Questions on moving to Florida (multiple towns).

[carpetbagger]

I'm looking at moving to Florida later this year. I've lived there before (Miami, Jacksonville, and Naples), so I know a great deal in general. I've applied for positions in Sarasota and Tallahassee, but should they fall through, my next tier includes Ocala, The Villages, Leesburg, Sebring, and possibly openings in other areas in the state (or for that matter, outside the state).

So if anyone knows anything about this, these are my questions...

Can anyone objectively comment on the public schools in Sarasota? (I say objectively since I have family members who teach in Sarasota).

What's Tallahassee really like? Any good Mexican food? What's the local culture there, more like Atlanta or more like Tampa? Are there enough Yankees in the suburbs to avoid social isolation?

As to the other places, do any of them have good schools? Any decent semi-Bohemian life to the places?

Thanks for whatever you can dish out.

[SteppingRazor]

1. Tally's a college town, with everything that entails...

FSU looms large over its skyline. So, lots of cheap beer nights and whatnot. That said, it's also, of course, the state capitol, and there's a weird edge to it that political junkies often pick up on. You could do worse, all in all. Speaking of worse, if you're looking for anything even "semi-bohemian," I'd avoid Ocala and The Villages — the former's a bit redneck, the latter's Floridian Suburb Hell. Can't comment on Leesburg, Sarasota or Sebring.

[bullimiami]

16. and tallahassee isnt ugly and the climate is nice.

[Dr.Phool]

2. I was in Tally last week.

Nice town. I liked it, and the climate is different than where I live in the Tampa area.

I'd avoid Ocala. Way too much traffic. The Villages are Republican hell. I don't know much about any of the school systems. Sarasota seems like a nice, clean place.

[ChiciB1]

3. I Live Just South Of Sarasota... New College Has Some Fairly Progressive

students, but on the whole this county SUCKS if you're a Democrat! I know many many Democrats here, but for some strange reasons very little activity goes on. Sure, there is the local Democratic headquarters and I belong to the Venice Area Democratic Club, but mostly it's just meetings and discussions.

Christine Jennings is still fighting a battle from the election of last November and our Supervisor of Elections is a PIG!! Could anyone be worse than Cruella The Witch, Katherine Harris?? I think she is, Kathy Dent is a stubborn, vindictive and negative personality. She and The Idiot * seem to have twin personalities.

As far as the area and where I live, it's clean and very very nice. I live in a quiet little area in Nokomis, about a mile from the Gulf of Mexico and I DO like where I live. But there are a LOT of rich people who live in the Sarasota area although I'm not one of them. Sarasota beaches have been touted as having the whitest sand on any beach in the world and I did say world! Our crime level is on the lower end as far as I know, but as with any city it does have it's problems too. Housing in Sarasota is expensive, but further north in Bradenton it's cheaper, and where I live it's cheaper too. Where I live we can still keep our doors unlocked without much worry... or maybe I'm a bit delusional about this. I've lived in this house for 23 years and have never seen much crime in my area. It's not upscale and my neighbors are nice and friendly. But this place rolls up at night and very little is open by way of entertainment.

In Sarasota itself, there is a lot to do and has been known as a cultural center of the south. If you're into theater, there are several, one being The Van Wezel which has a lot going on all year round. I don't like Ocala very much, I lived in Inverness for a while... can't put my finger on it, but just think that area is a bit "hokey!"

Just my 2 cents worth and probably not the full picture. But if you're looking to be happy politically... the Sarasota area IS NOT a place that will make you very comfortable. It drives me crazy most of the time even though I "try" to stay active locally. I do drop from the scene a lot because it's pretty lame and I find myself going to events alone and meeting small groups of people at best.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

4. Leesburg is not very cool

in fact all your secondaries are kind of depressing. sarasota would be pretty sweet, really close to Captiva i think. Tallahassee may be cool, dont know much about it.

I grew up in orlando fyi.

[FloridaGuns]

5. Orlando

Pack a gun if you move to Orlando!

[Divameow77]

6. I moved to Orlando 3 months ago

and my boyfriend was shocked by the crime here too, and he's from Chicago!

I also CANNOT find a damn job!

[Edweird]

7. Bah! Orlando's tame. You want danger? Come on down to my neck o' the woods.

I live outside Miami. It is out of control down here.

[Loge23]

10. Miami stew is cooking

SW of Miami may be where you are referring to. It's ticking pretty fast down there.
Also, try driving down from North Miami to the Gables area between the turnpike and 95 - if you dare.
That area has to rival any ghetto in the world for diversity and size.
It's one the charms of living down here some say. It's hot (in every literal way), it's vibrant (maybe too vibrant in some areas), and it's an accepted risk to venture out in any neighborhood.
The poor are getting poorer and the middle is collapsing. Nearly everyone is packing (I don't mean boxes).
It's cooking. Eventually, the steam will have to release.

[bullimiami]

17. heh. i live in NE Dade and drive to sw miami every day and back.

[Big Pappa]

8. I live in

Ocala and I like it. A little bad for traffic but it still retains a small town feel.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

9. I lived in Tally for 2 years

It was a nice change from a whole lotta years in Tampa. College and state capital dominate. There are no 'suburbs' as such, you'd probably find the most people drawn from other areas to be living in the northeast, although when we left there was some new development going on in the southeast.
We lived in Killearn Lakes, a big area in the northeast with a mix of modest homes to $1 million plus. Mr 'pede became a big FSU fan - he just got a flag to fly on game day this fall here in Amarillo. (Gonna have a flag-pole fight over my Texas Tech flag, though). Our favorite restaurants were the Silver Slipper, Z Bardhi's, and a French place downtown. We tend to save our out-to-eat budget for 'special' places. Tally has more 'seasons' than farther south, though it's still god-awful humid. You'd probably need to drive a couple of hours for a good beach, but I don't know, I'm not a beach person.
Tampa just got too big. Plus I started having bad allergy problems. The doc said I would have a continuation of trouble in Tally with all the trees (it's very woodsy) but narry a sneeze or watery eye. I think the problem in Tampa was pollution.
Whatever you do, best of luck !!

[carpetbagger]

11. And the answer is E: None of the Above (Gainesville).

Starting next month. Thanks for your replies.

[Herman Munster]

12. good choice

gainesville is a great liberal area. college town but also within 2 hours of tampa, jax, and orlando, the ocean, the gulf, if you need a change of scenary.

[litlady]

14. Good luck....

When I went through Gainesville for the first time during my move to Orlando, I almost turned back and went back to Cali! The mall had a shop with all Confederate memorabilia and some of the folks not associated with the college seemed a bit backwards. Just my impression of course. I have been fine in Orlando and Tampa and Miami area seem fine (though all three have crime). But much of Florida (though its certainly a pretty state with low cost of living compared to California) seems pretty red!

[JCMach1]

21. Peoples Republic of Gainesville is an excellent choice

Trees, University, Museums, Hippodrome, decent restaurants... What more do you want?!

[carpetbagger]

25. They could move the beach a bit closer.

Other than that, I've got few complaints.

[Clovis Sangrail]

22. so... how are you liking Gainesville?

I just moved there from N. California....talk about culture shock.

Some places that I like:

Wards Market:
NW 23 Ave and NW 6th St.
Closest thing to what I know a market as. Fresh produce (organic and non), herbs, bulk foods, veggie options. The people are all pretty nice and the prices quality are about the best I've found in Gainesville.
Very definitely on the Gainesville A list.

Satchels Pizza:
NE 23rd Ave and NE 18th St.
Really good pizza, pretty damned good prices. As a bonus they have a bizzare little junk shop out back.. that has live music.
(banjo music on Tuesday nights)
oh happy day
http://www.satchelspizza.com/

Upper Crust bakery:
NW 23 Ave and NW 43rd St.
In the same shopping center as Fresh Market. Good bakery. All sorts of fresh baked crossiants with different fillings. Pretty good bread too (though pricey)

Fresh Market:
meh... kinda OK but *way overpriced. I just about burst out laughing when I saw the $4 artichokes and $4 pomegranates.
(I'm used to picking pomegranates on my walk home from work and buying a few artichokes for a buck)
Don't buy sandwiches there.
They're not *insanely terrible, but it's a $2 sandwich for $5.

Wine and Cheese Place:
Forgot the name... Dorgan's or something like that. It's on the other side of that Fresh Market.
Looks like just a liquor store, but it's about all wine. I don't drink but the selection made the wife very happy. They also have a stinky cheese section in the back.

Bagels:
There's a decent bagel place across the street from Upper Crust next to the Publix. Not *great bagels, but decent.and a few yummy spreads.(I'm still looking)
They also have an espresso bar (chai, etc, etc)

Places to avoid like the plague:
Publix:
any food they make tastes like chalk... and all the produce I've seen is *sad.
We've sworn off buying *any food items with the Publix label, but they have decent prices for household stuff (and they're omnipresent)

Sonic:
Had to try it.
Terrible mistake.


Hope some of that is useful to you.

[carpetbagger]

23. Having a good time.

I moved here last month, finally got some internets. The schools are night and day from Texas, even considering my kids go to a Title I school that's not considered a particularly "good" school. Parks are great, hence no time to get the internets. Since I grew up in Florida for a number of years, it's nice to be back somewhere I don't stick out like a sore thumb. My biggest concern was ending up somewhere in Lower Alabama. It's not a red state/blue state thing, or any kind of good/bad judgment, it's just that I'm essentially a northerner who likes warm weather. I lived in Jacksonville briefly in the early 80's, and I remember feeling very, very out of place, much more than I ever did in Texas. It's a decent mix of people here.

Sonic is almost as common as Dairy Queen in Texas. I made the mistake of eating there once. My wife swears by the stuff, but I've only given in personally once. It was like a McDonald's breakfast burrito on steroids. Not good steroids, but the water-retaining, psychosis-inducing, make-you-stay-up-all-night-ready-for-a-fight steroids.

I'll have to try Satchel's in the next few weeks.

thanks.

[ripmolly]

13. Have you moved here yet?

"Bohemian" is pretty scarce although the beach culture is pretty close sometimes. I live at the "4 Corners" in a nice small home that my mother owns but she's at her beach house in Clearwater. I'm still recovering from a move since hubby decided he'd rather go consulting than take a lower paying job here and be with us.

[carpetbagger]

26. Moved here last month.

Welcome to DU, by the way.

[reinhardt]

15. Fl has got itself a healthcare problem

http://www.enterprisecorruption.com/

[bullimiami]

18. florida has a republicans-fucked-it-up problem.

everything. insurance, taxes, schools, social services. theyve sold it all down the river so the crony profits would increase.

anyone named bush is a disaster. they destroy everything they touch.

[litlady]

19. Agreed... so much here reflects that problem.

And crap there are a lot of toll roads!

[El Fuego]

20. Sebring is the extreme fundie bible-belt.

I have relatives that live in Sebring. From what I can tell there's no such thing as a secular social life there. Everything revolves around the churches and religion, so unless you're into that, you might hate it.

[carpetbagger]

24. Yeah, I figured that, and recently confirmed my opinions.

Went by Highlands Hammock on my way back to Gainesville from South Florida last month. Very sad; all those lakes and so little actual public access. It's like the Grinch in reverse.

[SharkSquid]

27. Come see us in Jacksonville

We have lots of room:)

[kimjamey69]

28. Jacksonville Vs. Naples

Jacksonville has alot more crime but my Mother and my sister in law live there and I visit them frequently, It is mostly lower income crime and in the bad areas of the town. if you stay to the south and west of the river you are fine.
Naples has the most millionaires per square foot. Its beautiful i lived in Fort Myers for 13 years (just north of naples) Naples is very expensive. There is a town about 30 miles NE of Naples called Lehigh Acres very affordable still, Nice smaller community you might want to check that area out.