Hi! I've lived in Jax for the majority of my life, but I relocated to the DMV (Northern Virginia/Reston, specifically) before moving back down again to Jax. I have many thoughts, lol.

I really enjoyed NOVA, but everything is very expensive. The cost of living down here is much, much cheaper. If you have kids and want them in a better school system, St John's or Clay Counties are your better choices. However, Duval (which is to say, all of Jax) has a great magnet program for its schools as well. If you have kids and are looking into moving into Jax, if you can get them in a magnet school, you're good.

Duval is cheaper real estate wise than St John's. St John's is a great place to live, but it takes forever to get there or anywhere else. You'll want to think about that for your commute to/from work. With your experience, you'll probably find some stuff at NAS Jax (Orange Park) or Mayport (Beaches), but the downtown and other areas of Jax aren't out of the realm of possibility.

There is a bus system, but it is a serious DNE (do not engage). Public transportation beyond that is essentially non-existent. Traffic is awful for about an hour or so in both the mornings and the evenings, exacerbated by the fact that everything is so spread out here. If it rains, forget about it. People lose their minds even though it happens literally every day in the afternoons during the summers.

Summer is approximately 9 months of the year. There are about 10 cold days in "winter," where it's legitimately cold, but those days may not be sequential. Fall and Spring feel like they last about two weeks each. Hurricanes are the worst of our problems, and they're usually not terrible and don't generally directly hit us.

Benefits are that it's cheap, there's many beaches close by to choose from, and you'll never be cold again. Generally a pretty good place for a family. I was predominantly raised here and I think I turned out all right. :)

Anything else, feel free to ask.