I agree with the above comments especially the fire ants and heat. Don't forgot about the snakes and alligators near the water. We lived for 2 years in the town of Bainbridge (Decatur county) which is about 45 minutes north of Tallahassee. This would have been back in 1996 - 1998 so alot may have changed but not the general area. I've heard that you get used to the heat and humidity but I never did and my horses didn't while we were there. It got so hot that when they would come in from the pasture you had to hose the salt off their backs. There were lots of shows especially in Tallahasee FL, Marianna FL, Perry GA and Dothan AL. There was also a local saddle club that put on summer shows with a championship show at the end of the year. You could just about ride outside all year round. In our town we didn't have a proper equine vet. Mainly used the small vet for meds, etc and had to use an equine vet from Tallahassee for anything more than routine. The barn I was at had several farriers who seemed fine. Quite a bit of sand in the fields. Mainly fed Bermuda grass. The folks at the barn were always replacing wood fencing because the heat/humidity caused the boards to rot.
Hmmmm....after reading what I wrote I guess I didn't make it sound very nice. I guess it's all in what you want and what you are used to. I personally like to have all the seasons so that is why we settled further north. We met some really nice folks when we lived there but were quite ready to leave.
Hope that helps,
kareng
