Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County. Alachua can be a little intimidating to pronounce, but here is the easy way to say it: A-latch-ew-A. Maybe hard to say, but a great place to live! It serves as the cultural, educational and commercial center for the North Central Florida Region. The City of Gainesville was founded in 1869 and provides a full range of municipal services, including police and fire protection; comprehensive land use planning and zoning services; code enforcement and neighborhood improvement; streets and drainage construction and maintenance; traffic engineering services; refuse and recycling services; recreation and parks; cultural and nature services; and necessary administrative services to support these activities. Additionally, the City owns a regional transit system, a municipal airport, a par-72 championship golf course and a nationally recognized, award winning utility, Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU).
Gainesville is home to Florida’s largest and oldest university, the University of Florida currently ranked 5th amongst the top public universities. UF and UFHealth/Shands are the leading employers in Gainesville. Known for its preservation of historic buildings and the beauty of its natural surroundings, the City of Gainesville’s numerous parks, museums and historic areas make it a unique and special place with the sophistication and culture found in a big city and the natural resources and beauty of a much smaller town. Because of its beautiful landscape and protected tree canopy, Gainesville is one of the most attractive cities in Florida.
