I did all my pre-internship and internship there. I have a few favorite local schools, the rest are not so great. But you find that anywhere. I have an Elem. ed and ESE degree. I also was a full time nanny for 4 years there and went to daily speech/ot appts with the kids. Free rent could be worth it, especially if you can afford to travel to Tallahassee at least a few times a week or commute. Again, Carabelle not the best, but not terrible. As a comparison we lived rent free in Perry, not the best place but free and close enough to other things to outweigh the cons.
Yes, Tallahassee it very pretty. Quite a few parks for families, dowtown has many restaurants that are nice especially to sit outside or go to Downtown get-downs before home FSU games. My husband grew up there and loves it. During the summer and on breaks when college people weren't there was my favorite time of year. I would live there again, but growing up in a meto area it was a change and I prefer to try somewhere else.