It's Ok
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5/1/2018
Like others have said Tallahassee is a college town. I have lived here about three years. This is a good city if you are in college and are working on a degree as there are several colleges (FSU, FAMU, TCC, etc.) nearby. I am a college student so this works for me.
The wages are bad. There is simply no other way to say it. The main employers are the state government and the colleges. Other than that the job listings are full of entry level jobs (fast food and retail) with very few decent paying jobs. I am not sure how you could raise a family here without substantial government assistance.
Crime is high for a population just a hair over 200k people. Some places are much better than others though. Tallahassee is weird in that there a small pockets of "good" areas surrounded by rough areas that you will want to stay away from. Fortunately it does not take long to figure out which area you are in.
The traffic - OMG the traffic... For a smaller city I am amazed that there can be so much traffic. I have been in cities with 4-5x the population of Tallahassee that have much better traffic particularly during rush hour. I think this is largely due to the narrow windy streets and few major roads that all the cars are funneled into.
The cost of housing is relatively low, unfortunately this is off-set with low salaries and surprisingly high property taxes and utilities. The whether in Tallahassee is good if you like the sun. During the summer Tallahassee has many picture perfect bright sunny days (there is one today as I am writing this review). The temperature during these days is somewhere between perfect and harsh. Keep in mind it is humid here which can make the temperature feel hotter than it is. The winter's are very mild. It does get colder than south Florida, but it seldom feels like winter here which is nice. In fact I would say the winter/fall months are the best times of the year here.
As far as entertainment and things to do? Tallahassee has things to do, but you will have to look for them. I can see how this city comes off as bland to some people. There is nothing "amazing" here if that is what you are looking for. However there are some good restaurants, stores, and things to do, it just might take awhile to find them. The culture here is mostly black and white. The college does bring in other nationalities, but from what I have seen this has made only a minor impact.
Alicia | Tallahassee, FL