Florida Coastal School of Law: Best Places to Live Near Campus

Moving to a new city can be quite a scary prospect, especially if you have never been there before. When I was accepted to Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, I didn't know a thing about area.

The hardest part of moving to a new city is deciding where to live. There were very few resources available to me when I first visited Jacksonville, so it took several trips before I finally felt comfortable choosing an apartment.

Florida Coastal is located off of I-95 and Baymeadows in the Southside area of Jacksonville. Although there are several apartment complexes on Baymeadows that are close to the school, I would not recommend them. After my husband and I visited these places, we found them to be rundown and not at all worth it for the prices. Also, several people that I know from school who lived in these complexes were not at all impressed with the community. Some had reported break-ins, while others said that their complaints were not remedied by the management.

The service road located at the corner of Southside Boulevard and Old Baymeadows, is a good place to start looking for an apartment. It's within two miles of the school and there are two grocery stores and several restaurants within walking distance. The only drawback to the service road is that most of the condos are privately owned, so you have to find listings in the newspaper or on Craigslist. However, it's worth the extra work because the area is nice and the rent is not too expensive.

If you can't find anything on the service road, head south on Southside Boulevard and you will find a number of apartment communities. These communities are not privately owned and have a leasing office where you can go in and inquire about their prices and availability. The only drawback to these places is that you must have good credit and verifiable income to get in; otherwise, you will need a cosigner. The rents are typically a little higher than the privately owned condos on the service road.

The St. John's Town Center vicinity is also a good place to find a rental. It's about seven miles from Florida Coastal off of Gate Parkway. The area features a brand new outdoor mall that includes a Cheesecake Factory and many high end stores. The condos are privately owned, but they are not that difficult to find in the newspaper or on Craigslist. Surprisingly, the rents are about the same as the service road condos and the area is much newer and nicer. The only downfalll--t's farther from the school and at times, there is a lot of traffic getting to and from St. John's.