COMMENT BY
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
Orlando, FL
COMMENT
re: relocating - 4/13/2011
The Good: I like warm weather, so while Much of June through August are unbearable, I'll take it for beautiful days and gorgeous skies the rest of the year. It sure beats 5 or 6 mos of winter in NY and PA where I've lived before.
There are a LOT of amenities to be found here. If you need a store or grocery store or something to do, it's here.
What's left of the Florida landscape is absolutely gorgeous. (Wekiva State Park is an example)
Proximity to beaches is awesome.
Jobs are plentiful if low paying.
Downtown is quite pretty.
Traffic is light compared to many other cities even though people call I-4 a parking lot. DC, Toronto, LA, NY, Boston are all MUCH MUCH worse.
The Bad:
Not much room left for small business owners. Sprawl and chains have overtaken it.
It's very hard to live in a nice community that has a community feel outside of the city. You have to make quite a commute to do so.
I don't think it's the best city for children. Education is subpar in Florida and in Orlando in particular. You have to make a lot of money to do well for your kids here I think.
In short, there are pockets of lovely neighborhoods, but it can be hard to find them. It is probably much better than Flint, MI, but there are also much smarter choices to raise a family. It depends on what you want. If your dream is to work for Disney, then it may be worth it. I work for Disney and happen to like it very much, but the pay is certainly not stellar.
There isn't much culture or art scenes to be found. It's ok, but not good.
Crime rate is VERY high right now.
Cost of living is so so, but not when compared to the