That’s not an exaggeration. It's home to Disney World, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Legoland Florida and a whole lot more. This may make it feel like a magical experience for only those with small children, but the arts and culture scene, nightlife, and a ton of great restaurants and bars make it worth it for everyone. 

**Here's the pov of a local about living here:** 
*I’m in my 30s and love it here. Live downtown in a house we rent with a yard and, in non-covid times, go to Disney about once a week with my partner (we head over after work, normally). There are also many parks. If you have a hobby, it will be easier making friends. In normal times, there are meet ups at the parks, meet ups based on different hobbies (we have done kayaking and hiking meet ups) and tons others. I feel like there is so much to do here and living downtown means I can walk to most of my favorite spaces. Easy drives to beaches is a plus too.*

For more reviews of Orlando from locals check out: [**The Buzz**](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/orlando?page=buzz)

It’s the Center of Fun

The Best Thing About Orlando?

Orlando gets hot. Really hot. And with that heat comes humidity. It can be unpleasant and weigh you down. The payoff is a lot of sunshine, and morning storms that tend to burn off quickly. Residents have found ways to handle it, so where there's a will there’s a way but it’s safe to say that those who do not like warmer climates would not like this city.

**Counsel from a local on living with the humidity:**
*It's the humidity that kills you here. I found that loose fitting clothing so you can get a nice bag of air around you helps with keep cool. Tight fitting clothing can sometimes soak up the air moisture and then make you feet sticky. On top of that get natural made fabrics that will breathe rather than polyester or plastic clothing.
Or do what I do most of the day, and stay inside with the AC on!*

It’s Not the Heat It’s the Humidity

The Worst Thing About Orlando? 

Much of Orlando is of course theme parks and suburban sprawl to support the explosion in families that moved here. If you’re looking for nightlife and to be close to a commercial district be sure to choose wisely. There are areas with culture/shopping and good restaurants but outside of a few neighborhoods most of Orlando is suburban and quiet. Orlando does have an active outdoor culture, the weather, while scorching hot in summer, is very pleasant 9 months a year which means whatever you like to do outside of snow sports, you can do all year round here. 

If you're interested in checking out the happenings in Orlando here is the calendar of events: https://www.visitorlando.com/events

Lifestyle Of Orlando

Not shocking tourism is the center of the economy in Orlando. At the high end of the tourism industry there are good paying professional jobs but the majority are low-paying service jobs, which means much of Orlando is lower-cost and rental driven to accommodate the wage levels. 

Outside of tourism there is a large industrial and tech sector economy. Digital media, and software design are particularly strong in Orlando and there are also major international companies in aerospace and defense industries. Overall the economy is strong and plenty of people move here for the inexpensive housing and job opportunities.


Worklife Of Orlando

If you don't like Sun don't move here. If you do, you will get your fill. If you hate Disney, don't move here, but if you like at least the idea of theme parks, then there's no better place on the planet. 

Sun and fun!

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**The Best Thing About Orlando?** It’s the center of fun

Orlando is the home to Disney World, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios and more, which may feel like a magical respite only for those with small children, but residents enjoy it just as much. Disney properties and parks cut a large swath into Orlando, but a city also exists with its own assets, including good schools and roads. 

**The Worst Thing About Orlando?** It’s Not the Heat It’s the Humidity

Orlando gets hot. Really hot. And with that heat comes humidity. It can be unpleasant and weigh you down. The payoff is a lot of sunshine, and morning storms that tend to burn off quickly. Residents have found ways to handle it, so if there’s a will there’s a way but it’s safe to say that those who do not like warmer climates would not like this city.

**How You Living?** 

Tourists are a fact of daily life in Orlando and once you figure out how to navigate around them, Orlando can be a wonderful place to live. You can find entry-level jobs by the score, but there’s not a ton of higher-paying jobs, and the pay isn’t great compared to the cost of living. But there’s always something fun to do!

**Why You Should Move Here Now?** It’s sunny and fun 

You can’t move to Orlando without facing the reality of Mickey Mouse and obnoxious tourists, but those who like hot weather will enjoy being outdoors and the plentiful wildlife. 


Downtown is the hotspot for older Gen Z and younger Millennials. It’s where college students and professionals live so they can walk to class or to work. It also is home to some of the newest most interesting restaurant choices, plenty of bars and nightclubs so after work and on weekends you can get out for the night. Plenty of highrise apartment and condo choices at good prices for a big city make it affordable to boot!
- Downtown
- South Eola


Young Professionals

Downtown

If you want some action but want to be a bit removed from Downtown then look at South Eola. Just south of the business district it surrounds much of Lake Eola, so you get lots of water recreation, but it’s also filled with a cool mix of homes, high-rise apartments/condos and has tons of walkable dining, drinking, cafe-ing and shopping options. 
- South Eola


DINKs/SINKs

South Eola

Within the Colonialtown area sits the Milk District. A historic neighborhood filled with beautiful mid-century bungalows and lakefront botanic gardens. It’s also home to tons of bars, eclectic restaurants, boutique shopping and cafes that are owned by and/or cater to the LGBTG+ community in Orlando. https://www.outcoast.com/most-lgbt-friendly-neighborhoods-in-orlando
- Colonialtown/Milk District
- Delany Park
- Lake Eola Heights


LGBTQ+

Colonialtown

Baldwin Park is a good place for families to start their search if you like the idea of a neighborhood that feels like a part of the city but has the benefits of a suburb. It has its own town center with tons of shops, eats and drinks, all walkable from the apartments and homes in the neighborhood. It also has great homes, schools and 50 miles of walking, biking and hiking paths in the actual Baldwin Park. Mix in the live music, fresh produce and crafts at the Orlando Farmers Market, and you get a sense of the community vibe of the place.
- Baldwin Park
- Lake Nona
- Oviedo


Families

Baldwin Park

Hard to beat Florida for retirees and Orlando is no exception. South Eola is a great neighborhood to consider: lots of dining, shopping and entertainment in the most walkable neighborhood in all of Orlando. Not only are the houses great choices for retirees and empty-nesters but it has two of Orlando’s retirement communities: Baptist Terrace and the Orlando Lutheran Towers, for those who favor more structured environments. 
- South Eola
- Lake Eola Heights
- Lake Cherokee 


Retirees

Lake Eola Heights

Orlando

**Do I want to move to Orlando?!**

I’ve lived down here for 8 years now. It’s personally not one my favorite I’ve lived, but I am not typically in the norm. I’m more of a mountain guy, and not super interested in the beaches. Also prefer cold to hot (I miss snow, but I think I’m the only one!). I’m explaining my gripes mostly because they tend to not be shared, most people love being able to go outside year round and not deal with ice on the roads. I live in Winter Garden, a suburb just outside of Orlando, and really like it there. The small downtown actually has a lot of life and character. Downtown Orlando itself has a great night life and food scene. Then there’s all the parks. Lot of friends spend a lot of time there. Other than downtown (lots of neighborhoods around there that are great), Winter Garden, Winter Park, and Maitland are some other nice areas I’d recommend. Hope that helps some!

**Do I want to move to Orlando?!**

I’m in my 30s and love it here. Live downtown in a house we rent with a yard and, in non-covid times, go to Disney about once a week with my partner (we head over after work, normally). Finding a house with a yard might be difficult depending on your rent range but there are actually more than usual amount of places for rent downtown as Covid has forced renters out of the area. There are also many parks. If you have a hobby, it will be easier making friends. In normal times, there are meet ups at the parks, meet ups based on different hobbies (we have done kayaking and hiking meet ups) and tons others but they are obviously in hold. I feel like there is so much to do here and living downtown means I can walk to most of my favorite spaces. Easy drives to beaches is a plus too. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

**Do I want to move to Orlando?!**

Metro/Downtown Orlando has a great culture and music scene, and other posters are right there is a huge difference between Orlando and "Disney." I'd avoid Clermont and Kissimmee like the plague if you want any social life. Also be prepared for pricy housing either renting or owning.

In all you really couldn't find a better place to live, we're 30-40 minutes from the beach, theme parks are close (20 minutes if you live in metro Orlando, which I highly suggest over living near the parks). Good food, great music scene, fun night-life, and lots of green spaces.

I'd suggest looking in the Winter Park area if you can afford it, also most of Seminole County is a bit more affordable and not a far clip from Orlando. I'd even say the Sanford area has a pretty neat little social scene itself that a lot of people find more inviting than Downtown Orlando.

One caution, while Orlando is generally a pretty safe place, I'd plan a visit before you set your sights on a place to rent. I know a lot of people who really regretted their first rentals in town and had they just taken a chance to look around a bit they'd have found something a lot better.

**What is it like to live in Orlando, FL?**

A few things to know:

—Orlando is like a little Los Angeles: sunny, multi-cultural, some very expensive neighborhoods and oh yes: horrible traffic, several toll roads, and constant, irksome, road construction.

—Orange County, the county Orlando is in, has its own mayor—one of few counties to have this office—because Orange County got sick of Orlando using county money to pay for Orlando-specific stuff and created a strong mayor position to keep the city-county relationship in check.

—Orlando has a large Caribbean Hispanic population but also a large Jamaican population, Korean population, Vietnamese population, Haitian, and decent-sized Chinese population. There is a Lotte Plaza Korean supermarket and it rocks, it’s awesome, at least two Chinese supermarkets, several large Caribbean supermarkets, a whole Chinese shopping plaza on Colonial, a Viet Town (also on Colonial) and we’re getting another Korean market, an H-Mart, soon.

—Speaking of international influence, in the southern part of the city (OBT south of Florida Mall area) I use Spanish more than English. I’ve also heard a lot of Viet, Haitian Creole, and some Mandarin. It’s seriously a wonderfully international community.

—Millenia is the pretty mall with upscale stores. Florida Mall is more touristy and everyday, but still nice—and huge.

—Soccer is big here!

—The Disney parks are not downtown. They are not even in Orlando. And most residents do not go to them frequently unless they work there or just love Disney. I’ve not been in years.

—Downtown Orlando is nice, but much of the architecture is new and it shows. There is a somewhat generic but very nice, pleasing, relaxed feel to it.



Orlando, Florida

The City Beautiful

Looklyloo Score: 82

We're on it!