Pros and Cons of Living in Gainesville

In this blog I’m going to cover the pros and the cons to living in Gainesville. My name is Donavan Arnold with Momentum Realty.

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Call, Text or Email me to learn more!

Honestly, so many people have been reaching out with questions about what’s going on in Gainesville, where to live, what to do and more, and I absolutely love helping them. So, if you have any questions or are even thinking about moving to the area, feel free to give me a call, text, shoot me an email, whatever works for you. I’d love to help and answer your questions.

So in this blog, I wanted to cover the pros and cons of living in Gainesville.

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Pro: Tons of Stuff To Do!

One of the first pros on my list is there’s a ton of stuff to do in Gainesville. Gainesville is of course, a college town. Around the University of Florida, there’s always sporting events and lots of activities going on. But in addition to that, there’s tons of different farmer’s markets, festivals, art shows, and a lot of activities between the performing arts.

There’s constantly something to do, something to plug into, and go see. So that’s one of the great things about the areas, there’s tons to do.

Pro and Con: Weather!

So one of the things that’s actually a pro and a con is going to be the weather. We definitely have some beautiful sunny days here, but it does get pretty hot, upper 90s, 100 degree days. And then along with the humidity, that can cause some uncomfortableness. So, it is something to keep in mind. Our winters obviously don’t get that cold as up north but we will get a couple of hard freezes year-to-year. But overall, the climate is pretty consistent.

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One other thing to keep in mind are the storms and hurricane season. Luckily, we’re far enough north and kind of in the middle of the state where most of the major storms slow down and weaken by the time they get to us. But typically, we will have a couple of major storms you want to keep an eye on and make sure you’re paying attention.

Con: High Property Taxes and Electrical Bills!

So one of the real cons to living in Gainesville and challenges are the high property taxes and also unusually high utility bills. Depending on where you’re coming from, this may not be an issue, but if you talk to anyone locally, complaints will come up about Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), and Alachua County property taxes.

Alachua County consistently is one of the most expensive counties in the state regarding property. Also, GRU often ranks at the top of the list for most expensive utilities. So that is one of the downsides to this area.

Pro: Amazing Location in the State!

Another great pro to Gainesville is the overall location. Within about two hours, you can be at the beach, St. Augustine, enjoying the sun, or you can head to Orlando, see the theme parks and Disney.

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You can also run to Jacksonville or Tampa for major sporting events, to all of those big cities and the beach less than two hours away. It makes it really easy for a day trip, to get out on the weekend, do something a little bit different, but still be back home that same night.

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Con: Public Transportation Options and Accessibility

Another one of the downsides or a possible con is going to be the public transportation. Gainesville is fairly spread out and there’s not a ton of great quality public transportation options. So, owning a car and having your own transportation is basically a must have as you settle in and adjust to Gainesville. It may not be an issue for a lot of people, but if you are coming from an area that has amazing public transportation and maybe a really dense population, that will be something you notice as a major difference.

Pro: Healthcare Options: UF Health/Shands, Veterans Affairs Hospital and NFRMC

So, one of the major pros and benefits to Gainesville is going to be the healthcare. We have UF Health / Shands Hospital here in town, which is an amazing facility with a lot of specialty world-class doctors. Actually, when our son was born, Carter, he was born premature and we had to spend some time in the NICU. But not having to have him transported, leave, go to another hospital or another area was priceless. It was so helpful knowing that we had amazing doctors in our hospital and that we wouldn’t have to go anywhere else.

In addition to that, we also have VA, the Veterans Hospital, which definitely brings in a lot of people, both looking for care and doctors and staff with employment options. So those are major benefits to our area.

Don’t hesitate to reach out!

So recently, a bunch of people have been reaching out with different questions. Everything from where to live, what schools are good, what is there actually to do in Gainesville?

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a text or give me a call. No, really, I mean it. I absolutely love getting these questions and helping people out and answering and giving the information they need.

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