What is so great about living in/near Orlando? Who loves or hates it & WHY? (Jacksonville: environment)

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

Engineers baby...

[NYLATINQT]

I lived in Orlando for two years, and looking back, i have to admit, I think i gave up on it too quickly. but coming from NY, the culture shock was hard on me, plus i was there pretty much on my own as a single mom. It took six months to finally find a job but the pay was considerably more than the typical "slave" wages that people keep referring to. However, low paying jobs are the norm. I wanted to quit my job and knew that the options were quite limited. At the same time, real estate prices were totally inflated, hence the bubble that we have today.
Some of the things that I have read here are not true, based on my experiences living in Seminole County in Altamonte Springs. For one, everyone is not hispanic. Orlando is not Miami. I felt there was an even balance of ethnic/race groups. #2 I did not feel like there was alot of crime. I felt very safe, in fact, and i don't think i have my head stuck up in a cloud. #3 it is very laid back, which i loved, but the summers were really hot. It wasn't so much the heat but the humidity that drove me insane. But you can't beat the sunshine and the clear blue skies.
I live in Atlanta now and i have to say, if i had to do it all over again, i would have stayed in Orlando. Don't get me wrong, my #1 choice is still NYC, but if i can't go back to NY, then i'd choose Orlando over Atlanta.
If you want to move to Orlando, i'd say make sure you have the job thing squared away first. That was really one of the biggest drawbacks. But if you are self employed or in a high paying professional field, then you could have a good time living in Orlando.
P.S. the traffic is pretty bad, but Atlanta is worse!!!

[kinglouix]

I'll translate the prior 82 Emails written on this post. Orlando totally sucks in every way but if you work on your attitude you could learn to not let the fact that it sucks bother you. So move here and play a game called not letting the fact that it sucks bother you. I'd avoid that game and move somewhere else. Also I don't think playing that game worked to well for the 113 murder victims in Orlando last year. GEE, I can move to another Florida City with a beach and less crime than Orlando, (ORLANDO HAS THE HIGHEST PER CAPITA CRIME RATE IN THE STATE) or I can move to Orlando and see if I can adjust my attitude to pretend it's nice. You decide what works for you!!!

[JohnandCheryl]

I was born and raised in Orlando. When I was growing up everything was different. People worked for what they wanted, now they just steal it or will even kill for it. Anyone who tells you it's a great place to raise your family must be taking those Disney happy pills they give their employees. The place is a dump. Like David said, it is like a foreign country. You fill like you don't belong if you speak English. And they will let you know how they feel about you . The school system sucks. Customer service sucks. And don't forget that Florida is becoming the child pretator capital of the world. Just read the stories on the local news websites. The rental properties, if you can find any, are outragous. About 70% of the apartments went condo. I finally got out 1 year ago and I'll never go back. I like feeling like I'm living back in America. The people there have no morals and don't know how to raise their kids. Some people might get upset about what I'm saying but it's the truth. I was there for 42 years. I was raised with a strong hand and I raised my daughter the same way. She isn't out selling her body or stealing from anyone and has no thought to do so. She works hard at a restaurant that people come in abd treat her like crap and don't leave tips. I hope you peolpe see this and think about that the next time you eat out.

[bahamama]

Originally Posted by kinglouix

I'll translate the prior 82 Emails written on this post. Orlando totally sucks in every way but if you work on your attitude you could learn to not let the fact that it sucks bother you. So move here and play a game called not letting the fact that it sucks bother you. I'd avoid that game and move somewhere else. Also I don't think playing that game worked to well for the 113 murder victims in Orlando last year. GEE, I can move to another Florida City with a beach and less crime than Orlando, (ORLANDO HAS THE HIGHEST PER CAPITA CRIME RATE IN THE STATE) or I can move to Orlando and see if I can adjust my attitude to pretend it's nice. You decide what works for you!!!

What is the one thing about Orlando that you do you like?

[corneliusm]

I registered here a while back ago, but this is my first post. I figure it's about time to come out lurking and contribute something...

I've lived here for about 6 months, and so far I've enjoyed it. In fact, I like it so much that I'm currently looking to purchase a home around the Oviedo area (I already have a buyers agent).

Where I lived before (St. Louis), crime and traffic were worse than Orlando, so that wasn't a major concern- besides, every major city has had to deal with growing pains. Orlando's a relatively new city, and needs another few years of adjustment to deal with the sudden growth.

The city is expanding, no matter how you look at it. Unfortunately, when population increases, so does traffic and crime. I've lived in areas all over the midwest and east coast, and I understand what differentiates a stagnating or dying city from a growing city.

Speaking of which, there is a lot of growth and a growing economy. Those lacking a college degree might find it difficult to make ends meet, but the outlook for professionals is quite positive. I'm only in my mid 20s and I'm making enough to afford a $250k home (I'm an engineer, btw). There are tons of engineering jobs out here in East Orlando (near UCF), and I'm not just referring to the big companies like Siemens, Lockheed, etc. Also, there's a lot of biotech expansion going on- Lake Nona is about to become home to a new medical park, and there are other places putting up medical facilities (Celebration, and I'm sure there are others).

In short, if you're a professional who can afford to live in some really nice areas, it's a pretty good city. If you're barely making ends meet and looking for work, you're better off elsewhere.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I have lived about halfway in between Orlando and Daytona since 2001.

I moved here from Texas but I also used to live near Boston.

Things I don't like?

The crime in Orlando and Daytona is shocking considering I moved here from a town where many don't even bother to lock their doors.

The traffic is horrible especially when there is some event going on in Daytona.

What do I love?

I was watching the news just the other day and there was a picture of someone up North who had his snow blower out clearing his drive way. It was 80 degrees here.

I personally LOVE that and hate snow. I love the warm weather all year around, I don't need to have anymore change of season then I have here. I also love the close proximity to the beach and so many other places to go and see.

Florida isn't for everyone but I LOVE it here and I can't imagine living anywhere else unless its further south.

[AliceT]

I was there for 29 years. If it had blizzards and snow, I would have stayed.

I moved back to a 4-season state.

[OBATAIYE]

Originally Posted by krwhite333

Hi! I moved here from Atlanta, GA( Midtown area) 4 years ago. I will be happy to give you a little insight. Orlando is a very beautiful place to live. Every city has areas that need improvement or areas with lower incomes and Orlando does have pockets of those neighborhoods- Pine Hills, Parramore, South Orange Blossom Trail areas tend to be the areas I always heard about. I reside in the College Park area which is 5 minutes from Downtown Orlando and I own two investment properties in the Metrowest area. In and around downtown you will find brick paver streets, lakes, fountains, an ever changing skyline( granted the real estate market has slowed but that is nationwide and not specific to Orlando), a varied demographic ranging from college students to retirees. One thing I did have to get used to was the laid back pace in Florida. In Atlanta everything seemed to be rush, rush, rush. I would sit in traffic for hours. Living intown in Orlando you are not as subject to the traffic woes of the surrounding suburbs. Basically if you want a bigger house at a cheaper price then you will sit in traffic during a typical rush hour. If you choose to live intown in smaller square footage you will benefit from very little traffic other than Colonial/HWY 50 which is usually busiest during the holidays around the mall area and other "big box" retail such as Best Buy, etc. I love the diversity in Orlando. Coming from Atlanta it was refreshing to see all ethinicities represented fully. As a white male it was really nice to learn and experience more cultures than I had previously been exposed to in Atlanta. Orlando did experience a bit of a crime wave about a year ago but the city has taken it in stride and the crime particularly in Metrowest has subsided significantly. One thing I love about Orlando is that you can stay in your intown neighborhood or drive 20-30 mintues to Univeral Studios Citywalk or Downtown Disney and literally meet people from all over the world. Most people take those options for granted because they've been here forever. I on the otherhand understand the value of those amenities and utilize them. I hope this helped a bit. Also, you will find on all of these blogs that many of the same people post consisitently negative comments. Most of the time I write it off as if that's all they see then it may be their warped perception of life so take it all with a grain of salt. Anyone who's ever lived in a major metropolitan city( which I do not clasify Orlando as major metropolitan) understands that there as a cities grows and expands the horse and buggy traffic of yesteryear will be replaced with increased time in the car if you choose to live outside of the intown neighborhoods. Also with growth unfortunately you will encounter increases in crime simply because there's more people moving here...good and bad. I will say the job market is tough for some of my friends and there is a deficiency of white collar jobs however in time that too will change. Good luck and best wishes!

im from atlanta too..
i was thinking about Oviedo,FL...but ive been looking it up ATL is just home to me and im just gonna stay in Georgia

[starleah]

I love living in the Altamonte Springs area. I went to school here, and grew up here, and now I live here on my own. It's close to everything, I-4, entertainment, etc. I've lived in Apopka, Lake County, Ocoee, and North Carolina...but I've always wanted to move back here.