Knowledgeable and Professional Tallahassee Real Estate Agents

Being a Tallahassee Realtor is the Best Job Ever!

We live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The skies are blue, and the weather is gorgeous for ten months of the year! We have tormented our families for years with photos of us on the beach for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so much so that they are moving here one by one (out of the snow) as they retire.

In our Big Bend area of Florida, we have many of the benefits of living in Florida and few of the drawbacks. The Tallahassee area does have seasons AND abundant sunshine, and there are times when you need to wear a sweatshirt/jacket outside. Still, we do not have many tourists or hurricanes directly targeting us (often). Some of the most beautiful beaches in the world are less than an hour and half away, along with a few dog-friendly options.

Why I Love Tallahassee…

We argue that Tallahassee is pet-friendly because many places will allow you to bring your leashed fur babies with you. As owners of two mastiff mixes (Boerbols) and a Staffordshire Terrier mix, we have traveled all around Tallahassee with our hound crew. Several local restaurants have outdoor seating if you are looking for things to do with your pets. Parks allow you to bring well-behaved and leashed pets. There are even several pet beauty contests for locals to enter every year. There are dog parks around the city, too! These are areas where you can bring your well-behaved dog and allow them off-leash to socialize with other well-behaved dogs. As Tallahassee real estate agents, we love this about Tallahassee and take every opportunity to enable Lilly to play with other local pups!!

Local Food, Shopping and Outdoor Living

Tallahassee is settled in the heart of southern agriculture and super close to Gulf of Mexico fishing! There are so many local restaurants to choose from and I have tried my best to hit them all!! Sign up for my blog posts for reviews of local restaurants and attractions!

There are plenty of boutique shops in clusters for leisurely exploration, usually with places to walk and attractions to see nearby. Tallahassee doesn’t have many shopping and outlet malls, but we do have Publix. That is Florida-based and the best grocery store ever!  Also, check out Midtown and the Railroad Square shopping districts for more information. And I will have more posts about shopping in Tallahassee coming soon!

Tallahassee Has a Lot to Offer!

Some visitors complain that the beach is 35 miles away. That drive to the beach from Tallahassee is about 45 minutes and contains little traffic. It is long stretches of road through the Florida pines so common in our area. We visited the beach in South Florida when we traveled. While the beaches are physically closer, they are still about 45 minutes away with all that stop-and-go traffic. To be clear, we have one of the most gorgeous beaches on the planet, an hour and fifteen minutes away from the Florida capital. (Google St. George Island and marvel at the super soft sugar sand.) That’s equivalent to a ride to Starbucks down the street in Miami – right? We have great locally grown and caught food and LOTS of outdoor activities with nine months of comfortable camping weather.

A Little Bit About My Background as Tallahassee Realtor and Florida Real Estate Agent

Image of Tallahassee Realtor Abbe Flynn.
22.png

Abbe Justus, Tallahassee Realtor

I have been a Tallahassee Realtor since 2013. In 2021, I upgraded my license to a Broker Associate at Ketcham Realty Group and in 2024 I added my Real Estate Instructor to my active licenses. Before real estate, I worked for the FDLE, the Department of Corrections, and then the Department of Management Services, negotiating contracts on Florida’s behalf. That includes complicated multimillion-dollar prisons. (Just for the record, I think there are some things we should not profit from as a society, and inmates would be on my list. However, it was a fascinating job that taught me a ton!) I grew up the youngest of five on a farm in Ohio, and negotiating was a survival skill I learned early. I had to learn leverage at a young age. If I hadn’t, my hands might have shriveled up permanently from the number of dishes we had to wash…LOL.

Graduate School at Florida State and Taught at FAMU & FSU

My undergraduate degrees are from Kent State University in Ohio. After college, I came to the South for graduate school to study and teach Criminology at FSU. I got on a plane in Cleveland on a wintery February day. When I got off the plane to check out FSU, it was 73 degrees with blue skies. I have worked on my Ph.D. and love (and miss) the research and teaching aspects of university life. The classroom hold many fond memories for me. After graduate school, I worked for the Department of Corrections in their statistics office, grant writing office, and re-entry office. From there, I went to the Department of Management Services, where I worked both in the Private Prison Bureau and in State Purchasing as a public buyer.

How I Became a Tallahassee Real Estate Broker

In 2013, I finally took the leap. My husband encouraged me to sit for my real estate license. As an introvert, I could not imagine a life in sales. Like most things, I read everything I could about sales while diving in headfirst. I am glad I did. Owning my own business and working for myself has been life-changing and the most rewarding career I could have imagined. I seriously have the best job ever.

As a 1099 employee, I am self-employed. However, under Florida law, my broker is my manager. Unlike many large brokerages, our broker is available to assist in anything her decades of experience can help with. That also means she encourages her people to extend their education and licenses. Because of her, I obtained my broker’s license in 2021 and my Real Estate Instructor’s license in 2024.

Thanks for Stopping By!

If you have any questions about living in Tallahassee or what neighborhood would be the best match for your lifestyle and price point, reach out to me! I would love to hear from you!

I would be honored to be your Tallahassee Realtor and Real Estate Broker!