"The Suburb Inbetween"

So here we go again – day 2 of the writing/blogging project. At the moment H and I are living out in the ‘burbs in a serviced apartment while waiting for our beloved belongings to arrive from across the Pacific. As of last week, the ETA to JAX is mid December so we have a while yet before we’re settled in our own (much cheaper) apartment.

I thought I’d be going mad living in a gated community miles from the city and inner neighborhoods. Surprisingly that is not the case at all. The few people we know -- plus some random people we have met in the last few weeks -- are all trying to get us to move into one of the “hip” inner neighborhoods. However, I have no desire. Shocking I know coming from a born and bred urbanite….

I actually like the security of our gated community with its large apartments, manmade lake and lovely swimming pool. We have well manicured footpaths/sidewalks that provide ample walking area. In fact, one path takes us to Tinseltown -- complete with Chinese restaurant (with Dim Sum Lounge), pizza joint, mega movie theater and microbrewery. We haven’t sampled any of these yet, but we know they are there -- within walking distance. H’s work is only a 7 minute drive away as is an organic whole food market. And for literally everything else we need – we have Town Centre Mall around the corner. It’s not your typical enclosed mall. Instead it’s an open area mall with proper shop fronts and jazz that’s mysteriously piped through the shrubbery. It’s all shiny and new and generic, but it’s a nice community where I feel as secure as I can at the moment.

Here I should also mention that H and I are in love with the modern amenities of our lush apartment – with its laundry room, dish washer and closet so huge that H leaves the door open because it feels like a whole other room. We don’t really know what to do with all this luxury and space after almost 5 years in a squalid 70’s flat but we won’t go into that now….

We have ventured into these popular inner city neighborhoods/downtown. They feel quaint and seedy at the same time -- probably stemming from southern zoning laws or the lack thereof. They may offer river views and limited alternative medicine, but they don’t offer enough to make me give up our current suburban conveniences and security. Come the weekends though and perhaps the odd week night, H and I will happily venture into town and explore/support these historic neighborhoods. (We have already discovered some gems of restaurants that are sure to be staples while in JAX.)