Biracial family - which areas to live in Tallahassee? (Miami: sale, big house)

[purplesunflower]

Hello everyone
I've searched for my question, but doesn't seem to have been posted before.
We're a mixed-race (biracial) family from England in the U.K. We'll be moving to Florida this year and wondering whether Tallahassee is a good option for biracial families.
We would really appreciate any advice about 'ideal' areas in this city (I say 'ideal' but of course there's no one perfect place anywhere in the world!) But it would be good to get some pointers on what different areas are like.
We have three children (two little ones and a pre-teen.) My husband is White British and I'm Black British. I'm a primary school teacher, and husband's in retail at the moment.
Any advice at all would be fab. Also welcome advice about other cities in FL, ideal for biracial families.
Thanks ever so!

[Strel]

Anywhere. That's the short answer.

Long answer: Tallahasse itself is fairly liberal and has a large African-American population. Biracial couples are all over the place, though not what I would call prevalent. The influence of the universities and state government (and moderate to liberal politics) makes Tallahassee a fairly tolerant place by the standard of the region. It's not Berkeley...but it's not Charleston either.

Outside of Tallahassee, it is more or less South Georgia. That being said, I've seen quite a few bicracial couples in surrounding "hick" towns.

[Strel]

As for areas, every thread on Tallahassee will steer you north, east, or both. The NE parts of the city are the nicest, up to and beyond Interstate 10. There are some nice areas near downtown midtown, again mostly in the NE quadrdant.

Southwood is a relatively new family oriented community in the SE quadrant. It 's very nice and somewhat more affordable than the NE areas, but borders on some not so nice areas.

Areas that are no so nice for families:

South Central.
Just north, west, and south of downtown (bad areas + students).
The west end (trailer parks, car dealerships)


The northwest area isn't quite as nice as the northeast, but still fairly nice out by the lakes.

[purplesunflower]

Hello Strel, thanks very much for your reply - much appreciated! We will look at the north, east, NE and Southwood areas with regard to schools, property etc. At least we now have a point to start from.
Thanks again!

[ahimsamom]

Hello --

Our state needs more families like yours!

Please, though, be sure to research jobs, unless you have a trust fund or just tons of money -- Florida's economy is in tough shape and some areas worse than others.

The Tampa area (where I am now) is great, but has been really hard hit and has terrible unemployment. I believe Cape Coral is in terrible shape; I think it was one of the worst places in the country hit by the housing bust. Tallahassee (where we are moving soon) has been less impacted because the state and universities are large employers and somewhat more stable; also I believe there was a little less of a housing bubble there vs. other parts of Florida. But things are tough everywhere in the U.S. right now with jobs!

Also, it's hard to compare Miami or even Tampa or Orlando to smaller places like Tallahassee. There are pros and cons to big vs. small, but just be sure you know your family's "personality" and what will make you happy. We loved living in cities as a young and childless couple but now with two small kids, our whole life and priorities have changed. I'm hoping to retire back to the San Francisco Bay Area, but that time is a long way off! I almost universally hear that Tallahassee is a good place to raise kids.

Do lots of research before you make your move, but then again it looks like you're already doing that! Good luck and please ping me if you do move to Tallahassee; would love to meet up with the kids!

[TD*]

You will be happy here purple.

Depending on your income, if you can afford it, Midtown, betton hills, are beautiful areas of town.


Another nice area is IndianHead Acres.

[purplesunflower]

Thank you all so much for your advice - it's very much appreciated!
Ahimsamom - I read your other Tallahassee post. My word, one of the conversations my husband and I have regularly is the cost of living in a nice area... It's largely the same here in the UK, worse up in the north where we are. We've lived in some nice, big houses, but they were all in crappy areas; you had to constantly check out the window each time a car alarm went off, just in case it was yours...
Where we live now is great - we finally managed to strike a balance - it's not Sale (a 'posh' area of Manchester) but it's not a dump area either. We're living in a multi-cultural area, but crime, poor health care, poor services from the council are all not as bad as other areas we've lived.
We're planning the move to the US to be with family - my Mum, Stepdad etc... I will definitely mail you when we get there - as you have little ones too! Let us know if/when you find the area you're looking for - it'll probably be somewhere we'd like too.....my husband and I are a little hippy at heart!
TD - thank you for your message and the suggestions - we will look at those areas too - I think Indian Head was mentioned in another post too. I'm on a teacher's salary though, and over here it doesn't go very far....it's the reason we moved out of London. Salaries seem the same in the US........and Ahimsamom, you're so right....there's a huge risk of moving somewhere where the unemployment levels are high, what with this global slump....
Thanks again all...keep in touch..hey, this site is quite good - we've found out so much about different states.
Well, I'm off now - I'm having to type with one hand and starting to get repetitive strain injury (holding the baby in the other hand!)
purple
purple

[LondontoTallahassee]

Hi Purplesunflower, I am a Londoner moving to Tallahassee soon. Would you like to communicate?

[StilltheSame]

Purplesunflower - is weather the driving factor in your selection of Miami? I ask because we have moved to the midwest from South Florida and are amazed by the amount of biracial families - here its so common its uncommon. SFL seems diverse - but in fact is only diverse in the amount of different people from backgrounds - not in the acceptance of different cultures.

[Strel]

Originally Posted by LondontoTallahassee

Hi Purplesunflower, I am a Londoner moving to Tallahassee soon. Would you like to communicate?

Wow you are in for a culture shock!

Welcome.