Thoughts on Tallahassee

Tallahassee is a nice town. There are trees EVERYWHERE and lots of canopy roads (trees on both sides of the road that branch over the road and intertwine above in a canopy-like fashion). The numerous trees sometimes make it hard to find a store or restaurant because they line the roads and block your view of parking lots and buildings. At least it's prettier that way though.

There are also bike lanes on just about every road (impressive). I have yet to see a cyclist in that lane though. I think it would be a bit scary to ride there, but I guess it's better than riding on the edge of a regular lane like in most cities. Many times just before an intersection, the tiny bike lane will be in between the regular lane and one of those curving right turn lanes where you just have to yield and not stop at the light. It would be nervewracking to be a biker sandwiched between two cars there!

Tallahassee is a town of U-turns. There are lots of divided highway type roads (gotta have those trees lining the median!) which means you usually have to turn right out of parking lots. I've already done more U-turns in the 3+ months I've lived here than I did in my 12 driving years in Tulsa! Wheee!

There are several movie theaters in Tallahassee and even a $1 theater (which I'm told is rare...though Tulsa had at least 2 of them). The screens aren't as large as the newer theaters in Tulsa, but the cool thing is they charge matinee price Monday through Thursday (even in the evenings!). So, you only pay full price for a weekend evening.

Lots of African Americans live and work in Tallahassee. You see them everywhere. I first realized their numbers when I saw that there are so many of them working at the stores, restaurants and banks (more than I was used to seeing in Tulsa). All the ones I've encountered are very friendly. In fact, the people in this town are more friendly in general than in Tulsa (they chat with you more at the grocery store, etc). People say Tallahassee looks and seems more like Southern Georgia and there really is that southern hospitality here. Bring it on!

The temperature here is milder than Tulsa, but it's not Southern Florida so we do have seasons here. The daytime high has been between 60 and 70 degrees and the nighttime low has been 38 degrees for a couple of weeks now. We haven't turned our heat on yet because of the warmer sunny days. We just snuggle under the down comforter at bedtime so we stay toasty. With these temperatures and the good amounts of rain, some of the green underbrush (clovers and such) that got scraped over during the yard clearing is sprouting up again. And the rye grass we planted is growing just fine. It's weird to see so much green grass (and even new growth) in November! You don't see that in Tulsa (it's all dry and brown there). Ah yes, and Tallahassee has lots of groovy vegetation and trees such as Spanish moss, Palm trees and Banana trees.

Tallahassee has many parks, small lakes and many many churches. And the town has quite a few regular events, such as the Downtown Marketplace which is where people sell food and art at booths downtown every Saturday from March to November (and there is live entertainment). When walking around downtown I don't feel unsafe. In fact, I haven't even been in a shady part of town yet (don't even know where they are). It's a college town so there are lots of students, but it's also a family town that has fought to keep out the naughty strip clubs.

Yes, I'm glad we landed in this town for Craig's schooling and bought our first home here.