Long time lurker here, but I've got both '01 and '02 LEGP, so that makes me cool, right?? :D

My fiancee will be interning at UF starting in July.  We're flying in this weekend to look for a place to rent for the coming year.  Any recommendations you guys could provide regarding portions of town to look at or avoid would be appreciated.

Also, is there any chance at all of landing an IT job in or around Gainesville?  I see some in JAX, but none near Gainesville.

Just so you know, Gainesville is as liberal as you can get for a town thanks to the University. The rest of North Florida is pretty conservative.

Dirk

Welcome to Gatorsville, Big-J ...

Rentals are fairly plentiful around town these days, thanks to a whole bunch of upper-middle class apartment complexes built in the last year or so. I doubt you'll have trouble finding a place. As a rule, most homes and apartments in the NW or SW areas are fine, the NE gets a little older, and varies widely depending on the neighborhood ... stay away from the SE.

I can't help you with your employment question, but feel free to email me at [email protected] if there are other specifics I can give you.

Again, welcome.

Welcome to Gainesville, Big-J! I've been attending the University for 4 years now, and it's a pretty nice area.

Rental/living options are plentiful. I had to wade through about 120 apartment complexes to find my apartment. There's everything from cheap, ghetto stuff to pricey luxury. The East is generally a bad area. There are some decent houses north of University and West of 13th St. Southwest is mostly apartment complexes, again ranging from ghetto to nice. There are also a lot of really nice homes and condos going up west of I75 in the Tower Road area.

Gainesville is also pretty close to FDCC, which you can read about in other threads. There's a pretty good selection of ranges and gunstores. The University also spawns clubs for almost any activity imaginable.

Laws/Politics are generally moderate to conservative, though there are lots of Liberal students who protest various things and publish absurd newspapers. We had a pretty good student conservative paper, but it seems to have vanished. Guns are protected by State-level preemption laws.

I don't know much about local IT jobs. I know that the University does have some positions, but I don't know if any are hiring. For reference, Jax is about 45min-1hr drive in non-rush-hour traffic.

I've been in Gainesville at UF for three years now.  Like others have said--keep away from east and especially southeast Gainesville.  I live near there now  It's common to see prostitutes walking 13th Street almost in front of my apartment complex.  West of I-75 i extremely nice--you get a bit of a price break on the nicer places because they're not very close to campus and downtown.  If I stay at UF for grad school, I'll definitely head out that way.  North Gainesville has a lot of nice, older neighborhoods that are relatively free of moronic college students (they're almost everywhere).  You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a nice place.  Good luck and welcome to Gainesville!

Welcome to gainesville...... I was born a raised here..... Ok town… very transit, folks come and go!  Politics are kinda half-and-half… Liberalism rears it ugly head more often (thanks to the college), but I would say it’s a split. High gas, high property taxes, but it’s not a bad place to live!

Places or areas to avoid: Gainesville is divided NW, SW, SE, NE…. They all have their areas to avoid! It’s a slow town…But we do have our share of problems!

Places to shoot: You’ve got Harry Beckwith, He’s got an indoor pistol range
Gainesville Target Range: Club that charges about $165 a year for dues
Then you have Lake City, free gun range in the national forest!

As for a job...... I'm employed by one of the few industries in the area, they have IT guys....but I don't know if we are hiring.... I'll check, and let you know!

Thanks for all the info on where to look for housing.  We'll definitely have to get together for a shoot after the move!

Also chiming in from Gainesville.  Atmosphere is pretty good, its awesome during football season.  Whole town rallies around the Gators.

I would try to stay west of I-75.  And yes, Strazz, SOUTHEAST Gainesville is in the hood!

Quoted: Whole town rallies around the Gators.

Now I wouldn't go that far..........


You will find your fair share of FSU FANS!!!!!!

You might consider talking to these guys about IT jobs in gainesville.

www.newhorizons.com
Gainesville, FL
3832 Newberry Road
Suite 2A
Gainesville, FL 32607
USA

Phone: 352-378-8007
Fax : 352-373-8553
E-mail: [email protected]

I lived just north of Gainesville for almost 10 years. I have a lot of family here so for me it is a pretty good place to live. Goof Luck.
John
www.FL-AR15.com