I went to high school in the late 70s in Jax, moved away and came back for good in 1990. I love it here.
Stay the hell away from the northwest quadrant. Westside isn't bad, if you know where to live. I lived there in the 70s and I had lots of good times.
Good places to live are East Arlington, the beach towns, most of Southside, Mandarin, San Marco, Riverside and Avondale.
Nearby Orange Park is a nice town, but it has lots of traffic. Ponte Vedra is very nice, and very expensive.
Nearby towns are Fernandina Beach, St. Augustine, Yulee, Green Cove Springs, Baldwin and Middleburg. They're all outside of Jax, but can be commuted, depending on where you live or work in Jax.
The best schools are in St. Johns and Clay counties.
There's a huge shopping center called St Johns Town Center. It's got a lot of everything. They're planning on building an even bigger center just south of Jax, to be anchored by a Bass Pro Shop.
The only parts of Jax I would actively avoid are the Northwest Quadrant (N of I-10, W of I-95), and some parts of Arlington and Westside.
And DUUUUUVVVVAAAALLLLLL !!!