Great Place to Raise A Family!
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9/6/2019
I lived in Tallahassee from 1999 to 2002 as a college student at FSU. I was not a fan of the town back then, but now I absolutely love it. I have been living here (for the second time) since 2010, almost ten years. In that time, my husband and I have had 4 children. This is a fantastic place to raise a family!!! It has a small town feel but offers much more than a typical small town. People here are so friendly. Racism feels non-existent. Southern hospitality is a part of my daily experience. When I moved here and knew no one but my husband, many, many women reached out to me to help me feel at home. When our first son was born 10 months later, people I had only just met created a meal list and started delivering home cooked meals to us...for months. Our church community is incredibly friendly and active. The school my children attend is full of parental involvement and teaches Christian values in every subject throughput the day. There are ample parks with gorgeous trees and nice ballfields. Neighborhood kids play with our kids outside after school, which is not the case everywhere in FL. The parks and rec sports are fantastic and very affordable. The college football and baseball games are a blast. We love the little theater here and the museums and the downtown library. We absolutely love our neighborhood, full of friendly neighbors who say hello to one another and look out for one another. One example is when we lost power on Christmas Eve during a storm, and our neighbors who had a generator brought over warm coffee and homemade banana bread over to us the next morning. More often than not, when I go grocery shopping with all of my kids, someone comes up to me and offers to take my shopping cart back. I could go on and on. I will also say that it is the state capital, and politics is part of the scene here, but that isn't bad. People here are involved in local government. They care about school board meetings. They volunteer for Arbor Day. Although our family is slightly in the minority here because we lean to the conservative side, our point of view feels welcome and respected. This has never been an issue. Nothing feela divisive here.
I don't enjoy the super hot weather in July and August, but I love the season changes and love the chilly winters. The leaves turn beautiful colors here, unlike in most of FL. And I really love how close it is to other fun places. We love to take weekend trips as a family to places like Santa Rosa Beach (2 hours), New Orleans (5 hours), the Blue Ridge Mountains (5.5 hours), Savannah (5 hours), Thomasville (30 minutes), Tampa Bay (4 hours), Atlanta (5 hours), and Pensacola (3 hours). Tallahassee is a very special place in the world. A beautiful and friendly place to live!
Jill | Tallahassee, FL