Possible move to gainsville

[jennymoon]

hello ladies,
my dh, dd, and I are in Pensacola, Fl right now and are considering a move to gainsville. Can anybody give us any cool info about the area? is it pretty alternative? cost of living/land to buy, alternative schools, farmers markets, pollution factor, outdoor recreation, natural home building, midwifery and the like. Oh, also are there any playgroups ap or otherwise?
thank you and blessings
jenny

[woldkill]

We do not live there now and did not have kids when we did live there, but I hope I can help.

Alternative?: Hit or Miss. Youth wise it seems to be alternativebut not for adults. Outside of G'ville it is very conservative!

Cost of Living/Land to buy: ? We rented. Compared to here (upstate NY) it is cheap ;)

Farmer's markets: They do have a half-way decent farmer's market.

Pollution: Daily not bad. There have been times though when issues with a factory outside G'ville that created problems. Fires also cause problems.

Outdoor rec: Highly recommend. Lots of hiking. Paines Prairie with bison and gators, lots of birds. Nearby springs for slow-water tubing and so on.

WIsh I knew about the parenting end. BIL andfamily lives there. But, while not mainstream, are not exactly AP either. We will be there at the end of December.

[ParkersMama]

is it pretty alternative? cost of living/land to buy, alternative schools, farmers markets, pollution factor, outdoor recreation, natural home building, midwifery and the like. Oh, also are there any playgroups ap or otherwise?

We live in the outskirts of Gainesville, Florida. Gainesville has a fair mix of alternative and mainstream. The COL varies depending on where exactly you want to live, but is definitely less than major cities like Orlando and Atlanta. There are alternative schools, including Montessori and Waldorf, and there seems to be a number of honeschoolers around here too. There are several state parks and free playgrounds for outdoor fun. There is actually a Midwifery school here in Gainesville, too. As far as playgroups go, there don't seem to be any set up except for MOMS Club (which has a mix of parenting styles) and La Leche League (which is pretty darn crunchy:wink). I think Gainesville is a great area to raise children, personally, if you can stand the heat :thumb.

[Moss's Mommy]

I lived there when I was pregnant in the duck pond area and I could just see myself having a really great time with baby. The farmer's market is every thursaday and there is live music and tons of babies and kids. Lots of free goings ons and beaitiful turquoise blue springs that maintain a warm temp. year round. I went in them 9 months preg. in December!!!! lots of neat day trip places. A great birth center. lots of playgroups. lots of nice people. downfall is it's a college town,,, but it's pretty humorouse. We are moving to Dune Allen beach on panhandle. A little iffy about the move.... but we are 2 blocks from beach. I'm scared bc it is VERY touristy which gets in my skin.