Taking my talents south (Tallahassee: find a job, school, college)

[silversnake5]

Hi! This is my first post, but I've been around the forums before. Anyway, I'm trying to move to Tallahassee and after much fruitless searching, I decided to seek some help.

I want to head down in January and the biggest issue I'm having is trying to find a place to land. Since I'm not there, I don't know how accurate of a representation of the places available I'm getting. I heard there's roach problems in a lot of places down there, and to stay away from south of campus I believe, but it's hard to get a real sense of what it's really like. So anyone have any suggestions of decent places to live, or how to find some? About me, I'm a student and plan to attend FSU about this time next year, and I've been told its easier to find a job in a new area so it's hard to pin down a specific price range. I'm open to most places as long as it's not too dangerous or run down.

While I'm asking questions, how is general employment down there? And the public transit system, is it necessary to have a car or could I bus around most places? where I live our bus system is apparently a joke compared to other places. Also, I hear it's hot in the summer and humid. What about winter, I looked on the weather channel today and saw how cold it was, is that a normal occurrence? I'm from Ohio, so I know cold and unpredictable. Is it cold like that in the winter in tally or is it cold relative to being a southern state?

Thanks for taking time to help, this is getting overwhelming

[Smalleyster]

No jobs unless you are from here.
No Busses (virtually).
Hot as hell in summer.
Going down to 17 tonight.

Still love it here tho.

[EscAlaMike]

I love Tallahassee. I went to FSU and lived in Tally for a while after college too.

A coldfront is presently moving through, so it's unusually cold across the South right now. It does get cold in North Florida though (not as cold as Ohio obviously). However, the humid cold of Florida can be more uncomfortable than the dry cold of the north. It goes right through you to the bones.

You'll probably be able to find a part-time job eventually, but keep in mind that in a college town there is a huge supply of part-time labor, so it can be difficult to find a job quickly.

If you are close to campus, there are buses. I definitely wouldn't count on the transit system though. A car is a necessity if you want a life outside of school, and for going grocery shopping, and any other trips out.

It's Florida. Of course it's hot and humid in the summer. But we like it that way. It keeps the Yankees out. Oh wait...I guess it doesn't keep all the Yankees out. ;-)

Generally you are right, you kind of want to stay away from anything south of campus. Lots of parts of Tallahassee tend to be kind of hit or miss though. Let me know if you have questions about a specific area.

GO NOLES

[ferret111]

The only thing Tallahassee has on other cities is its decent bus system. It's better if the closer you live to the center of town, but it all shuts down by about 10 PM.

[silversnake5]

thanks, sorry my job here keeps me busy. Anyway, does it help that I'm not gonna be in school for a year or so once I move down there, as far a employment goes? I could take a more full time position at least short term. I think that's the biggest fear I have, getting there and not being able to get a job. Since it is a college town, does that mean mostly retail kinda employment options?

[Strel]

Originally Posted by silversnake5

thanks, sorry my job here keeps me busy. Anyway, does it help that I'm not gonna be in school for a year or so once I move down there, as far a employment goes? I could take a more full time position at least short term. I think that's the biggest fear I have, getting there and not being able to get a job. Since it is a college town, does that mean mostly retail kinda employment options?

You are right to be concerned - getting a state job now is going to be even harder with governor-elect Scott determined to make government as bad as he already thinks it is.

It depends on what skills you have. If you don't have any real ones yet because you are a student, you may well be waiting tables or working retail.

I dodged that fate as a student here years ago - but only because I could write well and spoke fluent Medicalese, and ended up working for a health-related state agency doing some part-time writing.

There are IT jobs around, those guys are still doing OK. Medical too.

Don't listen to people who say you have to know someone to get a job. That's no more true here than anywhere else. But it IS true that there isn't as much turnover here and not as many job openings as other places. This place is dominated by government agencies and law firms for the most part, there's no heavy industry here outside of agriculture.

You need something to make you stand out - some kind of valuable skill to get you in the door to a "real" office job.