[sprinky]

I currently live in Boulder, Colorado and was recently accepted to the University of Florida's graduate program. Since I'm going to have to decide where I want to go in the next few months, I was wondering if anyone can tell me anything about the following:

What do people in their early 20s generally do for fun in Gainesville?

Where do most college students live? Are the houses/apartments nice?

Are there enough activities to keep a grad student who isn't into football or the bar scene entertained?

How friendly are people in Gainesville?

How safe is the city?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how nice are the landscapes/natural beauty around Gainesville?

Thanks everyone!

[housingcrashsurvivor]

I went to G-ville in the late 70s and loved it. Then it was the #1 party school in the country, since it has dropped to #2 but as you don't party that shouldn't bother you much.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I love it, the town and the campus. It is a far cry from the mountains you enjoy now. Of course there's been quite a bit more construction since I lived there, but basically not all that much has changed. I lived here http://tinyurl.com/ycvugpuwith that swimming pool raised above the parking lot. Funky but fun. I stopped in on my last trip up to the Smokys and they'd recently rehabbed the old place. Looked pretty nice. Of course, a lot more nicer & newer places have been built since. You should google street your way through the residential areas near campus, especially on the east & north sides to get an idea of housing there.

But just to say there is plenty of housing (apartments with swimming pools, or single family houses) all within easy reach of the university so car use can be minimum if you like. I was surprised on my last visit to find so much traffic there. Don't students use bikes anymore?

The problem with G-ville is that it is somewhat isolated. So much of what goes on there is university related. I'm surprised to see on city data the crime as high as it is. Not terrible, but I'd have thought better. I did not feel at all unsafe walking through town and on campus during my last visit there.

For fun, we used to go to Lake Alice and feed the alligators marshmellows. Cause, you know, when they go to chew it floats back up. lololol. Did I mention we used to party back then.

[GatorGirly]

Sprinky,

I went to UF for two years of grad school after living in Massachusetts my whole life. I loved living in Gainesville. I just graduated in May '09, so I just turned 25 and I am actually considering moving back (Southwest Florida is NOT for people my age - working or not).

There is a big social scene at the bars/clubs. You can either go to Midtown, which is across the street from campus, or Downtown, which is the center of town (University from SW 2nd St to SE 2nd, roughly). Downtown is a bit more artsy, whereas Midtown is a lot more of the bars that undergrads go to, and are very heavily frequented by the fraternities and sororities.

There aren't many "attractions" in Gainesville. Shopping simply doesn't exist, save Target and some boutiquey stores Downtown. You'd have to go to Jacksonville, Orlando or even Tampa/Ellenton for good shopping.

Most graduate students live on the perimeters of Gainesville as opposed to the hundreds of apartment complexes surrounding campus. I lived in SW Gainesville, near the nice Publix and the big post office, and it was a straight shot up 34th to get to campus but there was never any traffic, especially on gamedays which gets gridlocked on Saturdays in the fall. You can also look for an apartment in Downtown or Haile, both of which are more mature areas.

The bus system is actually really good, and as a student or faculty, you ride for free. Try to live on a bus line as this will save you tons of hassle trying to park, plus the cost of a parking decal gas. Biking is also hugely popular, and campus is very cyclist-friendly, as long as you are obeying the rules of the road and watching out for stupid people on their cell phones not paying attention. The speed limit on most roads is 45, so biking on the road is iffy, unless you're a serious cyclist. I personally always rode on the sidewalk on 34th and Archer because the motorists scared me.

Moving from Massachusetts, I noticed instantly how much nicer people were. Everyone from service personnel to people walking around campus, but then again you have to remember that 50,000+ people in Gainesville are not from Gainesville. They are from other parts of the state or country, and may not be as friendly as the rest of "the South." Gainesville and parts north are often considered an extension of the South, whereas the rest of the state is its own beast. I spent some time in Boulder and Denver and thought everyone there was just as friendly as in Gainesville!

You'd have to look up crime statistics, but campus is safe, and we never had a single break-in or other issue in the two years that I was there. There is a fair amount of drunk driving around the campus/University Ave area at night, but I'm sure it's like that in any college town. So if you're going to be driving home from the library at 2am, you might want to steer clear of the bar areas.

Gainesville is actually very pretty. Where I lived, the apartments were built in the woods. Campus is nice, but the surrounding areas, even outside Gainesville, are so much nicer. Paynes Prairie has some of the best viewing for shuttle launches (though I think the last shuttle just launched last week) and meteor showers, and during the day you can go alligator watching. There are several lakes for freshwater fishing or just a day on the boat, and you are only about an hour in either direction from the coast. While Jacksonville beaches are OK, a real nature seeker will love the Crystal River/Rainbow Springs area which is 45 minutes from Gainesville. A lot of people go to Ginnie Springs nearby, but it's mostly groups of students who float down the springs in inner tubes, drinking the whole way. Try it once, but for a real springs experience, go to Dunnellon.

I say go for it! Grad students really seem to enjoy Gainesville for more than just the bars and football (but I was instantly a huge Gator fan... it's hard not to be).

[yamahastar]

Gainesville has a pretty decent mall. Its often pretty crowded. There are stores away from the mall like TJMaxx, Khols, Steinmart, etc.

Students live near campus! There are a TON of student apartments and never a shortage of openings. Some apartments are gorgeous - how much do you want to spend is really the issue. We are renting 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with a screen porch and a garage for 1200/mo and it is a very nice complex, but more family oriented than student.

I think Gainesville is a very friendly place. We live and work there. I also went to school there in the 70's and again in the 80's and have always lived near enough to visit several times a year.

Sports and parties are big, but there are also things like Medival Fair, Museums, Concerts, Theatre, Movies, libraries, and lots of nature kinds of places nearby. I think there are alot of things to do and we don't like sports or bars, either.

I think its a very safe city or we wouldn't live there. Just for perspective, our son is 28 and he loves Gainesville. He's in Europe now, but if he returns to Florida, it will be to Gainesville. Gainesville is, of course, very different from any place in Colorado, but they've done a good job of keeping a lot of green spaces, ponds, etc. There are alligators on campus and in the pond at the VA hospital.

[crazyarm]

Gainesville certainly won't look very similar to Boulder, Colorado, but it is a fairly attractive city.

Gainesville is heavily focused on football, other Gator Sports and the bar scene, but there are plenty of things to do in Gville that aren't all about that. Gainesville has some pretty nice trails - Hawthorne if you like biking, Paynes Prairie for hiking and wildlife... There is Lake Wauberg which is a lake run by UF that has free kayaks, canoes, paddle boats, sailboats, rock climbing, volleyball courts...etc that you can use. The springs are about 30 minutes north (Genie Springs and the Ichnetuke) as well as a pretty cool water park on the river called Bob's River Place which is about 40 minutes away. There are some cool restaurants in Gainesville (The Top, Satchels) and a cool coffee place to hang out and play board games (Maudes) downtown. There also is the Hippodrome theater downtown which has a lot of plays, as well as the Gainesville Playhouse (I believe is the name). Also, there are shows at the Phillips Center if you're into that kinda stuff.

They have movie theaters, an okay kinda mall and basically any store that any town would have.

Students live everywhere, near campus. Some places are nicer than others...

People in Gainesville are pretty friendly. People are always willing to invite you along to hang out, people are open to meeting new friends (at least I am and my group of friends are).

Gainesville is fairly safe. Downtown areas and 13th street can be kind of sketchy. I live in kind of a bad area of town (kind of by downtown) and sometimes homeless bums dumpster dive in my trash can, but I have never had a problem with any of them. There are a lot of homeless people in the town though (they just ask you for money and are usually pretty harmless). Bike theft is a problem though, so if you bike, CHAIN IT UP and don't by too expensive of a bike.

I love Gainesville and it will always be near to my heart. Not looking forward to the day when I will have to leave this town. Great college town. Go Gators!

[doorsdoorsdoors]

Which apartment complex did you live in?
Did you like it?

[GeorgeOshan]

Gainesville is great for people who like outdoorsy stuff. Lots of things you can do to experience nature (the zoos and wildlife parks) as well as hiking and mountain biking.

I planned a visit there myself some years ago and found this resource useful [url]https://hotels.ng/guides/activities/things-to-do-in-gainesville-reviews-and-photos/[/url]

I think anyone headed there would enjoy it.

[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by sprinky

I currently live in Boulder, Colorado and was recently accepted to the University of Florida's graduate program. Since I'm going to have to decide where I want to go in the next few months, I was wondering if anyone can tell me anything about the following:

What do people in their early 20s generally do for fun in Gainesville?

Where do most college students live? Are the houses/apartments nice?

Are there enough activities to keep a grad student who isn't into football or the bar scene entertained?

How friendly are people in Gainesville?

How safe is the city?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how nice are the landscapes/natural beauty around Gainesville?

Thanks everyone!

I lived in Boulder, CO and loved it but was forced to move to Florida when the job market died in 2002. I am an engineer. Over the years of living in Florida, I earned a master's degree from U. of Florida. I spent about a year on campus and got to know many of the students.

UF is definitey a high-quality, land-grant state university. It is the "flagship" in-state school, and admission has gotten competitive. Many high quality HS students get turned away. For example, I worked with a guy who got a perfect SAT score but was rejected by the UF Honors Program. So, UF is similar in academic rigor and competitive admission to other "Public Ivies" like Texas, UCLA, Virginia, etc.

The thing that may bother you the most is the weather - it's very hot and humid in the summer. A walk around campus in August is just brutal. But winters are awesome. The culture is also big on SEC sports - football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, etc. If you like any of those sports, you should be able to socialize with other graduate students focused on those activities either in intramural sports or as fans for the varsity programs. But if you don't care for SEC sports and are more inclined to the Pac-12, then you should probably stay out west. UF is big on the dual nature of high academic quality and its sports programs. The fan base is huge and intense. That UF-Ole Miss football on campus is the most intense I have ever seen - even compared to home games at Notre Dame. UF sports games are far more revered and attended than games at CU Boulder or Colorado State. Frank Shorter, one of the founders of the Bolder Boulder 10K race (held Memorial Days), went to law school at Florida. In the film about Steve Prefontaine you can see him wearing his Gator track gear.

As for social life, it's hard to find spare time. UF graduate school is very rigorous with few extra hours for recreation. You can definitely find it on campus but beware of losing too much time doing it. It can haunt you on qualifying exams - especially for a PhD. Exams are no joke at UF - it's very time consuming to get an "A" or even a "B". Keep in mind Gainesville is largely a college town. It's close to the beach and Orlando within about 2 hours. But you really won't have a lot of time except the occasional weekend when there is a small "window" of opportunity for a road trip in the midst of graduate studies. It was just really hard.

The one advantage Florida has in general over CU Boulder for young adult men is the dating opportunity. There are far more men than women in Boulder for those who just graduated from college. CU Boulder is mostly male. By contrast, UF will give far more dating opportunities. The graduate student population is large and active socially - so you wouldn't be lost in a male-skewed population like CU Boulder. When I was at CU Boulder I was athletically in my prime but felt invisible in the rec center. By contrast, in Florida the girls actually noticed me. I actually met my girlfriend at the gym while working out on the cardio machines. It wasn't like that at CU. I was a dateless reject in a mostly male Colorado mountain town - "So you're telling me there's a chance" - LOL. But in FL I went on many, many dates and had many chances over the years.

Boulderites may miss the mountains badly. I did when I first moved to FL. I used to run up Longs Peak from the Ranger Station in less than 3 hours through the keyhole route with a heavy backpack. I was in my athletic prime as a mountain runner when I lived in Colorado. I ran Mt. Sanitas hundreds of times when I lived in Boulder. I normally ran about 80% of the way without stopping and hiked the rest for a typical run of 24-29 minutes through the valley. I sometimes played rec center basketball at CU after running Mt. Sanitas. My mountain running ability faded when I moved to FL. It never came back.

But I loved the graduation. My teen relatives came from Arizona. We celebrated at Universal Studios on the Harry Potter Park and Hulk Ride-lol. Go Gators!

Best wishes. As for me, I have since moved back to Arizona. But I still cheer for the Gators and wear my alumni shirts while out hiking or at the gym.