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Kelly
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Just putting the word out, here, in case anyone is interested, but our Catholic homeschooling group in Tallahassee, in conjunction with a wonderful Catholic developer, is building a Catholic neighborhood on the outskirts of our town of 250,000. It's a beautiful, big piece of land, with tracts ranging in size from 1/2 acre lots to 3/4 acres, 1 acres and one or two 3/5+ acre lots left. Lots of big, pretty live oaks, a natural lake, and relatively close to the Catholic highschool. Best of all, it will have a definite Catholic flavor, with a neighborhood chapel and possibly a Catholic public association dedicated to communal prayer and celebrating the Liturgical year, among other things. Also coming up: a community assembly building, a community pool, a 5 mile bike and jogging path to encircle the development, ball fields, tennis courts etc, as well as lots of beautiful green spaces for pursuing a Charlotte Mason Nature Study! The developer himself plans to live there, which is always a good sign  The genesis for all this was a desire to have a gated neighborhood with like-minded families where our kids would be safe to roam, and miraculously, it's really coming together!
Last but not least, by happenstance, it turns out the neighborhood is on "holy ground"...it was the area of the Spanish missions of the 1600s, several missions being in this exact area, and the 1704 martyrdom of a large number of Spanish settlers and Catholic Apalachee Indians took place right here. Without knowing any of this, we chose for the name of one of the streets to be "La Concepcion". Much later, we discovered that was the name of one of the missions that is within spitting distance! All the streets are names of Mary: La Concepcion, Rosa Mistica, Dulce Maria and Montserrat, and the main street is Via Arcangel, after the name of the neighborhood: Mission San Miguel.
The lots are currently about half taken, but there are still a lot of beautiful lots left at reasonable prices. This area is going up in value very steadily, so it really IS good value. Most of all, it's a great group of people, ranging from newlyweds to grandparents, many homeschoolers (though not all) and even a couple of Catholic-friendly Protestants iso of a good Christian neighborhood. That being said, we really want to preserve the "catholicity" of the neighborhood, so we're putting the word out everywhere to our Catholic friends and families.
I'm not a big joiner, and my dh and I definitely value our privacy, but it is definitely a cool project! You can find out more about it by checking out www.sanmiguelneighborhood.com. You can also email me direct at kkuerstein@aol.com if you have questions. I hope it's not totally inappropriate for me to put this information here, but given that so much of our conversation resolves around Church, the family, the Liturgical Year, and providing nurturing surroundings for our children, I thought it might be OK to post info about this project, given that it's goal is to promote ALL these aspects of Catholic living!
Kelly in FL
PS I'm not a realtor, and I'm not getting a commision! Promise! 
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Elizabeth
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I think it's totally appropriate for you to post this here Kelly. Until this, I knew only of the dream around Ave Maria and the virtual neighborhood we have here. How blessed you all are!
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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teachingmom
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I just read part of your message to dh. He said, "Let's go!"
In reality, we are happy where we are, but it definitely sounds cool!
I have a question for you, Kelly. What is the thinking behind the strict limits on house size for the 1/2 acre and 3/4 acre lots? It doesn't seem very large-family friendly to limit 1/2 acre lots to 1800 sq. ft. houses. Other than that it looks like a wonderful place to raise Catholic families.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Elizabeth
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teachingmom wrote:
I just read part of your message to dh. He said, "Let's go!"
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I sent the link to dh and he wants to plan a field trip to check it out!
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Kelly
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Hmmm, Irene, don't know the answer about the size limits on 1/2 and 3/4 acre lots unless it's that they're trying to keep it very "purty" and green! Most of the families are largish, offhand I can think of four families of five children, at least two of six children and one of eight children. The emphasis definitely lies with Big Catholic Families  . Let me check with the pundits about the size issues, though, just for the sake of knowing!
I'll get back to you on this.
Anyone wants to come for a fact finding mission, email me ahead of time-if we're in town, you can stay with us (if you dare...).
Kelly in FL
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Kelly
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PS I forgot to mention that we have two nuns, part of a newly forming order dedicated to Perpetual Adoration, who are planning to move there, and hoping to establish a convent on the adjacent property, if it can be worked out. They're great ladies, I've met them both.
Also, our bishop is fully on board with the neighborhood, has been out to the property and is supportive. Always a nice touch
Some pretty neat things, hey?
Kelly in FL
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Cay Gibson
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Kelly,
This is so awesome! 
If we're ever around the Tallahassee area, I would love to come see it!
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
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Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Mary G
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Kelly,
Man, would this be awesome! If there was somewhere for dh to work down there we'd sign up in a minute! (And, I don't even LIKE Florida!)
Maybe this will start a trend elsewhere.....
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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Elizabeth
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teachingmom wrote:
| What is the thinking behind the strict limits on house size for the 1/2 acre and 3/4 acre lots? It doesn't seem very large-family friendly to limit 1/2 acre lots to 1800 sq. ft. houses. Other than that it looks like a wonderful place to raise Catholic families. |
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Mike thinks it's a "footprint" thing. Since they can't build house up because of hurricanes and they don't have basements because of water levels, they're limited to square footage spread out on one level over the available acreage. When you move to a full acre, the square footage is considerably higher. Evidently, he spent a long time on the site...  Not sure if that's a good thing or not...I agree with you Irene, 1800 square feet isn't very big when you're putting a family nine in the house.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Kelly
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OK, I checked about the square footage limitation and here is the answer: the developer, supported by the bishop, is putting into action what is called an "inclusive philosophy" in development planning. By keeping a few areas with smaller houses, it will allow people on tighter budgets---especially thinking of grandparents, widows, single ladies whatever---to have a nice home in an upscale neighborhood. Most developments do not take this approach because, frankly, they make more money if they max out the house size, and the neighborhoods ultimately tend to become single-income-level neighborhoods. With Mission San Miguel, there is a very definite push to apply this Catholic inclusive philosophy so that there will be a variety of people in the neighborhood, not just one "type", one income level.
It's frustrating, in a sense, but on the other hand, the one acre lots are THE lots where most of the families are going. Even at their higher price, the acre lots really are good value, in a lovely, family-oriented Catholic neighborhood. In the end, the goal is to have a whole span of homes, from townhouses, to small "cottage-y" type single-family homes, to larger Big Family homes and million dollar plus houses, with the amenities, and the Catholic flavor, available to all.
For what it's worth, too, in terms of market value, I have personally seen prices steadily going up in this part of town. Our farm is about 10 minutes farther out, in the same direction, and the property values have really gone 'way up in the past year. Even with a market slow down, were that to happen, the values out that direction are really holding their own.
Another thing, investment profits from this development are earmarked for pro-life work, especially the local pro-life women's clinic. You probably saw, too, that several builders have indicated that for each house they contract out there, they will make donations to the women's clinic. Of course, you don't have to use any particular builder, but the incentive is there. Also, two-story houses are fine in this area. Although there are wind-load stipulations---this being Florida, afterall---there really isn't any problem with building two-story houses, and some houses do even have basements (tho not like the huge, gracious basements I left behind when we moved out of Northern Virginia). Houses along the coast are the ones that have to be a little more careful in the building-up department. Although we have hurricanes and big storms, Tallahassee is inland, with beautiful rolling hills and huge oak trees. Much more like South Carolina, Mary !
Yikes, this sounds like a Chamber of Commerce ad! I'll put away my pom poms now...
Kelly in FL
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Mary G
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Kelly,
You answered our question -- so often these kind of community become less than Cahtolic and elitist but you say they are going to have different kinds of housing with a mix of generations and types of families....
This is just so cool!
BTW, Kelly, you'd be an awesome marketer for this development!
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MaryG
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JennGM
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I had just read an interview with Father Fessio in CUF's Lay Witness and it sounded wonderful.
What are job opportunitiess like down there?
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Mary G
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To tag on to Jenn's question -- are they going to put a Catholic elementary or middle nearby? The bishop sounds like a great guy -- is he?
We're in discernment mode and this could potentially be added to the "hopper"....
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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JSchaaf
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Which is in Tallahassee-University of Florida or Florida State? DH may be headed back to school for his PhD in a couple of years and Florida is on the short list...
Jennifer
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Jen L.
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Tallahassee is the home of Florida State University.
Oh, and don't let the football fans hear that you're confusing the two! (Seminoles (FSU) and Gators (UF))
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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folklaur
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I was so excited when I read about this! I told dh when he got home and he spent some time looking around the site. I think it sounds really wonderful. I have no idea if he would be able to find work down there though, but we are checking it out....
~Laura in AZ
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Kelly
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Mary G. wrote:
BTW, Kelly, you'd be an awesome marketer for this development! |
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Haha. Pretty funny, given that I couldn't wait, as they say out West, to "get the hell out of Dodge" when I graduated from highschool! This may have been because I didn't enjoy highschool at all, but whatever the reason, I left town and didn't come back for 15 years (except to see my family, of course!). Then my dh, Mr. Cosmopolitan who has lived all over the world, decided to fall in like with T-town. Now, after 11 years of our living here off and on, he's fallen in love with the town and enabled me to see its virtues thru his eyes! While it's not the most exciting town for Swingin' Singles, or for High Society if that's what you're after, it IS a wonderful town for raising children, very family friendly. All the things that might make it seem dullsville for a teenager like I was, or a young single, are the very things that make it great for families!
Yes, it's Florida State University that's here, as well as Tallahassee Community College and Florida A&M. There is also Thomas University in nearby Thomasville, Georgia, where I'm hoping my ds will take some dual enrollment classes.
Re: elementary schools, there is a Catholic elementary school named Trinity, for K-8. Even though I was raised Protestant, many of my siblings attended there. Some of my homeschool friends have a child or two there, too, and have been content with it. On the whole, I think it's pretty OK.
As for job opportunities, my pseudo-Chamber of Commerce skills are failing me...I really don't know the answer to that, though the town is steadily growing, which is usually a good sign of economic health. Being the state capitol, there are plenty of government jobs going on here, with all the attendant entrepreneurial business that spin-off from government work. There isn't much in the way of manufacturing,it's not a factory town at all. The emphasis has traditionally been agricultural, educational (with the university), and governmental. Now, there is also a lot of construction activity going on---a real building boom, in fact.
The summers are hot and humid, make no mistake, but Fall and Spring are delightful, and we do have a decided Winter, though it seldom snows. But there is a definite change of seasons, which is a plus. The Winters are brisk enough that we keep our fireplace working for a good five months, sometimes a little longer, and leaves DO fall! Remember, we're only 20 to 30 minutes from the Georgia border. It's also not far to the beach-we went down Saturday around 5:30, ate dinner and spent the night, moseying back to town around lunch time. So, there are many facets to l'il ol' Tallahassee
Kelly in FL
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Kelly
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jenngm67 wrote:
I had just read an interview with Father Fessio in CUF's Lay Witness and it sounded wonderful.
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What article is this? Do you have a link of it, by chance? I'd be interested to read it, too! Love that Fr. Fessio.
Kelly in FL
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lapazfarm
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This sounds like a great idea, and well planned. Don't think I personally could ever live in Tallahassee, though. Spent too many years in Gainesville and am a Gator fan to the bone!
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Theresa
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LaPaz Home Learning
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JennGM
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Kelly wrote:
jenngm67 wrote:
| I had just read an interview with Father Fessio in CUF's Lay Witness and it sounded wonderful. |
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What article is this? Do you have a link of it, by chance? I'd be interested to read it, too! Love that Fr. Fessio.
Kelly in FL |
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Kelly, cuf.org does post their articles from their past issues, but the current magazine is not online yet. I've written to ask if and when, and I'll post if I get more info.
As an aside, the new assistant editor is Michael Hahn...oldest son of Dr. Scott Hahn. Having known him as a young 10 yo, I just can't believe this! How old do I feel?
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: A Catholic Neighborhood
