PlannerGirl said:
Ok Dan I got a month till im in Orlando, dont be scaring me like this! There has got to be some civilized life there. Or am I gonna have urban withdrawls the whole 4 days?
Most of the Orlando metro area looks Floridian, and is culturally Northeastern US oriented.
However, there's an enclave. Development didn't happen in that region until recently, because most of the land was held in citrus production. The economic base of those towns were ag, and they've been around as long as Orlando was. They were also culturally and financially independent.
While Orlando grew, the ag towns remained unchanged; West Orange County was literally Orlando's "God Forsaken Zone" Citrus west bust in the 1980s, and West Orange County was finally open for develpment.
The two dominant towns in the area each went down different paths. The town I live in, Ocoee,
has an ugly history, and wanted to overcome its redneck reputation. They did so quite well -- tough design regulations, higher-than-average median family and per capita income, higher end residential development, an upscale mall -- it did allright, although it's geographically it's still considered "God forsaken" in the collective eyes of Orlando residents. Ocoee made some tough choices, but now it's reaping the rewards.
In the other town, the former citrus bosses still held power, and the good 'ol boy system continued. Development controls were minimal -- "I know ya', Bob .... naaah, we won't worry about them curb cuts for now." Used car dealers were "compatible" with the former citrus-based businesses along the city's main corridor, where land was divided into small parcels, so they flooded in. That was followed by auto repair, then heavy equipment sales, and the die was cast; main street resound swith the growling sounds of diesel engines. The city couldn't attract any higher end residential development (until recently), so most newcomers weren't that well off. Yankees didn't feel comfortable there; working class Southerners did.
It's too bad. That second town has a superior lakefront location, a great downtown, an established presence of small business owners who lived in the commuity, and a large stock of historic architecture. There was so much potential, and it was shot.