JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One study that ranked Jacksonville the most boring city in the entire United States has residents, city officials and visitors all defending — or agreeing — with the finding.
The FinanceBuzz study, an auto insurance company, listed the River City, known as the Bold New City of the South, as the most boring city out of 75 big cities in the country.
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Katie Mitura, Chief Marketing Officer of Visit Jacksonville, responded to the ranking, acknowledging the unfortunate claim but pushing for a brighter future.
“No one loves being called boring, but we will use this as a springboard to intensify our year-long mission: putting Jacksonville’s food scene and our entertainment and events squarely in the spotlight for the rest of the world to see,” Mitura said. “For us, a ‘boring’ day might just be a perfect day spent on the beach, kayaking through the marsh, or fishing for hours—and that’s exactly why we love it here.”
The study assessed factors like population makeup, culinary scene, outdoor activities, nightlife, and overall things to do, resulting in an excitement score of 14.3 out of 100.
Councilmember Matt Carlucci defended the city, saying, “While Jacksonville isn’t a tourist destination like Orlando, there’s no better place to call home. We’ve got beautiful beaches, great golf and fishing, strong neighborhoods, and a quality of life that’s hard to beat. And now our downtown revitalization is truly becoming a reality.”
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The Mayor’s Office added, “This is an uninformed study that doesn’t take into account the significant progress being made to develop downtown and ensure Jacksonville is a place where young people choose to plant roots.”
Jacksonville’s downtown is under revitalization with projects in the works such as Riverfront Plaza, Music Heritage Garden and Metropolitan Park.
On social media, city officials and advocates working to dispel the ongoing conversation about Jacksonville’s lack of entertainment have spoken out as well.
Yanira “Yaya” Cardona, the city’s first Hispanic Outreach Coordinator, showed partial agreement with the claim in a Facebook post.
“I hate to admit this…there is some truth," Cardona said. She went on to give examples of times when she couldn’t provide recommendations for things to do for visitors.
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“We do have to accept we are lacking in family-friendly entertainment and daytime activities,” Cardona said.
She said the city needs more entertainment districts, family-friendly indoor activities and daytime entertainment as a start.
But she offered solutions to the problems, proposing that Jacksonville get a nightlife mayor, someone who would advocate for the needs of the nightlife sector and social scene.
Orlando is the closest city to Jacksonville to create a similar position. According to voanews.com, the city that ranked number 4 in America’s most exciting city category had a “nighttime economy manager” for four years until March 2021.
