[EndersDrift]

I don't know much about Tallahassee or FSU - never visited either. How does it compare to Gainesville in culture and lifestyle? Gainesville is very polarized and 'deep south' especially with locals while the school is very active and has both liberals and conservatives and everything else with thriving arts and music and such. Is FSU the same? Is the area around FSU thriving with nightlife and local galleries and such like UF is? Is FSU condensed into one part of Tallahassee so walking to bars and such is an option?

[Gatornation]

Main difference is it's the capital. You likely will find it more "deep south" than Gainesville. It is in the panhandle after all.

[boxus]

I think there should be more relevant factors for grad school besides the surrounding area of where the school is at.

[FlyMIA]

Which school as the better program and which city has better internships etc..
If your doing something in lets say History or Politics well FSU is the easy choice, Science maybe UF has the better program. I think you will find more southern feeling in Tallahassee. It really feels like a large town of the south and looks like one too with the trees and even hills. It is also a bit more urban than Gainsville. Downtown Tallahassee is a crazy busy place but it has things there naturally being a college town and the capital of the 4th largest state.

[JAS]

As someone else said, I would focus more on the program you are studying. TLH and Gainesville have their differences, but they are overall somewhat similar. TLH has the state government presence, but it's not as large as Raleigh, Austin, Atlanta, and other state capitals.

UF has the edge in many graduate programs, but FSU has the edge or is at least very similar in others.

[EndersDrift]

FSU is slightly better program but if I'm going to be miserable there its not worth it to me. I'm going to apply to Gainesville, its not my dream city but I can find things I enjoy there. I'm not so sure that's the case in Tallahassee which is what I'm trying to figure out. The job I'm after is obtainable with a degree from either school, in fact I could go potentially go to UCF or Rollins for a degree in a different field and still get the job, I would just be slightly less competitive and have fewer growth options.

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by EndersDrift

FSU is slightly better program but if I'm going to be miserable there its not worth it to me. I'm going to apply to Gainesville, its not my dream city but I can find things I enjoy there. I'm not so sure that's the case in Tallahassee which is what I'm trying to figure out. The job I'm after is obtainable with a degree from either school, in fact I could go potentially go to UCF or Rollins for a degree in a different field and still get the job, I would just be slightly less competitive and have fewer growth options.

Huh??

The two cities are both Southern College Towns. Tallahassee probably has more to do than Gainsville.
Why dont you apply to all four schools and visit each one??

[EndersDrift]

I have no interest in Rollins or UCF and have been to Rollins, UCF and UF. I don't know what the hell is so difficult about this question and why you all are changing it to something else. Let me ask it simpler.

1. Is there an area in walking distance to FSU with lots of art galleries, pubs, restaurants and music venues?
2. Are the students at FSU political and socially liberal like at UF?
3. There is no 3.

This isn't a discussion of what graduate school I should go to.

[Kevin from Tampa]

If you're asking STRICTLY about the towns themselves, and not the schools, here's my opinion...

Gainesville is smaller than Tallahassee with less to do, but closer proximity to Jax, Tampa, and Orlando. All of those cities are within two hours of Gainesville, while the closest city of any size to Tally is Jax, and that's three hours away.

That said, as far the towns themselves, Tallahasse is bigger and has the capital, so there is "more" there than in Gainesville.

The area right around each campus-There is a rough area right near the FSU campus but it's still safe. I'd call this a wash.

The Florida panhandle is deep south. Get outside of Tallahassee and it's very southern. I think that people in the deep south are some of the nicest people you can meet, but some people have preconceived notions about it.

FSU is a more liberal school than UF. At its heart it has a larger focus on programs in the arts and behavioral sciences, and was a women's school in its distant past, so you'd find that at FSU. As far as the schools themselves WRT arts, etc, it'd be fine either way, but FSU probably has an edge because of the above stuff. Both schools have a strong academic "air" if that's what you're looking for...get too far off campus, and you're in a southern town.

FSU has a social/politically liberal air for the most part.

There are bars and restaurants around both campuses. Galleries and music...I'm not super aware of that around either school once you get off campus...most of the art-related "stuff" will be on campus. There are bands that play in some local venues in both schools.

Bottom line...they're pretty similar, really.

If you have more specific questions, let me know. I know a lot about about both schools. I visit them a lot.

[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by Kevin from Tampa

If you're asking STRICTLY about the towns themselves, and not the schools, here's my opinion...

Gainesville is smaller than Tallahassee with less to do, but closer proximity to Jax, Tampa, and Orlando. All of those cities are within two hours of Gainesville, while the closest city of any size to Tally is Jax, and that's three hours away.

That said, as far the towns themselves, Tallahasse is bigger and has the capital, so there is "more" there than in Gainesville.

The area right around each campus-There is a rough area right near the FSU campus but it's still safe. I'd call this a wash.

The Florida panhandle is deep south. Get outside of Tallahassee and it's very southern. I think that people in the deep south are some of the nicest people you can meet, but some people have preconceived notions about it.

FSU is a more liberal school than UF. At its heart it has a larger focus on programs in the arts and behavioral sciences, and was a women's school in its distant past, so you'd find that at FSU. As far as the schools themselves WRT arts, etc, it'd be fine either way, but FSU probably has an edge because of the above stuff. Both schools have a strong academic "air" if that's what you're looking for...get too far off campus, and you're in a southern town.

FSU has a social/politically liberal air for the most part.

There are bars and restaurants around both campuses. Galleries and music...I'm not super aware of that around either school once you get off campus...most of the art-related "stuff" will be on campus. There are bands that play in some local venues in both schools.

Bottom line...they're pretty similar, really.

If you have more specific questions, let me know. I know a lot about about both schools. I visit them a lot.

Which campus is more liberal, interesting question. I'm not sure there really is any data to prove that with really.

The county demographics are pretty similar.

Eligible Voters as of 10/1/11 Democrat - 96,165 Republican - 48,123 Other - 28,633 Total 172,921

Active Registered Voters as of 10/08/2011 Democrats: 75,988 Republicans: 42,160 Others: 31,620 Total: 149,768