Gainesville, Florida - Facts                      

www.cityofgainesville.org

Current and previous awards:  

      1. Cities Ranked & Rated 2nd Edition by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander - Number 1 City for High Quality of Life.

      2. Money Magazine - Number 1 Place to Live in U.S.

      3. Money Magazine - Florida's Most Livable City.  

      4. Carnegie Mellon - Number 2 City in Creativity in U.S.  

      5. Sperling's Best Places - One of the Top 10 Cities for Outdoor Activities in U.S.  

      6. Popular Science - Most Techologically Advanced City in Florida.  

      7. Forbes Magazine - One of the Most Affordable Cities in U.S.

      8. Forbes Magazine - One of the Best Places to Do Business and Have a Career.

      9. Warren Bland - One of the Best College Towns for Retirement.  

     10. AARP - One of the Best Places to Re-invent Your Life.  

     11. National Arbor Day Foundation- Tree City U.S.A.

The city and surrounding counties are a growing retirement area for seniors who enjoy the cultural and educational stimulation of a university community and top-notch medical facilities:  Shands at UF, North Florida Regional Medical Center, Shands at Alachua General, and Randall Veteran's Administration Medical Center.  

Gainesville is the home of the University of Florida, making it a major center of education, medicine, cultural events, and athletics.  The University of Florida is one of the best academically ranked public universities in the United States and it is the largest and oldest in Florida with an enrollment of about 50,000 students.  The university and its medical center, Shands Hospital at UF, is the largest employer in the metropolitan area.  The famous sports drink Gatorade® was developed at Shands.

Known for the beauty of its natural surroundings, "urban forest", extensive landscaping, and the preservation of historic buildings, Gainesville is one of the most attractive cities in Florida.  Its numerous parks and preserves, 72-par championship municipal golf course, several open-to-the-public golf courses, museums, and hundreds of nearby lakes provide activities for residents and visitors alike.  It serves as the cultural, educational, and commercial center for the 10 county North Central Florida Region.      

Gainesville is the county seat and largest city in Alachua County and provides a full range of municipal services, including recycling, recreation and parks, cultural events, and nature studies.  The city owns and operates a regional bus transit system, an airport, and Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) which provides electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, and internet service to a large part of the metropolitan area.

Gainesville is located in the north central part of Florida 70 miles (112 km) southwest of Jacksonville and 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Orlando.  It is 55 miles (88 km) east of the Gulf of Mexico and 70 miles (112 km) west of the Atlantic Ocean.  

Population in the city limits: approximately 115,000 (2004).  Median Age:  27.

Population in the metropolitan area (Alachua County): approximately 230,000 (2004).

Area in city limits: 45.52 sq.mi. (117.89 sq. km.).

Households: 87,509. Median Household Income: $31,426.

Climate: Mild winters and warm summers with a 255-day growing season.

Industry: education, academic research, health care and medical, agriculture, light manufacturing, and many small service enterprises.

Taxes: 6.25% retail sales tax (food and medicine exempt), intangible tax, and real property tax with a Homestead Exemption of $25,000.  No state personal income tax.  No state inheritance tax.  No franchise tax.  No inventory tax.

Mark Cohen, Broker

Eyemark Realty, Inc.

www.GainesvilleFloridaHomes.com

www.EyemarkRealty.com

Is this Heaven?  No.......Cape Cod.

I most definitely am in love with Cape Cod, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and New England. The mild winters (on the Cape, at least), the gorgeous summers.  Autumn is the best, though, here on the Cape.  Bonfires at the Coast Guard Beach, Race Point, Olde Silver, Olde King's Highway, Plymouth, New Bedford, Salem, Boston.  Fanueil Hall/Quincy Market, Newburyport.

Walking the beach on the bay with my Great Aunt Bette in South Dennis when I was 9 years old.

The Pops at Mashpee Commons, the PowWow, the craftsmanship, the theater and Arts, in general. The Barnstable and Topsfield County Fairs. And that's just Massachusetts.  Most every other N.E. state is within an hour or so drive.

Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Smuggler's Notch, Vermont (more than an hour).  Newport and Providence, Rhode Island. North Conway, Concord and Nashua, New Hampshire (more than an hour but not much if you drive like I do).  Mystic Seaport in Connecticut.  White Horse Beach.

The best?  If I absolutely must go off-Cape I always time my return to coincide with Sunset on the Cape Cod Canal.  When I approach the Bridge, I get a real comfy feeling.  Home soon.  Then I see that sunset and I know where I was meant to be.

Dallas, Texas

http://RealtorThompson.com

Dallas is the ninth-largest city in the U.S., the third largest in Texas, and is ranked among the nation’s 100 Most Ethnically Diverse Communities. Dallas' overall population is young and diverse, with a median age of 32.1 and large Hispanic, Asian, and African-American populations.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area has more than 200 public elementary and middle schools, more than 50 public high schools, and another 200 or so private and parochial schools that have an enrollment of about 35,000. For higher education, the area is home to 17 two-year and technical/trade colleges (in the city of Dallas alone); 17 private colleges and universities; and 6 public four-year colleges and universities.

The Dallas Independent School District alone enrolled nearly 162,000 students for the 2005-2006 school year, and the Fort Worth Independent School District counted nearly 80,000 students enrolled for the same time period.

A state-of-the-art ballpark in Arlington, multiple museums in walking distance of downtown and performing arts venues for all art lovers are just a few reasons why leisurely visiting Dallas/Fort Worth may not be possible for the serious fun seekers. If you’re going to experience all that Dallas has to offer, it’s best not to do it in leisure-mode. Rather, get on your walking shoes and get busy! Dallas has more than 115 public art works and has the largest urban arts district in America. With nine museums, Dallas offers vast opportunities to soak in artifacts from all over the world.

For those that love Scottish things, there is a very active Scottish society hear and they hold the Scottish Highland Games in this area every summer in June, as well as other Scottish celebrations throughout the year.

Hi everyone - What a great idea!  I live in Raleigh and you couldn't tear me away from it!  I have been here 18 years and this is where I finally call home.  Some of the highlights here:

1.  Centrally located in NC.  Two hours to the beach (Outer Banks, Wrightsville, Topsail, Atlantic Bch) or two hours to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mtn!  Fantastic climate with spectacular seasons. Gorgeous springtime and inbelievable colors in the fall!  Summers are bearable (according to me since I hate heat!) and the winters are mild with the occassional snow.

2.  Southern charm at it's finest!  Big city conveniences with more of a suburbia feel.  Downtown being revitalized as we speak with numerous restaurants (not chains), clubs and residential development in the form of luxury condos and renovating mills into lofts.  

3.  RTP (Research Triangle Park) - only the largest research area in the country.  Everything from pharmaceuticals to IT.  

4.  Universities/Colleges - NC State University, Duke University, University of North Carolina, Shaw University, Peace College, Meredith College.

5.  Extremely activity oriented.  Whether family or single or no children Raleigh and the surrounding towns are top-notch with providing/organizing events such as concerts in the parks, art crawls, local farmer's markets and so much more.

6.  made some lists ourselves!  in Top 50 for population, Top 5 best places in US to sell a home, No. 2 Best Place for Business, Top City to get a Job and there are many more!

7.  We have low unemployment, a strong income and job growth, competitively high incomes and the cost of living is fantastic.

CBS The Early Show recently visited and there is fabulous video with some of the hightlights.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fantastic BBQ, sweet tea (Only NC Style) and the friendliest people!

I can not say enough about Raleigh and I highly suggest that everyone come and visit at least once.  Call me - I'll give you the personal tour!

P2, hope you're awake because you're reading the winning blog . . . congrats to Christina in advance! :)

FORT MOHAVE AZ, On the BEAUTIFUL COLORADO RIVER!

One of the fastest growing communities in Arizona with some of its most beautiful planned communities. How do YOU want to live life to its fullest? PGA golfing at Desert Lakes? Watersports on the River, a mile across the Veteran's Bridge to the Avi Resort Casino or one of several public boat launches with sandy beaches and parklike settings? Or take a 15 minute cruise down Casino Drive in Laughlin, Nevada for shopping or to try your luck. For your health, there's the new, award winning state of the art Valley View Medical Center.  Fine dining at Laughlin Ranch, Mohave County's premiere masterplanned community, just up the parkway. Build your dream home lakeside at Los Lagos which sits aside 3 man made lakes. Or if you're into wide open spaces, as the Fort Mohave Tribe owns every other square mile of land, you'll enjoy the feeling of room to move without the desolate feeling of too rural living and can set up your own ranch on beautiful unspoiled acreage, grab an affordable manufactured home or live large. There is something for everyone here. Within 10 minutes of Nevada and California, 90 miles south of Las Vegas and 4 hours southeast of the Grand Canyon.

I vote for Christina!

Christina gets my vote too! Too bad it is not August yet. That contest starts tomorrow. If this thread is still active tomorrow, which I am sure it will be, Christina should qualify in my opinion. Go Christina!

Chicago, Illinois.

Being the third largest city in the country, we have a lot to brag about. The mayor is very involved in the look and feel of the city so we have miles of lakefront parks, a million museums and tons and tons of local attractions. From downtown Chicago you can travel to three separate states all within 45 minutes to three hours travel.  In addition to the extremely vibrant live theater scene, the Chicago metro area has no less than 20 different open-aire music venues and a steady schedule of city sponsored free events and lakefront food and music festivals.

Having one of the largest diversified populations in the country, there are festivals and parades, unique boutiques, antique shops and thousands of specialty stores and restaurants to fit every taste.

People looking for homes can choose from quaint local neighborhoods like Bridgeport and Rogers Park to more trendy neighborhoods like Lakeview and Lincoln Park.  No matter what you want in a city, we have it here all waiting for your new referral.......