I would rather be in NYC but I'm a city dude.
I'm in Alexandria.Not familiar with Tampa - but I can't imagine not preferring it to DC, DC/Rockville/etc sucked ass. Some parts of MD and NoVa are nice, but DC blows.
(I was Westminster/Columbia/Towson for around 20 years before I moved down here - and dealt with Rockville/DC for a good hunk due to work stuff)
Ain't that the truth. Lived in MD all my life until 2 years ago before I moved to NYC. Born in PG County, grew up in Howard and lived a while in Baltimore, Towson Area. Maryland and the whole DC area fucking sucks dick. NoVA is a congest shithole.Not familiar with Tampa - but I can't imagine not preferring it to DC, DC/Rockville/etc sucked ass. Some parts of MD and NoVa are nice, but DC blows.
(I was Westminster/Columbia/Towson for around 20 years before I moved down here - and dealt with Rockville/DC for a good hunk due to work stuff)
Ain't that the truth. Lived in MD all my life until 2 years ago before I moved to NYC. Born in PG County, grew up in Howard and lived a while in Baltimore, Towson Area. Maryland and the whole DC area fucking sucks dick. NoVA is a congest shithole.
It's all dependent on where you live. If you're in Alexandria you can either choose to live in an area where traffic blows or you can live in an area where there is no traffic. I literally have NO traffic to or from work. I'm also near everything. Is it the "yuppy" area? No. Can I walk to work? No. I'd say it's more multi-cultural than other parts of the area. That also means better food options though. I'm still within walking distance of Mt. Vernon and all it encompasses.Ah for me i mean just the mclean, reston very congested area directly around dc.
If you're into water though the Indian river and the ocean are hard to beat.
Stay away from bodies of water. Heat stroke before noon is easy.It is looking like work is going to relocate me to Orlando Florida in a couple months. I have never been to Florida or Orlando. Any advice on what area's to avoid and things to do or great places to eat would be appreciated.
Lived in Orlando for about 2 years in the military '94-'96, I imagine some things have changed in that time but here's what I remember about the area:
Good:
It's central Florida, you're only an hour from some awesome beaches: Daytona, Cocoa, New Smyrna and Canaveral.
Tons of theme parks (Disney duh), water parks, attractions in Orlando/Kissimmee.
Busch Gardens is only 2 hours away in Tampa.
Also close to the Gulf Coast beaches but a little further than the Atlantic side. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale is only a 5 hour drive.
Savannah, GA is only 4 hours.
Bahamas are an hour by plane.
Someone already mentioned the Keys which are pretty unique-ish.
Lots of direct international flights too.
Tourists means lots of night life. I saw some of the best shows of my life in small clubs in Orlando (Radiohead, Tool, Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine, NIN, Cypress Hill).
Winter Park for neighborhood.
Hurricanes can cause some bad weather but you're too far inland to take a major hit.
Awesome lightning shows (also bad).
SEC Football and ACC Basketball. Florida and FSU respectively.
The weather. Humidity is nowhere near as bad as the coasts. You're living in Houston, so you'll be fine. It gets coldish in the winter but it's mild. You will get rain that is like clockwork during the summer but it's not bad.
Lots of board game geeks and Cons if that's your thing.
Bad:
Tourists. Just stay away from tourist areas. Hit the parks on weekdays if you can. Avoid International Drive like the plague.
Stay away from Orange Blossom Trail unless you're looking for crack or a prostitute.
Traffic. Roads were small, tons of small bodies of water, hard to get across town. Toll roads are better.
I never bought a home anywhere but I remember being told that it's tough because there are really desirable areas but they butt up against some of the worst parts of the cities.
Stay out of Pine Hills (affectionately know to locals as Crime Hills). Best buddy was raised there, and he said it was a for reals bad area. Ironically, it's right next to Winter Park I mentioned above.
You will get struck by lightning (#4 city in the US for strikes, #1,2,3, and 5 also in Florida).
Your dog will get eaten by an alligator. Stay out of the water. Keep your dogs and your kids away from the water. Every night you will see a story about a dog that got eaten on the news.
Like I said, been forever since I was there, but that's what I remember.
Good luck, hope it's a good experience for you.
Protip for the theme parks: go in around 5pm when the tourists have all had enough, there won't be any lines and it's much more pleasant. The parks had a florida resident discount too, don't know if that's still there.
Word. It's pretty magical living on a canal like here when the manatees opt to visit.
I do think if/when I get a different place I'll look into seeing if there's any homes that border on the parts of the Indian River Lagoon that have the biolumiscent phenomena though, that just seems like it would be exceptionally gorgeous as a backdrop from a home if there's any homes out there. The one night the wife and I camped on one of the miniature islands out there during biolum season is something that was a simply amazing experience. (Well, besides letting some gear dry out - I splash alot when I kayak still)
Lived in Orlano for the past 13 years. Currently in Kisimmee just south of the border (place called the Loop, community built around a massive strip mall, nice area). If you have any specific questions shoot. I have lived in Eastern (UCF area) and central Orlando (close to the airport). Never really gone to the west side (Ocoee area) as there isn't much out there.
For weather, it is currently one of the worst years I can remember. We are in a drought and it sucks. I personally love the rain and humidity, and we aren't getting either, so it feels like Dallas, and that's awful. It's also heating the water and no storms are dissipating it, so if a hurricane comes through in a couple months it will feed off this shit and rape us. Granted we haven't gotten hit head on with a hurricane in 13 years, but still.
What area abouts will you be working? Can probably recommend the best suburb to live in (you probably don't want to live in Orlando proper).