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Ah yes, museums. The venues that CD members love to brag about in their cities but not actually visit.
There can be no doubt that a much higher percentage of Orlando residents frequent our theme parks than the percentage of residents of other cities frequent their museums. It's a major selling point to the area.
Well for those who appreciate history, culture and the arts museums are frequently utilized in those cities. Orlando will never be confused as a cultural capital for sure so yes, there is always the theme parks if so inclined. Otherwise one should prepare themselves for not a whole lot of other options.
The OP is making the distinction that Orlando is "cheap" which it's not unless moving from a SF, NYC, DC or Boston (etc)...all of which are within a definite minority in terms of economics. Secondly when one strips away the theme park aspect Orlando is your average mid-sized city in terms of things to do, so was pointing out unless theme parks a driving factor in one's social calendar there isn't anything especially riveting here.
I'm in the Detroit area, specifically in Bloomfield Hills, which is a decent suburb. In comparison to what I'm paying here, Orlando is 29% cheaper across the board. Winter Park, a comparable suburb to Bloomfield Hills, is 4% cheaper. I'm not saying Orlando is a steal, but it definitely offers a decent lifestyle for the price.
Just did a cost of living calculator to get these %s. Sources:
Orlando:
Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
Winter Park:
Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
Also, college is WAY cheaper in FL. It'll cost me $600/credit for the first 12 months (the period before someone can declare residency for tuition), and I can just do part time to offset that cost, but then it drops to $200/credit afterwards. But the school I was considering here, Wayne State, runs $485/credit hour, and they rank 223 on US College Report. Also, that's basically the cheapest decent school we have here. I'm thinking FL's just a bit better.
Just FYI, that cost of living calculator is silly. There are desirable and undesirable areas in Winter Park and Orlando. You would need to compare by zip code to get any kind of realistic comparison.
On another website, I entered 48304 vs. 32789 (the desirable zip code in Winter Park). The median income in 48304 was about $40,000 higher, and the median house value was about $50,000 lower.
1) It depends where you are moving from in terms of affordability. For me it’s much more affordable to the point I own multiple properties here. That is unheard of back where I moved from even if you make $200k per year. Having room mates is still uncommon in Orlando, where as where I moved from people working as financial advisors, personal bankers etc still have to have room mates to afford rent.
2) I never understood when I meet someone here who thinks there isn’t much to do besides theme parks. I’ve lived in cities many here have cream pies over such as Seattle, San Francisco... what other things to do are you imagining in these cities? I find there is more to do in the Orlando area, so this is an honest question. Besides museums and a bigger food scene, I cant think of anything else.
I completely disagree on the bolded. Maybe it’s because I work in the theme park industry, but almost every person I have worked with lives with roommates, including those in salaried/back-of-house/professional positions. Is it as prevalent as in NYC or SF? Probably not, but it’s still very common especially for workers in their 20’s.
I think Orlando has a lot to do for a city its size, but compared to a major city like NYC it doesn’t have near the sheer amount of events/cultural activities. A city like SF, LA and NY will have tons of art galleries/shows, festivals, markets, concerts/performances, etc. Orlando has these things, but not nearly as many or as often.
I completely disagree on the bolded. Maybe it’s because I work in the theme park industry, but almost every person I have worked with lives with roommates, including those in salaried/back-of-house/professional positions. Is it as prevalent as in NYC or SF? Probably not, but it’s still very common especially for workers in their 20’s.
I think Orlando has a lot to do for a city its size, but compared to a major city like NYC it doesn’t have near the sheer amount of events/cultural activities. A city like SF, LA and NY will have tons of art galleries/shows, festivals, markets, concerts/performances, etc. Orlando has these things, but not nearly as many or as often.
When I was single, I had roommates. If I were to be single again, I'd probably have roommates again. The advantage is having a fairly nice-sized house with a yard as opposed to being couped up in some apartment complex. No comparison.
Just FYI, that cost of living calculator is silly. There are desirable and undesirable areas in Winter Park and Orlando. You would need to compare by zip code to get any kind of realistic comparison.
On another website, I entered 48304 vs. 32789 (the desirable zip code in Winter Park). The median income in 48304 was about $40,000 higher, and the median house value was about $50,000 lower.
Thanks. I did some looking around and found a calculator on BankRate. It doesn't offer specific zips, but it does claim that the entire Orlando area is 3% more expensive across the board compared to the Detroit area. Average rent in both metro areas are $954.96 for Detroit and $957.50 for Orlando, respectively. So once again, Orlando's not a steal but it offers a decent lifestyle, and at a comparable price.
I completely disagree on the bolded. Maybe it’s because I work in the theme park industry, but almost every person I have worked with lives with roommates, including those in salaried/back-of-house/professional positions. Is it as prevalent as in NYC or SF? Probably not, but it’s still very common especially for workers in their 20’s.
I think Orlando has a lot to do for a city its size, but compared to a major city like NYC it doesn’t have near the sheer amount of events/cultural activities. A city like SF, LA and NY will have tons of art galleries/shows, festivals, markets, concerts/performances, etc. Orlando has these things, but not nearly as many or as often.
I'd like to say that because the tourism industry dominates Orlando and Florida as a whole, the lower incomes contribute to higher rates of apartment sharing and room-mating throughout the state. FL has a problem with incomes in all industries, but tourism pays especially low. After working in sales positions at hotels and travel companies for a few years, I switched to insurance and my income doubled without a degree.
The OP is making the distinction that Orlando is "cheap" which it's not unless moving from a SF, NYC, DC or Boston (etc)...all of which are within a definite minority in terms of economics. Secondly when one strips away the theme park aspect Orlando is your average mid-sized city in terms of things to do, so was pointing out unless theme parks a driving factor in one's social calendar there isn't anything especially riveting here.
Instead of assuming they are moving from "middle America" it's more accurate to say cheap or expensive depending where you are from. Orlando is cheap to me, but I did move from an urban major city.
I've driven to and from Florida to California twice each way and California to Alaska once each way and Washington to Alaska once each way and I have to disagree about Orlando being like any other midsize town. The point in mentioning this is I've driven and stayed in many midsize cities around the country. The fact we get so many tourists, even if you eliminate theme parks, they have created a lot more spending money to support a lot of restaurants, other attractions, shopping malls, outlet malls, bike rentals, entertainment developments etc than almost any other city of similar size. For example, Mall at Millenia is nicer than any mall in San Francisco. Our two big outlet malls are nicer than any outlet mall within driving distance of San Francisco. There are more random things to do from miniature golf, escape rooms, go-karts, golfing, watersport parks, natural springs, boating, fishing etc.
Honestly, I find there is more to do here than back in San Francisco, unless you really are a museum enthusiast. There are also more festival type events as well. Now one could argue they like the weather more in San Francisco, the natural beauty more, the atmosphere or walk ability etc... those are fair things, but to say there is more to do there, I just don't understand which is why I was asking you... in your impression of cities like San Francisco, what are all the things you can do there that you can't do in Orlando? For me, as someone who has lived there 7 years, I can name more things to do in Orlando besides theme parks. Now comparing Orlando to similar cities it's size, is not even a contest in terms of things to do.
Ah yes, museums. The venues that CD members love to brag about in their cities but not actually visit.
There can be no doubt that a much higher percentage of Orlando residents frequent our theme parks than the percentage of residents of other cities frequent their museums. It's a major selling point to the area.
I agree with you. When I moved to San Francisco, I was thinking oh I can go to all these beautiful museums, after one or two times, there is really no fun in going again a second or third time unless they open some new exhibit, which doesn't happen often. I find returning to theme parks more fun lol.
Instead of assuming they are moving from "middle America" it's more accurate to say cheap or expensive depending where you are from. Orlando is cheap to me, but I did move from an urban major city.
I've driven to and from Florida to California twice each way and California to Alaska once each way and Washington to Alaska once each way and I have to disagree about Orlando being like any other midsize town. The point in mentioning this is I've driven and stayed in many midsize cities around the country. The fact we get so many tourists, even if you eliminate theme parks, they have created a lot more spending money to support a lot of restaurants, other attractions, shopping malls, outlet malls, bike rentals, entertainment developments etc than almost any other city of similar size. For example, Mall at Millenia is nicer than any mall in San Francisco. Our two big outlet malls are nicer than any outlet mall within driving distance of San Francisco. There are more random things to do from miniature golf, escape rooms, go-karts, golfing, watersport parks, natural springs, boating, fishing etc.
Honestly, I find there is more to do here than back in San Francisco, unless you really are a museum enthusiast. Now one could argue they like the weather more in San Francisco, the natural beauty more, the atmosphere or walk ability etc... those are fair things, but to say there is more to do there, I just don't understand which is why I was asking you... in your impression of cities like San Francisco, what are all the things you can do there that you can't do in Orlando? For me, as someone who has lived there 7 years, I can name more things to do in Orlando besides theme parks. Now comparing Orlando to similar cities it's size, is not even a contest in terms of things to do.
I love this argument because any city Orlando's size or larger as an MSA is going to have as much or more (excluding amusement parks). I mean name a comparably sized MSA that doesn't have as much or more...
The OP came flouncing into the thread with all kinds of pie-eyed expectations that more or less don't pan out to the reality, and it's only responsible as forum members to educate with some sense of reality versus spinning the tale further.
Of course in the further dumbing down of America cultural opportunity means little so it helps to explain the appeal of cities like Orlando versus cities with more intellectual capital. http://www.travelerstoday.com/articl...dy-reveals.htm
I completely disagree on the bolded. Maybe it’s because I work in the theme park industry, but almost every person I have worked with lives with roommates, including those in salaried/back-of-house/professional positions. Is it as prevalent as in NYC or SF? Probably not, but it’s still very common especially for workers in their 20’s.
I think Orlando has a lot to do for a city its size, but compared to a major city like NYC it doesn’t have near the sheer amount of events/cultural activities. A city like SF, LA and NY will have tons of art galleries/shows, festivals, markets, concerts/performances, etc. Orlando has these things, but not nearly as many or as often.
I'm not talking about minimum wage employees. Every friend I have in San Francisco lives with room mates except for one. They all have very professional jobs earning more than the median income, but most don't really have any choice. It is not common for a professional in Orlando to have room mates unless that's what they want.
A city like NYC or LA, I agree there are a lot of things to do, but they are on different levels from most cities in the US, I would definitely not group SF with them in terms of things to do. However, that is one of the reasons why I moved to SF instead of LA or NYC. San Francisco has festivals, but we stopped going after the second year because they are always the same. Folsom, a bunch of ugly people in bondage walking down the street. Earth Day, a bunch of young people wearing costumes walking down the street. Pride Day, a bunch of rainbow colors and people walking down the street. There are farmers markets etc, but to be honest, it's not much different than what we have in Orlando, just bigger, but if you don't find yourself going to the markets here, you probably won't go after a few times there as well. These things are all fun when it's new to you, but after a couple times, it's just the same old thing.
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