Houston Vs Orlando

[kzseattle]

A close friend of mine is trying to choose between Orlando and Houston as a place to live as he got job offers from both places. He believes that Orlando may be a better choice for career growth. However, low cost of living in Houston may be its main advantage.

Could some one provide a comparison between the two cities in terms of crime rate, housing cost, property taxes and property insurance rates? If a house of particular size and quality costs X amount of dollars in Houston, how much more or less would it cost in Orlando? Btw, does Florida have state income tax? It would really help if someone has lived in both places and compare the two cities. However, please keep in mind that housing cost for a single-family home in a good/desirable neighborhood would be one of the primary factors.

Thanks for the help!

[skwatra]

i've never lived there, but i go there for work several times a year. cost of living for everyday things isn't much higher than here. housing is a bit more expensive.

the thing that gets me about orlando is how touristy it is. disney does keep the city clean, but there seems to be more tourists then locals. i'm sure when you are a local, you know how to avoid this.

this may be helpful:

msn city comparison

you can compare it to seattle to see if you think it's accurate. i've found the cost of living to be pretty accurate, not sure about some of the other stuff (schools, health care, crime, etc).

[ssullivan]

Btw, does Florida have state income tax?

No, like Texas, Florida is one of the few states with no state income tax.

[kzseattle]

i've never lived there, but i go there for work several times a year. cost of living for everyday things isn't much higher than here. housing is a bit more expensive.

the thing that gets me about orlando is how touristy it is. disney does keep the city clean, but there seems to be more tourists then locals. i'm sure when you are a local, you know how to avoid this.

this may be helpful:

msn city comparison

you can compare it to seattle to see if you think it's accurate. i've found the cost of living to be pretty accurate, not sure about some of the other stuff (schools, health care, crime, etc).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Apparently, the costs of living in the two cities seem quite similar. One thing thats obviously negative about Orlando is the crime rate as the number of violent crimes and property crimes are higher in Orlando. Also, Houston's schools apparently have better rating than Orlando.

[kzseattle]

What was Orlando's main source of economic revenue before Disney World?

A quick google found this: Merto Orlando Stats

Just scroll down as needed.

KZ - Have them come stay with you and give them good tour of Houston first. The last thing they need it to have to choose based on a website that might praise Disney World, but bash our Refineries!

Good Luck

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks 27! I am already trying to convince them to check out both places in person before making the decision.

[LTAWACS]

Houston > orlando

[brijonmang]

Houston > orlando

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yet another very informative post by LTAWACS. But in all seriousness I totally agree with 27, go to both cities in person and look at what you find most important in a living environment, then make your decision.

[kjb434]

Orlando was a sleepy central Florida Town. Very small but bigger than the other villages. I guess you can say a Waco or Tyler sized town.

If you look at maps of Orlando's streets, there appears to be very little of what would seem like the original city. The downtown isn't that big. It is a lot of suburbs to support the tourist industry. Also, many other industries developed because of Disney World and other attractions.

Also, the growth came so fast the city and state couldn't keep up with building freeways for city traffic. I-4 was expanded and the Turnpike handles cross state traffic the other way, but internal to the city they have multiple tollways everywhere and large major thoroughfares.

As for quality of life, there are plenty of places to live and not really notice the tourists. The northwest side or pretty much the entire north side is hot for new homes.

Some on the south side, but it is more swampy over there.

[skwatra]

there is some aerospace out there, one of lockheed's missile defense divisions. and then there's always KSC, even though it's 60 miles away i have some co-workers that live in orlando and commute.

[kzseattle]

Orlando was a sleepy central Florida Town.  Very small but bigger than the other villages.  I guess you can say a Waco or Tyler sized town.

If you look at maps of Orlando's streets, there appears to be very little of what would seem like the original city.  The downtown isn't that big.  It is a lot of suburbs to support the tourist industry.  Also, many other industries developed because of Disney World and other attractions.

Also, the growth came so fast the city and state couldn't keep up with building freeways for city traffic.  I-4 was expanded and the Turnpike handles cross state traffic the other way, but internal to the city they have multiple tollways everywhere and large major thoroughfares.

As for quality of life, there are plenty of places to live and not really notice the tourists.  The northwest side or pretty much the entire north side is hot for new homes.

Some on the south side, but it is more swampy over there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Does Orlando have master-planned communities that are similar to or are as nice as, say, Woodlands, Kingwood, First Colony and other such communities around Houston? May be not as large but nice.

[kjb434]

Yest they do. Disney actually has built one called Villages of Lake Sumter. They build a complete town.

The downtown shopping areas are quite urban and the there are single family homes. I think the give the Woodlands a good run for there money.

The downtown area is already built as a walking friendly place with shops right up to the street.

I saw it in one of my Engineering magazines. It didn't identify a website. It was more about some of the engineering feets and the materials used in some projects.

[Houston19514]

^ You missed one little detail that makes The Villages of Lake Sumter quite different and not comparable at all to The Woodlands.

The Villages of Lake Sumter is a retirement community (or, in the words of their website, "an active 55+ adult community"). It seems like I am seeing television commercials for them constantly. They have one of those bad jingles that sticks in your brain and claws away all day long. ;-)