[HomelessTeacher]

I am interested in moving to Gainesville.
I am a teacher, and have no idea where to start.
What county is this in? What is the area like?
Small/Big? Stormy/Sunny?
How are the schools sytems?
Any advice?!
Since I am young...is it a place with a lot to do?

[BravoSix]

I can't offer much input, but I too am looking into moving to the area. I had a job lined up in Gainesville back in 2005. That fell through, but I spent a good amount of time there preparing for the move that never happened.

Gainesville is in Alachua County.

I really liked the area. Gainesville is a big enough city - at least compared to what I'm used to in rural PA - to offer lots of convenience, but still small enough to offer a bit of a small-town feel. Plus, a few minutes outside of town, it was a pretty rural area.

I have no first hand knowledge of the schools, but from what I have heard, the schools are considered pretty good compared to other areas in Florida.

I'm sorry I can't offer much more. Perhaps a local will chime in and provide more insight.

[retiredinfla]

Think long and hard before making a carer move to Gainesville, especially in education. I shall keep my opinion to myself. Have five famly members who attended school there and still live there. NOT a good place.

[BravoSix]

Originally Posted by retiredinfla

Think long and hard before making a carer move to Gainesville, especially in education. I shall keep my opinion to myself. Have five famly members who attended school there and still live there. NOT a good place.

Keeping one's opinion to oneself sort of defeats the purpose of this forum.

I know that I, as I'm sure HomelessTeacher is, am interested in hearing your opinion.

[riveree]

I've never lived there, only visited from time to time, though I do have some friends who went to college there.

My impression is that it is very small - the college seems to be the biggest thing going on there.

It is deep inland, so it's more swampy that if you were on the coasts (ocean or gulf), the air will hang heavier (no ocean breeze).

You have the collegiate students and faculty in town, but outside of that, it seems like a sleepy town with a lot of poor rural folks on the outskirts.

It can be very pretty, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wrote "Cross Creek" about the Micanopy area (cute town!).

As the previous poster said, I think most graduates move on from the area once they finish their degrees.

[ellie]

Since at this point I'm the only one who lives in Gainesville, let's see if I can come up with something to say.

It takes awhile to get to know people here unless you already know someone. Once you finally get to know a few people you will find that it is a wonderful and progressive community that provides plenty of social, outdoor, and cultural events.

Despite what others have said, every year quite a few graduates continue living here. Some people joke that the town is like a vortex, if you like it, you might stay longer than you expected.

Because the University has an school of education, the local public schools receive the benefit from student teachers and new ideas on a regular basis. Like any city, from what I hear, the schools are still a mixed bag.

It's a medium sized city and feels pretty safe. I'm not crazy about all of the homeless people who hang out downtown, but the city seems to be working on that to the degree they legally and morally can.

Traffic can be bad, but if you compare it to larger cities, especially in central and south Florida, you realize that it's not that bad. You can always time your trips or change your routes to avoid the worst areas.

I don't shop much, but most of the big box stores are here as well as a number of independent stores. If you are under 35, you should be able to find things to your taste. If you are older, fortunately there's the faculty, who demand high quality services and goods.

Here's a link to the local paper. If you read it regularly you will get a pretty good idea about what's going on here.

http://gainesville.com


Oh yes, hot as blue blazes in summer with regular thunderstorms in the middle of the afternoon. Amazing lightning and thunder. They only last an hour or two.

[BUP41800]

Gainesville is NOT "very small"--there are over 100,000 people living here, and well over 200,000 in the county. And I wouldn't call it a "sleepy town", either. Not with over 65,000 college students (UF and SFCC). There's plenty of night life, festivals, sports activities galore, museums, plays, shopping, dining, hiking, and biking.

The downtown is not very attractive, with tacky bars and some run-down areas, and there are a number of vagrants and panhandlers that lounge around. There has been some recent new construction downtown, with shops, high-end condos, and restaurants. There's a striking theatre downtown, which used to be the early 1900's post office/federal building---very nice. There are also a number of expensive condo towers planned for the fringes of downtown.

It's very hot here in the summer--which starts around late April and can last until mid/October. Fall is nice here, especially if you're into football. Spring is beautiful, with many blooming trees and azaleas and camellias.

It's expensive to own a home here. Prices seem steeper, than say, Jacksonville, and the property taxes are VERY high. I know someone in a 2750 square foot home that's paying over $8,000/per year taxes. Gas is pricier here that Ocala, and our commissioners are now considering tacking on another 5 cents/gallon for roads.

Gainesville has seen a lot of growth lately, and may be on the cusp of a larger growth spurt in the near future. A lot of new buildings, condos, and shopping plazas seem to be built with more of a "south Florida" look---intense or bright colors, quasi-mediterranean architecture, and (yuk) an over-use of palm trees. It's not really keeping with the true feel of North Florida, but that is disappearing.

Contrary to what another poster said, it is not swampy here. In fact, the spine of the peninsula can be quite hilly. Gainesville has many hills on the western and northern sides of town, and especially all through the San Felasco State Park, a nice area to hike. It 's true that we have Payne's Prairie, south of the city, which is a marshy lake bed, but it's a state park, with many bird and alligator watching opportunities.

Anyway, I've been here over 50 years. Gainesville has its beauty, and its warts, like any other place.

[demeter]

Originally Posted by HomelessTeacher

What county is this in?

Alachua county.

Small/Big? Stormy/Sunny?

It can be both small and big; it depends on how you choose to experience the city! It can also be stormy and sunny, but I would say by far more sun.

is it a place with a lot to do?

YES! With the University of Florida here, there are always several different things going on. Gainesville also has a pretty decent music scene, too.

[jhlcomp]

I like Gainesville and its proximity to both coasts. We considered buying there some months back and have stopped to reconsider a few things. Gainesville is in Alachua County. The property taxes are quite high whereas adjacent counties are lower. Technlogy is important to us - critical actually and once you are outside of Alachua that can become problematic as it gets quite rural - which to me is a plus but limits connectivity.

[Prichard]

There are two Gainesvilles: UofF and the rest of Gainesville.

I went to college there in the late '80's and absolutely loved the schools and the town. The problem is that there are way too many smart people who graduate from UofF who want to be teachers, or other professionals, and the town just doesn't have jobs for all of the people that would like the stay there. You are competing for jobs, many of which are filled by college students at minimum wage - they need the money and need the work for experience, and will do whatever it takes to get those jobs. Terefore, there is an endless supply of cheap labor in this town. Gainesville is also flooded with medical doctors because of Shands, has more than enough engineers, architects, MBA's, accountants, lawyers, etc. that graduate and would love to stay there.

The people that stay in Ganiesville and become successful own and run small busninesses that students and UF staff find essential, or go to the opposite end and cater to locals that have nothing to do with UF. If you have a great idea for a business and some money stashed away, you might just do ok in Gainesville.