Lakeland, FL Reviews

Review and Question. - 1/7/2010
I enjoyed the review of living in Lakeland for 17 years. Unfortunately I could not read the end of it, as it seems to have run out of space. I would like to have read the remainder of it. I have visited Lakeland and do enjoy it for its location and cost of living. I also like the fact it feels like an actual community with a downtown, with the lakes and walking areas. It is not overwhelming in population and traffic jams. I toy with the idea of retiring there. I have some concerns about the area though. My biggest concern is that it may not be welcoming to all. There are some strong overtones in the culture I have noticed when visiting, that it is a very conservative culture based region. I don't mind the culture or the conservative views. I do however mind if I am not welcomed there, and then made to feel I have no right to notice it or its effects. I have found no other community in Fla like Lakeland for its small city feel that seems very self contained with Read More

Very family-oriented & family friendly - 5/5/2009
Great place to raise a young family. Plenty of free and inexpensive things to do every week/end. Just gets a little hot Read More

State of the economy - 6/13/2008
The economy is bad every where but here is worse than a lot of areas. The real estate market has died there are know jobs and the ones that are out there do not pay anything. Women are grossly underpaid. Polk county is still a good old boy area and that makes if hard for a single Read More

Not the ideal place to live - 6/1/2008
Lakeland is perfect if you want to live a secluded life around a lot of shallow, uneducated people who move there just to be able to afford a second story house. There is barely anything to do and if you move there especially with kids, there is no doubt that they will resort to drugs and drinking out of boredom. Sure, there are movies to go to, but be ready to drive 30 or more minutes to any entertainment center. The roads are long, everything is spaced apart and every other area is a ghetto. Of course, the city tries to mask this with the development communities and whatnot.
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Job market is not great right now - 10/16/2007
If you are in construction, Lakeland isn't the place to be. This town has grown so much since I moved here in 1989. Florida is ok if you enjoy extremely long hot hot summers, hurricanes and high home owners insurance rates. UGH... just looking for some relief
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Simply Charming in excellent location - 9/24/2007
Lakeland is downright charming. It has grown a lot over the last decade, but the city management has done an excellent job of keeping up with the roads, and infrestructure. The businesses are booming and keeping up with the demand for dining services and entertainment. The only down side to Lakeland is the lack of education. Polk County has low education per capita. Lakeland is growing, and their best schools are on the south side, if you're looking to move here. Located 30 minutes from Tampa and about 45 from Orlando, Lakeland is the home of many executive commuters; which I believe is where a lot of the educated and wealth comes into Read More

It's Hot - 4/18/2007
If your from the North the heat can be unbearable. It can be difficult to breathe at times. But you can't beat the year round Read More

Lakeland FL - after 17 years - 1/15/2007
The quality of life in Lakeland, Florida is a based on my experiences living in several U.S. cities. As an adult, I have lived in, Suburban Philadelphia, Newport News, VA, Shreveport, LA and Suburban Boston. We moved to Lakeland, FL after living most of our lives in suburban Philadelphia. The first few years here we experienced a sleepy small Florida city midway between Orlando and Tampa. Traveling around the city was very easy. One could travel from one end of the city to other in 20 minutes time. In the early 90’s when we arrived, the city was in very poor condition many of the downtown buildings were boarded and there were only a few surviving businesses. Eventually these businesses two department stores moved to the north side of Lakeland to the new mall. The downtown area was very bad, no commerce, no life. It was a decaying city shell. Over time a Downtown Development Authority was formed, and the authority took on the task of revitalizing the downtown area. I’m not Read More

True Best Deal - 12/29/2006
One of the best Towns in Florida, great central location and lowest cost of living including home ownership, GET in NOW while interest rates are LOW, ITS
a Buyer's MARKET I've been in Florida 20 yrs and in Lakeland only 1.5 yrs, take my word this is a great location to start a family or bring up a family & retire, you can catch a game or play golf or boating in our many Lakes, or take the kids to our great parks, also plenty of Churches or Air shows and local Celebrations in our Lakeside parks or just go home and enjoy a few Drinks with your Honey and then start thinking of that honeydo Read More

Ok in winter, too hot in summer - 12/29/2006
We moved to Lakeland over 3 yrs. ago from Mich. Winters are nice , but summers are brutal, its alright if you like really hot humid Read More