Any NC to FL transplants? (Tallahassee, Greensboro: apartments, violent crime, home)

[Einin]

Hi everyone, this is my first city-data post

We may be relocating to Tallahassee from Raleigh bc of husband's job, and I was wondering if there are any NC transplants here who'd be willing to give their take on Tallahassee? Are you melting from the heat/humidity in summer? It can get pretty hot and humid here, so I'm hopeful I can handle it. And I would love to get away from the cold. How does traffic compare? Family friendly?

A little about me, I'm from a rural area but don't mind the "big" city of Raleigh since as cities go, it doesn't feel too big. But despite it not being huge like Atlanta, Raleigh still feels very much like a city in all the wrong ways sometimes, so I would be happy to eventually live somewhere with a slower place and friendlier people. What kind of vibe does Tallahassee have?

Thanks in advance for your time & input!

[mollybygolly]

Welcome! This board isn't very active, so you might gather more information by reading through the older posts.
I am not a NC transplant, so I can't specifically answer your questions from that perspective. As far as heat and humidity, Tallahassee can be compared to almost any other "deep south" town. I doubt it would be worse than Raleigh, but summer probably lasts slightly longer here. Also, it doesn't cool down as much in the evening.
I hate cold and snow, and would much rather be hot and sweaty than frost-bitten and shivering, but it is definitely tolerable here even on the warmest days (at least for me).
I like Tallahassee a lot. It is a beautiful town. I'm not crazy about the campus area, but that is easily avoidable. There are some "bad" areas, as with any city, but again, they are easily avoided.
We actually now live about 20 miles east of Tallahassee, out in the woods on 10 acres, so I'm not as familiar as I once was with everything that goes on there, but there are numerous restaurants and ample shopping opportunities.
Hope this helps you

[JAS]

I was born in TLH and lived there through college, lived in NC (both Triangle and Triad areas) for several years, and have been in Atlanta for a while. I still have family in TLH and visit a few times per year.

I found that the summer temperatures in Raleigh aren't too much different than that of TLH ... it just lasts longer in TLH. I remember some darn hot/humid days in Raleigh, but TLH heats up about a month earlier and lasts about a month longer .. i.e., the hot temperatures in TLH will take you from May through September. Winters in TLH can be cold from a Florida perspective, but icy roads and frozen precipitation is nonexistent (maybe once a decade there will be a light dusting or ice on a bridge for about 10 minutes).

The RDU metro area is much larger than TLH. Not as much private industry in TLH than in Raleigh, so jobs need to be lined up before moving. The college and govt scenes define a great part of the city; I would focus on living on the north side of town where the better neighborhoods and schools are generally located - very family friendly once you get away from the campus area. TLH has pockets of crime in the central/south/SW part of the city, but I've seen rougher areas in Raleigh and Greensboro ... and Atlanta would laugh at TLH's rough areas.

TLH has more in common with Raleigh than south Florida, perhaps even other parts of the state.

[Einin]

Originally Posted by mollybygolly

Welcome! This board isn't very active, so you might gather more information by reading through the older posts.
I am not a NC transplant, so I can't specifically answer your questions from that perspective. As far as heat and humidity, Tallahassee can be compared to almost any other "deep south" town. I doubt it would be worse than Raleigh, but summer probably lasts slightly longer here. Also, it doesn't cool down as much in the evening.
I hate cold and snow, and would much rather be hot and sweaty than frost-bitten and shivering, but it is definitely tolerable here even on the warmest days (at least for me).
I like Tallahassee a lot. It is a beautiful town. I'm not crazy about the campus area, but that is easily avoidable. There are some "bad" areas, as with any city, but again, they are easily avoided.
We actually now live about 20 miles east of Tallahassee, out in the woods on 10 acres, so I'm not as familiar as I once was with everything that goes on there, but there are numerous restaurants and ample shopping opportunities.
Hope this helps you

Thanks Molly! This is very helpful. I know what you mean about campus areas, we have some of those here in the triangle, so I've gotten used to them. It's funny how if you live somewhere long enough, you don't notice the not so pretty parts anymore. I've lived in NC for a long time and love it, so I'm trying to look at it with an outsider's eye to prepare myself if my husband gets the job. We both wanted to move to Florida at some point down the line, this is just a bit sooner than planned if it works out.

I can't stand being cold either, and a warmer climate would be better for my health for various reasons. How's traffic for you when you want to drive into TH since you're 20 miles out? I've gotten used to what little traffic we have in Raleigh, and I'm hoping since TH is smaller, what counts for traffic there won't be a big deal to me.

[Einin]

Originally Posted by JAS

I was born in TLH and lived there through college, lived in NC (both Triangle and Triad areas) for several years, and have been in Atlanta for a while. I still have family in TLH and visit a few times per year.

I found that the summer temperatures in Raleigh aren't too much different than that of TLH ... it just lasts longer in TLH. I remember some darn hot/humid days in Raleigh, but TLH heats up about a month earlier and lasts about a month longer .. i.e., the hot temperatures in TLH will take you from May through September. Winters in TLH can be cold from a Florida perspective, but icy roads and frozen precipitation is nonexistent (maybe once a decade there will be a light dusting or ice on a bridge for about 10 minutes).

The RDU metro area is much larger than TLH. Not as much private industry in TLH than in Raleigh, so jobs need to be lined up before moving. The college and govt scenes define a great part of the city; I would focus on living on the north side of town where the better neighborhoods and schools are generally located - very family friendly once you get away from the campus area. TLH has pockets of crime in the central/south/SW part of the city, but I've seen rougher areas in Raleigh and Greensboro ... and Atlanta would laugh at TLH's rough areas.

TLH has more in common with Raleigh than south Florida, perhaps even other parts of the state.

Thanks so much for your reply JAS, it's very helpful! I will be happy to leave icy roads behind if the move goes through. Depends on my husband's job situation. We won't know till summer. That's good to know about which parts of town are more family friendly. The south side of Raleigh is a crime pocket as well. It's good to hear you didn't feel like crime was a huge deal by comparison to Raleigh. The statistics online about crime in TH paint a somewhat bleak picture, but statistics don't usually tell the whole story, and a friend of mine who graduated from FSU loved TH and didn't think crime was out of control.

I'm kind of a statistics nerd even though I know they only paint a partial picture, and the most intimidating stat I've run up against so far is electricity/utility costs. A few city comparison sites list TH as having utility costs higher than the national avg & the overall cost of living slightly above Raleigh. That surprised me. Here we have a 1500 sq ft home and our electricity bill is at lowest $70 per month in winter and never more than around $150 in the peak of summer.

[JAS]

Originally Posted by Einin

It's good to hear you didn't feel like crime was a huge deal by comparison to Raleigh. The statistics online about crime in TH paint a somewhat bleak picture, but statistics don't usually tell the whole story, and a friend of mine who graduated from FSU loved TH and didn't think crime was out of control.

Most of TLH's crime generally isn't random. The violent crime is often between known parties, or between people engaging in illegal activity, or in areas that generally have a lot of crime (kind of a circular argument). Violent crime generally doesn't occur in the more family-friendly areas. Petty crimes - breaking into a car, theft, etc - is more prevalent, but common sense should take care of most of that.

Maybe it's worse in the statistics because you have 50k college students in town - people who tend to get into trouble due to alcohol, poor judgment, and lack of self-control. Also, college students are perfect targets for burglaries and theft - young people with laptops, smartphones, and poorly secured apartments who are on their own for the first time.

The nature of violent crime in Atlanta - violent street/campus robberies and assaults - is worse than in TLH. Much more random than in TLH, in my opinion.

[StreetSmarts]

ur not gonna find many ppl that move to FL from NC. Its the other way around!

[Ken E]

Didn't you move from N.C. to Florida?

[Einin]

Thanks JAS, that makes a lot of sense. Even in the tiny town I grew up in, there were places you just didn't go unless you were looking for trouble. Good to know there's not a lot of random crime in TLH.

----------------

ComSense, if you don't mind my asking, why? Is it the climate mostly---like because people want to experience all four seasons? Or something else? Just curious, I'm trying to be ready for the move if it happens by collecting as much anecdotal info possible to balance out the stats & graphs.

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by Ken E

Didn't you move from N.C. to Florida?

I did. Its very, very rare tho.

99 out of 100 times, its FL to NC, not NC to FL. I still get blank stares when I said I lived in Asheville a cpl yrs ago.