Tell me about Orlando!

In My Humble Opinion
1

So… I might be moving to Orlando. Okay, well I’ll probably be moving to Orlando. The Orlando area, at least. I have an uncle who lives there and who has invited my father to move down there to manage his medical practice. My dad will be moving down there in June. My lease on my apartment up here (North-central PA) runs out in October. So I’m very strongly leaning towards moving down to the Orlando area as well. I keep saying I want to get away from this area, I hate my job, and I just don’t really have much to keep me around here.

But I’ve never been to Orlando. Or Florida. Never been anywhere near it, actually. So… tell me about it. Anything. Everything. Job market, housing, traffic, social scene… Here’s the scoop - I’m 23, I’m female, I’ve got a B.A. Music degree and will probably be looking for a job in something related to that. If I can’t find that, I do have quite a bit of experience in a customer service environment. I’m interested in the local indie music scene, as I’m a singer-songwriter and will want to aggressively pursue that outside of my day job. I’m also interested in absolutely anything else anyone can tell me about the place.

Not very specific, I know. But anything will help. Thanks in advance!

2

Haven’t been there, but it sounds a lot like Orange County, CA, judging by a National Geographic article I read. Sprawl, sprawl, sprawl, no major concentrated urban center, chain restaurants and businesses every so many miles along the major roads, and some amusement parks.

3

If you want to work in customer service, the theme parks are a good place. Orlando itself is expensive to live in…I myself live in a nearby county and commute to work.

It was chilly today…only got up to 74. :wink:

No state income tax. No property tax on cars…you pay to renew your tags annually. For my car, that’s about $35.

Gas prices in my area are about $2.85 to $2.89.

Orlando is fairly diverse. There’s something for everyone here. The job market is pretty strong from what I can tell.

There’s been an increase in crime recently, but I don’t know how that is relative to the rest of the country.

They are trying to revitalize downtown, but it’s not there yet.

Any specific questions? I’m a Florida gal, born and bred. Graduated high school and college in central Florida, and most of our family lives within a two hour drive.

4

This question is probably hopelessly vague, but what would be about the average cost for rent on say a one-bedroom apartment in one of those “surrounding counties”? And is it even vaguely affordable realistically? I’ve got credit card bills and student loan bills and such weighing down my paychecks quite a bit - Am I going to be living on ramen with an hour-long commute even if I find a decently-paying job? What amounts to a decently-paying job down there anyway?

I’m horrible at specific questions. I guess I’m just trying to get a feel for the area. I’m pretty much clueless about the whole state. :slight_smile:

5

Tell you about Orlando? OK, he’s 30 years old, best known for his roles as Will Turner in PotC and Legolas in LotR…:wink:

6

Get ready for horrifying traffic from all the tourists some parts of the year, and just really, really bad traffic all the others. It’s growing and growing in all directions (it’s really the only metropolitan Florida area that doesnt sit on the ocean). After you spend one winter down here, any time it is under 50 you will have a heavy sweater or winter coat on. In the summer, weather patterns move from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and collide over Orlando, causing a heavy rain storm for an hour or two pretty much every day. There is ALOT to do there, but I don’t know how fast you would go through it all and not want to do it again(theme parks, tourist trap type things, etc).

There is an outlet mall near Disney on I4 that is called the Designer Outlet, and has factory stores from Kenneth Cole, Banana Republic, Hugo Boss, Gucci, etc. I haven’t been in a couple of years ( I used to go to Orlando every few months for work for a week or two), so I don’t know what all is there now.

I don’t know much about the indie music scene…in the late 90s-2002 or so, Orlando was the main town where an underground dance music style called Florida Breaks was coming from (with Tampa and Jax minor players). Orlando had a TON of ravey type bars, the scene was absolutely huge, and then anti-rave/drug laws were passed and pretty much killed the whole scene. Most of the producers from then are still making music, but they have broken out and tour all over, so it’s not really focused on Orlando like it used to be.

There is a decent little review of the arts in Orlando in the Orlando wikipedia page

7

Think of Orlando as Las Vegas minus the sin. We’re an entertainment/service town. Musicians, actors, comedians can all find jobs if they’re at least halfway decent and not above playing for tourists. This isn’t the place to go to be discovered unless you’re really good - but it’s a good place to get your feet wet.

There isn’t much of an indie music scene as far as I know. We have some bands and stuff but there isn’t currently an Orlando version of Atlanta’s Little Five Points or anything.

What was said about the rave scene is very true, it used to be real big but with the curfews and enforcements that were put into place the rave scene is all but gone. There is a fairly decent night life downtown still with bars and clubs though.

Lemme know what else you want to know :slight_smile:

– IG

8

I live in the Orlando area. Be afraid :wink:

Yeah, so umm… it’s really hot here in the summer. We’re talking buckets of sweat. We’re talking wishing there was no public indecency law so you could walk around naked all day. From June to September, stay indoors or be prepared to suffer.

Downtown is ok. Compared to NYC or a similar city though, it really blows. Downtown isn’t really my thing. I’m a Winter Park guy. It’s a rich suburb 5 miles out. It’s where Rollins College and Fullsail are located.

Winter Park is fun :slight_smile: . It’s a very beautiful place and has great nightlife, but you wont be able to find it by yourself right away. You have to do some searching. There are dive bars, karaoke bars, wine+cheese bars, and sports bars. No clubs really though…that’s the only sad thing.

As per the indie scene, I know of a few places that let amateurs perform, so shoot me an e-mail when you arrive and I’ll see what I can do for you. In any case, I’d love to show you around Winter Park (I’m 23 and male. Currently not single though :P)

Disney World is nice, but pricey.

As for the rent question, umm… I cant really help you. I’m not really self-supporting yet sadly :frowning: But, if you are ever in dire straights, my house has a spare bedroom. Sometimes we (my parents and I) even think of renting it out. It’s got a private entrance and everything. Just throwing it out there.

9

So totally worth it though.

10

My brother’s girlfriend’s aunt works at Disney World, actually, and has said she’ll get us free tickets whenever we want. :slight_smile: She’s a bodyguard for the princesses – basically she follows Cinderella and the other girls around to make sure no one molests them. She’s a very intimidating woman.

I’ll keep your invitation for showing me around in mind, though. By the time I get down ready to move down there, by dad will have been settled in for several months, so if nothing else I can crash on his couch while finding myself a place.

Basically I’m just massively intimidated by moving to an actual metropolitan area. The closest I’ve come to living in an actual city was a summer spent living in the suburbs of Rochester, NY with a friend of mine. I was born and raised and still live in the area of Williamsport, PA, which barely counts as a town to some people, although around here it’s “the city”. The concept of urban sprawl, especially HOT urban sprawl, is kind of foreign to me. That’s why I want to get as much info as I can. Don’t suppose anyone can recommend a good suburb to look at? :slight_smile:

Honey, I know all about THAT Orlando. I had myself a calendar of him last year, he stared at me at work every day. I miss that calendar. ::sigh:: PotC 3 comes out May 25th!

11

It can vary wildly. I would suggest googling apartments for rent in Orlando and surrounding suburbs. Stay far away from Pine Hills and Parramore…those are high crime areas.

We have an extensive toll road system, growing every day. I-4 is the main corridor, but traffic is horrendous. I myself take the turnpike to work, it’s $1 each way.

12

At this point the suburbs/exurbs are where the hot sprawl is. In the area of “citified” Orlando, roughly within the boundaries of Maitland, Longwood, Casselberry, Union Park, and Kissimmee, there isn’t much huge new development going on. So traffic patterns are already set and not much new construction will impede them. That said traffic is pretty bad, but not as much of a crapshoot as the exurbs.

W/r/t the music scene, I don’t frequent actual indie bars but I have seen their advertisements. But in a step up from that, in downtown there are quite a few places that have a combo of local bands and touring smalltime artists. And of course there are major bands that come around every once in awhile to places such as the House of Blues and Hard Rock (I have not been to the majorer venues here, as if I wanted to sit 500 feet away from an artist I’d just stay at home and listen to a CD.)

13

Do you like the heat?

I know Autolycus said June - September, but I’m horrendously uncomfortable most years from late Aprilish all the way til the middle of October. It’s good so far this year though – we’re in the middle of a cold snap so it’s only 72 right now.

And it’s hotter inland, where Orlando is. I’m on the coast, and I find the temperature in Orlando often unbearable. Also, it’s way too big in area for me. As Capa said, Orlando’s the only metro area of importance in Florida that is not constrained by the ocean. Where I live is ocean on three sides, so we have no choice in how big we get.

14

21 year old guy here. I’ve been living in Orlando for the past two years.

Let’s see…

As far as the Indie music scene is concerned, you’ll probably want to be familiar with The Social in donwtown Orlando and Natura Tea and Coffee located off of University BLVD as well as downtown. I haven’t been out for live music in a while so my knowledge regarding any other joints are hazy at best.

As far as indie film is concerned, you’ll really want to check out the Enzian Theater, a nonprofit indepedant theater with plush furniture, servers, and a full menu with various dinners to choose from, including a wine and beer list. Ticket prices are the same as any other theater. A wonderful place to spend an evening.

Winter Park Avenue is our artsy/cultural are of town. Very beautiful and filled with clubs, restaraunts, art shops, decor shops, and a really nice little used bookstore.

And speaking of used bookstores, there are two located on 436 within a few miles of each other. One is in the Big Lots shopping plaza on the corner of 436 and HallBrach while the other is a fwew miles…north(?) on the right hand side in another shopping center. Both have very nice talkative old ladies and an inviting atmosphere.

Personally, I don’t think we have any really good Italian restaraunts, but we have Mexican like you wouldn’t believe. The best you’ll find is Betos on the corner of 436 and 17-92. If you didn’t know to look for it, you’d pass right by. Or, if you’re like me and have an eye for run down looking dives that somehow manage to stay open 24/7 like Betos does, you notice right away because you can bet anyplace that looks unspectacular on the outside yet still manages to stay openm has some AMAZING food. and they do. For $8 they’ll feed you so much you’ll never want to eat again. If you walkaway from this thread having discarded all advice, remember this pearl: EAT AT BETOS.
(I suggest the Carnitas, Steak Ranchero, or Chimichanga dinner myself).

The average speed driven is usually 10-15 miles over the speed limit.

Marijuana use is pretty common. I’ve heard that amongst FullSail students there’s a rumor going around that their University regularly pay off the cops to prevent them for arresting people for using the substance. This is ridiculous of course, but it does reflect the extent to which you can speak about it, smoke it, and buy/sell it wihtout arousing any trouble.

And that’s all I have for now.

15

If you’re willing to move south to Osceola county, you’ll save a couple of hundred dollars a month on rent. My (soon to be ex) husband moved to Saint Cloud and pays 800 for a 2/2. I think they have 1 br for around 725. This is a very nice place. If you are willing to live in something older, you can find something in that county for less than 700.
If you want to live around the center of Orlando or Winter Park ,you’ll possibly looking at the high 900s or more. The traffic is still worse commuting south from the north but I think that is changing. I prefer to live in the south for that reason.

16

For the benefit of the OP, can any Orlando residents comment on whether it’s more expensive to buy staples like groceries and gas there, because of it being a tourist trap? How about the toll roads? Do the locals have to use them, or are there alternate routes around them that aren’t obvious to tourists?

17

It’s not much of a tourist trap as everyone thinks it is. The “attractions” are south of the city with all the resorts. But even without them the metro area is HUGE. The main artery is I-4 and is an interstate so there are no tolls on it. The heavy toll roads seem to connect the airport with the “attractions”.
As far as major sports go all you have are the Magic (NBA). If you like baseball or football you’ll have to root for the Dolphins, Bucs, Jags, Devilrays, or Marlins.
I don’t think it’s that different from other major cities. The “old” people you hear about are mainly on the coasts and if you live and work around Orlando you won’t notice a definitive “tourist” season cause the locals are a plenty. I’d wait till you find a job and then choose a place to live. Commutes can suck and it would be nice to live by where you work.
Get an all inclusive season pass to either Disney or the Universal parks. They’ll definately pay for themselves in the first year.

18

I don’t find groceries and such overly expensive, but then, I don’t shop in Orlando. We go to Sam’s in Ocoee/Winter Garden and I fill up with gas near my home, which is cheaper than by my work.

I take the turnpike to and from work, and we do travel on the 408 to visit relatives. I do know a back way to my dad’s house, but sooner or later, you’re going to have to get on I-4.

The area around I-Drive (short for International Drive) is very touristy, as it runs right into Sea World. Universal is right by my work, but Disney is over in Kissimmee.

Orlando is not just a tourist town. We love tourists…they pay our taxes. But there are plenty of areas where you can still get the small town feel…like my Orlando(ish).

19

This is what I know, and can share, about Orlando. On the corner of Sand Lake Road and Dr. Phillips sits Corona Cigar company, the best cigar store I have ever seen, and I’m from Cuba. They have almost every kind of cigar, except Cubans, you can imagine, and dirt cheap. It also has a nice bar, nice Cuban music, domino and card tables, and you can smoke inside the store.

20

You can usually get a very reasonable deal (airfare, hotel) to Orlando, esp during low season, which is the spring and the fall when the kiddies are in school. I’d definitely consider checking out the area before moving, esp if you have qualms about moving to a large metropolitan area.

And be prepared to embrace heat and humidity in the summer months. Of course, you’ll be 2 hours from the ocean, so that might be a plus if you’re into the beach scene.