An Isolated Island of Traffic
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9/20/2016
Tallahassee is all the traffic of a real city with very few big city amenities. It is also VERY ISOLATED, with little or nothing to do nearby besides Wakulla Springs. Although near the coast, you will have to drive at least an hour and a half to find a beach which is not swampy or swarming with bugs. I was draw here when Trader Joe's and Whole Foods opened, thinking Tally had finally reached big city status, but no. The Whole Foods is a dud, and the impressive plethora of natural foods stores, Publix, Starbucks, Target, shopping, plus some very nice city parks, do not make up for all that is lacking. I should have know Tally was a mistake in the beginning, but I was coming from someplace worse. The first time I visited here, I listened to hip-hop music blaring in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn all night. Later that day, we visited the mall and someone shot off a gun causing mass panic. The second time I visited, there was a stabbing in the lobby of our hotel and prostitutes hanging around in the parking lot. Tallahassee has grown up too fast, yet has never fully realized a cohesive identity of its own. A strange mix of students up here from Miami, State Government workers, Health Care workers, a diverse African-American population, young couples with toddlers who go to bed early, and most recently, Retirees, Tallahassee boasts crime at an all time high. I have watched the downward spiral of the Midtown area in the past three years, as crime and the homeless population have crept in. The most violet negative here is not the crime however, it's the students. Students rule here- they rule the road and they will basically wipe their butt with you if you get in their way. It's all ego, all me, all the time. For " The Most Highly Educated City in Florida," I have not been the least bit impressed. My graduate student neighbors are the loudest, worst neighbors I have ever had. Additionally, this State Capitol of Florida is more reminiscent of the slow pace, Southern cities of Alabama and Georgia, with all the road rage and bad drivers of Orlando and Tampa. The narrow canopy roads which encompass many residential driveways are not equipt for the heavy traffic which they see daily, resulting in a grid lock which traps people in their homes until rush hour has passed. Stop lights are ill designed, and include left turn signals which let one car through at a time, while a long line of cars wait through multiple lights. Businesses are not well stocked here, shelves are empty, and many stores are closing. It's hard to find what you need, and when you order it, mail service is unreliable at best. I have had multiple packages disappear, and have experienced extreme unprofessionalism in the Post Office. High speed internet service is slow, and Netflix can take up to a week to arrive from nearby Panama City, an hour and half drive away. During Hurricane Hermine, the mayor refused the help of the Governor to get the power back on, resulting in thousands of people (and pets) waiting in the blistering heat for 5 days or more because of political differences. Good luck getting any sleep in Tallahassee. Local trash pick-up is usually between 2 and 3 am, and includes a truck which goes BEEP BEEP BEEP constantly. Quieter nights are accented by random gun shots and sirens. If you venture outside Tallahassee you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, like a drop off a cliff into redneck, country living. As far as weather, it's more like living in the Carolinas or Georgia than like living in Florida. The summers are hotter than the Peninsula, with no sea breeze or relief, and the Winters likely dip below freezing and stay there. I've also experienced allergies I did not have in Florida proper from the many Pecan trees just North of here in Georgia. The nature is still wild and untamed here- the bugs are heavy and prevalent, and you will see wild animals in town, as Tallahassee is surrounded by heavy forest. It may be a nature lover paradise with all the gorgeous trees and parks, but all and all, Tallahassee is isolated and mediocre. There is no real airport, no concerts or events- just FSU football and blood curdling crime. Strangely, it is not the worst place I have ever lived, but the whole time I've been here, I have been thinking I cannot wait to get back to civilization.
Millionaire Mandie | ,