Tallahassee Area (Jacksonville, Sarasota, North Port: for sale, to rent, townhome) - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

Flight23 · 07-08-2008, 02:11 PM

I posted this earlier in the Jacksonville section....and now I realize that I'm slightly ignorant for not realizing that "FLORIDA" is a section and able to take new threads. My bad!

Here's the situation: currently, we live down in North Port, Florida. It's just south of Sarasota, in case you didn't know. We may be moving to Tallahassee in the next 6 months. We are in our mid to late 20's, and will be looking for a home. We may want to rent for the first 6 or 8 months, but we will be wanting to buy a home pretty quickly.

My question is, where are the areas to stay away from and the areas that we want? I have been on realtor dot com and looked at all the homes...most of them are old as dirt and the new ones are teeny tiny with 1 car garages!

My second question is, what's the deal with the housing in Tally and the surrounding areas? We want a newer (1998 or newer) home, at least 1600 square feet with a 2-car garage in a deed restricted community. Is that so hard to ask?

If you Tallahassians out there could help us out, that'd be great!

TD* · 07-09-2008, 08:12 AM

Tallahassee is a wonderful place to live.. Look in Southwood or Killearn, sounds like you would enjoy something in one of those places, also check out evening rose which is being finished now....

Stay away from FSU campus as your neighborhood will be infested with college capers.

Beyond that there are tons of houses on the market, come join us, you'll love it here!

Strel · 07-09-2008, 10:27 AM

What TD* said.

Outside of Southwood and Killearn, you might find something older but in a really nice neighborhood closer to downtown in the Betton Hills or Lafayette Park area.

And there are LOTS of houses farther outside the city dotting the countryside.

Flight23 · 07-09-2008, 04:17 PM

I appriciate the help! When I try to find homes for sale, I find that most of the homes that I really like are located somewhere called Crawfordville. What's it like there? What about Wakulla County as a whole? It seems to have good demographics...better than Tallahassee's!

Let me know!

Strel · 07-10-2008, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flight23

I appriciate the help! When I try to find homes for sale, I find that most of the homes that I really like are located somewhere called Crawfordville. What's it like there? What about Wakulla County as a whole? It seems to have good demographics...better than Tallahassee's!

Let me know!

Welllll.......

Crawfordville is a MUCH smaller town south of Tallahassee. Many people I work with live in Crawfordville, where the cost of living is lower, and commute to Tallahassee.

I'll just go out and say it is more redneck and conservative than Tallahassee. If that is what you are looking for, you will like it. It is "in the woods" quite literally (which is nice), but it is on the flat coastal plain and the land is not at all like most of Tallahassee which tends to be more hilly.

Oh, and stay out of the Winn Dixie parking lot during thunderstorms. For some odd reason, tornadoes seem to frequent the area.

Flight23 · 07-10-2008, 09:54 AM

LOL! I love that response - that was classic. But tell me this: is it rediculous to live in Crawfordville because it's safer, quieter and cleaner and drive to Tallahassee for work and play?

Also - what IS in crawfordville besides houses? Do they even have a wal mart? movie theater? that kind of thing? Or is it totally third world country down there....

Strel · 07-10-2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flight23

LOL! I love that response - that was classic. But tell me this: is it rediculous to live in Crawfordville because it's safer, quieter and cleaner and drive to Tallahassee for work and play?

Also - what IS in crawfordville besides houses? Do they even have a wal mart? movie theater? that kind of thing? Or is it totally third world country down there....

Now don't get me wrong...I have nothing against Crawfordville and my own redneck credentials are well established.

I do not necessarily agree that Crawfordville is safer. It is safer than some parts of Tallahassee, but the nicer areas that TD* and I have already decribed are as safe or more safe than Crawfordville. It's not like Tallahassee is a sprawling metropolis. It is in its own right, rather small-townish and VERY green and green for the most part. I would guess that the nicer areas of Tallahassee are cleaner than most of Crawfordville, for example.

Quieter? I guess. But Tallahassee is pretty quiet once you get away from downtown and the colleges. It's not such a difference that I would base a decision on it, in other words.

I do believe there is a Wal-Mart these days, but that is a relatively recent development. For entertainment, you are pretty much going to have to go to Tallahasseee. Honestly, living in Crawfordville wouldn't be that different than living in a nice neighborhood "in town", except you have a commute and gas prices to worry about.

The whole area is actually pretty nice, so you really can't miss unless you are in West or South Tallahassee or nearby.

Strel · 07-10-2008, 10:25 AM

And I am not kidding about the Winn Dixie parking lot. It is like some kind of tornado magnet.

Flight23 · 07-10-2008, 02:04 PM

lol, you guys are great. I looked up Southwood, and YES it looks like it's right up my alley, but it's also way past my budget. That was the only reason that I had looked at places like Crawfordville, but I was thinking that it was a much cleaner, neater little town than what you describe. I guess what I was trying to avoid in Tally is all the thugs and college kids, and you guys say that I can get that in the "good parts" of Tally, so I will just have to find all the good parts that are also somewhat affordable!

Also, on a personal note....does Tally know what a Publix is? Do you guys have that there? I've fallen in love with it... just curious.

atroxanautin · 07-10-2008, 08:16 PM

Yeah, Tally has plenty of Publixes (is that even a word?). Living both in Sarasota and now Tallahassee for the past several years because of school, I'll try to help. I'd stay away from FSU/downtown, not just because of the students, its just not a good part of town anyway. South Tallahassee and West Tallahassee are generally not too good, but of course there are nice areas scattered around. There is, but not so many masterplanned or gated communities like Sarasota or the new parts of North Port had. Southwood is pretty nice. You'll find a LOT less builders building huge expansive 4 units an acre subdivisions and more builders who want to build to your spec on your land. I think it has to do with the growth, as the area is growing more slowly (which isn't a bad thing). I don't remember seeing too much new construction that wasn't 1200 square feet, 1 car garage or a townhome. But there are a lot of nice older homes inside Tallahassee (specially on the NE end) and on the outskirts.