Overall Score
Jacksonville is a city in North Carolina and the administrative center of Onslow County. In 2008, the city had 81,863 residents. It is located west of the city of Wilmington. Several major U.S. Army military bases are located around the city, including the U.S. Marine Corps. It is the youngest city in the United States.
Jacksonville’s early history begins with the end of the Tuscarora Wars by 1713. The pacification of warlike Indian tribes allowed for the permanent colonization of the area between the modern cities of New Bern and Wilmington. At the headwaters of the New River began production related to shipbuilding, particularly the obtaining of turpentine. A park was built downstream along the shore and the Wonteland Ferry existed.
In 1752, a major hurricane destroyed the center of Johnston County and a site downstream of the New River at the Wonteland Ferry was chosen to build a new courthouse. The site was known as Onslow Court. In 1842 the town was renamed Jacksonville after President Andrew Jackson.
Jacksonville, like Onslow County as a whole, was economically tied to shipbuilding, timber production, and tobacco growing. In 1939 Colonel George Gillett of the American Corps of Engineers mapped the area from Fort Monroe in Virginia to Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The New River Delta and a section of the Onslow County coast were of interest to the War Department in terms of building a naval training base. As a result, the department purchased a 400 km² site along the eastern bank of the New River and in 1941 the Naval Barracks, which later became Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, was erected there.
The construction of Camp Lejeune led to a strong increase in the population of the town, which previously had only 800 people. Workers, young sailor families, and military retirees migrated here. Jacksonville’s economy is now based on commerce and service. The main source of the town’s population growth is the U.S. Marine Corps.
Overall Score
- Air quality: 33 US AQI Good. Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
- Tap water: Yes, safe to drink
- Religious government: Non-religious
- Population: 71,000 people
- GDP: $57,808 / year
- Foreigners can own real estate: Yes
- Power outlets: 115V60Hz
- Internet: 42 Mbps
- Best wireless: T-Mobile
- Pay without cash: Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
- Tipping: How much should I tip at a restaurant? A gratuity of 15 to 20 per cent on top of the bill (before sales tax) is standard, with 25 per cent given for topnotch service. Servers in America work hard for the money – they’re generally friendly, knowledgeable and willing to go the extra mile for customers.
- Apartment listings: Craigslist
- Apartments: Airbnb
- Hotels: Booking.com
- More hotels: Hotels.com
- Best taxi: Uber
- Online electronics shop: Amazon
- Best hospital: Onslow Memorial Hospital
- Best intl air carrier: Delta
- Monthly costs for expat: $2000
- Monthly costs for family: $4800
- Monthly costs for local: $1350
- Meal: $13
- Small Cola: $2
- Beer 1 Pint: $6.5
- Coffee: $4
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