Reviews & Comments
Kissimmee, FL
to think I chose to live here -
5/12/2007I've lived in the environs of Kissimmee these last 19 years and hated every one of them. What I first fell in love with - albeit extremely briefly - was the Western feel of the place. It was nearly wide open back then, a lovely mix of cattle ranches and citrus groves punctuating small shops and the just-built Osceola Square Mall. Kissimmee today is a near-dizzying mixture of countless strip malls with cheesy t-shirt and souvenir shops, chain restaurants, auto dealers/repair shops, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and barely a tree in sight. If you choose to live here, bring a big fat wallet as housing prices were out of control and now stagnant; schools are overcrowded before they open; roads are 20 years behind schedule and traffic has increased seven-fold. Nightlife is the big-box or grocery store-shuffle and tornado/t-storm preparedness. Press "1" for Spanish and break out el dicionario: you're gonna need it to get hired, if you know the right people.
Kissimmee, FL
to think I chose to live here -
5/12/2007I've lived in the environs of Kissimmee these last 19 years and hated every one of them. What I first fell in love with - albeit extremely briefly - was the Western feel of the place. It was nearly wide open back then, a lovely mix of cattle ranches and citrus groves fragranting strip malls and the just-built Osceola Square Mall. How times have changed. Kissimmee today is a near-dizzying mixture of countless strip malls with cheesy t-shirt and souvenir shops, chain restaurants, auto dealers/repair shops, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and barely a tree in sight. Nightlife is near zero aside from Disney, the only game in town. And Disney has little to offer in that way: Pleasure Island is usually jammed and 1/3 of its clubs stay empty, Downtown Disney is packed and pricey, and parking there is a real headache. If you choose to live here, bring a big fat wallet as housing prices were out of control and now stagnant; schools are a disgrace and overcrowded before they open; road enlargement is 20 years behind schedule and traffic congestion has increased seven-fold. And don't expect a nightlife aside from the big-box or grocery store-shuffle. Press "1" for Spanish and break out el dicionario: you're gonna need it to get hired, if you know the right people.