's fees (around $500 per year)and very family friendly. You have a lot of good options to choose from though, these are only my opinions and suggestions. Best of luck with your move.

jax4kids.com has some great info. It helped me find things to do and a the right playgroup to join. I live in Clay county and was in duval about 4 yrs ago.

I have a 3yr so i was worried about schools too. Housing in Arglye forest was great with great schools, Orange park area or Fleming Island. AVOID BLANDING BLVD. The traffic around the mall is the worst..

Here is my realator info. SHe is awesome and will drive around all day if needed, cares about you not the commission, and very down to earth.
Gwen Whittington
Coldwell Banker Devonshire
###-###-#### cell

Hey S.!

My family and I made the same move here two years ago this month. It's great. I was born and raised in Texas, but I just love this place. We have a 2 year old and our little boy is about to be one.

Well, you've heard the best advice about school systems, but I have two great recommendations for doctors. For OB/GYN, I use Dr. Kimberly VanScriver. She is so great. I had my baby through Fruitful Vine. That is a birthing center that works under Dr. VanScriver. After the baby, I went to Dr. V and had just a great experience with her. I've only heard great things about her. Plus, she helped my friend have her 1st VBAC and my friend had the greatest experience with her.

For a Pedi, we use Dr. Prasanthi Reddy of Rainbow Pediatrics. She is wonderful. My kids love her, and the great new office she just designed. She is great with the kids, thoroughly researches vaccinations and other children's health issues. She takes time with the kids, and I've never been to her office when it was over-booked. She also give vaccinations herself and pierces ears, if you need. If you are the type that wants medicine every time you bring in your child, she is not the doctor for you. She medicates for infections, but will let you know when the sickness just needs to run it's course. She also does newborn home visits if you deliver through a midwife. Check her out.

As for ballet schools, I've been checking them out for my little girl. There are 2 that take them at 2.5. I've checked them both out and have heard great things about Nancy's dance studio. They have their stuff together. You can find them and tons of other info. for kids on Jax4kids.com. We live in the intracoastal west area. It works well for us, because you are not far from anything. Dr. Reddy is right down the street on Hodges.

Well, good luck. Jax is great!

Hi S., welcome to the area. I'm sorry you have to move here in the summer, be prepared to be blown away with the extreme humidity. I moved here from CA in July of 2000, seven month pregnant and almost passed out as I exited the plane. We live in Jax ( duval county) for 6 years before finally moving to Orange Park, ( clay county). Orange Park is on the border of Jacksonville, just a little south west. Very near NAS Jax ( if you are military)and the school system is so much better. We live in a planned community, and the housing market as well as rental oppurtunites are very affordable now. Renters get to live here for almost the same price as other homes outside of the community and have access to all of the amenities, a must for stay at home moms with young children. There is local shopping, entertainment and much to do without leaving the neighborhood. Check it out at www.oakleafplantation.com Also www.oakleafresidents.com If you can figure out where your husband is going to work, I can let you know how much of a commute he will have and how long it will take him based on the traffic patterns. I can also help you figure out what type of house you can afford here. Good Luck, feel free to email me to ask for more help. When I moved here I had no friends and three small kids. I now have a wonderful neighborhood full of friends for my entire family and a great church. Oh, Dr. Boyd is a fabulous OB at Baptist Downtown. It's only about a 20 minute drive from here and his office is just under the specialist, if you should need extra care. Baptist is the hospital to deliver at, it is a good hospital and is connected to Wolfson's Children Hospital. If something should go wrong, you would want to already be in a leading childrens hospital with the ability to visit your baby while you recover. There are many Pediatricians that people reccomend, it depends on what type of Dr. you are looking for. Some people in my attachment parenting group prefer Dr.'s that allow them to hold off on vaccines and use homeopathic remedies and are slow to over medicate, others want something different. I just reread your request and the Baymeadows area is about 25 miles from me and on a normal 8-5 workday, will require about a 45 minute commute. Pretty normal. There are some decent areas to live closer, but also some really icky areas out there. You have to consider the Jr. High and High Schools first, elementary school are all going to be okay, but we were forced to move when our oldest reached 6th grade and we realized how awful the local schools were. Out here in Oakleaf, we just opened our own Elementary, we have our own Jr. High and our own High School will open in 2010. It's such a social community with all of the parents on the PTA or on the soccer fields, that I appreciate knowing most of the parents of my children's friends. I think that is important.

Definitely buy in Clay Co. or St. Johns Co. They have the best school system. I go to Dr. Hyler in Orange Park (obgyn). I like him a lot. Plus the Orange Park Medical Center is the only 5 star birthing Center from what I have heard. We take the kids to Dr. Hardin (pediatrician)in Orange Park as well. Good Luck!

I just moved from Dallas (North Dallas Area)about a month ago.

I just wanted to tell you to be prepared for the traffic. Well not really traffic because it is no where near the grid-lock that Dallas has. Everyone drive sooooooooo slow and they run red lights like crazy. I was here about 2 weeks and was hit from behind. The guy that hit me just wasn't paying attention. I drive a big black/dark grey GMC Yukon, not hard to miss. LOL

I disagree with several of the previous posters with regards to Duval Schools. I live near Baymeadows and urge you to look into Mandarin Oaks Elementary and Mandarin Middle School. Both have 5 star ratings for 5 and 7 years (I believe). Even our Mandarin High School was ranked 142 NATIONWIDE last year. Some of the schools here are the best in the country. Mandarin is a wonderful part of Jacksonville and Baymeadows/Deerwood are neighboring us. My husband is active duty and we've been stationed here once before, moved to Dallas, and back here. We enjoyed Mandarin so much, we moved to the same area (especially considering the commute traffic in Clay County with regards to Blanding and Roosevelt). Contact me privately for more questions.

The Baymeadows/Deerwood area is a farily nice part of south Jacksonville. Unfortunately, the Duval County public schools aren't very good so if you are actually going to live in Jacksonville I recommend planning to homeschool or pay for private school. If you have to go the public school route, I would recommend buying someting in neighboring St. Johns or Clay county and having your husband commute.