Relocating a Young Family to Tallahassee (Lakeland, Davie: high crime, new home, bankrupt)

[KatieNK]

Oh my goodness, I can't imagine moving from Seattle to FL! My sister lives in Seattle (Shoreline) and it is WONDERFUL there! So much to do, beautiful scenery, great for kids, the schools rock, awesome shopping, mild weather, and the people are soooooooo nice! My sister moved there from DE and her daughter has never enjoyed school more or had as many nice little friends as she does now in Shoreline. If I were you, I would spend at least a week staying in Tallahassee and seeing how you like it. The difference between there and Seattle is stark and yes this is a huge decision. We currently live in DE and are very much trying to move to SEATTLE! I lived near Tallahassee as a kid though and I would rather live in Seattle. Why do you want to leave?

[chickennoodle]

WellShoneMoon - Snakes in the pool!? My goodness I have a lot to learn! Perhaps I won't be sporting a pool of my own right away... Thank you so much for answering my questions. It is so nice to be able to start to picture a place before the opportunity to actually visit.

Strel - The creatures are on my mind a bit less these days, except for those bugs. Yuck. That will certainly take some getting used to, and as any place has it's negatives and positives, I will have to put bugs under my not-so-excited-about-it category! And thank you for the additional information as well. Sometimes I feel so uneducated I might as well be moving out of the country!

KatieNK - It is funny how things can change. Until very recently we never imagined living anywhere else. In fact, we would not have even considered it. My husband and I were born and raised here, our extended family members all live within 30 minutes of us, and we landed good jobs early on - great reasons to stay. I do like my little suburban life here and all that Seattle provides me when I need it. I am used to the weather, though I always hope for more sun, and know a million back roads to help me avoid traffic jams and road construction. The reason for the potential move is for work, and this new opportunity allows us to provide a more stable future for our family. We weren't looking to move away, but the benefits just might outweigh the risks and make us the first to flee the nest in several generations. Believe me; our families are supportive, but not very excited about this!

On any given day I can give you a million reasons why we should stay or go, and most revolve around our kids. I love that our children have a fairly close relationship with their grandparents/extended family and that for ballet recitals, graduations, sporting events and many "first-time" moments, they are surrounded by this support. I trust the schools here because I have studied them and work within them. The list goes on.

Tallahassee itself is not my reason to move. It could have been anywhere. However, after closer inspection, the sun sounds appealing, I could easily expand the size of my home/yard, and my husband could have a stable job that he finds rewarding. Schools can be hit and miss anywhere, and I really believe the right teacher makes all the difference along with the commitment of the family. That being said, I am not afraid to admit that I currently live in this particular area only after extensive research of all the districts in the given area (there are quite a few!) and would do the same again, if the opportunity presented itself. A smaller city doesn't sound all that bad, though I have to admit my shopping habits will be severaly altered and the UPS man would be frequenting my new home often (quite a few of my favorite stores are NOT in Tallahassee)! So it's mostly about the job. Could he find something similar nearby? It is possible. Not likely anytime soon, but possible. And so here we are.

I wish you lots of luck in your relocation to Seattle! I do like it here, am glad your sister is having a positive experience, and wish I felt as committed to something as you appear to! This is a terribly stressful experience (especially for a planner like me) and I hope to have all the cards on the table soon to make the best decision we can. I do think a trip out to Tallahassee is a good idea, and we've been thinking about doing that within the next month. Seeing the area might help sway me in one direction or the other. Or thoroughly confuse me! I guess time will tell.

[KatieNK]

Well good luck on your trip and your potential move! We moved a lot growing up and it was always stressful, moreso on my parents I am sure. Ultimately, we ended up right back where family was.

[airbornedoc]

I just want to ask one question.....do you have to move here? If not, then don't.

[Squiffynole]

I suggest you look for housing in Killearn Estates, Killearn Acres or where we live in Killearn Lakes. When I returned to Tallahassee with a family 18 years ago schools were our main priority and we ended buying a house based on the combination of Killearn Lakes Elementary School, Deerlake Middle School and then Chiles High School. The schools have been first rate and we are in a beautiful heavily wooded neighborhood with nearby services including a fairly new fire station and branch library and an excellent supermarket. The thing I do not like is my 15 mile daily commute to downtown for work.

Coming from Seattle the summer heat and humidity here will be a shock. We also get beaucoup rain, over 60" per year. On the other hand there is a whole lot of sunshine!

[yuzhiwen]

I want to share you with this: The special day, hmm, cool! I saw the following birds:
Canada Geese, coot, black headed gull, Lesser black back gull, greylag geese, cormorants (inc Juvenile), tufted duck, lapwing, mute swan, Great crested grebe, buzzard, mallard, crow, shelduck, ringed plover, oyster catcher, pheasant, sand martin and reed bunting. Wow, they are so beautiful!

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[Strel]

Originally Posted by airbornedoc

I just want to ask one question.....do you have to move here? If not, then don't.

Unless you are interested in an opinion from someone that clearly has a very, very large chip on their shoulder regarding Tallahassee, you can safely ignore this person's opinion.

Some people fit in here, some don't. This person clearly did not.

[chickennoodle]

Thank you, everyone, for sharing. I am happy to say that we finally made our decision to relocate to TLH just a few weeks ago! We enjoyed our visit a little while back in/around the city as well as St. George (beautiful!), and are excited for this new adventure.

We still have so much to learn, but we're ready to go and settled. I can't say that the weather will be the best for us when we arrive in August, but I suppose I can just turn up the AC!

Are there any suggestions for favorite restaurants that are worth trying (especially seafood)? My husband will be in town this coming week and I need him to try some things out for us!

[Smalleyster]

Originally Posted by chickennoodle

Are there any suggestions for favorite restaurants that are worth trying (especially seafood)? My husband will be in town this coming week and I need him to try some things out for us!

We like Crystal River, modest prices, good food and great service. One on Monroe and one on Tennessee.

Welcome!

[llm1500]

Hello. I grew up in Portland, Oregon and spent the past 3 years in Tallahassee. To answer your question about hills, there are no "hills" in the sense that westerners think of. Many Floridians describe Tallahassee as hilly because it is more hilly than the rest of the state- but the rest of the state is flat as a pancake. The winters are pretty mild and generally nice, but the summers can be quite unbearable. Try to go camping and do outdoor activities in the Springtime.

Schools- Since Rick Scott is governor I would be apprehensive about sending your kids to public school. Its a shame. I grew up in a public education system but after hearing / witnessing the complaints about the Tallahassee system I would consider sending my kid to a private school.


Trails/ hiking- you should try Lake Piney Z / Lafayette Heritage trail park. This is an extensive bike and hike system and is quite scenic. Also try lake Talquin / Fort Braden trails located to the west of Tallahassee.


Tallahassee is a liveable city but I had to move back after a few years because I became so nostalgic for the west coast. I love walking places, riding public transportation, entering strange a quirky restaurants / boutiques etc.... In Tallahassee, you must drive everywhere in Tallahassee and the culture is a little too mainstream for me. Some people say that Tallahassee is the "Austin" of the SouthEast etc... which I suppose has some validity but coming from Seattle its gonna seem like a main-stream suburb. Sorry to burst your bubble but if you're looking for anything remotely similar to Seattle you're not gonna find it in Tallahassee.


However, that being said- Tallahassee still has the benefit of being an affordable town with access to the beach and trails and some decent restaurants. I would suggest trying mid-town for dinner, and stay away from Tennessee street if you would like to avoid irritating drunk frat boys (and thats saying something because I was in a fraternity in my college in Oregon).