{"id":2551,"date":"2021-04-27T08:30:20","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T15:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2551"},"modified":"2021-04-27T08:30:20","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T15:30:20","slug":"affordable-jacksonville-is-americas-largest-city-and-floridas-fastest-growing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/lifestyle\/2551\/affordable-jacksonville-is-americas-largest-city-and-floridas-fastest-growing","title":{"rendered":"Affordable Jacksonville is America\u2019s largest city and Florida\u2019s fastest growing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Urban Meyer, the supremely successful former Ohio State football coach, recently moved back south to take the reigns of the NFL\u2019s Jacksonville Jaguars in what\u2019s called the \u201cFirst Coast\u201d along the Atlantic Ocean in Northeast Florida.<\/p>\n

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\"Boneyard<\/a>

Jacksonville\u2019s \u201cBoneyard Beach\u201d is in Big Talbot Island State Park. (Photo by Harrison Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cOne of the most successful coaches ever decided to choose Jacksonville to come to because he saw the incredible opportunities other people see here,\u201d said Michael Corrigan, the former city council president who now serves as president and CEO of Visit Jacksonville. We spoke from his 10th floor downtown office and took in the scenic view of the St. John\u2019s River and multiple bridges. \u201cWe\u2019re the biggest city in America by area because we encompass all of Duval County. And we\u2019re the first big city you come to when you drive across the Florida state line. We have 1,100 miles of coast, 22 miles of sandy beaches, ad a river running through our city. Many people visit and then move here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Lansing radio and TV host Chuck Allen moved from Eaton Rapids to the Jacksonville area five years ago and works as a starter at the acclaimed TPC Sawgrass, home of the Players Championship and PGA Tour Headquarters in adjacent Ponte Vedra. He worked at WILX Channel 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile working in Jackson I was discovered by \u2018The Sheik,\u2019 Edward George Farhat, and served as a Big Time Wrestling announcer,\u201d he told me as we stood at the first tee. \u201cThe Sheik was like a father to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

I found a man named Daryll, who caddied in my foursome at TPC and would only give his first name, equally colorful in that he used to train harness horses at Detroit Race Course. \u201cMy horse Dusty Jim came in fifth place, but I will never forget Dusty Jim,\u201d he said, showing me the scar on his hand where the horse had bitten him.<\/p>\n

Golf isn\u2019t the only walk in the park in Jacksonville. Twenty local craft breweries make up the Jax Ale Trail, and the Timucuan Parks Foundation is vast.<\/p>\n

\u201cJacksonville has the largest urban park system in the United States. Timucuan offers hiking, biking, boating, kayaking, fishing, bird watching, canoeing, and camping in a natural setting to get healthy physically and mentally,\u201d said Felicia Boyd, program and outreach director of the foundation, as we hiked through miles of natural forest which revealed dramatic, unspoiled spots like Boneyard Beach on Big Talbot Island State Parks. \u201cWe\u2019d almost like to keep this beach our secret but it\u2019s becoming a popular destination. It\u2019s called Boneyard Beach because the trees have eroded onto the beach to create an unusual landscape of downed trees, bleached limbs and black rocks with tidal pools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chauntelle Isenbeck, who moved down from Toronto long ago, explained the no-longer secret popularity of the \u201cJax\u201d area as we spoke on the patio at Homewood Suites by Hilton, the full-service hotel at which she serves as director of sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cJacksonville has one of the fastest-growing populations in the country. The cost of living here is 17-percent below the national average.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her hotel product is a thoughtful, functional one for people settling into the \u201criver city by the sea\u201d or business travelers. Homewood Suites has two-bedroom suites with kitchenettes; a daily free hot breakfast and happy hour; a patio with grills; complimentary laundry rooms; a fitness center; business center; and swimming pool in a leafy green setting.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJax \u2013 It\u2019s Easier Here\u201d is the area slogan. \u201cIt\u2019s a little vague,\u201d said Corrigan. \u201cIf you fly here, your rental car is steps away and you can be to the beach in 30 minutes. It\u2019s so easy to get here and start relaxing quicky once you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0<\/em>MShiels@aol.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0His radio program may be found at\u00a0MiBigShow.com<\/a>\u00a0or weekday mornings from 9-noon on WJIM AM 1240.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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