- I’m a Californian who visited Jacksonville Beach, Florida, for a spring getaway.
- Everything was generally more low-key in Jacksonville, and the beach was less crowded.
- Both cities are family-friendly and walkable, but finding parking in Florida was less stressful.
I’ve lived in Los Angeles for five years, so I’m about 30 minutes inland from Santa Monica. It’s a beautiful, classic Southern California destination with a beach, a pier, and an abundance of classy shopping and dining spots.
But I decided to visit Jacksonville Beach, Florida, (or “Jax Beach” as I heard it referred to by many locals) for a spring trip. I liked that it’s still on the “up and coming” end of the tourism spectrum. It felt like an unpretentious surfers’ paradise.
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Jacksonville Beach felt similar to Santa Monica, but there were also a few distinct differences between the beach towns on either coast.
