Star Bradbury
Principal, Senior Community Strategies, LLC
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Came to Gainesville in 1978
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What about Greater Gainesville stood out when comparing it to your other choices?
My family and I chose Gainesville because we knew we would like living in a college town. When we left Sarasota so many years ago, we moved to Gainesville because it offered a good public school system, a growing economy, and it was not on the coast as we wanted to avoid hurricanes. Little did we know that Gainesville would come to embody the best a university town has to offer! I truly feel that Gainesville is on the brink of being one of the next hippest trend-setting cities in the southeast, if not the country.
What is your favorite local food?
We now have Swamphead Brewery, First Magnitude, and the newest, Cypress and Grove. More and more local restaurants are opening, especially on the east side of town, and the food truck scene is expanding, as well. And let’s not forget the three farmers markets to choose from! So foodies, listen up, Gainesville is on the map! Just last week friends and I had a terrific dinner at Public & General, stopped by Cypress and Grove for a beer, and then went downtown to catch the last of the music on the plaza!
Where do you go to escape into nature?
We are known as a city where nature and culture meet. Our city is full of lovely parks with walking trails, picnic areas, and we just added the new spectacular Depot Park in downtown Gainesville. One of my favorite parks is the Devil’s Millhopper. My husband and I love the amazing sinkhole with 240 steps to the bottom, full of waterfalls and unique flora and fauna. We like to challenge ourselves by “doing the stairs,” down and up, for our exercise.