[drudini11]

Any suggestions for family oriented communities located within 30 miles of Gainesville? I have seen a lot of new housing developments advertised in the greater Jacksonville area but not much around Gainesville (at least not much I can find via the internet). My wife will be going to school in Gainesville next year and I want to find a place close enough for her commute (she would prefer a 30 minute drive to school or less). I am looking for a nice town in which to raise my 3 daughters. Small town feel but with access to services, etc. Any feedback, suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[ellie]

What's wrong with living in Gainesville? Plenty of people raise their families here, even college professors. In fact, you could call the entire city a family community. And it's real.

If you are looking for something between Gainesville and Jacksonville, as I see you've recently posted, please include that info.

Are you looking for existing cities and towns or are you looking for a new development?

[drudini11]

I should have been more specific regarding what I am looking for. I don’t mean to discount Gainesville….I honestly don’t know too much about it other then what I have read from other postings. I will be looking for a home priced somewhere in the 200’s. I would like to find a newer development that would have many other middle income families (I have 3 young daughters). I need to be close to Gainesville because my wife will be attending school there for 3 years. I am an IT professional and will most likely be looking for work in the Jacksonville area. I have a 60 mile commute today to work so I don’t mind being closer to Gainesville then Jacksonville. I am also from Massachusetts so I am used to occasional bad traffic, etc. I have lived my life mostly in small communities (under 10,000) but have also lived for 3 years in Rio Rancho, NM which was a bit larger but still had a small town feel. I guess I am looking to get educated on the area and places near (or including) Gainesville that may be good places to investigate. We are planning a trip to the area sometime in the next few months to visit my wife’s school and figured we could drive around the area to get some ideas. Any help folks could provide us would be appreciated. Also…for folks living in this area…..what is the housing market like there? If we were talking about moving in say 12 months…do you think we should consider renting for a bit or is the market decent enough to consider buying immediately? Again…any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.