I saw the Book of Mormon last night and I thought it was funny how Price said the place he wanted to go to was Orlando. Ostensibly its a fun place - 70-80 degree temps the whole year and a lot of amusement/water parks. And its also home to BRTD's favorite congressman.
Nonetheless, I've always felt its a shady place, similar to Las Vegas. It seems whenever you hear in the news about someone masturbating in public or a serial killer/child molester at large, it seems to be in Orlando, or at least Florida (see here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wugmipPvTFE). It seems the type of place where there are a lot of scary transient types. Like many resort areas you have to stay "on the reservation" because once you leave, all bets are off.
Orlando doesn't have 70-80 degree temps year round. Being inland, it gets oppressively hot and humid (even for Florida) in the summer and it's not immune from cold snaps in the winter. It can occasionally drop below freezing and you have the occasional string of days in the 50s and 60s. Sorry, I'm a climate nerd! But yes, the climate is very agreeable if you have a preference for hot to warm weather.
I like the fact that Orange and Osceola counties are trending D, but that's mainly because the region is diversifying, and sadly that seems to have increased racial tensions (Trayvon Martin). Seems to be a divide between the white retirees and the black/hispanic transplants.
I've been to Orlando a few times and it's very Florida in the sense that it's just one big suburban footprint with no real sense of place, so I don't like that too much. And if you're going to live in FL, you should at least live close to the beach. I hate theme parks, but that's a neutral issue for me because if I lived there I just wouldn't go.
While Orlando has some good things going for it, (climate, D trend, entertainment options, proximity to the beach) I would still call it an HP mainly because it seems dull and soulless. I'd much rather live in Miami, the Keys, some little beach town or even Tallahassee.
BTW all of Florida is crazy but the Panhandle is the craziest. It's a weird mix of rednecks, beach bums and drunk college kids, which is a perfect recipe for insanity.
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