My thoughts on Orlando metro (Davie, Apopka: appointed, homes, neighborhoods)

[nep321]

I had the opportunity to spend most of last week visiting the Orlando area and just wanted to share my impressions. Recall that I am considering moving down from Connecticut within the next two months, with no job.

Anyway, the overall area didn't seem NEARLY as bad as most people on this forum made it out to be. I thought most of the metro area appeared very clean and generally felt safe, except for a few concentrated areas in the city. I drove on the highways during rush hour twice and didn't think the traffic was as bad as many other cities. The downtown seemed clean, safe and walkable, with plenty of shops and restaurants. Outside of that, there were many nice suburbs and I NEVER felt unsafe. The whole area didn't seem like a stressful place to live either, but I'm sure each person's life is different in that regard. I thought Maitland, Winter Park, Oviedo, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Celebration seemed all like nice places. I was also impressed to see that there are many neighborhoods that have nice homes and do not have the cookie cutter look, altough I saw plenty here and there. I also liked how many of the roads curved and had subtle hills, unlike many other parts of Florida. And I met a few people while there. Some were educated with good jobs, some were not. It's like that any place. I also liked how the people are similar to Northeastern people, albeit slightly slower paced (which I like). I liked how there is a large gay population that isn't as pretentious as other cities like San Francisco, NYC or Boston. Many other guys actually talked to me and I didn't feel invisble for once!

Now, what I didn't like was that of course, the land area is remarkably flat compared to CT. And the layout and architecture of many areas aren't as charming as New England, but oh well...not a huge deal. And of course, I would prefer to have a little more seasonal changes in the climate, but I knew that FL is like that. The tolls were annoying too, but a Sun Pass could be purchased. Also, I was disappointed to see way too many Romney/Ryan yard signs. That makes me think it's a super conservative area. But I know in reality it's more moderate.

Overall, I would say that after having visited, I am now seriously leaning toward moving there soon. It sems like it would work reasonably well for me. I'm being realistic in that it doesn't seem like a super exciting city, but I don't care....I'm mostly a homebody suburban type of guy who loves driving a car. And I'm not expecting it to be a fascinating, glamorous place. I think with a positive attitude and realistic expectations, it would work for me, since it seems to offer much of what I want in everyday life.

Thoughts?

[brinkofsunshine]

Sounds like a realistic view of the city. Glad you had a good time, and good luck in whatever you choose to do

[Guyanese]

Hope you get lot of hot gayass when you move down here

[DavieJ89]

Originally Posted by nep321

I had the opportunity to spend most of last week visiting the Orlando area and just wanted to share my impressions. Recall that I am considering moving down from Connecticut within the next two months, with no job.

Anyway, the overall area didn't seem NEARLY as bad as most people on this forum made it out to be. I thought most of the metro area appeared very clean and generally felt safe, except for a few concentrated areas in the city. I drove on the highways during rush hour twice and didn't think the traffic was as bad as many other cities. The downtown seemed clean, safe and walkable, with plenty of shops and restaurants. Outside of that, there were many nice suburbs and I NEVER felt unsafe. The whole area didn't seem like a stressful place to live either, but I'm sure each person's life is different in that regard. I thought Maitland, Winter Park, Oviedo, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Celebration seemed all like nice places. I was also impressed to see that there are many neighborhoods that have nice homes and do not have the cookie cutter look, altough I saw plenty here and there. I also liked how many of the roads curved and had subtle hills, unlike many other parts of Florida. And I met a few people while there. Some were educated with good jobs, some were not. It's like that any place. I also liked how the people are similar to Northeastern people, albeit slightly slower paced (which I like). I liked how there is a large gay population that isn't as pretentious as other cities like San Francisco, NYC or Boston. Many other guys actually talked to me and I didn't feel invisble for once!

Now, what I didn't like was that of course, the land area is remarkably flat compared to CT. And the layout and architecture of many areas aren't as charming as New England, but oh well...not a huge deal. And of course, I would prefer to have a little more seasonal changes in the climate, but I knew that FL is like that. The tolls were annoying too, but a Sun Pass could be purchased. Also, I was disappointed to see way too many Romney/Ryan yard signs. That makes me think it's a super conservative area. But I know in reality it's more moderate.

Overall, I would say that after having visited, I am now seriously leaning toward moving there soon. It sems like it would work reasonably well for me. I'm being realistic in that it doesn't seem like a super exciting city, but I don't care....I'm mostly a homebody suburban type of guy who loves driving a car. And I'm not expecting it to be a fascinating, glamorous place. I think with a positive attitude and realistic expectations, it would work for me, since it seems to offer much of what I want in everyday life.

Thoughts?

My family has been here since 1995 and we haven't thought once about EVER going back to CT. We'll be waiting and welcoming you to Orlando whenyou get here!

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

My family has been here since 1995 and we haven't thought once about EVER going back to CT. We'll be waiting and welcoming you to Orlando whenyou get here!

It's kinda random to mention this, but one of my friends is in CT for a few years (originally from FL). I can't believe they actually charge you "property tax" on every car you register there EVERY year. It's a bundle of $$$$.

Between the weather and the taxes, it's a wonder anyone lives up there

[nep321]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

It's kinda random to mention this, but one of my friends is in CT for a few years (originally from FL). I can't believe they actually charge you "property tax" on every car you register there EVERY year. It's a bundle of $$$$.

Between the weather and the taxes, it's a wonder anyone lives up there

Well I could see the typical family with children prefering to live in the Northeast for the schools, which are among the best in the nation. Some people also hate the heat/humidity and think that flat land is boring.

[brinkofsunshine]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

It's kinda random to mention this, but one of my friends is in CT for a few years (originally from FL). I can't believe they actually charge you "property tax" on every car you register there EVERY year. It's a bundle of $$$$.

Between the weather and the taxes, it's a wonder anyone lives up there

CT is really beautiful though; at least the parts I've seen. Along with the good schools there's also access to both New York City and Boston. Plus, you get the beautiful foliage in the fall.

There's some great and bad aspects to living in NE, just like Florida. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by brinkofsunshine

CT is really beautiful though; at least the parts I've seen. Along with the good schools there's also access to both New York City and Boston. Plus, you get the beautiful foliage in the fall.

There's some great and bad aspects to living in NE, just like Florida. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

I agree that CT is much more beautiful than FL (in the summer). The deciduous forest is very dense, deep green and beautiful, combined with moderately high hills and low mountains. I love seeing the walls of cut graphite rock on the sides of highway ramps and stuff. Add to that, a lot of beautiful old stonewalls, a rocky coastline, lots of charming old homes and towns that don't have a "planned" look to them. The roads, towns and neighborhoods just look natural. The zoning is different than that in FL. Winter can look nice too, but the cold seriously gets on my nerves very fast, especially when combined with wind. But I don't want to be the type of person who moves from one place to another solely based on climate.

[espizarro]

Originally Posted by nep321

I had the opportunity to spend most of last week visiting the Orlando area and just wanted to share my impressions. Recall that I am considering moving down from Connecticut within the next two months, with no job.

Anyway, the overall area didn't seem NEARLY as bad as most people on this forum made it out to be. I thought most of the metro area appeared very clean and generally felt safe, except for a few concentrated areas in the city. I drove on the highways during rush hour twice and didn't think the traffic was as bad as many other cities. The downtown seemed clean, safe and walkable, with plenty of shops and restaurants. Outside of that, there were many nice suburbs and I NEVER felt unsafe. The whole area didn't seem like a stressful place to live either, but I'm sure each person's life is different in that regard. I thought Maitland, Winter Park, Oviedo, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Celebration seemed all like nice places. I was also impressed to see that there are many neighborhoods that have nice homes and do not have the cookie cutter look, altough I saw plenty here and there. I also liked how many of the roads curved and had subtle hills, unlike many other parts of Florida. And I met a few people while there. Some were educated with good jobs, some were not. It's like that any place. I also liked how the people are similar to Northeastern people, albeit slightly slower paced (which I like). I liked how there is a large gay population that isn't as pretentious as other cities like San Francisco, NYC or Boston. Many other guys actually talked to me and I didn't feel invisble for once!

Now, what I didn't like was that of course, the land area is remarkably flat compared to CT. And the layout and architecture of many areas aren't as charming as New England, but oh well...not a huge deal. And of course, I would prefer to have a little more seasonal changes in the climate, but I knew that FL is like that. The tolls were annoying too, but a Sun Pass could be purchased. Also, I was disappointed to see way too many Romney/Ryan yard signs. That makes me think it's a super conservative area. But I know in reality it's more moderate.

Overall, I would say that after having visited, I am now seriously leaning toward moving there soon. It sems like it would work reasonably well for me. I'm being realistic in that it doesn't seem like a super exciting city, but I don't care....I'm mostly a homebody suburban type of guy who loves driving a car. And I'm not expecting it to be a fascinating, glamorous place. I think with a positive attitude and realistic expectations, it would work for me, since it seems to offer much of what I want in everyday life.

Thoughts?

Did you visit Clermont? The area is unusually hilly, maybe next time you come go and give it a try, if I was to move to the Orlando area I would definitely pick this location to establish, as nothing else comes near it in terms of the really prominent hills, in fact, a high hill is found nearby from where you can even see the skyline of Orlando at the distance.

Check the photos in the link. YES, THIS IS FLORIDA even if you don't believe it, these photos are in Florida!

Anyone have pics of the hills around Clermont?

[DavieJ89]

Originally Posted by brinkofsunshine

CT is really beautiful though; at least the parts I've seen. Along with the good schools there's also access to both New York City and Boston. Plus, you get the beautiful foliage in the fall.

There's some great and bad aspects to living in NE, just like Florida. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

Here's some pics and facts about the town I'm from. The rest of CT is nice, my part is comparable to Oak Ridge, economically and demographically speaking

https://www.city-data.com/album/album...nnecticut.html

Waterbury, Connecticut - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And I don't miss the snow llike in this link!
Waterbury Thoughts: February 2011

The part of CT I'm from is AWFUL! Even though my opinion of the state may be skewed, I still feel Orlando, and the State of Florida as a whole is WAY better than living in Connecticut. I think nep is making the right choice!