Moving to Gainesville Guide for Students
Moving to Gainesville as a new student can be an overwhelmingly stressful event. Moving to Gainesville as a student requires proper planning to prevent moving day from becoming a catastrophe. To assist students, families and businesses alike we have compiled a guide to help when moving to Gainesville. Much of the confusion related to relocating is from a lack of knowledge about the area.
When relocating to any town it is wise to find out as much about the area as possible prior to your arrival. After the Gainesville movers finish unloading your furniture is a bad time to begin getting utilities set up. This is also a horrible time to try and turn on your cable to watch preseason NFL. Student moving sometimes involves apartment communities such as The Enclave, or Gainesville Place that may come furnished with utilities. Most apartment communities in Gainesville are not furnished, and do not come with any utilities. Below is a Gainesville guide for students moving into Gainesville.
- Utilities: Gainesville Regional Utilities will provide power, water and gas for 90% of all students living in Gainesville. Some who may be attending Santa Fe and or live on the west side of town will use Clay Power and Electric. We recommend contacting the utilities company in Gainesville at least two weeks prior to your move in date. This will allow time for any unexpected occurrences such as hefty deposits for first time subscribers to the grid.
- Cable: Gainesville television programming options are limited to Cox Cable and the two major satellite providers. There is also the option of using a digital HD antenna to obtain the over the air signals. Depending on your location there are more than ten different channels available for free. This should be used in conjunction with any satellite service to ensure the local channels are accessible, which is usually not the case with satellite.
- Maps: We highly recommend acquiring a paper version of both campuses, and the Gainesville/Alachua County area. Google works great, until your phone dies, or the signal is lost, or a host of other complications that do not seem to confound paper versions. These will come in handy in a pinch at some point, we can almost guarantee.
- Parking: If you are not 100% sure that you are allowed to park in a certain area, then ask someone. Chances are if it’s too good to be true, then it is. There are a slew of companies whose entire business model revolves around towing illegally parked vehicles or putting an immobilization device onto the wheel. Familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations of both campuses. Santa Fe College and the University of Florida. And last but not least, City of Gainesville. We feel the fact that the city has enough money to devote an entire section to parking says a lot about how much money is being generated. Please don’t park somewhere unless you are absolutely sure about it.
- Restaurants: Our favorite restaurants are Gainesville’s best bbq restaurant, and Gainesville’s best cuban restaurant. Adam’s Rib co is hands down the best bbq restaurant in Gainesville and with two locations to serve you on either side of UF Campus, there is no way you can go wrong.
- Living: If you’re not living in some of the on-campus housing, then renting a home or apartment will be your option. Apartments and rental homes are plentiful in Gainesville, but not all are created equal. If you are looking for If you’re looking for an apartment in Gainesville FL near UF, we recommend checking out Trimark Properties. They own and manage 23 apartment complexes in Gainesville, all within walking distance of UF classes. They offer a free apartment finder service and have a terrific website with the ability to search by bedroom size, price, location and more. They offer apartments next to UF Sorority Row, too. Whether you’re looking for a luxury apartment or something cheap, they’re sure to be able to help you.
This guide is only meant to help students when moving to Gainesville. This is in no way meant to encompass all of the what if’s that moving to Gainesville often brings. One thing you can be sure of is when you hire Gainesville Movers, make sure you do your homework.
