Jackin' for Streets

August 16, 2005 8:36 AM

I good friend of mine has just taken a high-end position with the Jacksonville Jaguars and just arrived last week. He is so busy with work he hasn't had anytime to scout out the city. He's thirty-two, single, and likes to have a good time. Can anyone recommend some cool neighborhoods / districts in which to live, shop, eat, and enjoy the nightlife? Does that exist in Jacksonville Florida???
posted by jasondigitized to Society & Culture (2 answers total)

The social life of coastal Florida towns is all but defined by the beach bar scene that each town has.

The Jax Beach area, clustered around A1A north of Ponte Vedra, has always got something going on, although the quality of what's going on is always a little suspect. It's chock full of bars and chain restaurants and nightclubs featuring bands that consist of surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd or Molly Hatchet. There's always cheap beer and cheap wings and cheap women around.

The Five Points area in San Marco, and really the San Marco area in general, is a lot nicer/more upscale, but suffers from a distinct lack of the kind of wild, dollar beer all-night kinds of places that Jax Beach has in abundance. However, the restaurants over there are much nicer, with much better food, and the patrons are a lot less likely to try to fight you just for the fun of it.

If he doesn't mind a 30 minute drive, I'd suggest he head down to St. Augustine from time to time, or, if he doesn't mind a 30 minute commute, he should just move there altogether. St. Augustine combines the laid-back beachiness of Jax Beach with the quaint classiness of San Marco, and the girls are prettier to boot. The Bayfront area at the foot of the Bridge of Lions is full of great places, as is the beach near the pier.

I grew up in St. Augustine and my little brother lives in Jacksonville, so if he has any more questions, tell him to shoot me an email and I'll try my best to answer them.
posted by saladin at 9:41 AM on August 16, 2005

In the late 80s/early 90s, Jacksonville had a weekly newspaper/magazine called Folio that was full of things to do, as I recall; I don't know if it still exists. Unless things have improved drastically, Jacksonville is a crappy city for someone with an education and whose idea of culture does not involve yogurt. The only redeeming factor of the city when I lived there was the Chamblin BookMine.

If he doesn't end up running around with co-workers, he'll probably want to try Match.com to start meeting women someplace other than bars.
posted by kimota at 10:15 AM on August 16, 2005