Hi! I also attend Florida, and disagree with mushpuddle on some points. I have lived in a Paradigm property, and it was clean, sunny, and quiet. However, many Paradigm properties attract undergrads because they frequently do individual leases and roommate matching, so they can be noisier. Also, some people say to stay away from Paradigm because they take as much money from you as possible when you move out, but I have yet to meet anybody that that has happened to.
I also don't recommend the area north of campus, and especially not northeast of campus. North of campus is called the student ghetto, if that gives you an idea why. Also, parking there is usually on the streets and hard to find. The area northeast of the University/13th intersection is pretty sketchy, and gets worse the further east you go. I actually live on 13th, in the Hidden Lakes complex area. The complex has created something like a pocket of non-sketchiness, but that is mostly because the entire complex is fenced in.
Also, south of campus down 13th street/16th ave can be a little iffy. I have known one person to have two of their tires stolen overnight, and another friend had someone try to break into her apartment while she was in it. That area not only features cheaper apartments (which are actually pretty nice inside, for the most part), but also super-cheap motels and the "professionals" that they attract. However, many people live there and are perfectly happy, so it's always possible that my friends are the exceptions.
Another area where it gets more undesirable the farther away you go is SW 20th Ave. It's more uninviting than unsafe, though. It's a very dark area because there are so many trees, so that is probably why I have that view of it. However, SW 20th Ave connects to SW 62nd Blvd, which leads to the mall and has a nice bunch of student complexes.
Your best bet, especially if you don't have a chance to visit and get a better idea of the areas, is the area southwest of campus. It's pretty much all students. That means that it has more bus routes and more convenient shopping options. Butler Plaza is located southwest of campus along Archer road, and it pretty much has anything you could ever want. Even though it is so far away from me now, I still frequently travel 20 minutes down there just because it is so convenient once you are there.
I personally have lived at University Commons and Greenwich Green (both in the SW). I don't recommend University Commons due to the party atmosphere, but I am still rather fond of Greenwich Green (the Paradigm property). There are tons of primarily student apartment complexes along Archer (and old Archer), SW 23rd St, SW 35th Pl, and SW 34th St. I would stay away from complexes that offer 4 bedroom apartments, as those tend to attract the noisier undergrads. That includes places like Gainesville Place and the Estates. Mixed in with the large, typically louder complexes are smaller complexes that attract grad students. One exception is Stoneridge, which also offers 1/1s. It's a huge complex but is surprisingly pretty quiet.
As I am looking for apartments, I have been using www.gainesville-rent.com. It includes pretty much all of the apartment complexes in Gainesville (except for the small, privately-owned ones, but those are few and far between), and has tons of information about each complex. It's been especially helpful for me because I have pets, and it can weed out apartments that don't allow pets. I also check Craigslist, because the privately-owned complexes frequently post there; sometimes they even advertise that they cater to grad students.
I hope I haven't made all of Gainesville except the SW sound bad. Mostly the areas that I have listed are just comparatively less inviting because the SW is so student-focused. Gainesville in general is actually a really nice place to live, and I have had friends be perfectly happy and feel perfectly safe down 13th St and out 20th Ave. These are just my impressions of the areas, based on things I've heard and seen in the 5 years that I've been here.
One last note: beware places on W. University Ave. It is NOT part of University Ave., which runs along the north side of campus. It is actually west of the interstate, off of Tower Rd.
