[Smudgers]

I moved to Lakeland From Maine (the town I moved from was maybe a population of 5,000) the town of Lakeland is less than 100,000 so smaller than Orlando and Tampa. It is about equal distance from either of these Cities. To get to the beach it can be from 1.5-2 hour drive depending on the traffic. Now as for Lakeland I have been here since early 2001 I work in the medical field. Yes there is Crime but much less than Tampa or Orlando, Yes there is People who are stupid and racist, thats something you find anyplace in any city. Yes there is illiteracy but thats something we can fix if someone is willing to learn.

What I love about Lakeland is big name bands do come here (especially the Christian bands) There is abundant churches and schools to choose from if you rather home school there is ways to do that too. Its a diverse city with much to offer. The Down town area is always clean and beautiful. I am not so sure about the planning as someone said for growth , I do know that its growing in leaps and bounds and they are improving roads all the time what used to be a two way street with one lane going each way is now 4 lanes or more. Housing is popping up all over. What is sad that many of the orange orchards are being taken away. I miss seeing the trees I wished the developers wouldn't clear cut an area but look at it and carve the home plots out of the area instead of imposing their plans.

As for the Schools I can't say I don't have kids but I do have friends with kids and most of them do home school.
anyways thats just the tip of the iceberg as to why I like Lakeland.

People are friendly
Crime is Low
Good economy for the most part.
Taxes are Low compared to other counties

[aaronda]

Originally Posted by Floridabound09

Every town has its own appeal, only you can be the ultimate judge of what you want in a town. I suggest you visit the town and spend a day or more there, we have done this and it really helped us add or eliminate towns on our list. Lakeland was one of those towns that was on our list we visited. You can get allot from just being there, talking to people, we went to the park, ate at a local restaurant, walked the town, went into communities, checked out the schools etc. We asked anyone we could find allot of questions.

What was the result of your visit to Lakeland? What likes or dislikes did you discover during your visit? We are going in September and plan to do the same...just check it out. We are in California and it is difficult being so far, you cant just take a weekend and drive over to look around. We have to make the most of the one day we have dedicated to the lakeland area. Any thoughts or comments positive or negative would be appreciated.

[roaring-rox]

hi aaronda,

I visited Lakeland yesterday (live 35 miles away).

Jimbos is still around.

I was driving around Lake Morton and besides the masses of swans, there were these beautiful egrets or herons standing around. There is a lot of natural beauty in Lakeland and old historic buildings being renovated.

The only thing I am looking for is a serious 'foodie scene' to start there where the restaurants really innovate. That's me, it may be fine for someone else.

[alisch]

I do not feel the same way as many about Lakeland either. My experience has not been great. We moved here four years ago just before then market boomed here and got a great deal on our house. There are 3 very different areas of Lakeland. The south side the north side and the in the middle with downtown. We are on the north side. There is a lot of racism here. There are also a ton of homeless in the area since they were all driven out of Tampa years back. In our neighborhood my car has been broken into twice and all the houses in the area were egged a few eeks back. There is a sheriff that lives a few houses down and his patrol car was egged!! How bold is that!!! Anyway, that has just been my experience. We have met people here that love it and then we have met people that hate it. That's how it is everywhere. We are currently looking to move out of state.
Ali

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Smudgers

Crime is Low

Crime in Lakeland by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Murders 2 1 4 3 5 3 6
per 100,000 2.7 1.3 5.0 3.7 5.7 3.3 6.6
Rapes 42 48 59 44 39 31 26
per 100,000 55.9 60.4 73.3 53.6 44.4 34.5 28.8
Robberies 233 136 248 250 215 162 140
per 100,000 309.9 171.0 308.1 304.7 245.0 180.4 155.0
Assaults 312 262 270 368 257 217 265
per 100,000 415.0 329.5 335.5 448.6 292.9 241.6 293.3
Burglaries 1,260 1,246 1,326 1,018 954 1,084 912
per 100,000 1676.1 1567.1 1647.5 1240.9 1087.2 1207.0 1009.4
Thefts 4,472 3,983 3,899 3,332 3,844 3,774 3,755
per 100,000 5948.8 5009.4 4844.4 4061.5 4380.5 4202.1 4156.0
Auto thefts 477 326 497 345 367 328 378
per 100,000 634.5 410.0 617.5 420.5 418.2 365.2 418.4
Arson 16 17 11 16 13 0 12
per 100,000 21.3 21.4 13.7 19.5 14.8 0.0 13.3
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 325.2) 632.0 510.9 586.6 514.3 463.8 418.5 411.8

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by alisch

I do not feel the same way as many about Lakeland either. My experience has not been great. We moved here four years ago just before then market boomed here and got a great deal on our house. There are 3 very different areas of Lakeland. The south side the north side and the in the middle with downtown. We are on the north side. There is a lot of racism here. There are also a ton of homeless in the area since they were all driven out of Tampa years back. In our neighborhood my car has been broken into twice and all the houses in the area were egged a few eeks back. There is a sheriff that lives a few houses down and his patrol car was egged!! How bold is that!!! Anyway, that has just been my experience. We have met people here that love it and then we have met people that hate it. That's how it is everywhere. We are currently looking to move out of state.
Ali

I am sorry to hear about your experiences - I had the same type experiences in Sarasota, another town people here love. It really does depend where in a town one lives, and I can easily see that north Lakeland is where the majority of crime occurs - I have checked the crime maps for months. Downtown and southside are like another world, IMO.

Good luck in your new state.

[aaronda]

Originally Posted by alisch

I do not feel the same way as many about Lakeland either. My experience has not been great. We moved here four years ago just before then market boomed here and got a great deal on our house. There are 3 very different areas of Lakeland. The south side the north side and the in the middle with downtown. We are on the north side. There is a lot of racism here. There are also a ton of homeless in the area since they were all driven out of Tampa years back. In our neighborhood my car has been broken into twice and all the houses in the area were egged a few eeks back. There is a sheriff that lives a few houses down and his patrol car was egged!! How bold is that!!! Anyway, that has just been my experience. We have met people here that love it and then we have met people that hate it. That's how it is everywhere. We are currently looking to move out of state.
Ali

If you were asked to list the things you do like about your four years in Lakeland, what would those be? Where did you move from and why? Where are you considering moving to? Sorry, twenty questions...just interested in your opinion after being in the area four years and already wanting to leave... thanks for any info

[aaronda]

Originally Posted by roaring-rox

hi aaronda,

I visited Lakeland yesterday (live 35 miles away).

Jimbos is still around.

I was driving around Lake Morton and besides the masses of swans, there were these beautiful egrets or herons standing around. There is a lot of natural beauty in Lakeland and old historic buildings being renovated.

The only thing I am looking for is a serious 'foodie scene' to start there where the restaurants really innovate. That's me, it may be fine for someone else.

Thanks for the thoughts...I am surprised to hear that Jimbos is still around, be interesting to know if they still do the bowl of pickles? Ha Funny what bits and pieces you sometimes remember about things...I really hated those pickles and that was all you got for an appetizer..lol Sure cant wait to go and visit the area in Sept. I may just give those pickles a chance!!

[aaronda]

Originally Posted by fort lauderdale

Crime in Lakeland by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Murders 2 1 4 3 5 3 6
per 100,000 2.7 1.3 5.0 3.7 5.7 3.3 6.6
Rapes 42 48 59 44 39 31 26
per 100,000 55.9 60.4 73.3 53.6 44.4 34.5 28.8
Robberies 233 136 248 250 215 162 140
per 100,000 309.9 171.0 308.1 304.7 245.0 180.4 155.0
Assaults 312 262 270 368 257 217 265
per 100,000 415.0 329.5 335.5 448.6 292.9 241.6 293.3
Burglaries 1,260 1,246 1,326 1,018 954 1,084 912
per 100,000 1676.1 1567.1 1647.5 1240.9 1087.2 1207.0 1009.4
Thefts 4,472 3,983 3,899 3,332 3,844 3,774 3,755
per 100,000 5948.8 5009.4 4844.4 4061.5 4380.5 4202.1 4156.0
Auto thefts 477 326 497 345 367 328 378
per 100,000 634.5 410.0 617.5 420.5 418.2 365.2 418.4
Arson 16 17 11 16 13 0 12
per 100,000 21.3 21.4 13.7 19.5 14.8 0.0 13.3
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 325.2) 632.0 510.9 586.6 514.3 463.8 418.5 411.8

I read on some website that the crime in Lakeland area was bad...I did a comparison to NYC and LA and it was higher than both!!! Actually it may have been Orlando that was compared...but either way, what is the deal??? What is going on with all the thefts??? Is there major issues causing this, it just doesnt seem possible to have such a high rate in a small area like Lakeland as opposed to New York City or Los Angeles??? Wow I just cant hardly get past that issue.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by aaronda

I read on some website that the crime in Lakeland area was bad...I did a comparison to NYC and LA and it was higher than both!!! Actually it may have been Orlando that was compared...but either way, what is the deal??? What is going on with all the thefts??? Is there major issues causing this, it just doesnt seem possible to have such a high rate in a small area like Lakeland as opposed to New York City or Los Angeles??? Wow I just cant hardly get past that issue.

Proportionally, you are likely to find a far worse neighborhood in New York or LA, but statistically, counting the entire city, New York actually has a crime rate below the national average, and LA only slightly above. Doesn't mean the whole city is safe, because those are HUGE cities. But like I said, they are HUGE, Lakeland is a podunk town compared to those 2 cities, and a large amount of crimes are committed there due to their size, so in that locality, you are more likely to get robbed.