When I lived in New York, I would have naturally thought of moving to Florida as going to Miami or Orlando.

Honestly, I didn't even know exactly where Jacksonville was. I wondered why Koreans lived here when there was no Korean town and no H Mart.

However, after living in New York for a long time, my perspective changed. The biggest challenge was the cost of housing. Rent kept rising, and finding a house with two or three bedrooms in a decent neighborhood meant a huge chunk of my salary went to housing costs. Looking for a house to buy felt even more daunting.

Then I found my first house in Jacksonville, and I was truly surprised. I could buy a single-family home with a garage and yard at a price that was unimaginable in New York. Of course, housing prices in Jacksonville have risen compared to the past, but they are still relatively lower compared to Miami or Tampa.

The second factor is taxes. When living in New York, I had to consider not only federal income tax but also New York state income tax. If you are a resident of New York City, there is also city income tax. However, Florida does not impose state income tax on individuals.

People who work notice the difference, but retirees seem to be even more sensitive to it. When retirees withdraw money from pensions or IRAs to live on, the absence of a state income tax in Florida helps explain why many retirees move down from New York.

I also liked the healthcare environment. As you age, having good hospitals nearby becomes really important. Jacksonville has the Florida campus of the Mayo Clinic and large healthcare systems like Baptist Health and UF Health. When I was younger, the idea of a city with good hospitals didn't resonate much, but as I age, I see it as a significant advantage.

If you are raising children, you cannot overlook schools. Jacksonville has well-known public magnet schools like Stanton College Preparatory School and Paxon School for Advanced Studies. These are not schools that everyone automatically gets into; there are selection and application processes, but the ability to receive a high-quality education without paying private school tuition is certainly attractive.

If you expand your living area to southern St. Johns County, many families move there for the school district. So when looking for a house, it's good to consider not just the boundaries of Jacksonville but also the location of your job and your child's school.

Of course, it was inconvenient at first. In New York, if I wanted Korean food, I could easily go get it, and there were many Korean markets, but in Jacksonville, the options are significantly reduced. It's also difficult to comfortably use hospitals or specialized services in Korean. Living without a car is also completely different from New York.

However, after a while, I found that this lifestyle became more comfortable. I no longer had to deal with complicated subways, and the stress of parking decreased. On weekends, I can go to the beach and enjoy outdoor activities like golf or fishing nearby. The city is large enough to have basic living infrastructure like shopping, hospitals, and airports.

The Korean community is small but not nonexistent. I got to know people through Korean churches, and because the community is small, it's common to know someone through just a few connections. This is definitely different from the atmosphere of living only within the Korean community in LA or New York.

As I left New York, my biggest worry was that I would end up living in a boring place. But once I started living here, I realized that what I wanted was not a flashy city but a slightly larger home and a more relaxed lifestyle.

Jacksonville is not a city for everyone. If a Korean town and public transportation are important, it might feel frustrating. However, if you are tired of the high housing costs and taxes in New York and want to live comfortably in a warm place, you will understand why people are moving to Jacksonville once you experience it yourself.