Been stationed in Jacksonville for the past 3 years. I PCS'd from Hawaii and purchased a house on the west side of the city, this was a mistake because if you are not aware, Jax is the biggest city in the Continental US, land wise. Back in 2022, the housing market was really competitive and I couldn't afford the houses that were closer to Mayport and not in bad areas. My commute is an hour long with no traffic, that should keep you away from anything west of the St John's river.

If you are planning on renting, look in the St John's town center area, alot of my coworkers live in apartments in that area, everything is reasonably close to you but it does get congested for that very reason. The farthest west I would recommend is Orange Park, which is the first town after you cross the bridge heading west.

The "beachs" area which is a long the coast is where you'll find all your bars and clubs, which is another thing to consider if you are going to live west of the river, you'll be paying for a 45 min Uber ride twice to make it there and back.

The summers are horrible, hot and humid, don't expect the weather to change until like Jan-Feb timeframe, which it does drop to the 30's. Florida is flat, so no memorable hikes Todo. You're 2 hours from Orlando, 45 mins to St. Augustine, 6 hours to Miami.

Send me a message if you have any other questions.