Orlando Lifestyle and Beyond

Orlando might be a top destination for tourists looking to enjoy its theme parks, but how does it measure when it comes to living and working there? In fact, more than 2.3 million call the Orlando metropolitan area home, though only 277,000 actually reside in the city proper. In a year, it receives many more tourists, to the tune of 68 million people.

Working in Orlando 

As you can imagine, most of the people working in these theme parks are living in the area. Tourism provides many residents with great work opportunities and everyone knows someone who is working in a theme park. If the theme parks were to close, this would create a huge problem and will damage the local economy greatly.

Thankfully, Orlando, FL is also an industrial and technology center, with many firms in aviation, aerospace, digital media, software design, and other fields providing jobs for designers, scientists, and engineers. Manufacturing jobs in technology also abound, for example in Lockheed Martin. They have a huge factory producing aeronautical craft, missile systems, and other high-tech components.

Surprisingly, the convention industry also contributes highly to the local economy. The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL is the second largest in terms of space in the whole country. Up to 1.4 million visitors come here yearly, bringing in about $2.2 billion in annual revenue to the city.

Living in Orlando

Now that you know that great jobs are plentiful in the city, it is important to talk about actually living there. First of all, it won’t be living along the beach, as many people might assume, just because it is in Florida. Still, the great weather all-year round can be thoroughly enjoyed, without worrying about very high temperatures during summer. To cool down, there are more than 100 lakes around the city to enjoy.

Unfortunately, going around the city itself is not as smooth. With many tourists and lots of traffic, you can expect to spend a lot of time on the road in your daily commute. Part of this is the fact that many residents opt to go to work every day by car. The local transportation covers the whole metropolitan area with bus and rail services. There is even a free downtown transport called LYMMO.

In terms of housing, residents will not have to worry about not being able to afford apartments. While the prices are not low given that Orlando, FL is a big city, it is still not too high that they are out of reach for locals. About half of the people living there spend something between $800 and $1500 on housing costs.

Overall, the cost of living is about 6% lower than the national average, making it even more attractive as a place to live. This is great news for the thousands of students who are studying at the University of Central Florida (UFC), which is the biggest university in terms of enrollment. As living expenses are not as high, students are able to live without worrying about rent.

Actually, Orlando is a metropolis with a highly educated population. Almost half of residents have a bachelor’s degree, which is also why tech firms have offices here. Do not be deceived by the many theme parks in the city into thinking that it is only a good tourist destination. It is, in fact, a city where great jobs and a relatively good life can be found.

Go here to read more about Orlando, FL.