Choose Tallahassee promotes city's benefits to young professionals and more

I love calling Tallahassee home! Now, folks from all over the United States are starting to recognize that Florida’s capital city is an ideal place to live.

We are unique in that, we still have a small-town atmosphere, with many big-city amenities. People also want to live where most the locals are proud of their hometown.

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Choose Tallahassee was originally founded in 2011 by our community leaders who were originally focused on attracting seniors to retire in our community. This was after Capital Health Plan was recognized as the number one Medicare HMO in the Nation.

Over time, our mission has expanded to include a larger group of people – Our mission now reads, “To enhance our region’s innovation and vitality by attracting and retaining a diverse population of young professionals, entrepreneurs, creative talent, retirees, and students.”

To learn more about us, I urge you to check out our website at choosetallahassee.com. This is the good news outlet for our city, where we share the four “pillars” of what it is like to live, work and learn in Florida’s state capital. These include:

Live here

Wondering what it’s like to live in Tallahassee? Here, potential, new, and even current residents can explore popular neighborhoods, weather patterns, and even discover things to do.  You can also check out our vibrant arts and culture or brush up on some of the city’s fun facts (for example, our town has over 24 art galleries and 15 museums, which shows how committed we are to arts and culture!)

Work here

National job search sites can be overwhelming, if you’re looking for work in Tallahassee, you’ll find an introduction to our major employers, job boards and entrepreneurial opportunities.  Many people are surprised that we are also a Tech Town with over 200 tech companies who employ hundreds of tech specialists (checkout launchtally.com for details).

Another positive economic impact is The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which is the largest and highest-powered magnet lab in the world. This “work here” section also lists the cost of living in the Tallahassee/Leon County region.

Play here

Tallahassee is an outdoor lover’s paradise! With trail systems weaving across the city, shady oak trees, and state-of-the-art facilities located in many of the city’s 88 parks, it’s no wonder residents refer to the city as “Trailahassee.” This section highlights our parks, 700 miles of trails, restaurants, great local coffee shops, and breweries. You’ll also find a calendar of events and a list of our annual festivals. We also share that we are just a short ride to rivers and beaches.

Learn here

Did you know Tallahassee is the most educated city in Florida and in the top 20 most educated cities in the United States?  We are the home of Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College.

At these schools, our residents have access to sporting events, arts, and culture.  The approximately 70,000 students that enroll at these schools bring a lot of energy, talent, and economic impact to our town.  Another benefit of these institutions is there are unlimited opportunities for learning, including lifelong learning, including those in the 55+ community.

A lot to learn

Even for residents, at this website, there is a lot to learn about Tallahassee and Leon County. Here you can spend hours exploring our city/county and what it has to offer. Be sure to check out our News section, where each month we feature a new blog post highlighting everything from eateries to activities around town.

For those looking to recruit businesses, employees, family members, and friends, our website includes downloadable relocation guides for five groups of people:

• Incoming College Students

• Young Professionals

• Working Professionals

• Entrepreneurs/ Business Owners

• Retirees

Like many other cities, poverty, income disparity, and crime are challenges. Fortunately, there are communitywide initiatives where we are joining forces to examine, seek solutions and take action to resolve these matters. It is our hope that by attracting new people, businesses, and job opportunities, we can provide paths that help alleviate some of these issues.

At Choose Tallahassee, we strive to be the good news outlet for our city.

We hope you will share our vision to be a positive window to the world for Tallahassee and Leon County.

Contact Gregg Patterson, Executive Director, Choose Tallahassee, at gregg@choosetallahassee.com. Visit choosetallahassee.com.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Choose Tallahassee promotes city's benefits to expanding group