[allenk893]

Originally Posted by dexxxza

Hi, my husband and I are thinking about relocating to Gainesville and I am nervous about the heat and humidity, the job prospects, the sense of community, things to do and the cost of living. Can anyone please tell me some good things about the town on any level? Thanks in advance, I appreciate your help.

There is nothing good about Gainesville. Relocate elsewhere. There are much better cities in FL than that place.

[alfbroker]

Gainesville is one of the best places in Florida to live. It has the youngest average age of any FL county, it can be very refreshing to go there after after living in other FL towns where you can go days without seeing anyone without gray hair. The town has an energetic vibe because of youth. It is a major medical, research and education center in FL. Jobs are almost impossible to get because most students fight over the part time jobs and love the town so much that don't want to leave after graduation so they fight over the FT jobs.

Its a mecca for shopping and dining, every retail and restaurant chain in there as well as an almost endless choice of unique and creative businesses. The economy is immune from the boom and bust because people don't stop sending their kids to school, in fact education becomes more important in downturns. UF football is huge and mega millions are spent in Gainesville when home games happen.

Hurricanes usually are wimpy storms by the time they reach Gainesville. There is so much more positive, just go there, get a realtor to show you around. There are a few higher crime areas, but they are easily avoided because there is no reason to go there for most people. There is a great sense of community spirit but the town revolves around education, health care, research, retail, dining and entertainment. If somebody is poor, uneducated, negative and unambitious they probably won't fit in, in Gainesville.

There is a higher crime are

[Mr.Kurtz]

The above post has some truth, but not much. I'm born and reared in Gainesville. I know ...

[PeteU]

From my experience with Gainesville, it seems to be an excellent place to live. Both my parents and my sister moved there recently.

If you love nature, Gainesville is ideal. Surrounded by countryside and a lot of cool natural areas: Paynes Prairie, Devil's Millhopper, and best of all, multiple natural springs to swim in (my favorite being Ichetucknee).

The city has a lot of nice wooded areas. My parent's place is smack dab in the middle of town yet they live on beautiful wooded lots.

From what I've heard, public schools are good. Decent public transit. Lots of shopping. Being a university town, there are always a lot of cultural events as well. And if you like college sports, well, that goes without saying....

Negatives are mainly that traffic gets pretty heavy around the University. As in all of Florida, summers can get hot (not that I mind that personally, all the more excuse to go swimming!) but winters are temperate with a smattering of cool to coldish days. Fall and spring are beautiful.

I'm living in South Florida, which isn't the worst place to live, but if I had my way, I'd move to Gainesville in a heartbeat. I don't know where some of the other posters on this thread are basing their responses, but personally I'd highly encourage a move there.

[Hieronymus Bosch]

Originally Posted by crazynip

Obviously a generalisation. It's too much work to go through specific pockets.

Incidentally I used to live off of NW 9th street in one of the more ghetto pockets in what was technically NW Gainesville (according to the grid). It was that area North of University inbetween 13th street and Main street that was mostly ghetto / hood people. My house was a OLD duplex, no air, gas radiator heat. HOT in the summer, cold in the winter, full of roaches, but dirt cheap rent. More than once I was robbed, once at knifepoint. This was in the 90's, and i know it's not better now.

Fair enough, but for all you know, the OP could be looking for a Duckpond!

I consider the area you describe to be the worst in the city for overall crime and housing stock issues. Far more random and violent crime than most of the Eastside proper. Also home to the only true open-air drug markets.

They're starting to put in more luxury multistory apartments in that area. Run-down and sketchy to bland and corporate in one fell swoop.

What I love about most about the eastside is the relaxed pace of life and the lack of traffic.

[PeteU]

Originally Posted by crazynip

Obviously a generalisation. It's too much work to go through specific pockets.

Incidentally I used to live off of NW 9th street in one of the more ghetto pockets in what was technically NW Gainesville (according to the grid). It was that area North of University inbetween 13th street and Main street that was mostly ghetto / hood people. My house was a OLD duplex, no air, gas radiator heat. HOT in the summer, cold in the winter, full of roaches, but dirt cheap rent. More than once I was robbed, once at knifepoint. This was in the 90's, and i know it's not better now.

My sister currently lives in that area. She's lived there for 2 years now.

Houses are old and small but for the most part the owners keep them in decent shape. The only "crime" that my sister has been a victim of was when her car was struck by a hit and run drunk driver, but that could happen just about anywhere.

I don't doubt that the area might have been worse off in the 1990s, but everything I've heard from my sister is that it's a nice, quiet area of town to live.

[Hieronymus Bosch]

Originally Posted by PeteU

My sister currently lives in that area. She's lived there for 2 years now.

Houses are old and small but for the most part the owners keep them in decent shape. The only "crime" that my sister has been a victim of was when her car was struck by a hit and run drunk driver, but that could happen just about anywhere.

I don't doubt that the area might have been worse off in the 1990s, but everything I've heard from my sister is that it's a nice, quiet area of town to live.

Nah, it's still bad in relative terms. Hit and run drunk car smashers are exactly the sort of random mayhem one would expect to see more of in that area, and owners of older homes in many other areas (eg, downtown) are more likely to renovate, rather than just slap the hundredth coat of paint on the walls and call it a day. In a lot of neighborhoods, renters are in the minority to begin with.

The area can be fine and nice and quiet and still be relatively bad. It's just that none of Gainesville is all that bad to begin with (obviously, I'm referring to crime and blight here, not crushing boredom and lack of opportunity)- it's mostly nice and quiet everywhere, except for a few spots in west congestionville.

I really don't care so much, but many suburbanites see things start to get sketch around there, head further East and see lots of blue collar black people, and fill in the blanks incorrectly.

I should probably just shut up, though, as it's those biases which keep my rent low and my neighborhood d-bag free.

[mathwhiz]

It's all about JOBS, JOBS, JOBS.

If you have a family, and work in the healthcare field at Shands, or you're tenured faculty at UF, Gainesville can be a very nice place to live.

If you're young but not college age (mid 20's to 30's) and especially single, and don't fall into a niche where you can get a good job here, then I can certainly see why Gainesville can be viewed as hell on Earth. It's very transient and when you get sick of the college scene and want to date young professionals........you find there really aren't any other young professionals out there to date.

There are of course positives. Gainesville is a very convenient place for day-trips though. It's within 2 hours from the gulf of mexico, atlantic ocean, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville, and many wonderful natural springs and state parks. The trees and forests are very pretty in North Central Florida. The climate is oppressively hot in the summer but that's all of Florida. It's very very nice in the fall and spring and there's a distinct change of seasons in the winter. And because of UF, there's much more to do here as far as sports, culture, arts, restaurants, festivals, than let's say a place like Ocala.

It is what it is. But unless you can find a good job here, I wouldn't live here. It's again all about the JOBS.

[Mr.Kurtz]

Originally Posted by mathwhiz

... if you're young but not college age (mid 20's to 30's) and especially single, and don't fall into a niche where you can get a good job here, then I can certainly see why Gainesville can be viewed as hell on Earth. It's very transient and when you get sick of the college scene and want to date young professionals ... you find there really aren't any other young professionals out there to date.

Exactly. Just how I felt ... and I'm 50.

Two hours is a long way to Gulf, Atlantic, Jax or Orl ... And with traffic, I say 3+ hours more like it. My job high paying, no place to go, or hang out when you're 40+ and single, no kids. Gainesville can make one feel sad over a long period of time ... High suicide rate too.

[crazynip]

Every time I go back I drive by the areas I used to live and they look WORSE. They need to level pretty much everything east of 13th street.

I wonder if the one legged rasta guy still deals drugs in front of the gas station by checkers