Jacksonville is a booming, bustling place to live in and work, the 12th largest city in the country by population in 2022 with slightly over 950,000 people living here. So, if you’re considering a move to Jacksonville—or you’ve already made that decision—here are ten reasons why this can be the perfect place for you to relocate.
#1 Plenty of Sunshine
If you appreciate warm weather, you’ll find it in Jacksonville. July can be the hottest month with average highs and lows of 92° / 75° with ocean breezes helping during humid days. January is the coolest with these averages: 66° / 46°. With those temps, snow is quite rare; so, if you’re moving from a place with cold winters, you won’t need to bring your snowblower. If you’re moving from a place that’s warmer than Jacksonville, you’ll appreciate the change of seasons, one that doesn’t include a rough winter.
#2 Relatively Low Cost of Living
Best Places data uses the benchmark of 100 as a national average. When looking at the overall cost of living expenses, the state of Florida is somewhat above (102.8) but the city of Jacksonville is clearly below 93.5. So, you can enjoy the benefits of Florida living more affordably. When looking specifically at housing expenses, Jacksonville is nice and low at 78, and prices are more affordable than average whether you rent or buy.
#3 Hot Job Market
Wall Street Journal’s 2022 job market rankings lists Jacksonville as the fifth hottest market in the United States, the top in Florida. WSJ uses five factors in its formula: job growth, labor-force growth, labor-force participation rate, unemployment rate, and wage growth. Jacksonville offers jobs with a “strong multiplier effect”: they’re reasonably high paying in themselves and tend to add to local job economies. Sectors include financial services, health care, and technology.
Plus, just like in other parts of the country, more people worked remotely during the peak of the COVID pandemic—and a 2022 survey of Florida employers suggests that this may have a lasting effect on how work gets done: 27 percent of employers have made intentional changes to help their remote employees succeed, a sign that they’re in it for the long haul.
#4 Conveniently Located
Jacksonville is located on the east coast of Florida with easy access to major cities in Florida and nearby states: Atlanta and Savannah, GA; Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina; Orlando, Florida, and more. They are, at most, a few hours drive—and Jacksonville is where two major interstate highways converge: I-95 and I-10.
Other highways going through the city include U.S. 1, U.S. 17, U.S. 90, and U.S. 301 with I-75 being only sixty miles west of the downtown area. This helps you to conveniently commute to work and otherwise get you where you need to go. Plus, you can easily get in and out of the city via the Jacksonville International Airport, which also makes it simple for friends and family to visit you.
#5 Beaches, Beaches, Beaches
This headline should say “beaches” one more time because Jacksonville really has four major ones—Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, and Neptune Beach—along with smaller ones. In fact, Jacksonville boasts more shorelines than any other Florida city, including coastal waters, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the St. Johns River.
You can enjoy sunning yourself or taking advantage of the wonderful waterways: swimming, surfing, scuba diving, water skiing, jet skiing, boating, kayaking, paddle boarding, wakeboarding, fishing, and more. You can even camp along the waters, ready to enjoy more activities in the morning.
#6 Excellent Schools
If you’re moving your family to Jacksonville, you’ll appreciate the quality of the public schools. The city has a high concentration of well-ranking public schools along with plenty of private options. No matter what you choose, you can move ahead with confidence. Five of the state’s highest-ranked high schools are in Jacksonville:
- St. Johns
- Nassau
- Clay
- Baker
- Duval
Higher education institutions are also nearby, including these three:
- University of North Florida: public/four year
- Florida State College at Jacksonville – Downtown Campus: public/two year
- Edward Waters University: private, non-profit/four year
Once you know your school district, you can find out specifics of your children’s schools through the 12th grade and you can explore these colleges and universities as well.
#7 Range of Communities
You may decide to move into the heart of downtown Jacksonville, a walkable urban area. Or you may prefer to live in a community that’s not in the center of the city. Fortunately, there are plenty of choices. If, for example, you move about forty minutes south of downtown Jacksonville, you’ll be in Orange Park. This has a more rural feel with homes having large yards and amenities that are ideal for families. This is also where the Naval Air Station is located.
The Southside neighborhood features plenty of starter homes in a community with good schools along with restaurants and shopping malls. San Marco, meanwhile, contains bistros, boutiques, and more. Because Jacksonville has more than five hundred neighborhoods, there is almost certainly one that’s just right for you.
#8 Good Eats!
Plenty of fantastic restaurants are in Jacksonville, with each neighborhood having its own unique flavor and culinary offerings:
Located on top of a Riverside building, you can see the scenic landscape all around while enjoying a seafood-forward menu along with steaks, unique co*cktails, and more. Casual yet trendy in ambiance, there are brunches and live music on the weekends. Rooftop dining is first come first served while reservations are recommended for first-floor dining.
Imagine Asian Himalayan cuisine in a location with a really cool vibe—and that’s Hawkers. There are plenty of small plate choices, which allow you to taste and enjoy a wide range of flavors, sharing among your friends. Specialties include lo mein, homemade kimchi, and basil rice with delicious flatbreads and dumplings also in demand.
Island Wing Company Bar and Grill
Food is perfectly baked, grilled, or steamed: burgers, chicken wings, tacos, and more. The atmosphere is trendy and tropical with nothing ever being fried. If you don’t want to eat meat, try their spicy smoked tuna dip or their vegetarian options.
#9 Amazing Parks
Jacksonville boasts more than 80,000 acres of parks, the largest urban park network in the nation. There are more than 450 city parks where you can surround yourself with nature and enjoy leisure time. Plus, there are state and national parks and preserves. Fort Caroline National Memorial is the location of a French colonial fort built in 1564 with a restored version existing there today.
You can boat at Fort George Island Cultural State Park or hike at the Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve—and we’re barely scratching the surface of parks in Jacksonville.
#10 Diverse Art and Culture
At the cumme*r Museum of Art and Gardens, the self-proclaimed largest fine arts location in NE Florida, you can browse incredible paintings as well as a waterfront garden that’s a thing of beauty all by itself. Another must-see art museum: the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is a Cultural Institute of the University of North Florida.
ArtWalk is held on the first Wednesday evening of the month, an event where local artists, musicians, and more share their talents. This in-demand event has resumed after a COVID break; here are specifics. Music lovers will appreciate the Jacksonville Symphony, the Florida Theatre, and more.
Bonus Reason:
If you’ll be newly moving to Florida, it is one of a handful of states with no state income tax.
Best Movers in Jacksonville, FL
Once you’ve decided to relocate, you’ll likely start to compare moving companies in Jacksonville, FL. As part of that process, we invite you to contact Suddath. We have over a century of moving experience, having been founded in downtown Jacksonville in 1919. Suddath has served as the mover of choice in NE Florida: serving as local movers in Jacksonville, FL as well as providing cross-country and international relocation services.
We’ve won Florida Times-Union’s Bold City Best competition for Best Moving Company numerous times and we’ve also been chosen as Void Magazine’s Best Moving Company.
Here are more reasons to choose our movers in Jacksonville, FL: Suddath provides its crew members with 250-plus hours of mentored training and we thoroughly background-check them. We offer free, no-obligation quotes that we customize to meet your unique needs. You can benefit from our full moving services or select the specific ones you need. No matter what you choose, we’ll support you with personalized customized service and provide full transparency throughout the process.
Plus, if you need storage services, our state-of-the-art 155,000-square-foot facility in Jacksonville probably has the city’s best security system. You can benefit from climate control storage, ambient storage, and more, depending upon your needs. Get a quote from our movers in Jacksonville, FL today. We’ll provide you with the information you need, answer all your questions, and help you to have a stress-free relocation.
