Considering the area (Tampa, Tallahassee, Ocala: apartment, to rent, low crime)

[mattawest]

I applied to six graduate schools, and FSU was one of them. I have lived in NC all of my life, so I'm ready to leave the area. I've always wanted to live in Florida, but I've heard so many negative things about the state. But, probably most complaints come from and are about the southern part of the state.

I have not yet decided if I'd rather move to the other side of the country (UT, NV, AZ, or NM) or stay on this side and consider Tallahassee. Anyone from NC, VA, or SC move to Tallahassee and can give their valued opinion? How is crime in the area? Is the area mostly Florida natives or out-of-staters?

One positive is that apartment costs in Tallahassee are considerably less than my options on the other side of the country. I'd say rent down there will be about the same as I am currently paying. However, I will have to be more careful in the south about what area of town I choose to rent in.

Also, about the weather... I haven't been to Florida in years, but if I remember correctly, the weather in Northern Florida is very similar to weather that I'd be used to in NC. Hot/humid summers and mild winters. Whereas Southern Florida will have almost no winter.

I guess I need to start weighing my options now. Thanks for the input.

[TD*]

mattawest, You are correct on the weather... We do get chilly in the winters and get a short, but nice fall season. Tallahassee is nice, it has hills and lots of trees I think most people like it when they come here.

[WellShoneMoon]

You're right that north Florida is very different from south Florida -- they're like two different countries. North FL is more like the Deep South than it is like the southern part of FL. Winter can be quite chilly -- some nights will go down into the teens every year -- and the summer is long and brutal. Fall and spring are absolutely glorious.

You will find some trolls who say all sorts of negative things about Tallahassee, but most people who live here like it here. Sure, there are disadvantages, but they're greatly outweighed by the good things about this area.

I moved here from South FL 15 years ago, and I'd never ever ever ever go back.

[eborg]

There are alot of stupid things and bad news stories that come out of Florida, but really Tallahassee is a different place. It could be because of the large population of college students from FSU and FAMU. There is also some influence from the government types. The thing is, Tallahassee is pretty damn awesome for grad school.

I lived around Fayetteville before I went to grad school at FSU and it was an amazing choice.

Like you assumed, the weather should be pretty similar, depending on what part of NC you're in it may be a bit warmer than you're used to during the summer but probably not. As far as the worrying about where you rent part because its the south? I'm guessing its probably because you are a minority and I'd have to say, FAMU's a large mostly minority college and that amount of people changes the makeup of groups of people and I'd say that its made southern racism very much so looked down upon. But that could be just my experience with it, the only time I ever heard any type of racist remarks it got pretty bad for them pretty quickly.

Now for the population, the people you will be dealing with will be mostly grad students in your day to day life probably, and with that depending on the department you will have a decent amount of people that are not from Florida. When you look at the undergrads though, the large majority will be from FL. So as far as general population, I'd say mostly FL people, but I was in the Math grad dept and of all the grad students there were only a small handful that were actual Florida natives.

Crime can be bad in certain areas, but those areas are pretty damn obvious. The rest of the city is pretty low level crime wise.

All in all it was the best place I could have imagined for my years there. If you have anything specific you want to know about I can probably help out, I lived there from 2005 to 2007.

[JAS]

Feel free to send me a Direct Message. I am a TLH native (I no longer live there, but I visit frequently), and I lived in NC for several years before moving to the Atlanta area a few years ago.

[mattawest]

I'm not a minority, but I was just wanting to make sure I don't end up in a bad part of town. In my current city, I had to be very choosy to make sure I didn't end up in a gang area of town. It seems like Tallahassee will be a good choice for me.

It looks like Tallahassee has a good selection of restaurants and pretty low crime for cities of its size in the south. I'll plan a visit in the next few weeks. It's not too bad of a drive from NC.

[TD*]

Tallahassee pretty much rules. Its a great city. Food is good, people are good, nice parks. Very nice city to live in.

[Strel]

Originally Posted by mattawest

I applied to six graduate schools, and FSU was one of them. I have lived in NC all of my life, so I'm ready to leave the area. I've always wanted to live in Florida, but I've heard so many negative things about the state. But, probably most complaints come from and are about the southern part of the state.

Tallahassee is probably more like North Carolina than it is like the rest of the state below Ocala. It's green and quiet, except for football and elections.

I have not yet decided if I'd rather move to the other side of the country (UT, NV, AZ, or NM) or stay on this side and consider Tallahassee. Anyone from NC, VA, or SC move to Tallahassee and can give their valued opinion? How is crime in the area? Is the area mostly Florida natives or out-of-staters?

I've been here 24 years (moved up from Tampa). Crime isn't much of an issue if you stick to the north and northeast sides of town. I have noticed an influx of people moving up here from south Florida (to escape all that south Florida is), but the tide has been stemmed recently with state government budget cuts.

I know a lot of ex-students that end up settling down here, as I did, because it's overall a better place for families (when you get away from campus) than most of the rest of Florida.

One positive is that apartment costs in Tallahassee are considerably less than my options on the other side of the country. I'd say rent down there will be about the same as I am currently paying. However, I will have to be more careful in the south about what area of town I choose to rent in.

Stay north and east. Come back with a specific question when you have a chance to look around.

Also, about the weather... I haven't been to Florida in years, but if I remember correctly, the weather in Northern Florida is very similar to weather that I'd be used to in NC. Hot/humid summers and mild winters. Whereas Southern Florida will have almost no winter.

Hot as hell in the summer with very high humidity and typically afternoon thunderstorms that can be violent, but don't last long. We do have seasons, it can get down into the teens, but only for a few days every winter at most. Snows once every 10 years or so, but not much.

[mango23]

Originally Posted by Strel

Tallahassee is probably more like North Carolina than it is like the rest of the state below Ocala. It's green and quiet, except for football and elections.



I've been here 24 years (moved up from Tampa). Crime isn't much of an issue if you stick to the north and northeast sides of town. I have noticed an influx of people moving up here from south Florida (to escape all that south Florida is), but the tide has been stemmed recently with state government budget cuts.

I know a lot of ex-students that end up settling down here, as I did, because it's overall a better place for families (when you get away from campus) than most of the rest of Florida.



Stay north and east. Come back with a specific question when you have a chance to look around.



Hot as hell in the summer with very high humidity and typically afternoon thunderstorms that can be violent, but don't last long. We do have seasons, it can get down into the teens, but only for a few days every winter at most. Snows once every 10 years or so, but not much.

When you say "Hot as hell" how many months does this realistically last? Does it cool off at night. I know in south Florida once the heat sets in it can be like 89 in the middle of the night. As well, our winters are short and we get just a hand full of really cool days. I would assume the winters in Tallahassee last a lot longer off setting the hot months for over all annual comfort.

[Smalleyster]

Hot as hell April to October, at night too.