Moving to Gainesville, FL!

[bc008]

Yea, next week we are putting our house up for sale. If by the end of June it hasn't sold we are going to rent it out. I will start my 10th grade year there.

Here are some of my questions:
People in/around Gainesville/Orlando Area: Good high schools? bad? we are taking a trip in a couple months, but i dont really want to wait. Orlando is like 100 miles away, so i will be WAYYY closer to an apple store/IKEA!

what is there to do in Florida? does the beach ever get boring? I love rollercoasters so season passes are a must for me!

finally, good colleges? Im only 3 years away!!!

thanks! and tell me anything else you think is important.

 

[iBookG4 FTW]

I've lived in Florida, so maybe I can help.

The first few days, the high humidity is absolutely unbearable, and you never fully get used to it, but it does become easier to live with over time.

Obviously, University of Florida is probably the best choice for you down there.

Yes, the beach will become boring if you go there all the time, but keep the beach-going in moderation, and you should be able to enjoy it for a long time.

 

[marykay9507]

Weather is going to be a huge change for you since you live in Michigan!

Best of luck to you!

 

[bc008]

yea, on an average winter day here we consider 30 degrees warm!

we really dont want to rent our house, but its something we may have to do, because my parents really dont want to move me during next school year.

 

[furcalchick]

gainsville isn't that close to any beaches, it's about an hour drive to each coast, so getting bored of the beach probably won't happen.

and unlike south florida, where it's summer all the time, you'll get some semi-seasonal weather, along with leave changes and some cool winters, and hills. orlando i personally think is overrated (although i always wanted to go there in the 90's due to nick and the such), but you do get in-state discounts to a bunch of theme parks.

 

[mkrishnan]

Welcome in advance to Gainesville. Sounds like you'll get here about when I leave.

 

[bc008]

yea, im REALLY getting excited!!

i hope everything goes through. my parents have wanted to get out of this neighborhood for about 3-4 years but we just cant sell our house due to the economy in Michigan. I guess just pray for us, my parents are 57/48 years old, and they both want to retire!

 

[mkrishnan]

My parents had a house in West Michigan (Holland) before they moved to Florida (Jacksonville, 2003, and then finally sold the house in 2004). It was pretty tough on them, even though the W. Mich market was more shielded at that time from the state's economic woes than the Detroit metro area. But they got a reasonable price after a while. Hopefully the housing market will continue healing over the next six months. Where is their house? Local liquidity will play a big role. Like my parents would be pretty out of luck to sell their house in Jacksonville right now if they wanted to... there are waaaay too many houses on the market there.

 

[GoCubsGo]

yea, im REALLY getting excited!!

i hope everything goes through. my parents have wanted to get out of this neighborhood for about 3-4 years but we just cant sell our house due to the economy in Michigan. I guess just pray for us, my parents are 57/48 years old, and they both want to retire!

First, for some reason I recall you bringing up that you wanted to move in another thread. Maybe I have you mistaken for someone else. Sorry if that's the case.
Congrats on moving. I do not know what part of MI you're from but generally speaking I think a lot of it is pretty nice and your parents may find success in selling their home so long as it is not in Detroit. The unfortunate backlash from Wayne County being a least a year behind in recording deeds on home is that many unscrupulous people got wind of this and took advantage of that. The houses remained unpaid for and a ton of people got very rich. However, all of those houses that are vacant and in foreclosure are now bringing property values down because it is hard to find a comparable sale that isn't bank owned. That is the sad truth.

Renting an out of state home is most likely going to be difficult on your parents. They may find that their beloved home is going to be trashed because the tenants will know their landlords aren't close enough to just "drive by" and check on things. Likewise, any repairs that need to be done would either have to be done by the tenant where they're able to deduct the cost from their rent (hopefully they're honest) or your parents have to hire someone to fix whatever may need fixing and hope that they too are honest and reputable. Clearly selling it would be best and probably a bit more profitable for them. If it gets tough banks are extremely willing to work with people in your state because of the housing market.

As for Gainesville....UofF is a great school, would have loved to have gone there myself. I think of it as a college town for some reason, but that's merely an opinion. I think there's some great history there and of course it's humid. I think for retirement there are other choices but for retirement of people who have a teenage son (I assume you're male) I think that's a great choice. The beach is kind of far as someone said but there are lakes around too. I think jet skis make for wonderful high school graduation presents.

 

[dsnort]

The beach is kind of far as someone said but there are lakes around too. I think jet skis make for wonderful high school graduation presents.

And don't rule out a canoe or a kayak. There are some great rivers nearby that people like to tube down. Some of these have multiple springs feeding them, and each spring is like its own separate swimming pool. They are great places for a young man to spend time at during the summer months!

 

[mkrishnan]

And don't rule out a canoe or a kayak. There are some great rivers nearby that people like to tube down. Some of these have multiple springs feeding them, and each spring is like its own separate swimming pool. They are great places for a young man to spend time at during the summer months!

The springs *are* really fun, particularly when they're not too crowded. You can abandon your tube and let it float down and swim around, and then when you get too cold (the spring water is pretty cold, but it's amazingly clear), you can get back on the tube and sun.

Kayaking is a blast here also. God, I want a kayak of my own. Something sleek.

 

[Sdashiki]

If buying a house IN gainesville, may I suggest at least 5-10mi AWAY from the University.

See, the way property taxes work in Alachua county is, like everywhere else I assume, they take the square mileage of the city. Figure out how much they want to raise in taxes, and divide it among the plots of land by how much area they take up.

problem is, the University's entire area is tax exempt, so the property taxes of nearby land is sky high.

you can find a 2/1 within 2miles of UF for about $180k, 10-15mi away same house is $100 or less. (high springs, alachua, waldo, williston, newberry)

great area, except when school is in session...other than the heat, summer in gville is awesome.