Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee gets a bad rap, but there’s a lot to love about the capital of Florida! It’s a panhandle city, so you won’t be getting the same kind of swampy heat in southern Florida. And given its proximity to Georgia, you also get some hills (if you’re from a mountainous city, you’ve got to adjust your expectations, pronto). Locals enjoy Tallahassee because there are so many outdoor activities to enjoy while also benefiting from living in a big city. You can explore the state parks, take easy day trips to South Georgia, go for a float down Bear Paw, or take an awesome hike! If you’re at FSU, consider joining the Outdoor Pursuits group as well to see some nature and make some new friends at the same time.

Although it’s the capital, Tallahassee isn’t as big as Miami, Daytona, or many other big cities in Florida. This means that when it grows, the city feels like when you try on your pre-pandemic jeans– a little too snug. The city is trying hard to expand well, which means not sacrificing the city just for the sake of growth. The intent is to grow responsibly without endangering the surrounding forest and protected lands. This means that we’re seeing compact growth in the city and, on top of a huge influx of tourists and out-of-towners for the FSU home games, it can make this very reasonably sized city seem crowded.

Tallahassee is a true college town at its core. With three colleges in the city, including Florida State University, there is always something going on. The biggest draw towards campus, yearly, is going to be college football. With one of the most competitive programs in the US, FSU brings in almost 50 million in direct spending during the six home games every year. Despite also being the capital of Florida, FSU is the heart of the city. This also means that the median age is younger than you’d see in most of Florida. At just 34 years old, being the median age, it defied the FL standard, which is widely associated with retirement and snowbirds. Standard to most college towns is also going to be the affordable cost of living. Everything you need to do is within a 10-mile radius, and everything you need to buy is going to be way cheaper than larger cities like Miami and Daytona.

If you want to see what happens in Tallahassee throughout the year, check out the calendar of events.

We highly recommend visiting Tallahassee and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for what it's like to live among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our partnership with Expedia as well.

Put a huge college town in the same space as the capital of Florida, and what do you get? Top employers in education and government.

This is a city of college kids, young professionals who love the city too much to leave, and families who enjoy the variety of activities and low cost of living. There are several large companies based in Tallahassee, and the top employers are the State of Florida, FSU, and Leon County School Board. The city also has a huge retail industry that supports the campus and students year-round. Although you might not have a hard time finding a job in Tallahassee, be aware that if you’re moving from a larger city and finding a job locally, you might be making significantly less than you’re used to. Local young professionals suggest keeping that remote Silicon Valley money and living big in the city if you can.