I’ve made a home in Jacksonville, Florida for more than twenty years. For a somewhat large city, it’s more of a sleepy town where everyone goes to bed around nine o’clock… or so it seems.
From my home, I could walk to the Saint Johns River, and the Atlantic Ocean is less than a thirty-minute car ride away. There are parks, city, county, state, and federal, everywhere. You can’t drive ten minutes without passing a park or two. Most of them are pretty nice. I used to drive my car to a park for lunch and write my book. Arguably, Saint Augustine (just to the south) is a nicer city with more touristy things, but it’s microscopic by comparison.
I’m not much of a sports fan, but Jacksonville has an NFL team, the Jaguars, and a minor-league baseball team, the Jumbo Shrimp (seriously), and minor-league hockey team, the Icemen. Between the bustling river life and sports, Jacksonville has something for everyone. There are three libraries within ten miles of my home, one close enough to ride a bike.
Do children play outside anymore? If they do, it seems like this city was built around the idea of entertaining kids, and beer guzzling adults.
There is one place in town I haven’t visited yet, but I think about it a lot. Jaxport. It’s a huge cargo and cruise ship port. There’s something about port cities, Like Savannah Georgia, about the massive ships that affects me deep down inside.
Oh yeah, there’s a farmers market… like all the time, everywhere.
While I’m mostly a self-imposed shut-in, I do love Jacksonville.