Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Tell Us About Gainesville, FL

We're considering a move to Gainesville, FL, for health reasons. Many people move to Florida for health reasons since it's a warm climate and many health problems don't do well in the cold. For me, it's rheumatoid arthritis.

I love trees so having forests nearby is important to me since it's the ultimate entertainment along with strolling through gardens. We will be doing both while we are down there.

If you live there or have visited there, let us know your thoughts, likes and dislikes. You can post comments down below by clicking on the word "COMMENTS" and typing your thoughts or helpful advice. Weather, taxes, schools (although we won't need them), culture, shopping, organic foods, vegetarian dining, good neighborhoods, utility rates, green communities are all areas of interest.

We will certainly treasure the input as I know others will also. Relocating to a place that you normally wouldn't move to without health issues, is not an easy move, so advice is needed.

Update:
We had a wonderful 4 days down there and really love the town and nature preserves that are so close. The city is definitely forested and that was very nice. View Gainesville Photos.

4 comments:

Jo said...

Hi Donna, It is so funny that I would stumble across your blog the day you posted about Gainesville. I lived there for about 13 years. My husband and I moved to West Virginia (where I am from) almost 3 years ago and we plan on moving back to Gainesville if we can. It is our favorite place in the whole world! We lived in Scottsdale Arizona for a year and couldn't wait to get back to Gainesville, and now we find ourselves feeling the same way again. I fell in love with it the first time I drove into town in 1991. Have you ever been there? I am curious as to why you would choose Gainesville out of all the places in Florida. I have only just arrived at your blog, but it appears that you love nature, gardening, and animals. You specifically mentioned trees. Gainesville is officially designated as a "Tree City USA" and it has a beautiful canopy. People take their gardening seriously down there. Even businesses are beautifully landscaped. I worked at a Garden Center in town for about 10 years and it was wonderful. The variety of plants that can survive right there is fantastic. Though you will miss a few northern favorites like tulips and lilac bushes, the tropical plants that you will gain access to will take their place! And you can garden year round in North Central Florida. Your garden will be full of tree frogs, anoles, birds, squirrels, etc. Sandhill cranes stop by seasonally, there are many bald eagles that live right around town, of course there are gators. they have beautiful rail/trail systems...

A few places you could check out would be the butterfly museum at UF, Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, Paynes Prairie, Devil's Millhopper, Mill Creek Farms...

Gainesville has lots of great places to eat and a fairly decent arts/social scene. But I am a nature lover and that is why I really appreciated Gainesville. I will keep up with your blog and perhaps we will both end up in Gainesville!

We are so serious about heading back to town that I regularly check out homes for sale on this site.

http://www.bosshardtrealty.com/homesforsale.php

sharingsunshine said...

Hi Jo!

What a delight to find a kindred spirit. I love serendipitous events. We were there over a year ago for a few days and liked the natural influence and have studied quite a bit on it for all the reasons you mention. Florida is NOT a place I would want to live since I can't be in the sun, so the Sunshine State doesn't make sense ... but it does for rheumatoid arthritis so I'm focusing on the gardening benefits and your comments on that were wonderful!

We will be visiting several of the places you mentioned. I didn't know about Mill Creek Farm so that's very cool. I think horses are so incredible - magnificent would be a better word.

Thank you so much for the encouragement. We will be leaving soon to visit so your words will make the miles go faster ... it's a 13.5 hour drive for us with stops.

Anonymous said...

Hello, I lived in Florida for several decades, opting to move back to the midwest for a change of seasons. I agree with what the earlier posts have to say about Gainesville, but you have to remember it will be hot there and no ocean breeze since Gainesville is in the center of the state. You do have some decideous trees with a subtle change of seasons and of course tropical growth to enjoy. No perenials though will grow since they need the cold. Otherwise you should enjoy your life there. My very best to you.

Lin Neiswender said...

Hey Donna,

I've only visited Gainesville briefly but loved the butterfly conservatory. Take your camera!

I cannot speak highly enough of Shands Hospital there, associated with the University. The people I have met there in connection with the lung transplant program have been unfailingly kind, caring and committed individuals. You will be in good hands there. Their vet program there is first rate too.

Good luck and God bless.

Lin

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