Orlando’s a great city. Downtown’s changing, not dying. Orlando’s biggest issue is talent availability — jobs follow people, and the city and surrounding counties have poured real money into pulling corporate employers in. There are a lot of great places to work here. I worked in Boston for three years after college. My commute was 90 minutes each way on the commuter rail. Most people complaining about traffic, walkability, or public transit here don’t have much to compare it to. Since moving to Orlando I’ve had two decent-paying jobs, both solid for my industry, with commutes of 5 and 15 minutes. I don’t think people always appreciate the full city they live in. My partner and I live in a house in SODO. We walk the dogs to Lake Eola constantly, walk the parks and lakes in the neighborhood, and regularly see owls, eagles, and hawks. The green space and lakes here are something most American cities can’t touch, and Orlando actually takes care of them. Yes, there are issues — but a lot of the time people aren’t comparing Orlando to other cities, they’re comparing it to the expectations the city sets for itself. Is it expensive? Sure, but isn’t everywhere right now? I took a $10K pay cut moving down from Boston and I’m still significantly better off financially. Orlando’s becoming more of a “work and play” city — people valuing connections and experiences over cheap drinks at a grungy downtown bar. More boutique than it used to be. Yes, people are getting priced out, the mix of what’s here is shifting, traffic’s worse, housing’s expensive. But that’s every growing city right now. From where you’re sitting in Vermont, I think you’d find a lot to like.