Gainesville ?'s

Hello.

I actually lived in Gainesville for 8 years (college and grad school). I really loved it there. It is small in size--you can drive right through the whole town in about 15 minutes!--but has everything you could want due to the large college popluation: lots of concerts, shows, retail stores, etc....I also liked that it's smack in the middle of northern florida, so the places you'd be most inclined to go are all about two hours away: jacksonville, daytona, st augustine, orlando, tallahassee, tampa....

HTH!

I went to college there and it's definitely a college town - great if you're in party mode, or if you're raising a family it's a nice quiet area once you get away from the university. The whole town practically shuts down on game days during football season :) Only downside is the surrounding area is a bit narrowminded/redneck and the beaches are about 1 1/2 hours-2 hours away. Lots of natural springs and beautiful wooded areas nearby though if you're into that. Because it is a small city teeming with 60,000 students or so, it can get congested but the traffic and attitude is nothing compared to a metro area.

Gainesville is so boring, I guess because I am a city girl, but I go to UF so I am only here for school and cannot wait to leave. But I hear houses are cheap so maybe thats a good reason for you, but I could care less, oh yeah and Gainesville has the highest population of homeless people.

Well, I bought a house just outside of Gainesville and will be there in about 1 month. I can't wait, no more snow/ice for me.

Hi,

I currently live in Gainesville. We live in SW Gainesville. I think for living here you pretty much want to be SW or NW. Where are you planning on working. I work at North Florida Regional and can give you info on that if you have questions. There are lots of good restaurants in and near Gainesville Leonardos Pizza on campus, Newberry Backyard BBQ in Newberry, lots of cool places to eat in the downtown area. You also have most of the major chains on Archer Rd, and the mall is on Newberry Rd near I75 and is getting better stores all the time. Gainesville is nice. I don't agree that you can get anywhere in 15 min though. The traffic is pretty horrible certain times of the day, especially on Newberry Rd. Good luck with your move. In the summer there are lots of natural springs and things to check out near Gainesville. I highly recommend the Itchtcknee River (tubing down a lazy river!)

Rachel

Thanks for all the info. I am counting down the days until I move. I have eaten at the Backyard BBQ in Newberry and agree it was very good. I will be working at the VA but I might look into picking up an agency job or PRN job once I get settled in. Can anyone recommend a good furniture and appliance store/s? I have so much to learn once I get there, LOL!

Yes, I have been here about 10 years now and the traffic has changed quite a it. I definitely takes a good half hour or more to get from downtown to, lets say, the oaks mall. Then again that is nothing compared to living in a big city. The only problem I see with this town is that there are limited social activities for those of us who are past college age. All of my friends have left and I am realizing that all the places I used to go are filled with 19,20 year olds. Where did my youth go?!?

I live in Lake City. I have been here since 1991. It's a nice place to live and the people are friendly. It's convenient to Gainesville, Jacksonville and Tallahassee. I came up from Vero Beach and never went back to live there. My entire family is still down that way but it's too congested.