Odds are, I’ll be moving there next month – I got something that’s a sorta’ kinda’ offer today for what amounts to my dream job.
Since folks have been discussing the various merits of certain metro areas recently, I was windering if someone can give me the Straight Dope on life in Orlando, outside of the theme parks. Because of the job location, odds are I’ll be living in the Winter Garden/Ocoee/Oakland area if everything pans out.
Orlando is nice if you are in your early twenties and/or love college parties. UCF pretty much has the best Greek Life in the state, and one of the best in the country.
As far as the city itself? Well, I am not one to talk bad about someone else’s city, but I’d rather stay in Tampa. You are almost required to take a toll road to go anywhere in Orlando. Keep lots of quarters in your car, or buy an E-Pass. Downtown buildings and landscape are relativly new and very pretty. Church street is nice, but bars close at 2am there. 2am??? WTF, I know…
Don’t just ignore the whole theme park issue. There is a lot of stuff just outside the theme parks for people to do everyday- like restaraunts, movies, shops etc. There is International Dr. and a whole entertainment complex outside Universal/Island of Adv. The best part is, it’s all designed to attract tourists so it is VERY pretty. All the scenery, the buildings, the walkways… it’s almost impossible to not have a good time on a date there. (This includes taking the family out)
Traffic is hell in the late morning hours and late evening hours from people going to and leaving the parks. But that is localized in front of the parks, several miles from the actual city. Locals will claim traffic is very bad there, but these whiney cry babies have never been to Tampa- they don’t know what real traffic is.
I am not sure which metro area is better to live in than others.
Orlando - 9 years (and not in my early 20s).
Well, as one of the “whiney cry babies” who has idled in the I-4 parking lot at various times (major accident, police chase, tour bus overturns, cow on the freeway, yup- 2 weeks ago), traffic can be hell, but I have 6 alternate routes to work, with 27 ‘escape routes’ in case of other accidents. It pays to plan ahead. It’s something you just deal with.
Bear-Nenno - traffic is not always localized around the parks - most of the reports are centered north of the city from the St. Johns River (with a skinny 2-lane bridge notorious as the site of “I-4-is-completely-shut-down” accidents) through Altamonte Springs to the Fairbanks curves.
The western area (Winter Garden-Ocoee [Orange County] and Clermont [Lake County]) is growing very quickly with a lot of road build-up. Your main routes into Orlando are the 408 Toll Road (East-West Expressway), Route 50 (Colonial Drive) and heading southeast - the Ronald Reagan Turnpike. There is a new road (the Western Beltway, or something like that), also a toll road connecting, IIRC, Apopka to the Disney area. Yup, keep a b^ttload of quarters in the car or get the E-Pass (now if only they would work right- tv report found that 60% of the new transponders had manufacturing defects that would not trip the ‘go’ light but still drain your account). Plus to the toll roads - speed limit is 70, and the Greeneway (eastside toll road connecting Sanford (north), airport (east), Narcossee (southeast) and Disney (southwest) is mostly deserted. Yeehaw!
Driving to the theme parks can be hell. Personally, the local government really mishandled and screwed up the light rail issue, so we are waaaaaaaaay behind in having a decent commuter system. The downtown/countywide bus system is half a joke gone bad. Plans are in for making I-4 10 lanes wide, or a double-decker road, either one could be a toll road). And now with our County Chairman Mel Martinez gone to Washington as Dubya’s HUD Director, I fear the outer areas will end up overgrown with the need for new roads (but the developers never put a school in their plans, already leading to major overcrowding of an already stressed sytem, but that’s a whole 'nuther width.
Live as close as you can to work - you won’t regret it.
Nightlife - they are trying to revitalize downtown, since most of the shops have gone, competition from Downtown Disney and CityWalk (Universal) and now "there is a limit on the number of new tatoo parlors - jeez Glenda (our mayor), it’s not as “overrun” as you think! There are several professional and amateur theatre groups in town (not to mention the theatre departments at Rollins College and UCF), the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, quite a few large and small art museums (folk art to contemporary), the Southern Ballet Theatre, two opera companies (Orlando Opera and Lyric Opera Companies), the (kaff) Orlando Science Center [okay, it’s badly in debt]. Criminey, I had a copy of “O-Arts” (the arts magazine) here - I’m probably missing something.
And I haven’t even mentioned the festivals - the International Fringe Festival in April - 10 days of performances, from the mainstream to the really weird - great time! The Scottish Highland Games are - eek! - TOMORROW (note to self - get ticket). The Mount Dora Art Festival, the Winter Park Art Festival, the Downtown Arts Festival, etc. The Central Florida Fairgrounds is site for the [ta-dah!] Central Florida Fair, as well as other events including the Native American Heritage Festival. The Zora Neal Hurston Festival is in Eatonville (this weekend, I believe). And I cannot forget the Zellwood Corn Festival (I a not kidding - dmn good corn and great country music).
Nature stuff too - canoeing on the Wekiva River, birdwatching at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tibet-Butler Preserve and Tosahatchee Reserve, bobcats and eagles at the Disney Wilderness Preserve (several thousand acres set aside as mitigation by the Disney Company), Whooping Cranes reintroduced in the lower Kissimmee area. Blue Springs and Gemini Springs are not too far for manatee watching (the Manatee Festivals are very popular), and Black Bear Festival (Tavares, I think) is comin up soon.
Ya want sports? Off the top of my head, the Magic (NBA), the Miracle (WNBA), the Solar Bears (IHL), Predators (indoor football), the XFL is coming to town (not sure of the team name there). Spring training with the Atlanta Braves (at Disney’s sports complex - a whole sports thing in itself) and the Houston Astros (Kissimmee). Golf is very big in the area (major tounaments played at Disney courses), the Disney Marathon is evidently one of the top marathons in the world, and the Silver Spurs Rodeo (in Kissimmee) in February and July goes back to the areas roots as cattle and agriculture.
And this is of the top of my head. Contact me off-board, I can type yer ear off about stuff to do in the area! Oh, and you are not isolated in the Ocoee area - there’s a Borders, as well as the West Oaks Mall (very big), an AMC14 Theatre, a Publix, and a new Walgreens Drugstore.
Orlando’s motto - we’re not just theme parks, flea markets, and stuffy gated communities.