Jacksonville, FL, has been described by one enthusiastic resident as a "small big city," a quality she finds just perfect for raising a family. It's not, she says, "a town where people are up all night," although nightlife spots are growing, she reports.


What Jacksonville is, besides being a busy Florida port, is a town of 775, 000 that offers a vigorous outdoor lifestyle. In land mass, it is the second largest city in the United States at 758 square miles, the 13th largest in population and the largest in Florida. For nearly 40 years, the city government has been consolidated with that of Duval County.


Jacksonville has not only ocean beaches but also the St. Johns River, lined with exquisite homes, for water sports. Lacking only mountains and snow skiing, Jacksonville's outdoors beckons with hiking, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, sailing, boating, jetskiing, surfing, kite surfing, skimboarding, biking (street or off road), camping, bird watching, swimming, sunbathing, sand castle building and diving. With some 400 miles of coastline, Jacksonville has a spot for every activity that's even slightly water related. While year 'round golf is a hot activity, in Jacksonville the term "BellSouth Classic" denotes an annual fishing tournament for which at least a thousand boats show up so their owners may participate. A rapidly growing local passion is kayak fishing, which now has its own tournament, the Jacksonville Kayak Fishing Classic. This annual event launched in 2005 and is slated for spring each year.


And don't overlook tennis, as Jacksonville offers top-flight facilities for the game, which, like golf, is nearly a year-round sport.


But some might argue that spectator sport is the most popular outdoor exercise in Jacksonville, home to the Florida Jaguars NFL team and the Gator Bowl, which also hosts the wild and wooly Florida-Georgia football classic every year. Daytona International Speedway is only 80 miles away. The Suns is the local AA professional baseball team, affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers.


While Jacksonville is a rapidly growing contemporary city, it has a rich history. Timucuan people originally populated this region, and left a legacy Floridians still appreciate. Hunting his fountain of youth, Juan Ponce de Leon set first European foot in this part of North America in 1513, claiming the land for Spain and calling it "La Florida," meaning "the flowered land." Later English, French, who established a fort and settlement at La Caroline on the St. Johns River, and Spanish adventurers explored this part of Florida. But the Spanish won the day, establishing St. Augustine in 1565, the oldest permanent European-founded settlement in North America, only a few miles down I-95 south of Jacksonville.


The U.S. acquired Florida from Spain in 1821, and named Andrew Jackson its first military governor. The future president is the inspiration for the modern city's name, a wise substitute for its original "Cowford," so-called because cows were ferried from this site to other nearby areas. The city was incorporated in 1832.


Jacksonville suffered extensively during the Civil War, with multiple occupations by Federal and Confederate forces. The famed Massachusetts 54th, whose deeds were the basis of the film Glory, saw action near Jacksonville. The unit's action in Florida is but one important moment in Jacksonville's multicultural history.


Rich with museums, Jacksonville also boasts a fine zoo and a symphony orchestra. Festivals celebrate not only music and the arts, but also the city's culinary richness, especially crab and shrimp. Held at nearby Amelia Island, the Shrimp Festival is a major moment on the area's annual calendar. Jacksonville-Duval County claims the largest public parks system in the country, and the area counts four universities among its post-secondary institutions, and not counting the University of Florida in Gainesville, only 85 miles east.


Today, the city boasts a diverse population that comes from all over the planet. Jacksonville's cultural climate as well as the weather, the sports life, and the city's economic strength combine to draw a wide variety of businesses. Companies represent biomedical fields, information services, financial services, and manufacturing, among other industries. The city claims to be the largest deepwater port in the South Atlantic, and is especially important for automobile importation. With its location at the junction of I-10 and I-95, Jacksonville is well positioned to move goods in all directions. And to welcome new arrivals who will appreciate its many fine lifestyle qualities.