Orlando Bound

I'm here in Orlando, Fl. Sure as I know anything, I know this: I aim to misbehave.

Name:
Location: Orlando, Florida, United States

Friday, May 28, 2004

Why we're moving to Orlando

I thought I should write a little bit about why my wife and I are picking up and moving to the Orlando area. It has a lot to do with how dissatisfied we are with living in Las Vegas, a lot to do with the economy in Orlando, and there's the duel factor that we're both big Disney fans and so are most of our close friends. In fact, two of our best friends recently made the move to Orlando to escape the pace of life in Los Angeles (which can best be summed up by the traffic situation - everybody is rushing to get somewhere, but can't because so many people are on the road with them at the same time (a lovely metaphor because it's accurate in both the real and metaphorical sense)) where we lived for many years (my wife was born in LA) before moving to Las Vegas.

Why are we unhappy in Las Vegas. First off, there is nothing to do here for a couple of adults who aren't into the club or party scene. We don't golf, even if we did we couldn't afford the expensive green fees, and we don't smoke, which rules out bars and social clubs. We did bowl for a while but a car accident with a drunk driver ended that for both of us. This leaves nature, of which there is a lot of beautiful areas around Las Vegas, but hiking isn't really our thing on a day to day basis (once or twice a month is nice). Which brings me to my second point.

We're both big Disney fans. My grandfather was an imagineer and my mom and aunt both worked at Disneyland. So for me it's in the blood. I currently write for an online Disney fan website and follow the company closely. The perfect night of entertainment for my wife and I was a visit to The Park, that's what we called Disneyland, sitting at a table at Coke Corner with our friends, sipping lemonade, and listening to the ragtime piano player. Cap the evening with some fireworks and maybe a ride or two and we were as happy as can be. With our annual passes, Disneyland became like the neighborhood bar for us (only friendlier and more crowded). Just like in the TV show Cheers there was always someone there we knew and enjoyed the company of (and if not, you're still at Disneyland!). We have not found anywhere in Las Vegas that comes anywhere close to this experience. We like the fact that living close to Walt Disney World will allow us the opportunity to do this again with our friends and family.

As for the real reason anyone relocates, it's the money. To put it frankly, the economy in Las Vegas has never really diversified from being a resort town and 9/11 has left everyone here jittery whether they admit it or not. When we moved here the Dot-Com bust had yet to happen and everyone was excited about how the technology industry was going to widen the economic base in Las Vegas. Well, that never happened. Instead the economy is tied even closer to the big 5 casino companies then ever before. Most of the tech companies with bases in Las Vegas have closed or moved (even some of the gambling technology companies have moved). We're not happy just eeking out a life of our own and look at this move to Orlando as a chance to kick start both our careers.

If you're reading this and are interested in discussing career opportunities with me please drop me an email at indigo_la at yahoo.com.