My daughter is getting stationed in Jacksonville. They are looking to buy/lease off base. What areas to avoid? Any decent areas within 30-45 minutes away? Thanks

I'd stay away from North and West of the Base (although housing is cheaper).  South of the base is good.  Orange Park is South of the Base and usually has lots of apartments/houses.   To me, the best and safest area is Fleming Island, just south of Orange Park.   Across the St. Johns River is Mandarin and that's pretty good too.  All of those areas are within the 30min or so commute time.

I came across this Crime mapper site last month.  It works for Clay County (Fleming Island and Orange Park) but doesn't seem to work for Jacksonville.  Might check it out so get a feel for what's going on.

https://communitycrimemap.com/

I've been here in Fleming Island since 1995.  Rented various apartments and a couple of houses in Baymeadows, Mandarin and Orange Park from 1985 to 1995.   Baymeadows was a little longer commute and I got tired of the longer drive to NAS JAX.

Stay away from Moncreif
What the previous poster said is good advice. Some of Orange Park is crappy (the closer you get to the north side/295). Middleburg is a little farther from the base but it's much more country and not bad at all. I live right between Orange Park and Middleburg and it's a nice area, houses aren't super expensive.

Oakleaf isn't too bad either, which is west of Orange Park. Again, a bit of a drive from the base (20-30 mins) but not bad.

Without asking you to give details on the exact base they will be stationed at there are plenty of good areas with 30-45 minutes of both Mayport and NAS Jacksonville.

NAS Jacksonville has plenty to offer in Clay County.  Orange Park (Southern) and Fleming Island are both great areas and have good public schools (especially Fleming Island).

Personally Oakleaf which is the closest to NAS Jax is an area that is booming, but there have been some issues with crime in that area.

Fleming Island has everything to offer and would be a 20-30 min drive.

Further south is Green Cove Springs, which is offering tons of new construction to include rental properties.

I'd stay away from anything super close to Mayport.  Getting away from Mayport road is a must.

NAS Jacksonville

Thanks to everyone! I'll forward this to her.

It's pretty accurate.

Edit: Since I forgot YouTube previews are broken: Katt Williams talking about Jax. Pretty profane, but funny.

How old is she?  Orange Park is boring as hell, you have to drive at least 30 minutes to go anywhere and fight traffic.  I made the mistake of living in OP when I was first stationed there.  I recommend Riverside / Avondale, north of Base.  There are lots of bars, restaurants and coffee shops within biking/walking distance, <1mile.  She will also be going the opposite way of traffic in the morning and afternoon.  Traffic in front of base is murder if you are going with the flow.  Fleming Island is up and coming, but you are further away from the Beach and Town Center.

If you need the school system - St. Johns County is the answer you seek.

Red

I never saw this before!

It is on point though!