Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of, Alachua County

Alachua County, Florida

Alachua County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 227,120. Its county seat is Gainesville, Florida. Alachua County is the home of the University of Florida and is also known for its diverse culture, local music, and artisans...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area

Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area

The Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan statistical area designated by the Office of Management and Budget and used for statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and other agencies. The metropolitan statistical area comprises Alachua and Gilchrist counties within...

 (MSA). The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth largest campus in the USA, the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

, as well as to Santa Fe College. The Gainesville MSA was ranked as the #1 place to live in the 2007 edition of Cities Ranked and Rated. Gainesville was also ranked as one of the "best places to live and play" in 2007 by National Geographic Adventure

National Geographic Adventure

National Geographic Adventure, formerly known as Adventure One but now commonly known as Nat Geo Adventure, is a subscription TV channel part of National Geographic Channels International and News Corporation...

.