Tallahassee isn't "all that". It's Super Chipley (SEE "Where I'm From"), meaning, it's got two or more of everything Chipley has. The only place I look forward to going is home, and it's a trial to get there. Let me explain. Tallahassee has about 1 million people stuffed into about 1600 square feet. At least, that's what it feels like. Take those 1 million people and put them on the road, in front of me, going at least 10 mph under the speed limit, if I'm lucky, and have their route exactly match mine. I know that's a run-on sentence, but bear with me. Next, have the wonderful City of Tallahassee workers hold a "Stop" sign, in front of the million people, so that the bulldozer driver and head honcho can stand in the middle of the road and argue about how best to go about repairing the repair they screwed up, at rush hour, when I have a gallon of milk sweating in the passenger seat, and a 3-year old in the back asking why we're not moving. Okay, deep breath.
Also, all of the WalMarts are being converted to Super Walmarts. I personally hate Super Walmart. Not for all the typical political reasons you'll find on many "I hate Super Walmart" websites. My reasons are simple. I absolutely, positively abhore crowds. I get panicky when I step in those sliding doors and am confronted with aisles upon messy aisles filled with scary people who don't believe in observing the unwritten laws of personal space.
Overall, Tallahassee is a veritable metropolis compared to Chipley, and maybe, just maybe, in ten or fifteen years time, it will be a tolerable place to dwell. Unfortunately, by that time, I probably will be living somewhere else.
You might ask, "Samantha, if you hate it so much, why not move now?". That's a very good question. The answer is, I have family here. If I move, I'll never again have a babysitter for those 1 or 2 nights a year my husband and I go out. It's not that I'm cheap at all, I'm wary. I just don't trust anyone I don't know well to handle my son without calling in help from a Catholic priest.