Tallahassee Stock...Up? Down? or nothing gonna change (house, buy)

[Strel]

Nobody's touting this place as a hot spot for postgrad nightlife.

But to say it's all strip malls and check cashing joints is just plain ignorant. I thought the same thing when I was a student here, only because I was only familar with the crap near I-10 and along US 27 and 90.

Even that stuff is no different than another comparable town in Florida, except that the local goverment makes it very difficult for businesses to put up the nasty ubiquitous billboards that uglify the rest of this state.

[ferret111]

Originally Posted by Strel

Funny, but I'm not religious, I've been here for 25 years, and never been bothered by any religious vibes.

I guess you haven't been lucky enough to be approached by people while walking along major corridors who stop you and try to "save" you.

Why on Earth would you get uncomfortable just seeing someone carrying a Bible?

I don't care if someone carries a Bible. I care when I'm riding on a bus and the driver's reading it while driving.

Fair enough, college towns are not everyone's cup of tea. Thing is, once you get a few miles from campus, it's not a college town.

Of course it is. The three colleges consist of half of the city's reason for existence.

Uh, there is a downtown theater. You also obviously never paid a visit to Railroad Square...

I guess a screen hung up inside of a closed train station counts as a movie theater.

I think I was dead on correct. You never really saw most of the city.

Why do you still refuse to believe me when I say that I've seen the city? It isn't a hard thing to do. It's like you don't want to believe what I have to say so you just keep pulling these baseless claims out of your brain.

I think you didn't do a very good job of it. Much like myself the first few years I lived here and had no idea how large the place really is. Your comments indicate that you not only didn't go down every mundane lane, but actually missed whole swaths of the city that don't correspond to your description.

I think I did do a good job. I've been in every single neighborhood within the main part of the city and quite a few of the subdivisions. By and large, it's nothing to write home about.

People come here for information on places. I think your information is inaccurate, and people deserve to read the counterpoints.

Really? Perhaps I'm just trying to counter your assertions that Tallahassee is a goldmine of a city, just that you can't see this fabled goldmine from any of the main roads and it's hidden in parts of the city that the common man must not have seen because, you know, we all hang out on Tennessee and Monroe.

Developers?

Seriously?

Have you even SEEN the rest of Florida?

Sure I have. I've been everywhere in this state, though I have admittedly less experience in Southeast Florida. Most Florida cities have some sort of historic core. Tallahassee's historic core can be found within a half-mile radius from the intersection of Monroe and Tennessee. Everything else is poorly-planned sprawl, with a heavy emphasis on prefabricated buildings.

[ferret111]

Sarasota, Lakeland, Fort Myers, Winter Park, and Ocala have better downtowns than Tallahassee and all of those cities are much smaller.

Originally Posted by JAS

As far as identity is concerned, I disagree that it doesn't have an identity. It is dominated by government and universities, which is an identity unlike most other places in FL. You may not like the identity, but it has one.

An identity based around people coming here and then ditching the place once they're able to move on is hardly an identity. Florida is a transient state, yes, but Tallahassee has to be one of the most transient, anonymous cities in the whole state.

[Strel]

Originally Posted by ferret111

I guess you haven't been lucky enough to be approached by people while walking along major corridors who stop you and try to "save" you.

Not since I graduated. They were always hanging around the student union.

I don't care if someone carries a Bible. I care when I'm riding on a bus and the driver's reading it while driving.

It mattered enough to you to include it in your "concerns" about religiosity, so it is obviously about it being a Bible.

Of course it is. The three colleges consist of half of the city's reason for existence.

It's meaningless north of I-10 and east of Magnolia. There are huge swaths of the town with no college influence or character.

I guess a screen hung up inside of a closed train station counts as a movie theater.

You really aren't very good at this.
Challenger Learning Center

Why do you still refuse to believe me when I say that I've seen the city? It isn't a hard thing to do. It's like you don't want to believe what I have to say so you just keep pulling these baseless claims out of your brain.

I believe you THINK you have. Your comments indicate otherwise.

I think I did do a good job. I've been in every single neighborhood within the main part of the city and quite a few of the subdivisions. By and large, it's nothing to write home about.

Again, you think you have, but I'm sure you haven't.

Really? Perhaps I'm just trying to counter your assertions that Tallahassee is a goldmine of a city

Assertions that no one made.

, just that you can't see this fabled goldmine from any of the main roads

You can't. That' part of the charm of the place. The main roads look just like any other north Florida town, but they comprise a very small part of the city. Hence the impression by people who haven't lived here long that the city is all about what's on Monroe Street, etc.

and it's hidden in parts of the city that the common man must not have seen because, you know, we all hang out on Tennessee and Monroe.

Thanks for conceding my point.

Sure I have. I've been everywhere in this state, though I have admittedly less experience in Southeast Florida. Most Florida cities have some sort of historic core. Tallahassee's historic core can be found within a half-mile radius from the intersection of Monroe and Tennessee. Everything else is poorly-planned sprawl, with a heavy emphasis on prefabricated buildings.

You just keep right on proving me right. You've done a great job of describing the 15-20% of the city most people see.

[JAS]

Originally Posted by ferret111

Sarasota, Lakeland, Fort Myers, Winter Park, and Ocala have better downtowns than Tallahassee and all of those cities are much smaller.


An identity based around people coming here and then ditching the place once they're able to move on is hardly an identity. Florida is a transient state, yes, but Tallahassee has to be one of the most transient, anonymous cities in the whole state.

We will have to agree to disagree. Apart from the students, I would argue the extreme opposite -- I believe that TLH is less transient than almost anywhere else in FL, especially compared to Tampa, Miami, Orlando, etc. Apart from Pensacola, St. Augustine, Jax, you also won't find many other cities in FL with a history that goes back as far as TLH's.

Funny how another poster here argues that TLH is full of rednecks who have never left the city, and you argue that it is full of developers/lobbyists/transients who moved to the city to make a buck and moved on. I was born in TLH and moved away after college, but I still have many friends and family in TLH - as a matter of fact, my wife's family moved to the area in the mid/late-1800's. Plenty of others I know with similar histories.

As I've said before, I can understand why some people don't like TLH, but there are plenty of reasons why others have a more favorable opinion

[JAS]

One other thing ... I don't understand why some people are disappointed w/TLH because they feel that the state capital should be a sprawling metropolis chock-full of tourist attractions. Sacramento, Albany, Jefferson City, and Springfield, aren't exactly LA/SF/SD, NYC, St. Louis, and Chicago.

By the way, I hear that Harrisburg is lovely this time of year.

[Florida Paul]

Alright....... Alright you two......

Let me change the direction of this conversation a bit......

I read somewhere in the Tallahassee forums that Tally is Austin, Tx like 20+ years ago.....Do do you think Tallahassee has that sort of potential to become a city like that???? What will or can be the game changer for Tallahassee to grow into a city that people around the country talk about?? Is that even possible???? We will eventually be the 3rd most populous state in the country, and our Capital City is very under-appreciated, even within the state. Or is Tallahassee's geographic location its biggest downfall. A lot of Richard Florida's writings indicate that you have to be in a "mega-region" in order to survive the new economy... Will a bullet train throughout Florida linked up to Tallahassee help things??? Will an amusement park locally attract more people to live there???? Just some questions I've been pondering.....

Views on both sides of the fence are welcome, even those sitting on the fence.....

[hackensacknj]

"I guess a screen hung up inside of a closed train station counts as a movie theater"


To the over 4400 moviegoers who visit All Saints Cinema annually, yes, it does count as a downtown movie theater. Only place in town to see independent and foreign films on a regular basis.

[JAS]

Comparison to Austin ... I don't believe that TLH has the same potential as Austin. For one thing, Austin was one of the first metro areas to embrace the tech industry, so it had a tremendous headstart in that area. Just a few reasons off the top of my head ...

1) TLH has generally not been a "pro-business" town, for better or for worse. Despite what others have claimed about massive overdevelopment (which isn't the case - at least not "massive"), the "comprehensive plan" from about 20 yrs ago restricted many types of development.

2) TLH leadership has had a more adversarial relationship w/FSU than some may realize. It's hard to build a synergy between academia and industry with that attitude.

3) Austin has the University of Texas, which is/has been the university with the deepest pockets and largest alumni base in their state (although Texas A&M is similar, I guess). FSU, on the other hand, has always been treated as the second school in FL behind UF. That also meant that many state leaders were more interested in funneling $$ and business to UF instead of to FSU. Business follows the money, so it traditionally didn't go to FSU/TLH. It has improved over the last decade or two, but not enough to change the past.

4) TLH doesn't have the transportation network as areas like Raleigh/Durham (highways, air, etc.) and is somewhat isolated from the state's largest cities. I'm not too familiar w/Austin, but I'm sure that its network is very good since a few Fortune 500 companies have a presence there.

5) TLH and especially the surrounding areas were historically an agricultural-based economy (along w/govt). For some of the reasons above, it didn't make the significant transition to a tech or "new business" focus like Raleigh/Austin did about 50 yrs ago.

[JAS]

As a follow-up, don't take my comments above to mean that Tallahassee = bad place to live. I just don't think that it has the potential to be like Austin. I think TLH will contune to have steady/stable growth due to its govt/education-based economy.