does anybody actually like orlando? (Pine Hills, Altamonte Springs: property taxes, insurance, gated)

[kastika]

so this forum has severely scared me about coming to orlando.

i want to hear more. i want to hear negatives. i want to hear positives (please, please, please give me some positives). does anybody actually like it there? anybody at all?

[gimme5]

I LOVE Orlando. The weather (except summer), the lakes, the proximity of the beaches, the amusement parks, the (mostly) friendly people. What's not to love? Crime? Yeah, there's crime in some areas, but it's not that bad.

[paedda]

Man, my wife and I love Orlando too!
Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Downtown... fun fun fun
Who doesn't love Orlando? The only downside for
me is that I would like to be closer to the beach (Kiteboarder)!

Oh, and I forgot: curvy roads!!!

[OC2OC]

We do. Lots to do, shop, see. Proximity to the beach, nice green landscapes, good neighbors and neighborhoods, sometimes the small town feel. It's civilized, has many people from all over the world, MCO airport takes you anywhere. Is there a bad side of all of this? Of course. You've read them all. Should you be scared? It depends on you.

[bdpop]

Orlando can be a nice place. All I would say is to make sure you have a job prior to moving here. That is the mistake I made.

[backtofla]

i dont like orlando, but there are enough ppl posting above that do, so i'll give you a different perspective.

the summer heat, although bad, isnt much worse than other parts of the southeast. it just stays hot longer.

the parks - heh. their fun about once a yr. certainly no reason to move here though.

friendly ppl? i had to chuckle at this one a bit. i think orlando has the rudest ppl i've ever seen --- especially while driving. they are idiots, many of 'em.

small town feel? not in my opinion. ppl are rude, lous, and sometimes obnoxious. crime, road rage, etc... i must be missing something. even many of my neighbors are rude, and i live in a nice subdivision.

sorry for the negative aspects of orlando. but you should be informed. we have friends that moved here from charlotte, nc. which is a bigger town... and they said this place is filled with rude ppl, and everyone seems angry. charlotte has more ppl and seems to be a much friendlier and happier place.

[pianogal]

Orlando can be a great place to live. There are thousands upon thousands of people who love living in O-town and never post on this board. Most people who post here found it by researching other places to live. If they had been happy here, then they would be out living their lives, not looking elsewhere. That's the reason for the preponderance of negativity on this board.

I have been very blessed living in Orlando. I have made wonderful supportive friends, DH and I have great jobs, we have extended family here, a lovely home, loving church family and all that Orlando has to offer within a 30 minute drive of our doorstep.

I'm not saying it is perfect.

There are traffic issues (new roads are being built and old ones redone constantly, but they can't keep up with the growth)

The schools don't all have the best reputation (but my son got a great education in the public schools here and was well prepared for college - passing all his college courses in computer science and math with mostly A's and nothing lower than a B)

And it has become somewhat of a financial challenge for anyone who has purchased a new home in the last 3 or 4 years due to the high increase in property taxes which is tied to the huge increase in home values. Those who stayed in the homes were protected by SOH and have not been so affected by this.

The other issue is the increase in Homeowner's Insurance after the 2004 hurricanes. I know ours increased from $700 to $1600 per year. Many on the coast are paying thousands.

We have seen a large influx of hispanics in the last several years. That doesn't bother me, but does seem to bother others for some reason.

We have seen an increase in crime - HOWEVER, if you are local and watch the locations - you will note that the vast majority of violent crimes happen in the same areas - Parramore and Pine Hills.

That's my answer in a nutshell - both the positive and the negatives.

[backtofla]

i'm glad you like it here, pianogal.

[Prichard]

I like living in Orlando (actually Greator Orlando) for reasons that are too many to list, but not that different than most people who live here.

Orlando is not a laid-back "take-it-easy" retirement village. But, it's not New York or L.A. either. It is a city of workers, budding businesses, large companies, and abundant professionals. If you want to compare it to a larger city, it's probably more like Atlanta.

Greator Orlando is a huge area. I think that I can say with about 90% accuracy that anyone who "thinks" they have visited Greator Orlando, has not visited Greator Orlando. You will not, can not, understand the many many areas that make up Greator Orlando until you have lived here for perhaps 5 years or so.

Here's my assessment of most people who have "visited" Greator Orlando and try to describe it to others:

1) The Disney Tourist - this is 90% of the people who come to Orlando for the first, second, and third times. They think Disney World is downtown Orlando. They are shocked to find out that Disney is nowhere near downtown Orlando. They get shuttled from the airport to the vast Disney grounds, and venture outside of Disney to see the rest of "Orlando", such as Sea World and I-Drive.

2) Those who come to Orlando from other places on business. Most stay on I-Drive because of the Convention Center and the attractions. Some stay near Downtown. This group believes that Orlando is synonomous with a small stretch of I-4. To them, Greator Orlando is I-4.

3) UCF and Full-Sail students from out-of-town. To them Orlando is the area immediately around their schools, downtown (for the nightlife) and they know generally about where the theme parks are, though rarely go down there or know much about that. They also tend to think Orlando is more "ghetto" than it is, because well, they can't afford to live anywhere or go anywhere other than the areas that cater to them.

4) Then there are those people who moved here for business reasons and live in gated communities, commuting to Orlando, Altamonte, Maitland, or Winter Park for work. They know the small area they live in and the place they work, and tend to think of the rest of Orlando as being along whatever road (usually I-4) they take into work.

5) You also have a large number of silent locals (I'm obviously not so silent) that know Orlando like the back of their hand, so they think, until they happen upon an area that they had never been to, and suddenly they realize that Orlando has grown considerably since the 1960's.

Area-wise, Greator Orlando is not that much smaller than Greator Atlanta. The two downtowns are not comparable, obviously. Our buildings aren't as tall, and they are not all jumbled up in a small geographical area - more like spread out over the tourist district and Downtown. However, I can drive from the outskirts of South Greator Atlanta to North Greator Atlanta on I-75 and I-85 (either way) usually faster than I can get from the outskirts of one end of Greator Orlando to the other end. I-20 through Atlanta covers about the same area as does the 408 and part of the Turnpike.

So, you newbies who have been through a part of Orlando on a visit, or even have moved here and think you know Orlando, might need to get out and about a little more, because I can tell you, that I am still discovering areas in Greator Orlando that I had never been to.

[pianogal]

Prichard, as usual you are right on. I have been taking my mother in law around the area to look for a new car this week. She has lived in Orlando since 1947 when she moved here as a bride with her new husband. It has been years since she's driven on I 4 much less any of the toll roads around. She drives to church, the grocery store, pharmacy, and walmart. That's about it....and she's learned all the back roads to take to miss the traffic.

She was astonished at how large and spread out Orlando has become as we traveled to car dealerships from Altamonte Springs/Apopka to West 50 to South OBT. She commented on how she has no idea where she is anymore because all the familiar landmarks are gone.