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Once again you know very little about Orlando and are making assumptions, the fact that you are comparing Orlando's medical industry to "Burger King" is frankly sickening and tone deaf.. Orlando is home to Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) which is one of the largest Level 1 Trauma Centers in the south and served as the primary trauma center during the Pulse nightclub tragedy in 2016.. Orlando is known regionally as a hub for quality medical care and medical innovation, patients in need of critical care are often transported from all across the state to Orlando for the most advanced medical treatments.. The Orlando Medical City in Lake Nona is home to the following world-class hospitals and research facilities:
University of Central Florida Health Sciences Campus
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
VA Medical Center
Nemours Children’s Hospital
University of Florida Academic & Research Center MD Anderson Orlando Cancer Research Institute
..
Since you said you lived in Houston before, MD Anderson IS from Houston.
Like Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville is from Rochester, Minneapolis.
Like many “world class” medical facilities, restaurants and such, many things in Florida aren’t originally from Florida. The innovation, ideas, operations, inventions, brainstorming….all came from somewhere else first.
Meanwhile the medical facilities in Houston are locally “grown” so to speak: Memorial Hermann, Houston Methodist, Baylor, MD Anderson (possibly the best cancer treatment in the world.), Texas’ Children’s Hospital (the largest children’s hospital in the U.S; ranks No.2 in the nation by U.S News & World Report 2022-2023.) They aren’t the “franchise” of an out-of-state operation.
Florida’s health care system has been consistently ranked at the bottom of the national ranking by various publications (Harvard Business Review: No.41 in 2021; No.48 in 2018 (sources: Florida Trend); these are just a few I could see online.) so are you sure you want to compare?
Doctor Philip is probably my favorite neighborhood in Orlando. My husband and I were both in creativity fields in NYC for a very long time (him in music industry global headquarter, me in fashion, design and media publicity.) we both never heard of Doctor Philip performing center (granted it’s new but we were in Doctor Philip often. My husband used to attend concerts for a living, he still has many friends in record labels, the kind that won the Grammy awards so he’s still very much kept in the loop with many performing art/music venues.) but we heard of Alley Theater in Houston even when we lived in NYC. (Another city known for thriving theater scene is Cleveland, its Playhouse Square is only second to NYC’s Lincoln Center for the performing art center.)
Orlando is a famous resort city with world class theme parks and family entertainment, but it’s not the city (not yet) known for world class symphony, grand opera, ballet company and state-of-the-art theaters. “One of the best in the South” sounds just a little vague and kind of local chamber of commerce.
In terms of culture and performance art, Houston really wins over Orlando.
I’m an absolute ballet/classic music admirer, have been listening to and attending to the performances for years. Overall ranking for the U.S alone for opera, Houston is usually top 5-10, ballet is top 3-5 (only after ABT and NY City Ballet, and Alvin Ailey.) and orchestra/symphony is top 15.
Orlando was never in any of the national ranking. Not anywhere near top 20.
Bad comparison. Your prime example of an urban neighborhood “Houston has no answer to” is literally a few blocks in size and has a population of 2000 people in the neighborhood. Comparing South Eola to a place like Midtown is apples to oranges. You say there’s more consistent walkability in the Orlando neighborhoods but literally all of them are like 2000-3000 people. It’s easier to say a neighborhood is more consistently walkable when the neighborhood is only a few blocks instead of a few square miles. In fact literally every single walkable neighborhood in Orlando would fit into just Downtown Houston alone, which definitely does have consistent pedestrian infrastructure and is more built up in an urbane matter than anywhere in Orlando. Then you have Midtown. You’re right that it’s patchy but I can carve out literally 3 South Eola’s out of the neighborhood (consistently developed pockets) and then say each of them are “fully committed to pedestrian infrastructure.” Then there’s still the museum district, EaDo, Fourth Ward, Montrose, Rice Village, and the heights and you can carve similar small sections out of those as well and make the same misleading claim. Bottom line Houston still has more walkable neighborhoods, a larger area that’s considered walkable, better TOD, a better transit network, and more people living in walkable neighborhoods and areas. This isn’t an area where Orlando is ahead.
Why do you continue to bring up Downtown Houston? You do realize Orlando has a downtown too right? Orlando CBD also has a higher walking score than Houston's downtown.
See this is what yall don't seem to understand. South Eola is literally in walking distance to Orlando's CBD. I-4 doesn't separate these 2 neighborhoods. The CBD, South Eola and Thornton Park are in walking or biking distance from one another. You also have the Lake Eola Park that is obviously designed for pedestrians. That's a larger concentration of vibrant walkability than anything in Houston.
I can tell you've never been to Orlando and if you have you never been outside of the theme parks if you didn't think to add what's surrounding South Eola. And again I didn't make the comparison initially to Midtown. You and Atadytic19 brought up Midtown. But let's break down the neighborhoods you mentioned and see if you there truly on the level of South Eola or Thornton Park or even College Park(Orlando).
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7507...7i16384!8i8192
(EADO)- Emanuel Street is the most "pedestrian friendly" part of EADO. The problem is there's still a couple of outdated strip centers that kill the vibrancy. There's also large empty lots the further you go down Emanuel till you get to the graffiti building. Tell me what small patch in EADO resembles South Eola?
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7427...7i16384!8i8192 (Montrose)- Do you see what I mean when I say the city won't fully commit to a true cohesive pedestrian friendly neighborhood? The old gas station that's now Shaw's tattoo's should have been shut demolished and replaced with buildings that promote dense urban walkable areas. And further down there's a Raising Cane's.
Rice Village is not even a NEIGHBORHOOD, it's a shopping district. And you say I'm misleading? LOL
[url="https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Heights+Theater/@29.8028684,-95.4028721,3a,75y,81.11h,89.11t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s70dRSoHis_WdWbHhJ8BAuQ!2e0!7i1 6384!8i8192!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x8640c7f52f6d8c2b:0x33 4abc8557a5c8da!2sJeni's+Splendid+Ice+Creams!8m2!3d 29.8030102!4d-95.4034654!3m4!1s0x8640c765a09f3fd5:0x984b90c41122 f1ac!8m2!3d29.8030183!4d-95.4028692"[/URL] (Heights)- Now I like W.19th street the most in Heights. It has the charm of a small town Main street USA. The strictly residential areas of Heights and Montrose are more cohesive and uniform when it comes to walkability but it starts getting more patchy when you bring in the streets with mixed retail and housing.
All I ask is show me the few blocks in these "larger" walkable areas in Houston that you speak so highly of. I've lived in Houston since 2009. I've watched these city make improvements yet it still has a long way to go in certain areas and that is primarily in building more pedestrian friendly neighborhoods.
Houston does have better transportation options though and it has more of the somewhat walkable areas than Orlando. But nothing to write home about AT ALL.
I think you’re overselling Orlando. It’s extremely Highway centric (as is Houston) and it’s pedestrian areas are also sprawl in different direction with little consistency between eachother. And the pockets that do have aren’t extremely big. The one thing Orlando has more consistently than Houston are sidewalks within the blocks that surround its downtown. Most of that areas isn’t inviting to the pedestrian. Even if TMC and Museum park are the only portion that you single out, it’s larger than any comparable counterpart in Orlando.
I otherwise agree with the majority of this post, but I don’t think your image of Orlando is accurate. I say this as someone who was in Orlando a few weeks ago and was in Houston yesterday.
I'm not overselling Orlando. I never said Orlando is some walkable urban landscape. It's not. Yes it is just as highway centric as Houston but we all know Houston is much more Highway centric and much more sprawly than Orlando. I never said the Orlando neighborhoods that are walkable are EXTREMELY BIG, I stated that their most walkable neighborhoods are noticeably more walkable than Houston's most walkable neighborhoods. And TMC- Museum district are not even comparable to Orlando's CBD-South Eola- Thornton Park- Lake Eola area.
The museum district is one of my favorite areas in the city but not many people are walking from the museum district to the TMC. Now this is where the light rail works in Houston favor. I see many people use the light rail from that Museum district to get to TMC and that's generally if it's work related. But TMC itself is not the most inviting place to walk unless you work in the medical field.
Quote:
Originally Posted by atadytic19
I think it more delusion..
A few buildings here and there with poor sidewalks and inadequate crossing streets and he thinks that is walkable
I'm delusional but you literally posted up one small block of grey street and claimed that's competent infrastructure for pedestrian. Literally one small block you can explore in all of 10 seconds. Care to go further down Grey in either direction and see what people will find? Nothing like that one block you were proud of.
I'm not overselling Orlando. I never said Orlando is some walkable urban landscape. It's not. Yes it is just as highway centric as Houston but we all know Houston is much more Highway centric and much more sprawly than Orlando. I never said the Orlando neighborhoods that are walkable are EXTREMELY BIG, I stated that their most walkable neighborhoods are noticeably more walkable than Houston's most walkable neighborhoods. And TMC- Museum district are not even comparable to Orlando's CBD-South Eola- Thornton Park- Lake Eola area.
The museum district is one of my favorite areas in the city but not many people are walking from the museum district to the TMC. Now this is where the light rail works in Houston favor. I see many people use the light rail from that Museum district to get to TMC and that's generally if it's work related. But TMC itself is not the most inviting place to walk unless you work in the medical field.
That’s false. Orlando is as if not more Highway centric than Houston. Orlando’s main focal points are all atleast 8 miles away from downtown Orlando on the interstate. A couple of small neighborhoods in central Orlando don’t make up the difference. It’s not just the theme parks. You have world class resorts in Orlando sitting in a street of fast food joints and gas stations. This is why CityWalk is a great place (free to get in) for visitors and residents alike. But where does it sit in position to central Orlando? Houston sprawls further out sure, it is the bigger of the two sprawling cities. But Orlando’s focal points are less centered than in Houston
If I had to guess, either someones image of Orlando is inaccurate or emotions are getting in the way of reality (living vs visiting).
Last edited by ParaguaneroSwag; 01-07-2023 at 07:05 AM..
Once again this is totally inaccurate, Orlando's passenger counts far surpass Houston, see below:
Orlando International Airport (MCO) 2021 Passenger Counts: 24,550,287
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) 2021 Passenger Counts: 21,897,049
How can you make such a statement when the facts show otherwise?
This was a covid era outlier yesr. IAH has much more capacity than MCO and much more destinations both domestically and internationally. I can fly to Australia directly in Houston, can’t in Orlando.
You also only included one of 2 Houston airports. Even in the covid outlier yesrs, Houston airports traffic exceeded Orlando which is a one airport city.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrKnight
ildren’s Hospital
University of Florida Academic & Research Center
MD Anderson Orlando Cancer Research Institute
Please get your facts straight before marking false statements and false assumptions based on inaccurate and dated stereotypes..
Skipped all of the nonsense. It’s not that Orlando doesn’t have a healthcare scene, it’s just a lot smaller than that of Houston. I did some work for hospitals in Florida. Their machines were built in Houston.
Airport connectivity and healthcare scenes aren’t one where Orlando gets the edge. Especially not healthcare. Airports are atleast somewhat close
Once again this is totally inaccurate, Orlando's passenger counts far surpass Houston, see below:
Orlando International Airport (MCO) 2021 Passenger Counts: 24,550,287
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) 2021 Passenger Counts: 21,897,049
How can you make such a statement when the facts show otherwise?
Just because you "don't know" doesn't mean you can omit facts. The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando has consistently been rated one of the top performing arts centers in the south with over 330,000+ square feet of space across four different theater spaces.. Sure Houston also has great performing arts offerings, but Orlando can very easily compete in this category and in many cases can outdo Houston especially given the facilities in Orlando are newer than the equivalent facilities in Houston..
Once again you know very little about Orlando and are making assumptions, the fact that you are comparing Orlando's medical industry to "Burger King" is frankly sickening and tone deaf.. Orlando is home to Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) which is one of the largest Level 1 Trauma Centers in the south and served as the primary trauma center during the Pulse nightclub tragedy in 2016.. Orlando is known regionally as a hub for quality medical care and medical innovation, patients in need of critical care are often transported from all across the state to Orlando for the most advanced medical treatments.. The Orlando Medical City in Lake Nona is home to the following world-class hospitals and research facilities:
University of Central Florida Health Sciences Campus
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
VA Medical Center
Nemours Children’s Hospital
University of Florida Academic & Research Center
MD Anderson Orlando Cancer Research Institute
Please get your facts straight before marking false statements and false assumptions based on inaccurate and dated stereotypes..
I was wrong about the passenger count by airport. Everything else I said was completely correct. IAH has more destinations and is a far more global airport. You can fly nonstop to Asia, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Europe and the Middle East from IAH. You can't do the two former from Orlando. IAH is a much more global airport than MCO.
Are you SERIOUSLY going to hold up MD Anderson's Orlando campus as something it holds over Houston????? MD Anderson IS from Houston. The original is here. Houston is THE premier city for cancer research in the US. Houston has the Texas Medical Center. It is THE largest medical complex in the US. It has the medical schools for Baylor, the University of Texas, and Texas A&M. It employs 106,000 people and draws people from all over the World. It is home to THE MD Anderson, which is THE best hospital for cancer treatment in the US:
All of those medical facilities you mention, all are just generic hospitals that you find in any city or they are field locations. I completely standby my statement that comparing what Houston offers in the medical field vs. Orlando is like comparing a steak restaurant to a Burger King.
Since I’m sure it’s going to come up, this is not a roast Orlando thread. There’s plenty that Orlando has over Houston. I made a whole post listing some of them earlier in the thread (as I think has ABSA as well). Family friends activities, traffic, access to beaches, will all work in your favor. Airport scene and especially healthcare is just hilarious.
Quote:
Originally Posted by As Above So Below...
Are you SERIOUSLY going to hold up MD Anderson's Orlando campus as something it holds over Houston????? MD Anderson IS from Houston. The original is here.
Yeah that was hilarious. That would be like saying Houston is a larger financial field than New York because of the JPMorgan Campus (a New York institution)
Why do you continue to bring up Downtown Houston? You do realize Orlando has a downtown too right? Orlando CBD also has a higher walking score than Houston's downtown.
See this is what yall don't seem to understand. South Eola is literally in walking distance to Orlando's CBD. I-4 doesn't separate these 2 neighborhoods. The CBD, South Eola and Thornton Park are in walking or biking distance from one another. You also have the Lake Eola Park that is obviously designed for pedestrians. That's a larger concentration of vibrant walkability than anything in Houston.
I can tell you've never been to Orlando and if you have you never been outside of the theme parks if you didn't think to add what's surrounding South Eola. And again I didn't make the comparison initially to Midtown. You and Atadytic19 brought up Midtown. But let's break down the neighborhoods you mentioned and see if you there truly on the level of South Eola or Thornton Park or even College Park(Orlando).
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7507...7i16384!8i8192
(EADO)- Emanuel Street is the most "pedestrian friendly" part of EADO. The problem is there's still a couple of outdated strip centers that kill the vibrancy. There's also large empty lots the further you go down Emanuel till you get to the graffiti building. Tell me what small patch in EADO resembles South Eola?
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7427...7i16384!8i8192 (Montrose)- Do you see what I mean when I say the city won't fully commit to a true cohesive pedestrian friendly neighborhood? The old gas station that's now Shaw's tattoo's should have been shut demolished and replaced with buildings that promote dense urban walkable areas. And further down there's a Raising Cane's.
Rice Village is not even a NEIGHBORHOOD, it's a shopping district. And you say I'm misleading? LOL
[url="https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Heights+Theater/@29.8028684,-95.4028721,3a,75y,81.11h,89.11t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s70dRSoHis_WdWbHhJ8BAuQ!2e0!7i1 6384!8i8192!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x8640c7f52f6d8c2b:0x33 4abc8557a5c8da!2sJeni's+Splendid+Ice+Creams!8m2!3d 29.8030102!4d-95.4034654!3m4!1s0x8640c765a09f3fd5:0x984b90c41122 f1ac!8m2!3d29.8030183!4d-95.4028692"[/URL] (Heights)- Now I like W.19th street the most in Heights. It has the charm of a small town Main street USA. The strictly residential areas of Heights and Montrose are more cohesive and uniform when it comes to walkability but it starts getting more patchy when you bring in the streets with mixed retail and housing.
All I ask is show me the few blocks in these "larger" walkable areas in Houston that you speak so highly of. I've lived in Houston since 2009. I've watched these city make improvements yet it still has a long way to go in certain areas and that is primarily in building more pedestrian friendly neighborhoods.
Houston does have better transportation options though and it has more of the somewhat walkable areas than Orlando. But nothing to write home about AT ALL.
LMAO you don’t get the point at all. The reason I say Downtown is because it is literally the size of every single walkable neighborhood in Orlando combined. You can’t just say Downtown Orlando is an answer when it’s so clearly not. That’s why we keep saying Downtown Houston. Again you can’t expect a whole few square miles to compare to a neighborhood that is a few blocks. 3500 people live in Downtown Orlando, 2200 live in South Eola, Lake Eola Heights has 1500 people, Colonial town is 1400, Thornton park has 600. Downtown Houston literally alone starts off at around 12000. Midtown Houston is around 15000, Montrose is at 29000. That’s why you can’t sit there and mislead people into saying Orlando has more neighborhoods that are “fully committed to pedestrian infrastructure.” But you wouldn’t know better as you continue to try and mislead people. Post Midtown Square + Camden City Centre are literally the size of an Orlando walkable neighborhood.
Is the size of a singular Orlando Walkable neighborhood. You can carve out 6 similar sized neighborhoods in Downtown alone. You can do 4th ward + Post Midtown square as well. Then the area from Whole Foods to Mid Main. There’s plenty more in the other neighborhoods as well. These would all be considered different neighborhoods in Orlando. That’s why you’re making a faulty comparison.
Let’s put this into context.
Let’s say we carve out a bunch of small 2000 person pockets of density from Houston and call them different neighborhoods. Then I’m going to say Houston has more neighborhoods committed to fully pedestrian infrastructure than Denver (a more developed core). Do you not see an issue with this at all??? This is essentially what you’ve been doing this whole thread.
Look literally nobody disagreed that Houston punches below its weight in this regard. But there’s literally no objective way Orlando comes ahead in this regard.
Last edited by DaBears02; 01-07-2023 at 08:24 AM..
That’s false. Orlando is as if not more Highway centric than Houston. Orlando’s main focal points are all atleast 8 miles away from downtown Orlando on the interstate. A couple of small neighborhoods in central Orlando don’t make up the difference. It’s not just the theme parks. You have world class resorts in Orlando sitting in a street of fast food joints and gas stations. This is why CityWalk is a great place (free to get in) for visitors and residents alike. But where does it sit in position to central Orlando? Houston sprawls further out sure, it is the bigger of the two sprawling cities. But Orlando’s focal points are less centered than in Houston
If I had to guess, either someones image of Orlando is inaccurate or emotions are getting in the way of reality (living vs visiting).
All of this.
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