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Does anyone live in the Orlando area that has lived in or spent a considerable amount of time in the Phoenix or Las Vegas areas? I’m just curious how the humid heat of FL compares to the dry heat of the desert? Do you feel one is more livable than the other? If you have kids, how did they adjust moving from one type of heat to the other? I’m taking a look at the Lake Nona area if you might have any feedback on that also.
Yes, I lived in Avondale, AZ for a few years. The heat/weather is in AZ is different than here in Orlando. Arizona was a really dry heat with little to no humidity. Here, the summer months (May-mid-August) are very hot with a lot of humidity. The heat here in my opinion is more bearable because it rains a lot which helps to cool the air.
I didn’t have kids when I lived in Arizona but I do now. My son loves it here, he plays football and I don’t worry about heat exhaustion as much as I think I would if we lived in Arizona. Also, when we relocated here we moved to Lake Nona because my husband’s job is near the airport (Tradeport Drive). We lived there for 7 months before moving to the Waterford Lakes area (East Orlando). Be prepared, Lake Nona is more on the expensive side, however the schools are A-rated, there is a lot to do, and it’s very close to Orlando Int. airport.
If you cant hate humidity Orlando will feel more hot, if you like or don’t mind humidity Vegas feels hotter. To me summer in Vegas feels hotter than Orlando.
Lake Nona is a nice area if you can live in Laureate Park, very active community feel. The cons to Lake Nona is the location is a bit isolated besides the airport. Other areas similar price point to consider as well would be Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Baldwin Park.
We lived in Phx (Anthem CC north of town on the I-17 to be precise) and are moving to Orlando. I actually have a very high tolerance for heat (110 in Phx didn't really bother me, but I found higher than that to be uncomfortable).
We don't currently live in Orlando (we've purchased and are building in and moving to the Lake Nona area), but have spent enough time out there to know that for us, the heat/humidity in Orlando is much more preferable to the dry heat in the desert. Best of luck to you.
I lived in Vegas for 5+ years, Scottsdale for 1 year, and Orlando for 18 months. Anyone who says the desert's dry heat is significantly better or more tolerable is just coping. Orlando's humidity and lower average temperatures are much more tolerable than the insufferable summers in Vegas, where every time you opened your front door it felt like when you open a hot oven door and the heat hits your face.
Sorry everyone, I’m late responding and thank you to everyone for writing. So it’s sounding like everyone is pretty happy living in the Orlando area for the most part and summers are tolerable, compared to the deserts out west? A little more on myself. I was actually born and raised in SoCal (mainly in the Inland Empire area if you’re familiar), and have lived in Colorado for the past 9 years. I am absolutely over snow, ice, and cold weather overall. I love California as it is home, I just cannot stand the government there and the way they run the state. At this point I’m considering relocating either to the Phoenix or Orlando area. I have spent a lot of time in Phoenix and Vegas, so I’m pretty familiar with their summer weather. As for Florida, I’ve never stepped foot into the state. Moving there would be a total mystery to me. My wife is leaning towards AZ and although I like Arizona, something is telling me that my kids may not like living there. I feel that a place like Florida would be better for them as the weather and environment there makes me feel they would spend more time outdoors than they would in AZ. From afar I really like the Lake Nona area and feel drawn to it. Seems to be very up and coming, like somewhere we can grow with. Am I right for assuming you’re all pretty much happy there? Or would you move back out west given the opportunity?
Sorry everyone, I’m late responding and thank you to everyone for writing. So it’s sounding like everyone is pretty happy living in the Orlando area for the most part and summers are tolerable, compared to the deserts out west? A little more on myself. I was actually born and raised in SoCal (mainly in the Inland Empire area if you’re familiar), and have lived in Colorado for the past 9 years. I am absolutely over snow, ice, and cold weather overall. I love California as it is home, I just cannot stand the government there and the way they run the state. At this point I’m considering relocating either to the Phoenix or Orlando area. I have spent a lot of time in Phoenix and Vegas, so I’m pretty familiar with their summer weather. As for Florida, I’ve never stepped foot into the state. Moving there would be a total mystery to me. My wife is leaning towards AZ and although I like Arizona, something is telling me that my kids may not like living there. I feel that a place like Florida would be better for them as the weather and environment there makes me feel they would spend more time outdoors than they would in AZ. From afar I really like the Lake Nona area and feel drawn to it. Seems to be very up and coming, like somewhere we can grow with. Am I right for assuming you’re all pretty much happy there? Or would you move back out west given the opportunity?
Besides weather, you haven't told us what you want in a city/state, so I can't give you my opinion where you will be more happy. I moved from San Francisco to Orlando in 2015/16 and am very happy with the choice. The worst part of summer is the frequent rain storms, with that being said, they are usually only 30 minutes long and then everything clears up. If you love water activities than summer is still enjoyable overall. I love going to the natural springs for kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, swimming and will only do it during the summer because that water is COLD! Likewise, I enjoy going to the beach, you can enjoy it almost year-round, but in summer, I will actually spend a lot of time in the water too. We have some great water parks. I'd recommend getting an annual pass for Volcano Bay at least your first year here. If your family loves theme parks, then this will be heaven for you guys. Having annual passes makes going to the theme parks so much more enjoyable because you can just go for a couple hours when it's not as busy or the weather is cooler or just to walk around and maybe go on just your favorite ride. Disney's Epcot has some nice festivals throughout the year such as the food & wine festival and flower & garden festival.
Lake Nona, specifically Laureate Park is really nice and it is up & coming, but the location is too isolated for me, so unless you worked at one of those hospitals or at MCO, I wouldn't choose to live there, although it is a nice community. My favorite is Dr. Phillips/Windermere, especially Dr. Phillips. You have everything right there from restaurants, every kind of grocery store (publix, fresh market, sprouts, whole foods, trader joes, etc) all within minutes of each other, there are bars, salons, gyms, everything you'd want all right there. You are very close to Disney Springs, Disney World, Universal, I-Drive, Outlets, Mall at Millenia, even Florida Mall is easy to get to from there. Traffic within Dr. Phillips is great. It's an upscale area, very beautiful and landscaped. I used to have a house in Phillips Landing and my friend from California came to visit and was blown away saying, "this is somewhere Pelosi would live" and at that time I bought my house for like $500k.
Besides weather, you haven't told us what you want in a city/state, so I can't give you my opinion where you will be more happy. I moved from San Francisco to Orlando in 2015/16 and am very happy with the choice. The worst part of summer is the frequent rain storms, with that being said, they are usually only 30 minutes long and then everything clears up. If you love water activities than summer is still enjoyable overall. I love going to the natural springs for kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, swimming and will only do it during the summer because that water is COLD! Likewise, I enjoy going to the beach, you can enjoy it almost year-round, but in summer, I will actually spend a lot of time in the water too. We have some great water parks. I'd recommend getting an annual pass for Volcano Bay at least your first year here. If your family loves theme parks, then this will be heaven for you guys. Having annual passes makes going to the theme parks so much more enjoyable because you can just go for a couple hours when it's not as busy or the weather is cooler or just to walk around and maybe go on just your favorite ride. Disney's Epcot has some nice festivals throughout the year such as the food & wine festival and flower & garden festival.
Lake Nona, specifically Laureate Park is really nice and it is up & coming, but the location is too isolated for me, so unless you worked at one of those hospitals or at MCO, I wouldn't choose to live there, although it is a nice community. My favorite is Dr. Phillips/Windermere, especially Dr. Phillips. You have everything right there from restaurants, every kind of grocery store (publix, fresh market, sprouts, whole foods, trader joes, etc) all within minutes of each other, there are bars, salons, gyms, everything you'd want all right there. You are very close to Disney Springs, Disney World, Universal, I-Drive, Outlets, Mall at Millenia, even Florida Mall is easy to get to from there. Traffic within Dr. Phillips is great. It's an upscale area, very beautiful and landscaped. I used to have a house in Phillips Landing and my friend from California came to visit and was blown away saying, "this is somewhere Pelosi would live" and at that time I bought my house for like $500k.
I actually work from home, so I’m able to live anywhere really. As silly as this might sound, weather is one of my top reasons for wanting to relocate at the moment. Aside from that, I do have kids so being in a good school district is important to me. Also, growing up in California I was always in a very diverse environment and that’s something that I feel has been missed here in Colorado. Or at least in the area I live in. Love the theme parks also. We used to have season passes to Disneyland and still try to go at least once a year, so the fact that the Orlando area is so theme park focused is a huge plus for us.
Another thing to mention is that my wife and I both love the water. I like being near the ocean, whereas she’s more of a desert river rat. Her words, not mine lol. I do like the how there are so many lakes in the Orlando area, but the part about them being filled with gators is a little concerning to say the least. Doesn’t really seem like you’d be able to have a good time there and I’d always be on the lookout. We may just have to spend a lot of time at the pool to get our water fix if it’s that bad.
One thing that has attracted me to the Lake Nona area is that it’s so young and new. I have noticed that there’s no Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods in the area, so I may need to take a good look at Dr Phillips. Is that a newer area also, or is it pretty established? Having a Super Target nearby for my wife is also a plus. I’m assuming Dr Phillips has that too? I’m guessing all of those stores will be in the Lake Nona area at some point, it’s just hard to tell when that will be. When you say it’s isolated, do you mean it’s in the middle of nowhere with nothing around it?
Yes, Lake Nona is kind of in the middle of nowhere.
If you like the “newness” of Lake Nona but would prefer to be more centralized, check out Baldwin Park. I currently live here, and it’s probably my favorite part of Orlando. Clean, safe, somewhat upscale for the most part, walkable, lots of parks and trails, and close to EVERYTHING: Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, bars, salons, gyms, lots of Asian stores, downtown Orlando is like 5 minutes away, Super Target in SoDo is 15 minutes away... Look it up on a map. I’d say, if you’re looking to be closer to downtown and surrounding areas, it’s a wonderful place. If you’d rather be closer to theme parks and attractions, Dr. Philips fits the bill. Two great areas.
I actually work from home, so I’m able to live anywhere really. As silly as this might sound, weather is one of my top reasons for wanting to relocate at the moment. Aside from that, I do have kids so being in a good school district is important to me. Also, growing up in California I was always in a very diverse environment and that’s something that I feel has been missed here in Colorado. Or at least in the area I live in. Love the theme parks also. We used to have season passes to Disneyland and still try to go at least once a year, so the fact that the Orlando area is so theme park focused is a huge plus for us.
Another thing to mention is that my wife and I both love the water. I like being near the ocean, whereas she’s more of a desert river rat. Her words, not mine lol. I do like the how there are so many lakes in the Orlando area, but the part about them being filled with gators is a little concerning to say the least. Doesn’t really seem like you’d be able to have a good time there and I’d always be on the lookout. We may just have to spend a lot of time at the pool to get our water fix if it’s that bad.
One thing that has attracted me to the Lake Nona area is that it’s so young and new. I have noticed that there’s no Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods in the area, so I may need to take a good look at Dr Phillips. Is that a newer area also, or is it pretty established? Having a Super Target nearby for my wife is also a plus. I’m assuming Dr Phillips has that too? I’m guessing all of those stores will be in the Lake Nona area at some point, it’s just hard to tell when that will be. When you say it’s isolated, do you mean it’s in the middle of nowhere with nothing around it?
That's great. I also work from home.
Orlando is a diverse city, so no worries there.
You'll love having the theme parks in your back yard in that case. It's so nice being able to go without feeling like you have to spend the entire day there to make it worth it.
You don't want to swim in the lakes here because of gators although there are plenty of lakes popular with boating and wake boarding. The real gem in my opinion are the springs. Google "Kelly Park Orlando" and "Kings Landing Orlando" those two are my favorite. You can go swimming, tubing, snorkeling, etc. The water is GORGEOUS!
Dr. Phillips feels like a new area, even though it's been there awhile. It's very landscaped, the trader joes has the nicest exterior I think in the entire country. It has a new feeling, the general area because most of the buildings and roads look new, many are new as well. The Grove at Windermere, Restaurant Row, Dellagio Town Center, Marketplace at Dr. Phillips, the area around Whole Foods. There is also a decent amount of new construction and recent construction, especially on Apopka Vineland Road around Phillips Grove and Parkside. They are also building new schools there as well as we speak, more shopping, restaurants, etc. There is a brand new target on Daryl Carter Pkwy and now it's super fast to get there with the new road connecting it to Apopka Vineland Road.
When I say isolated, I mean there are no neighborhoods of interest around it besides itself. It takes awhile to get to the theme parks, malls, other neighborhoods, downtown, you have to take toll highways to get anywhere, etc.
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