Any newcomers to Orlando with their thoughts on living here? (Longwood: buy, public school)

[Queensres]

Moved from Queens. Some thoughts after almost a month:

- People here are generally nicer, but at the same time it's kind of hard meeting new people here because it's not as dense as a place like NY

- Weather is hot but somewhat tolerable at this time. Unlike NY, it rains here for 15-20 minutes at a time rather than hours and hours on end. I would say it's more refreshing than depressing like in NY

- Overall I think Orlando is a nice looking city. Winter Park is beautiful, downtown area is pretty nice (although kind of small), Dr Philips is pretty. I live in Metrowest in between Kirkman and Haiwassee, which most people say is one of the less "nice" neighborhoods, but I still like it a lot. Everyone keeps to themselves (almost to a fault) and I haven't run into anything that even resembles trouble just yet.

- Prices are OK. Cheaper than NY but not by much.

- Food in general is very good, as long as you know where to go. In some ways I like it better than NY. The only thing I really miss is pizza, but it's pretty easy to live without it

- I love coffee and I noticed there aren't very many small, boutique cafes around here. Mostly Starbucks, Dunkin and a few other chains. Not a huge deal though as I mainly drink coffee at home now

- The "traffic" here is a joke by NY standards. In the month that I've been here I haven't got stuck in traffic once yet. It tends to slow down at times, but doesn't crawl to a standstill like in NY

- Speaking of traffic, the drivers here aren't very good. I noticed that a lot of people in Florida like to start signaling to get into your lane as they ride beside you. They usually wait until you pass and then change, but if you do that in NY you're going to get honked and screamed at. Also, too many slow drivers and at least half of them don't signal at all. Oh, and people freak the hell out when it rains. Overall though, I still prefer them to NY drivers because NY drivers are just straight up ***holes.

- I think Publix is great. Pricey, but the stores are well organized and the quality of the food is pretty good. I'm not sure what peoples beef is with these stores

- Having a Walmart pretty much every other mile is convenient if you are on a budget

- Lastly, it's much less stressful living here than in NY. More sun, people are friendlier, there's way more room to yourself, no having to put up with the dirty MTA, etc... I still don't know if I will stay here long-term, but so far it's way better than I expected

[usp2]

Publix wouldn't seem mediocre to people from the North East if Wegmans didn't exist. Publix is good, but Wegmans is better in every way I can think of.
I'm glad to see Wawa expanding into Florida. 7-11s are another sad monopoly. Hopefully Sheetz will make it down from the North as well. I don't think I'll see a Wegmans in Florida in my lifetime.

[Alyzza]

Here are some of my observations between where I lived in northern Virginia and here.

No rat race here quite yet.
No toll lanes on I-4 yet, like there are on the Beltway.
NVA was mostly Asian, Indian, and Salvadoran but I like a culture mix.
No Waffle Houses close by in NVA.
No Bojangles in NVA.
Not many Peruvian chicken places here.
The smell of car exhaust doesn't lay in the air for days here.
You don't smell the 4th of July the day after here.
The wind doesn't blow between 40-65 mph day after day in the winter.
It's hot and humid here but I can still breathe.
Some county fairs are in the spring.
Little need for heat or air conditioning between November and March.
Every spare green area here is not covered by townhouses.
Leaves fall in December.
Flowers bloom in January.
I haven't seen slugs in my yard here.
Not pestered by yellowjackets.
Didn't have lots of ants in NVA, but there are no camelback crickets here.
More independent small businesses and restaurants here.
I see a blue sky almost every day.
No personal property tax (car tax) here.
More options for single level/ground floor living here.
I don't have to pay for a city/county sticker on my car.
No state car inspection here but maybe there should be.
More billboards here.
More smokers here.
Firecrackers year-round here.
We have Winn Dixie and Albertsons here (Wegmans is fun but I don't miss it).
It doesn't take an hour to go 2 miles here but is getting progressively slower.
I got used to the summers here and don't have as many aches and pains as I did in NVA.
Hair and nails grow faster here.
More license plate options here.
Parking lots are larger and interconnected here.
No mud here.
Flea markets here.
I've seen it sleet here.
I know my neighbors here and see them often.
People let you into traffic here.
It takes only 45 minutes to get to the beach.
Lots of people have pools at their homes.
Gasoline costs ten cents more per gallon here.
There are more dollar stores here.
Even strangers talk to you here.
We have a fire season here.

[us4nytofl]

Originally Posted by usp2

Publix wouldn't seem mediocre to people from the North East if Wegmans didn't exist. Publix is good, but Wegmans is better in every way I can think of.
I'm glad to see Wawa expanding into Florida. 7-11s are another sad monopoly. Hopefully Sheetz will make it down from the North as well. I don't think I'll see a Wegmans in Florida in my lifetime.

This. For those of you that have never been to a Wegmans then I can understand why you may like Publix. For those of us that grew up with Wegmans, grocery shopping will never be the same and no store could ever match the quality of Wegmans. It saddens me to know that they will never make it down here....

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by us4nytofl

This. For those of you that have never been to a Wegmans then I can understand why you may like Publix. For those of us that grew up with Wegmans, grocery shopping will never be the same and no store could ever match the quality of Wegmans. It saddens me to know that they will never make it down here....

My wallet thanks me that they aren't down here. Wegmans is great, but boy do you pay for it. One of the few grocery stores I know of that seems to get away with charging $8 for mini chocolate cakes and $13/lb for "gourmet" chocolate chip cookies.

People who get "sticker shock" with publix would probably have a stroke if they walked into a Wegmans.

[Mr Idealism]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

My wallet thanks me that they aren't down here. Wegmans is great, but boy do you pay for it. One of the few grocery stores I know of that seems to get away with charging $8 for mini chocolate cakes and $13/lb for "gourmet" chocolate chip cookies.

People who get "sticker shock" with publix would probably have a stroke if they walked into a Wegmans.

They have "wegmans" brand everything, at a fraction of the cost of publix brand. If you want whole foods type produce/meat/seafood, they have it, but they also have everything for the frugal shopper as well. Count me in as someone else that misses wegmans dearly.

[hmcs934]

I am contemplating a move to the Orlando area and I don't really mind if there is no Wegman's down here. After waiting for a long time for one to arrive in the Philadelphia area, we are now pretty well saturated with several. They all have the same general layout and the experience of going to one is starting to get old. Right now, if there was one store that I would most want in an area I was considering living in, it would be Fairway market. Never heard of it? You will. It is currently only in the NY area and my first thought upon entering one was "Wow". It is currently in the process of expanding to other areas and will be very strong competition for Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Fresh Market etc..

[Not4longNY]

I have been to one on Long Island. I don't know if they have any plans of opening a Fairways down here.

[hmcs934]

I understand they have plans to expand by opening 300 new stores across the country and they must know there are many New Yorkers in the Orlando area. By the way, the company recently went public. In May the stock was around $17 and two months later it was $28.

[us4nytofl]

Originally Posted by Mr Idealism

They have "wegmans" brand everything, at a fraction of the cost of publix brand. If you want whole foods type produce/meat/seafood, they have it, but they also have everything for the frugal shopper as well. Count me in as someone else that misses wegmans dearly.

I agree... you don't have to buy the gourmet cookies or the (incredible) chocolate cake if you don't want to but it's nice to have the option if you want it. Their store brands make the store affordable and in my opinion are better than name brands in many cases. Plus, it's not just the products, it's the experience... shopping at Publix (or anywhere else, I don't mean to pick on Publix specifically) is just depressing after growing up on Wegmans. The produce department alone puts them a huge step above the rest.