What's become of Orlando (Mayo: real estate, apartments, condos)

[Jala88]

[b]Need some advice. I lived in the Orlando Area for 15 years up until 2004, last residence in the 32828 ( Avalon ) area, then relocated to NC for the past 6 yrs. My husband has a steady job here, but is considering relocating back to Florida to work for the company he left back in 2004. My concern is all the garbage that I have been hearing/reading about the crime ect, but some threads are outdated and wanted to hear if things have changed for the better and to see if I can get some more opinions on the area. I'm really unsure if it's a wise decision to come back to FL or to stay here in NC.
Thanks

[Wilshire81182]

Orlando had a couple rougher years in 2006-2007. The past couple years have been better except real estate and the stagnant economy that is impacting a lot of the US. There are great new places opening and new restaurants opening all over and a lot of places are classing up a bit. The fun events and weather are still here so it is a great place. I would much rather live here than NC but that is just my preference.

[GLS2010]

Crime wise Orlando isn't any different from how it was in 2004. Crime spiked around 2007 when Orlando was growing out of control but crime has gone way down these last two years. The Avalon area is pretty much the same, it's just more built up and has much more people. The metro as a whole has gotten a lot better since 2004 in my opinion. Downtown is much nicer, we have a new areana about to open in October, the 408 has been completely remodled into a very nice, modern and much wider highway, the medical and technology industries have grown a lot and are still growing, many new shops and resturants have been built, UCF has grown into the largest university in FL, the 3rd largest in the US, and we are about to get high speed and commuter rail.

[**NoodLes**]

Same old boring city as when you left. Hot ass April weather already, it's in the lower 80's, feels like lower 90's. Still have the poorly planned roads, plans for more toll roads, and low paying jobs and the great "diversification". And the crappiest people in the country all flock here for some reason.

[beckycat]

Once again, there are good areas and bad areas here. I know you said your hubby may go back to his old job, but is that the only reason? You have to weigh out the pros and the cons otherwise. Do you really like NC? Do you have kids? If so, how old are they?

BTW, Where are you in NC? Why did you move there in the first place? Try to remeber all of the reasons. This may help your decision.

[**NoodLes**]

Remember, everything is flat, hot, and sticky here. I'm pretty sure NC at least has some hills or mountains where you live. It's very dull here.

[GLS2010]

Originally Posted by **NoodLes**

Same old boring city as when you left. Hot ass April weather already, it's in the lower 80's, feels like lower 90's. Still have the poorly planned roads, plans for more toll roads, and low paying jobs and the great "diversification". And the crappiest people in the country all flock here for some reason.

who are you trying to fool? We have been having great weather everyday so far this April. Not a drop of rain, blue skies, day time temps in the upper 70s and 80s with very low humidity (so it does not feel any hotter than what it is, the warm weather feels great) and night time temps in the 60s and 50s. spring is my favorite time of year weather wise, it's always sunny dry and it rarely rains.

If you your a cold weather person and can't handle temps in the 70s and 80s (same temps that are in NC right now) then why are you living In FL? Doesn't make sense dude.

I just checked the weather for Orlando right now (1:32pm) and it's 78 F with 53% humidity, heat index 80. And if you didn't know, humidity drops as temps rise so if it does hit 83 today like the forecast says then the feel like temp will prolly be the same if not lower.

[shir2010]

I don't care about humidity, I love Orlando....one day I'll get back there...I swear!!!!

[Crane's Rooster]

I came back to Orlando around the same time you left. In my observation the biggest changes, for better or worse, are:

More crowded. I don't believe the population grew much over this time period, it may have actually shrank, but for some reason it's just much busier and crowded now just about everywhere I go. I have a theory though that it just seems this way because many new developments sprang up in the burbs but the resources remain in the core of the area. Therefore more people are coming to the same places to get what they need.

More Blue. Orange county in particular seems to have become much more Democratic and liberal between the 04 elections and now.

More sophisticated. I know I will be getting some comments for this one. I'm not saying we are high brow city yet but my feeling initially coming home was that we were getting too big too fast and did not know how to handle our new found fortune. It seemed like we were happy to have anything new or trendy (remember the whole Club Paris fiasco?) It seems now that the green has worn off. We seem to take things more in stride now and have regained some of our skepticism. It takes a whole more to impress us nowadays than b list celebs and washed up money laundering boy band moguls. People have regained some of their senses and gone back to demanding more substance.

Downtown is much more vibrant and established now. When I first came home I think many people feared that the new development and population of downtown was just a trend or passing fad. Well 6 years later it has only gotten better and all indications point to it being a permanent change.

Politics is more political. I know it sounds confusing but the old guard is gone. Central FL seems to be full of politicians now that really know how to play hard ball and basically politic there desires into reality. It happens in both parties. John Mica brought SunRail back from the dead 2 times. Mayor Dyer and Crotty strong armed the passage of the Arena and Performing arts centers. The Demming family is in charge of just about every person carrying a gun and badge in Orange County. John Hitt, relying on his political allies, turned UCF from a local school into a the 5th largest university in the nation and added a Med School. Alan Grayson paid his own way into Congress and made some very memorable remarks.

The empty homes waiting to be bought in 2004 are now waiting to be returned to the banks.

There's no such thing as rush hour anymore, just bad traffic and worse traffic.

Condos are back to being apartments.

And finally, the Magic are consistent contenders instead of constantly "rebuilding."

I'm sure there's more helpful information but this is what stands out to me.

[just another guy]

The avalon area has boomed, and traffic is HORRIBLE. The time to get from waterford chase and avalon blvd to the 408 can be 30 minutes during the "going to work/school" or "leaving work/school" time periods.