Reviews & Comments
Lakeland, FL
Lakeland FL - after 17 years -
1/15/2007The 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 certain when the authority started this task but they have done a miraculous job. The downtown area is very attractive, clean, and growing more and more vibrant each year. The downtown area is home to many businesses ranging from unique retail businesses to large corporations like Publix corporate offices and Watson Transportation Corporate offices. The downtown area boasts many restaurants, antique stores and boutiques. Downtown Lakeland is now sprouting fashionable “high rise” residence buildings, and town homes to attract permanent downtown residents. The residences are being completed by way of renovating historic buildings into attractive period piece buildings. I say “high rise” because the tallest buildings downtown are the turn of the century hotels. The metamorphosis of the city over the past seventeen years is remarkable. Downtown Lakeland is turning into central Florida gem. On the other hand, the area around Lakeland has grown dramatically too and unfortunately the planning that has made the downtown area appealing has not taken root in the surrounding Polk County area. The developers have scalped the earth of vegetation. Citrus trees and long standing native Florida scrub have been replaced by boxy mass produced houses, miles and miles of cookie cutter houses. Many of the people in the surrounding Lakeland area commute to Tampa or Orlando, and the roads are continually clogged with automobiles. To travel 6 miles to work from home takes 30 minutes. Most of the