Tampa or Gainesville? (University, Gateway, Archer: apartments, to rent, crime rate)

[mwilliams89]

Hey everyone im new to the forums. I found that this is a great place to get some questions answered. Now im 19 years old (MALE) and im live in Pittsburgh, Pa. Im in my freshman year at a community college here in Pittsburgh but i want to trasnfer to UF, USF, or PSU. UF is my top choice so i will basically do anything to get into there and i know because i live in PA that PSU will be a little easier to get into and i also know that PSU is a better school than UF but im a huge gator fan and want to get on the football team. So anyways i was thinking about transfering to a community college in gainesville or tampa so it will be easier for me to get into UF because i will be gratduating from the state college. I choose tampa because i lived their for about 7 months so i know the area a little and i choose gainesville because thats where UF is located and they have santa fe college which is like guranteed admission if i graduate from their. I want to know which city will be better to move to and which community colleges is better out of Santa fe college or Hillsborough community college in tampa? Hillsborough community college has their own dorms but i heard that the crime was sort of bad at them dorms. Any replies will be a great help.

[tampaguy03]

My two cents is if your goal is to be at UF, then you should be in Gainesville. Go to Santa Fe (the Gateway ot the Gators), get yourself established and settled in Gainesville. Thats where you want to end up, so why not start there. Thats all.

[mwilliams89]

Thanks, i was looking deeply in santa fe. Do you know if gainesville is a nice and safe place to live? and hows the weather and jobs there?

[mquintana]

I lived in Gainesville and attended Santa Fe. Honestly, I hated it there, but that's just me. UF is a great univ. and Santa Fe is a great college (I attended the main campus-NW). There are a few apartments there that will suit you fine. Right across the street is Santa Fe Point, a college living apt. comm. where they match you up to other students with similiar likes/dislikes. The campus is a good size but it's not near UF. UF is off of SW 13th (University Ave) and right in the middle of twon. I say town because Gainesville is not huge-just spread out. UF is a greek school. What I mean by that is they have a lot of sororities and fraternities. They have a street they call Sor Row-sorority row...I worked at the Hub on UF campus so I can give you all info on all this stuff. Gainesville mall isn't bad and they have a few lame clubs/bars, but friends make it fun. There's lots of people your age. To get a place near UF campus-which btw is HUGE-you can easily find a place off of SW 16th, Archer Rd, and the other surrounding streets. Stay away from the SE part of town, it's a bad area. Anything on the opposite side of Main St. starts to get rough (and Main is right around all of the clubs). The apartments around UF are older-most of them. If you look for a place there, rent with a management company called Paradigm (spelling?) Properties...they are a good management company. I can also tell you where not to rent if you wanna DM me. I hope this helps and let me know if you want more info!

[mquintana]

OH-BTW-jobs there are aweful, one of the reasons why I hate that place. Most UF students get the good serving jobs so good luck. The weather? It's too cold in the winter and too muggy in the summer-remember, there is a reason why they are called the Florida Gators and why the UF stadium is called the "Swamp." It is swampy area and right before you get to Gainesville on I-75, the long stretch right after exit 374 is swampy area...it get's bad muggy there!

[stefibabi]

SFC is a highly regarded Jr. College (I am attending for Nursing) and is considered the "gateway to UF" (many graduates persuing higher education are granted admission to UF.) SFC has recently started offering a few Bachelor programs http://www.sfcollege.edu/
Gainesville is a small town and it is indeed hard to find work here. There are several apartment communities in short walking distance to SFC. Gainesville's crime rate is piddly in comparison to Tampa, or most any bigger city for that matter. It is reasonably safe, although there have been some vandalism, car theft and burglary issues here lately. We are 1.5hrs from either coast, and I have found that the drive to the beaches on the Atlantic side are reasonable. As for what is IN Gainesville; not much. The students enjoy an active night life and the law enforcement is reasonably tolerant. Most students (and residents for that matter) are absolute Gator fanatics and the entire town is centered around the University. What field are you entering? UF ties in with the major hospital here and it is considered a fantastic oppotunity for those in the health field.
Hope this helps Good Luck!

[stefibabi]

Gainesville has been undergoing many changes lately. I don't know when mquintana attended, but they've been concentrating on rejuvenating the University/ 13th St. area. A few newer apartment buildings have gone up within blocks of that area. They've knocked down what was a small multi-retail building and are building some bigger retail/residential complex right on the corner there. The night clubs are constantly changing ownership, but there are a few places in town that have remained and are always popular amongst both college kids and locals (some pool halls and a few bar/club/pubs.)