[IceMonkey]

If I'm going to fly 5, or even 10 hours to go on a vacation, theme parks just aren't going to do it for me.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by firmbizzle

Because $100M is spent a year to get people to visit the theme parks. Orlando is a sprawl, its downtown core is small and weak. It grew during the 70s and 80s when suburbs were big, so everything is suburban.

Downtown isn’t big, sure. I wouldn’t call it “weak.” It’s really not even all that small either (obviously depending on what you compare it to.) Easily comparable to Charlotte, just without the heavy corporate presence. Post-COVID, I’d say the lack of heavy corporate has given Orlando a leg up on its peers, and has caused it to surge ahead in multiple ways.

[sinatras]

Winter Park is absolutely wonderful and so is downtown Orlando.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by sinatras

Winter Park is absolutely wonderful and so is downtown Orlando.

Winter Park is how South Tampa should look.

[IceMonkey]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

Winter Park is how South Tampa should look.

And WP not under constant flood threat, unlike S. Tampa.

[UrbanGenious25]

i think near the attractions it's a sprawl but still very lively. The neighborhoods I explored were along the sunrail stops. Winter park, Ivanhoe village, Mills 50 district, baldwin park, college park, downtown and the sodo district.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by UrbanGenious25

i think near the attractions it's a sprawl but still very lively. The neighborhoods I explored were along the sunrail stops. Winter park, Ivanhoe village, Mills 50 district, baldwin park, college park, downtown and the sodo district.

All wonderful neighborhoods. I certainly wouldn't call these "sprawl," and the area that encompasses these places isn't exactly "small" either.

[silverct9a]

As someone who's from South Florida, I agree with the bolded portion - Orlando is firmly second place in Florida for diversity...in urban areas of course.

I read the provided links and now here is where I'm sure I will make enemies with Central Florida boosters, I couldn't imagine living in Florida without coastal access...I did it for six years when I lived in Tallahassee and it sucks and it's very hot in the summer time. Outside of coastal areas, I don't find anything special about Florida's topography (flat, hot, humid, unkempt etc). The beach is essentially Florida's calling card so for it to be 2.5 hrs away (round trip) one will quickly find themselves just not going.

The article stated that many from South Florida and New York are looking to move to Orlando for starter homes which makes sense due to COL, and this mirrors my day to day experiences with those in South Florida who've expressed interest in moving to Orlando and its surrounding areas. In these scenarios they almost always were lower income earners (teachers, police, fire fighters etc) who are struggling in South Florida - To most higher income residents down here, Orlando only typically comes up when we're discussing heading to theme parks or some type of family vacation.

In this portion of the state you QUICKLY realize where you stand on the socioeconomic totem pole and for many I can imagine it's very frustrating to work so hard at one job and while racing to your second job you see Ferraris, Bentleys, Rolls-Royce's everywhere like they're Honda civics while looking at homes and realizing you may not be to purchase one in a decent area.

Unless one foresees their career/income increasing, it's almost always financially smart to live in lower COL areas on a modest income rather than stay in a HCOL area with few prospects of climbing the ladder.

Originally Posted by UrbanGenious25

I visited Orlando this past weekend from Omaha, Nebraska for the pro bowl and Olympic marathon trials. I was actually impressed with the city. I found the downtown area to be very vibrant at night and the surrounding neighborhoods to be quite walkable and charming.

The city has an underrated food scene. The town of Winter park has a street called "park ave" and man was it hopping. I was also impressed to see that they have a commuter rail called the Sunrail that runs north of the city to the south. I've been to Miami and south Florida, I feel like Orlando is a firm second when it comes to diversity. My question is, why does people think Orlando is just theme parks and sprawl?

After doing some research, I found a couple of articles highlighting Orlando's explosion.

https://bnnbreaking.com/lifestyle/th...ock-to-orlando


https://www.businessinsider.com/movi...rnia-ny-2024-2

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

Winter Park is how South Tampa should look.

I agree. And I will add that if I had to choose to live in one of Florida's major cities, it would be Orlando. Nothing appealing about any of the others for me. As it is, I like small town living so Lakeland does it for me, but it's close enough to Tampa or Orlando for big city needs.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by silverct9a

As someone who's from South Florida, I agree with the bolded portion - Orlando is firmly second place in Florida for diversity...in urban areas of course.

I read the provided links and now here is where I'm sure I will make enemies with Central Florida boosters, I couldn't imagine living in Florida without coastal access...I did it for six years when I lived in Tallahassee and it sucks and it's very hot in the summer time. Outside of coastal areas, I don't find anything special about Florida's topography (flat, hot, humid, unkempt etc). The beach is essentially Florida's calling card so for it to be 2.5 hrs away (round trip) one will quickly find themselves just not going.

The article stated that many from South Florida and New York are looking to move to Orlando for starter homes which makes sense due to COL, and this mirrors my day to day experiences with those in South Florida who've expressed interest in moving to Orlando and its surrounding areas. In these scenarios they almost always were lower income earners (teachers, police, fire fighters etc) who are struggling in South Florida - To most higher income residents down here, Orlando only typically comes up when we're discussing heading to theme parks or some type of family vacation.

Certainly can't argue with you about the coastal access, or lack thereof. I lived in Northern Pinellas County for a few years up until recently, and nothing beats being able to just hop on my bike on any given day, hit the bike trail and ride to the beach. Not even just about being at the beach itself, but just the "beach lifestyle" and vibe that was felt throughout, in addition to the ocean (gulf) breeze, yeah... Too bad Orlando can't dig itself out of the ground and swap places with Melbourne.

As for people relocating to Central FL from South FL, maybe? Most people I know aren't on starter homes, and those who came from South Florida typically are living in a condo downtown, a townhouse in Baldwin Park or the like, or in some McMansion out in Markham Woods somewhere. I think for many, it's just a solid middle ground being that it is not QUITE as chaotic as Miami, but not as... dare-I-say, boring as Tampa or Jacksonville (sorry Tampa, I love you and all but, you need major help. And fast!)
I don't have too many people in my inner circle that would qualify as "starter home seekers," so perhaps I'm just really out of the loop on this.