I'm considering moving to the Orlando area. Can you please tell me more about the area's culture (pros/cons? (Miami: neighborhoods, college)

[cityseekingusa]

I'm looking at (Windermere/Winter Park). From anyone who lives in the general Orlando area... What does the culture feel like-- the mentality of the people. Good, bad, anything that you feel when you're at a restaurant, on the freeway, at work, etc.

Thanks

[bmw335xi]

Drivers are rude, aggressive and pretty bad. People are friendly though. Overall, I find people in Orlando to be friendly compared to other cities I've lived in, just not when they are driving lol.

Culture varies depending where in Orlando. You can find areas that are very liberal and very conservative and everything in between. Overall, if I had to generalize, I'd say it's slightly liberal. People are not that career driven in my opinion compared to where I've lived before such as San Francisco or Seattle. Careers isn't the focal point of most conversations from my experience here, which is actually refreshing to me. People tend to like new things and growth.

Overall, I really like it here, but it's spread out, so it makes a huge difference where in Orlando you choose to live.

[stablegenius]

I moved here 7 months ago. I like it. I don't love it, but I DO like it. There are things I would change. Like BMW said the drivers are rude, but I have noticed the peeps are much friendlier out here compared to California. The traffic is not as light as I'd have hoped for, but since they are working on the freeways, I expect to have some relief soon. it is definitely better than San Diego or probably anywhere in California for that matter. The heat hasn't bothered me too much, except for July and August when I was questioning my life choices. It's actually nice if you like to go out at night, because the nights are very warm. Other than that, there's just something missing and I can't quite put my finger on it. But overall it's not bad.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by garek007

I moved here 7 months ago. I like it. I don't love it, but I DO like it. There are things I would change. Like BMW said the drivers are rude, but I have noticed the peeps are much friendlier out here compared to California. The traffic is not as light as I'd have hoped for, but since they are working on the freeways, I expect to have some relief soon. it is definitely better than San Diego or probably anywhere in California for that matter. The heat hasn't bothered me too much, except for July and August when I was questioning my life choices. It's actually nice if you like to go out at night, because the nights are very warm. Other than that, there's just something missing and I can't quite put my finger on it. But overall it's not bad.

For me, it's coherence. The city is kind of all over the place. It doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. There don't seem to be any solid plans as to how it will grow, and this has been an ongoing issue for as long as I've lived here.

[masssachoicetts]

Its close to downtown which i guess is better than other areas. The area around is very expensive but super nice.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by garek007

I moved here 7 months ago. I like it. I don't love it, but I DO like it. There are things I would change. Like BMW said the drivers are rude, but I have noticed the peeps are much friendlier out here compared to California. The traffic is not as light as I'd have hoped for, but since they are working on the freeways, I expect to have some relief soon. it is definitely better than San Diego or probably anywhere in California for that matter. The heat hasn't bothered me too much, except for July and August when I was questioning my life choices. It's actually nice if you like to go out at night, because the nights are very warm. Other than that, there's just something missing and I can't quite put my finger on it. But overall it's not bad.

For me, the something missing feeling comes from the lack of a large urban core with large distinct neighborhoods to explore on foot. I just got back from Chicago yesterday and I always enjoy getting lost on foot, aimlessly walking down the streets for miles with constant things to see and people walking around, randomly coming across cool cafes or shops. With that being said, I also get a feeling of appreciation coming back to Orlando because I used to live in that kind of urban environment before and it gets tiring for me at least. I like being able to go from A to B with my car and have plenty of parking when I get there instead of having to walk long distances or be stuck in yucky public transportation. I've debated which would I rather live vs visit and I'm still set on living in an Orlando, Atlanta, Austin etc type environment and visiting an urban city when I get that itch.

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

For me, it's coherence. The city is kind of all over the place. It doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. There don't seem to be any solid plans as to how it will grow, and this has been an ongoing issue for as long as I've lived here.

Yeah that could be it.

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

For me, the something missing feeling comes from the lack of a large urban core with large distinct neighborhoods to explore on foot. I just got back from Chicago yesterday and I always enjoy getting lost on foot, aimlessly walking down the streets for miles with constant things to see and people walking around, randomly coming across cool cafes or shops. With that being said, I also get a feeling of appreciation coming back to Orlando because I used to live in that kind of urban environment before and it gets tiring for me at least. I like being able to go from A to B with my car and have plenty of parking when I get there instead of having to walk long distances or be stuck in yucky public transportation. I've debated which would I rather live vs visit and I'm still set on living in an Orlando, Atlanta, Austin etc type environment and visiting an urban city when I get that itch.

Yeah I get that. I was in Miami recently and I love the vibe, but I'd never want to live there. The traffic is horrendous. I felt like everywhere we went we had to add 20 minutes more than you'd normally need. And I felt like we spent half the weekend sitting in traffic. It's a double edged sword because I think all the things you described wanting are nice, but then we'd be a big busy city again and I moved to get away from that. I still feel like the issue of "what's missing" could be fixed without just adding more people. Maybe I just miss mountains. I do like that parking is almost always easy (except near Church street) and I find plenty of cool cafes and shops near BP, Mills/Virginia and downtown. I went to some of the speakeasys for the first time a couple weeks ago. Downtown has a cool vibe, but wish there was just a bit more going on.

All of this is good though, because if Orlando continues to grow, I'll be here right when it starts to get really good, then I'll leave once it gets too crowded.

[Arcenal813]

Even Miami lacks what I think BMW is referring to. I grew up in Montreal, and like many other more densely populated cities, the urban core was massive, with many distinct neighborhoods one could explore on foot. Downtown Miami isn't particularly big IMO. It has lots of tall buildings, but really, aside from Brickell, there isn't much in terms of walkability.

[firmbizzle]

Everybody is from someplace else. It's like the first year of college.