Navy family moving to Jacksonville--is Mandarin the best area for commute to NAS Jax/schools/etc.?

Question

A short commute and good schools are our main priorities, any advice on the best areas to live would be great--we heard Orange Park is nice, but awful commute to base, so now we're looking in Mandarin, but concerned the schools aren't as good. We'd like to spend around $300k on a home, maybe a little more. Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

You would be heading the same direction if you go to Orange Park or Mandarin. Which means SUPER, HEAVY traffic. For the kids, apply for a Magnet School, and there are school buses that will take your kids all around town wherever you live at. I'd suggest living at a subdivision called Westland Station, where the commute would be GREAT! I would say that it would take 10 minutes for the commute. Houses I believe are in the range you suggested.


If you have further questions, [e-mail]
( I am 15, so I know a ton of information about the schools)
Plus, I live 5 minutes away from the base!

Answer 2

Alot of people are mentioning places like Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, and Little Elm. Don't get me wrong, those are REALLY nice areas. Problem is....the TAXES. Property taxes in TX are big to begin with, but those cities they are horrible, not to mention, very expensive to begin with. DO NOT move to Arlington, Grand Prairie or Desoto. Not the greatest areas. They are very overcrowded and becoming very run down. The best places in my opinion are near Fort Worth. Its a much slower pace, and in my opinion, safer. If you have the money, Southlake and Colleyville are REALLY nice areas, homes range from the $300s to well over 1 million. Keller, Haslet, Argyle, and Flowermound are nice as well, more for the middle class. Haslet has very cheap taxes too. The drive from any of these places to Dallas is around 30-45 min, but well worth it. Fort Worth areas have more of a small town feel, while Dallas areas have more of a city feel. Good luck with your house hunt!!

Answer 3

I have lived all over Jax and Yes Blanding Blvd and Roosevelt Blvd have very heavy traffic in rush hour but it would not be any better if you have to travel accross the Buckman (SP) bridge ... it is always backed up during rush hour. I honestly would just stay somewhere on the Westside of town or in OP. There are plenty of nice housing developments. I would stay away from Argyle Forest/Oakleaf because it is wayyyyy too much. They have built up so fast and it is very nice... but a lot of traffic.