A Guide to Goodwill Thrift Stores of North Florida's Big Bend and South Georgia

Are you looking for something fun and inexpensive to do in South Georgia and North Florida's Big Bend region? If hunting, fishing, and FSU sports aren't for you, you might try shopping the area's thrift stores. Goodwill Industries of the Big Bend, Inc., has a string of 23 well run, well stocked, and well maintained thrift stores that stretch from Perry, Florida, to Destin, Florida. They also extend north from their heaquarters in Tallahassee to Thomasville and Bainbridge, Georgia. In south Georgia, my wife and I have visited great Goodwill thrift stores in Valdosta, Bainbridge, and Thomasville. In Florida, we have visited several excellent Goodwill thrift stores in Tallahassee, a store in Crawfordville, a store in Port St.Joe, a couple of stores in the Panama City area and a far flung store in Santa Rosa (just west of Panama City). However, Tallahassee seems to be the crown jewel of thrifting in the region and our regular weekend circuit consists of several Goodwill stores in the Tallahassee area.

A typical weekend will start with the Goodwill in Bradfordville, just north of Tallahassee on 319 (Thomasville Road). Located near Tallahassee's upscale Killearne neighborhood, the store offers a nice mix of furniture, electronics, clothing, shoes, purses, and books. I've also found nice cameras in the store like my Minolta SRT-201. From Bradfordville, we head south on 319 which becomes Capital Circle (which in typical government town fashion is really a horseshoe). On our right, we find a Goodwill Store and a GW Boutique side-by-side. The GW Boutique has higher end goods, cameras, and a nice selection of books. Across the parking lot, the regular Goodwill store has lower prices and good deals on shoes and computers. The electronics section of this store usually has lots of stereos, boomboxes, exercise equipment, and typical thrift store telescopes.

Moving on, we sometimes go down to Apalachee Parkway and take a right so we can go to the Goodwill across from Chick-fil-A. The Goodwill is fairly decent, but since we donate our old stuff there, we usually skip it. Instead we'll drive up to the state capitol at the end of Apalachee and take a right on Monroe Street. Monroe will take us down to another great Goodwill across from the old Tallahassee mall. The Monroe Goodwill has a good mix of merchandise with books, clothes, electronics, and other goods. For some reason, this Goodwill always has a great selection of stuff up by the front counter. We've seen cameras, binoculars, drum kits, video game systems, a nice telescope, and other great stuff up at the front. I have bought several telescopes and a nifty Canon SureShot Z135 camera from the Monroe Street store.

In addition to our regular circuit, Tallahassee sports two specialized Goodwill locations. In town, you can find a Goodwill Bookstore and a combination Goodwill Computer Store, Book Store, and Car Dealer. Goodwill has to sell donated cars somewhere and the combination store is it. You can find some interesting vehicles in that lot. At the car dealer, I can plot the restoration of interesting cars ranging from Triumph TR-7s to Chrysler Cordovas to more modern fuel efficient cars. The store also has tons of computers that have been reconditioned for sale at reasonable prices. You can add computers to your retro lifestyle for $50 to about $200. Most well equipped PCs seem to sell for about $139 as of this writing in 2011. Overall, the Tallahassee Goodwill circuit is truly phenomenal.

If you'd like a dose a quaint scenery and beautiful coastline with your quest for bargains and retro lifestyle treasure, you've got to head south. The Crawfordville, Florida, Goodwill is a typical small town Goodwill with a nice assortment of merchandise. But, the fun really starts when you get down to the scenic Gulf Coast road, U.S. 98. It's a long drive, but you'll find a nice Goodwill in Port St. Joe and several more in Panama City and Panama City Beach. We usually go across to the locations around Panama City Beach. There is one Goodwill across from the small navy base and there is a combination computer and bookstore a little further down 98. Finally, there is another thrift store further west on 98 in Santa Rosa, Florida.

The great thing about the Goodwill is that they have merchandise that appeals to everyone. With all of the computers, electronics, and cameras, a man can survive thrift store shopping with his wife. While my wife is perusing shoes and purses, I can plot the restoration of a thrift store telescope.

Of course, I didn't realize there were 23 stores to choose from until visiting the Goodwill of the Big Bend website. The website has addresses and map links. So, there won't be much time for daydreaming in the future, we'll have to get back on the road!

Sources:
Personal experience
Goodwill of the Big Bend Website: www.goodwillbigbend.com