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Old 03-14-2013, 04:41 PM
 
146 posts, read 219,288 times
Reputation: 371

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Let me start by saying I am a mid 20s male, currently live in Orlando (Winter Park area). Been here for a few years now. Though I can't say I absolutely loathe this place just yet, the culture vacuum is starting to get me to that point. Also, I've been dying to live in a coastal metro area for a long time, and Orlando is pretty landlocked. I've explored much of the city and it's suburbs in the last 2 years, and there's really nothing here that inspires me.

I have visited WPB, but only the downtown area, which I liked. But we all know living downtown isnt always easy to pull off, so living in the outlying areas is really where I'd reside- kinda like my situation now, residing in Winter Park, just outside of (in my opinion) the pretty lame downtown Orlando.

My problem with Orlando isnt so much the traffic or the people- it's the depressing aesthetic that takes up so much of the city, leaving the nice areas in tiny pockets that don't really make up for the crappy stretches. And don't get me started on Disney. Worst.

So my question is- would I be in for more of the same in WPB? I have this idea that if it has a beach that automatically makes it better, but I'm sure that's gonna be easily debunked haha. What I want in a city is NOT a setup like Orlando, where you can walk two feet from a nice area and all of a sudden find yourself on a stretch of pawn shops and Cash 4 Gold spinners. I know Florida well and know it's not a glamorous state by a long shot. But I do think Florida can do better than Orlando. Miami is cool I guess, but the only places I'd live in are places I couldn't afford. I have researched PBC and I can afford it.

 
Old 03-14-2013, 07:34 PM
 
Location: Palm Beach, FL & Napa, CA
2,093 posts, read 5,573,262 times
Reputation: 1005
Are you moving with a job lined up? I suggest before you even address anything else that you have one lined up, because the market here is not the greatest and salaries do not often pay a great live-able wage to afford the rents.

The things you dislike about Orlando are here as well, maybe not as touristy in terms of the theme parks but cash 4 gold, check cashing places and etc are here as well in select areas. You won't see this in the affluent areas nor do you see this type of stuff in downtown WPB near the nice parts, but travel down Dixie Hwy, Military Trail or Lake Worth Road near 95 and it's full of this.

Regardless make sure you have a job lined up first, the cost of living here is higher than Orlando.
 
Old 03-14-2013, 09:10 PM
 
146 posts, read 219,288 times
Reputation: 371
Quote:
Originally Posted by THX 1138 View Post
Are you moving with a job lined up? I suggest before you even address anything else that you have one lined up, because the market here is not the greatest and salaries do not often pay a great live-able wage to afford the rents.

The things you dislike about Orlando are here as well, maybe not as touristy in terms of the theme parks but cash 4 gold, check cashing places and etc are here as well in select areas. You won't see this in the affluent areas nor do you see this type of stuff in downtown WPB near the nice parts, but travel down Dixie Hwy, Military Trail or Lake Worth Road near 95 and it's full of this.

Regardless make sure you have a job lined up first, the cost of living here is higher than Orlando.
Yeah, I have a few opportunities in the can if I choose to go down. That's not an issue.

How do you compare West Palm with Orlando, personally? There is a big lack of creativity here in Central Florida which bugs me. I was wondering if the West Palm area is any different culturally from Orlando. If it's really just Orlando with a beach then I really don't care to move.

Obviously I'm not expecting Miami Beach, but you get what I mean. Thanks for the response btw!

Last edited by MCOWPB; 03-14-2013 at 09:44 PM..
 
Old 03-15-2013, 08:04 PM
 
Location: Palm Beach, FL & Napa, CA
2,093 posts, read 5,573,262 times
Reputation: 1005
It's different here, different weather, landscape and vibe. Downtown WPB is sized right, easy to get around and not too nuts to make it unattractive to visit. There is enough to do downtown and the beach is just a short bike ride or drive away.

I know what you mean about Orlando and the way it looks, I visit there occasionally and can't wait to get back to PB County...I also hate driving there and the road designs compared to here.
 
Old 03-15-2013, 11:37 PM
 
146 posts, read 219,288 times
Reputation: 371
That's the sense I got when I was down there. Sigh. The temptation to move is too great, I may just have to do it. Thanks for the info. Anyone else, please feel free to chime in.
 
Old 03-17-2013, 04:24 PM
 
5,390 posts, read 9,628,769 times
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dude, as a fellow mid twenty-something male living in southern PBC I can tell u that WPB and palm beach county in general is not all that amazing. Yes, the beaches are nice. I'll give u that. Yes, there are a few cool/chill areas to hang out, but I'm afraid just like in Orlando that after 2 years you'll be like "ehhhh."

West Palm Beach is OK in the downtown area, as u saw, but outside of WPB the surrounding areas are pretty bland and kinda boring. Wellington, Atlantis, Lake Worth, etc are really nothing to write home about.

I think you'd like Delray beach tho, they have a cool downtown area with lots of bars, restaurants, lounges, clubs, and an awesome beach! Beautifully landscaped and definite a tropical vibe.

Boca Raton may also be a consideraton for you too. FAU, Lynn, Palm Beach State college are all located there, giving the city a youthful vibe... Plenty to do in Boca, nice beaches, good shopping, nicely landscaped sub-divisions outside of that stuff... Pretty close to Delray, but also close to fort lauderdale...and Miami for that matter. .

South FLA def has more of a tropical Latin vibe over Orlando and I think generally speaking it is more beautiful than Orlando, both naturally....and physically speaking like the buildings.

However, it's still Florida so there will still be large areas of just ugly crap too...u know the deal pawn shops, cash4gold, gun shops, crap strip-malls, etc...

Take a trip down and check it out tho. See for yourself.
 
Old 03-18-2013, 12:11 AM
 
Location: South Korea
5,242 posts, read 13,030,842 times
Reputation: 2957
I grew up in PBC and lived for about a year in Winter Park after college. I liked Orlando, it's a bit dull but it has a good amount of funkiness. The main thing it had for me over PBC is a healthy amount of young people, so there's a lot of bars and clubs and stuff--downtown Orlando's nightclub scene (10 years ago anyway) was a lot more fun than anything in PBC. And Winter Park was a pretty nice place to live. Also the Orlando area is older and slightly denser so it has a lot of architectural charm that PBC doesn't have--PBC has some old buildings but mainly it's stucco stuff built in the last 30 years--Orlando is similar but has a pretty big stock of old school houses and buildings. Demographically PBC is more centered around old people, middle aged folks with kids, and rich people, and there's definitely a lot of poverty scattered about.

So anyway as a mid-20's person, if you just really don't like Orlando, I'd look at Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, or just consider getting out of Florida and moving to another state. By all means spend a weekend in PBC, it's a nice place to visit but while you're there think hard about whether you'd really want to live there long-term.
 
Old 03-18-2013, 05:30 PM
 
146 posts, read 219,288 times
Reputation: 371
Thanks so much for the information, guys. Very helpful.
 
Old 03-19-2013, 08:24 PM
 
Location: Palm Beach, FL & Napa, CA
2,093 posts, read 5,573,262 times
Reputation: 1005
Quote:
Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69 View Post
dude, as a fellow mid twenty-something male living in southern PBC I can tell u that WPB and palm beach county in general is not all that amazing. Yes, the beaches are nice. I'll give u that. Yes, there are a few cool/chill areas to hang out, but I'm afraid just like in Orlando that after 2 years you'll be like "ehhhh."

West Palm Beach is OK in the downtown area, as u saw, but outside of WPB the surrounding areas are pretty bland and kinda boring. Wellington, Atlantis, Lake Worth, etc are really nothing to write home about.

I think you'd like Delray beach tho, they have a cool downtown area with lots of bars, restaurants, lounges, clubs, and an awesome beach! Beautifully landscaped and definite a tropical vibe.

Boca Raton may also be a consideraton for you too. FAU, Lynn, Palm Beach State college are all located there, giving the city a youthful vibe... Plenty to do in Boca, nice beaches, good shopping, nicely landscaped sub-divisions outside of that stuff... Pretty close to Delray, but also close to fort lauderdale...and Miami for that matter. .

South FLA def has more of a tropical Latin vibe over Orlando and I think generally speaking it is more beautiful than Orlando, both naturally....and physically speaking like the buildings.

However, it's still Florida so there will still be large areas of just ugly crap too...u know the deal pawn shops, cash4gold, gun shops, crap strip-malls, etc...

Take a trip down and check it out tho. See for yourself.
You pretty much described Broward and Miami-Dade, filled with deprived ghetto ridden areas, strip malls which become very seedy near Commercial Blvd in Pompano, into Lauderhill and 441 near the Casino. All of that "crap" you describe flows into Boca quite often just read the news.

Also you described Delray as being some utopia of lush tropical landscaping and all the bars and restaurants, obviously you don't know the area and haven't driven off Atlantic Avenue or US1 very often. Delray has plenty of the trashy ghetto poverty stricken areas.

Personally if I was a 20 something, I wouldn't care about landscaped subdivisions and good shopping which is also available all over the county, that's for someone who wants to start a family or enjoys life in the burbs. I would choose to live in downtown WPB, aside from Atlantic Ave, which get's old real fast....Delray is full of crabby old people, many who hang out at bagel shops. When the Atlantic Ave novelty grows old and trust me it will, there isn't much else going for it. It's not city life like downtown WPB with lot more options and a nicer waterfront and easy access to PBIA. I for one do not enjoy driving to Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale Airport, even if I lived in Boca it would still suck.
 
Old 03-20-2013, 03:49 PM
 
1,111 posts, read 1,725,955 times
Reputation: 725
Yeah South Florida is "unique" in many ways. Doesn't have a lot of history, and the culture is a hodge podge from every other part of the country. It is only 60 years old basically. The difference that is shocking to folks from the crowded NE areas is that when development began SF had LOTS of space. So everything kinda grew haphazardly, all sprawled out instead of up(the reason you see no three story homes and cozy neighborhoods.), being confined by hills and valley's.

There was no planning in the early days, just build it and the retiree's will come. That has changed a lot. The retiree's are not moving down here like they did in the 70's-80's. Some moved here and then set about trying to make it like the place they come from, rather than excepting the area for what it is, and adjusting to it's pluses and minuses. After all we do have great weather most of the year, and we don't shovel our rain.

To put it very bluntly, you either adapt and love it, or you write hate south fla posts on City-Data.

Last edited by gregm; 03-20-2013 at 03:51 PM.. Reason: Dang, it's City not Citi...>>>running off embarassed
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