Orlando or Charlotte? (Port Charlotte: relocate, property taxes, homeowners insurance)

[jadesmom]

My Husband has a chance to relocate with his company. They gave him two areas.. Charlotte or Orlando. We have a month to decide. We are from Green Bay,Wis. We don't have any kids yet and we are middle class people. Please if anyone knows these areas.. give me your opinion. Thanks

[compelled to reply]

As a whole, I would say Charlotte.

-Both are "brand new" sunbelt type cities that don't have the culture or character of more established cities.
-Charlotte has traffic. Orlando has gridlock.
-Charlotte has a neat and tidy downtown (or is it uptown?). Orlando's downtown is meh.
-Schools are hit and miss both places (however there are good ones in both), but NC generally sets the bar higher.
-Florida has high property taxes and homeowners insurance. North Carolina taxes your income and your car for ownership.
-Their metro crime rates are similar: high. However both have their safe areas.
-Orlando has brilliantly clean air. Charlotte is one of the most polluted cities in the country.
-Orlando has overpriced, depreciating homes. Charlotte has reasonably priced, appreciating homes.
-Orlando is very diverse for a city of it's size (no, it's not all Puerto Ricans). Charlotte is mostly black or white.
-Both are transient cities where everyone is from somewhere else, however Charlotte is not nearly as transient at Orlando.
-Orlando has a subtropical climate. Charlotte has four relatively mild seasons (well summer is anything but mild there, just like FL, but it ends quicker).
-Charlotte has very friendly people. Orlando tends to be aggressive however making friends is not difficult.

I think the two cities are actually more similar than different, but IMO the edge is on Charlotte.

[Crane's Rooster]

Charlotte is a small almost rural community. Orlando is major metropolitan. Depending on which type of area your most comfortable with, that's should be your deciding factor. Besides being in the same state, these two areas are nothing alike.

[compelled to reply]

I think that you are confusing Charlotte, NC with Charlotte County in FL . Charlotte is not that much smaller than Orlando and is the destination of malcontents from all over the country looking for a city to solve their problems instead of themselves. However I still think Charlotte is a better place to live than Orlando, just not some kind of panacea.

[krock67]

I lived in Charlotte for about a year and have been in Orlando for about six months. My family and I love Orlando. There is so much more to see and do here than in Charlotte. While living in the Queen City (Charlotte) we had zero visitors. Since we move to Orlando, we have been entertaining family and/or friends at least once a month. The only real advantage, in my opinion, Charlotte has over Orlando is the cost of housing. However, housing prices in Florida are starting to fall back to earth after all the irrational speculation.

[Crane's Rooster]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

I think that you are confusing Charlotte, NC with Charlotte County in FL . Charlotte is not that much smaller than Orlando and is the destination of malcontents from all over the country looking for a city to solve their problems instead of themselves. However I still think Charlotte is a better place to live than Orlando, just not some kind of panacea.

Wow your right! My bad, I grew up in Southwest Florida so anytime anyone says Charlotte, I think of Port Charlotte or Charlotte County. To the OP, disregard my comment. Thanks Compelled, I completely missed that.

[nineinches]

Hi,

Orlando boring town...very humid May thru October..Man made lakes are a breeding ground for insects...I-4 very, very dangerous....I call it Die-4..!!!

So my opinion go to other city..Trust me..!!!

I remain A humble person,

Nineinches..!!!!!!!!!!!

[Silence Dogood]

Charlotte, Orlando really is a dump and in Charlotte you can drive to beatiful mountains, Raleigh DC and other areas. Fuel costs are going up in Orlando you are stuck in the middle of nowhere. Orlando worse crime traffic, zero downtown. Orlando is in no way a city just strip malls and cookie cutter houses. I have friends in Charlotte who love it. Everyone I know in Orlando can't wait to get out of here. I am here for my job so my opinion is not tied to trying to defend a decision I made to move to Orlando. Beware of people distorting ORlando who are not in that category but don't want to admit the truth. Also if you are from Wisconsin, you will value the pluses of springs and fall and the Charlotte winters will be nothing compared to what you are used to. Take the worst five hottest and most humid days in Wisconsin and imagine having them 225 days a year.

[ORLguy]

I hated Charlotte. Honestly, it's not that great at all. If was going to leave Orlando, I would move out West to San Diego. I don't think living in Charlotte would be fun at all.

It is a lot more rural, and is a good investment now for living. That being said, they said the same thing about Orlando 5 years ago.

[blueoktober]

Orlando's downtown is "meh"? Yet another person that only knows of Downtown what they see when they drive by it on I-4. A "Zero downtown"? lol.
Any anyone that cries about how "hot and humid" Orlando is shouldn't be taken very seriously. If they studied geography in school they would know the difference between geographical regions. I also suppose only Fuel Prices go up in Orlando and not everywhere else...

As you can see by these replies, people love to breed and spread negativity without really have knowledge of what they're talking about. Come visit both cites, just make sure when you do that you send some time outside of Disney and all the suburban hell Orlando has to offer. There are many wonderful places to live here....and no we don't have the mountains. Instead we almost always have sunny weather, beautiful beaches, and non stop things to do.