Spend a day at Disney World, Universal or SeaWorld and you see why Orlando is the theme park capital of the world, but it also runs as an ordinary city of about 335,000 people with lakes, oak-shaded neighborhoods and a decent food scene. These parks anchor the tourism economy, and International Drive is the corridor of hotels and attractions. Living here feels more suburban and car-based than most visitors realize.
Away from the parks, Lake Eola in downtown is a pleasant place to walk, and Winter Park has a nice main street and boat tours. Thornton Park, College Park and Mills 50 are the neighborhoods for eating and drinking, and Kennedy Space Center is about 50 miles away. Costs are close to the national average and the housing market has softened lately. The downsides are heat and humidity, summer lightning storms, hurricane season, heavy traffic, and higher crime in parts of west and south Orlando.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- The City Beautiful; Theme Park Capital of the World; Mickey's hometown; O-Town
- Founded
- 1843 settled; 1875 incorporated as a town, 1885 as a city
- Languages
- English; Spanish; Haitian Creole; Portuguese; Vietnamese
- Airports
- MCO Orlando International (about 10 mi southeast of downtown); SFB Orlando Sanford International (about 25 mi north, budget carriers); Daytona Beach DAB (about 55 mi); Tampa TPA (about 85 mi); Melbourne MLB (about 65 mi)
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20% for table service (often auto-added 18% for large parties); bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-3 per bag; theme park character dining and guides 15-20%; valet $3-5
