Paradise Found

According to the most recent National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, 52.9 percent of homes sold in the greater Jacksonville area are affordable for families earning the region's median household income.

That makes Jacksonville the 91st-most affordable market of 199 surveyed nationwide. But in Florida, where prices have soared, Jacksonville remains by far the most affordable major market, ahead of Tampa, where 42.1 percent of the homes sold are affordable for families earning the median household income. Orlando has dropped to 31.8 percent, and Miami to 11.6 percent.

That's one reason why so many Californians are moving to Northeast Florida. According to data compiled by the IRS, more people moved to Jacksonville from San Diego County than from any other county in the nation between 2003 and 2004. Other locales from which newcomers are arriving in record numbers include New York, New Jersey and the South Florida counties of Broward and Miami-Dade.

Just look at the numbers. The median price of a resale home in California was $542,720 in June, while the median price of a resale home in New York was $279,000. While South Florida's prices haven't quite reached those lofty levels, they still make Jacksonville's $213,500 median price housing seem like a bargain in comparison.

First, there's water. Almost everybody wants to live on or near water. Consequently, waterfront property is one of the few investments accurately described as a no-brainer. After all, as the timeless real estate adage goes, "They ain't making any more of it."

Jacksonville has plenty. Blessed with beautiful, uncrowded beaches, as well as the mighty St. Johns River and the Intracoastal Waterway, you can't drive far in Northeast Florida without running into shimmering bodies of water. Compared to many parts of the country, it's an embarrassment of riches.

Second, there's the area's natural beauty. It's all around. Visit the Guana River Marsh Aquatic Preserve for sunset over the marshes and estuaries of the Tolomato and Guana Rivers. Spend an afternoon exploring the Black Creek/Ravines Conservation Area. Head over to the Jacksonville Beach Pier and scan the horizon for a pod of Northern right whales, which winter off the coast.

Finally, there's the livability factor. The Jacksonville area boasts most of the cultural and recreational perks found in glitzier (and more expensive) Florida cities. And Jacksonville can claim another distinction-it's on a prestigious list of the Top 5 most livable large cities in the country, and one of the Top 25 arts destinations.

But with so many new neighborhoods and new homes added to a healthy existing stock of resale homes, where should a newcomer begin searching for a home on the First Coast?

Jacksonville Homebuyer can help. Following is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood primer, in which you'll find everything from new master-planned developments to charming historic neighborhoods. Undoubtedly, there's a home just right for you and your family.

In 1803, Zephaniah Kingsley purchased 1,880 acres on the western shore of the St. Johns that were lush with laurel trees. The wealthy land baron and slave trader dubbed his plantation Laurel Grove.

By the late 1870s the tract had become a resort community and renamed Orange Park for the abundance of citrus groves surrounding it. During its brief heyday as a tourist destination, Ulysses S. Grant, Buffalo Bill Cody and Sitting Bull stayed in luxurious hotels, enjoying the scent of orange blossoms wafting through open windows.

The last remnants of those orange groves died off after severe freezes in the mid-1980s, and were quickly replaced by new homes and businesses. OakLeaf Plantation is northeast Florida's fastest-growing community, with 1,063 new home starts annually.

Growth is sweeping the entire county. The population more than doubled from 1970 to 1980, then grew another 33 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Clay's population now tops 170,000, making it the 26th largest county in Florida. Growth is expected to continue, in part because of remaining undeveloped land.

In fact, Clay remains one of the most sparsely populated urban counties in Florida, with about 262 residents per square mile versus a statewide average of 315.6.

While new Clay County residents are coming from all over the country, a surprising number hail from Northeast Florida. In fact, between 2003 and 2004, about 6,500 people moved to Clay County from neighboring Duval County. About 4,100 people moved to Duval from Clay. Around 60% of the county's residents commute to work in Duval County.

Orange Park's residential development first gathered momentum in the early 1920s when Caleb Johnson, president of the Colgate-Palmolive Company, built Villa Mira Rio, a $500,000 estate on the riverbank. Other millionaires followed, as did less ostentatious families attracted by the community's natural beauty and convenient location.

Vestiges of that era remain in Orange Park's small commercial historic district at the east end of Kingsley Avenue, where a few vintage buildings stand around what was once a watering trough and hitching post that served as the community's unofficial gathering spot.

A scattering of gracefully aging residential showplaces still stand along River Road, while Johnson's Mediterranean-style mansion survives as Club Continental, a popular special-event destination.

The region's past is celebrated each year through Carrie Clarke Day, sponsored by the city and run by the Historical Society of Orange Park and the Orange Park Garden Club's Founders Circle. Clarke and husband William were Orange Park pioneers, and their circa-1914 home is now a centerpiece of popular Clarke House Park.

Otherwise, Orange Park is a thoroughly modern place, where amenity-rich, master-planned communities attract hordes of buyers. Public recreational facilities include Project Playground, a skateboard park, numerous boat docks and marinas, a nine-mile jogging/biking trail and a 1.5-mile concrete river walk.

Residential development is particularly intense around Fleming Island in northeast Clay County. Indeed, planners expect the Fleming Island area, home to the Eagle Harbor, Fleming Island Plantation and Pace Island communities, to experience the highest growth rate in the county-about 24 percent-between 2005 and 2010. But even that torrid pace represents a slowdown from the 40 percent spurt that occurred between 2000 and 2005.

The Doctor's Inlet area is also exploding, with 22 percent growth expected over the next five years. And mixed-use developments containing at least 11,000 homes are being built on 20,000 acres straddling Brannan Field Road, from Blanding Boulevard in Middleburg through the Argyle area to I-10.

Key selling points in the county include its highly rated school system, the presence of Naval Air Station Jacksonville and a plethora of retail and entertainment outlets, including the sprawling Orange Park Mall, Orange Park Kennel Club for greyhound racing and the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts.

Other Clay County communities include Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights, Middleburg and Penney Farms, which department-store magnate J.C. Penney founded in 1926 as a retirement home for ministers and their wives. "Green Cove," as natives call it, is home to Magnolia Point Golf and Country Club, zoned for 1,000 residents. Civilization is creeping westward, with two huge multi-use developments planned for the area between Green Cove Springs and Middleburg.

Much of Clay County still remains rural, however, with Gold Head Branch State Park, Kingsley Beach, Jennings Forest and Black Creek/Ravines Conservation Area offering camping, hiking, fishing and hunting.

ARLINGTON/INTRACOASTAL WEST

Arlington is home to Jacksonville University and some of Northeast Florida's most precious environmental and historical landmarks. It's also a center for commerce, encompassing Regency Square Mall and numerous shopping centers, restaurants and office buildings. Downtown is just a short drive over the Mathews Bridge, and the Beaches only 20 minutes away via Atlantic Boulevard.

Although much of Arlington was developed in the 1950s and '60s, its history goes back much further. French explorer Jean Ribault landed here in 1562, preparing the way for a second French expedition and colony called La Caroline two years later. The centerpiece of the settlement was an earth-and-wood fort built alongside the St. Johns, then called the River of May.

The Spanish, led by Pedro Men,ndez de Avil,s, later routed the French and captured Fort Caroline. Remains of the triangular fort and the meadow on which it stood were swallowed when the river was dredged. But in 1964 a replica was built and stands today in the 680-acre Fort Caroline National Memorial.

Arlington was also central to Jacksonville's brief heyday as a film capital. At the urging of an organization called Old Arlington Inc., the city bought and is attempting to restore four of five buildings that made up the Norman Film Studios on Arlington Road. During the 1920s, producer Richard E. Norman made silent films here starring African-American actors.

Homes in Arlington range in price from just under $150,000 to well over $1 million along the water, with typical prices in the mid-$200s. More and more young families are calling Arlington home, with nearly half the residents between 18 and 25 years of age and another quarter between 35 and 44.

Although most closer-in Arlington property is built out, there are some big projects under way. Kendall Town Center, for example, is a mixed-use development at 9A and Southside Boulevard. Multifamily housing and a Wal-Mart Supercenter have been open for a year. Other big-box stores are coming, along with boutiques, office space and hotels.

Much of Arlington's growth is occurring in the area informally known as Intracoastal West, once a no-man's land, where the Intracoastal Waterway marks the traditional dividing line between Jacksonville proper and its beaches. There, new multifamily projects are springing up wherever land is available.

Intracoastal West residents are just a short drive from employment centers, but the main attractions for homebuyers appear to be adjacency to the beaches and Intracoastal Waterway, easy water access to the ocean and expansive marsh views. Multiple single-family and condominium options are available here.

THE BEACHES

Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach are contiguous coastal communities known for lively pubs and good restaurants. Increasingly these low-key communities are attracting affluent homebuyers charmed by the laid-back and unpretentious ambiance.

"The Beaches," as locals refer to the area, although tied to Jacksonville by geography, have steadfastly sought to maintain separate identities. When Jacksonville and Duval County adopted a consolidated government in 1968, the three beaches cities insisted on retaining their own municipal governments.

Starting from the north, here's a look at these once-remote cities settled by rugged pioneers, which still attract people seeking a casual, coastal lifestyle.

Unincorporated Mayport, at the mouth of the St. Johns, retains a gritty rough-and-tumble charm and is home to commercial fishing and shrimping operations, as well as the huge Mayport Naval Station. Locals enjoy traveling there via ferryboat, which travels between Mayport and Hecksher Drive at the southernmost tip of Fort George Island.

The main attractions: dining at rustic seafood eateries such as Singleton's, a local landmark; buying fresh seafood just off the boat; or chugging beers at the colorful drinking establishments along Mayport Road. Gambling cruises also depart from Mayport daily, with charter boats available for deep-sea fishing excursions.

Mayport was originally known as Hazard because the large, dangerous sandbar at the mouth of the river made navigation tricky. By the 1830s, it was a bustling little village in which most residents were employed by a sawmill. In the 1870s Mayport was a popular getaway for Jacksonvillians, many of whom built cottages along the ocean. In the 1880s construction of two huge jetties allowed ships to enter the channel safely, boosting Jacksonville's stature as a port city.

In 1899, Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway bought the defunct Jacksonville & Atlantic Railway, which ran from Arlington to Jacksonville Beach. Flagler, the legendary developer, then extended a northward line to Mayport, making all the Beaches communities more accessible. That tradition continues today with the $110-million Wonderwood Expressway, connecting Mayport to Arlington.

In 1914, heiress Elizabeth Stark bought acreage around Ribault Bay and built an elaborate estate called Wonderwood-by-the-Sea. Several silent movies, including a handful starring Laurel and Hardy, were made there during Jacksonville's filmmaking years. The U.S. Navy purchased the property during World War II.

Today the only historic buildings in Mayport are the Old St. Johns Lighthouse, a 145-year-old tower listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the nearby wood-frame Mayport Presbyterian Church. The eight-block downtown consists mainly of shabby seafood packing houses and a handful of funky restaurants.