e6bpilot

My thoughts exactly. Brightline isn't the commuter rail line that runs in the Northeast, it's going to be scheduled and infrequent. Cars will continue to rule in Florida. You can't live there without one. 4, 95, and 75 are absolutely choked with traffic in any sort of metro area. The toll roads in and around MCO are the best way in and out, but they have issues too and don't go far in every direction. If you want a quick drive to work, consider finding a place close to one of the toll roads (this is no secret, there are neighborhoods popping up everywhere that used to be scrub and swamp).
Like Slip said, it's getting crowded there. The secret is way out and everybody is moving there from high tax structure states and it is creating a lot of issues that Florida really hasn't seen yet. My wife and I highly considered moving back and relocating to the space coast, but a couple of long visits with family have cured us of that notion. My family just sold all their waterfront property that they have owned since the 60's, made a tidy profit, and have mostly gotten out of dodge. Insurance, crowds, and housing costs are creeping way up and making it just as expensive or even more expensive than many places that offer a lot more. Frequent hurricanes over the last two decades have made owning a house on the water untenable unless you are extremely wealthy.
There are still a lot of great spots left to move to in the state, but they aren't anywhere near Orlando. How long before they get overrun too, though?

As I have said before many times, I love Florida, it will always be home, but it's getting ruined by its own success.

thrust

This. A million times this.

Modern Florida just isn’t the same as it was growing up. I still like it overall, and will always call it home, but we’re considering moving to another domicile and renting our current place to wealthy snowbirds escaping the Northeast. It is what it is.

SlipKid

It does not, afaik, yet.


One of the FOs I flew with a month or so ago, when the train service to the C concourse first opened, wanted to take it to FLL, but we got in too late to catch the last train, which I think was around 2100. He was not happy with how spendy it was anyway, so he went to his crash pad and JSed home in the morning.

One of my close friends lived in FLL for the last 10 years or so of his career before he took VSP, and he commuted to MDW then ATL because it was easier than driving and at his level, seniority was better.

Yungpilot

Train has not started service to MCO yet. Supposed to start late March. Let’s see how it runs.

SlipKid

You're right! I just checked their site and it shows no trains. The FO I flew with a few months ago was looking on his phone, and IIRC, it was showing the last SB train at around 2100 or so, but that must've been the proposed sched. He didn't try to book it because it was too early, and was put off by the cost in any case.

IMHO, I'd be all over something like that if I still had that kind of commute. $80 is cheaper than a car rental these days, no need to pay for parking your own vehicle, no traffic issues and someone else does the driving.

SlipKid

100% correct. The toll roads are only good until the areas around them get built out. 417 is a great example. For years, I'd breath a sigh of relief as I made the exit from I4 to 417. When they opened the turnpike exit, it started getting bad, but hit critical mass when Lake Nona exploded. Now, it's often as bad as I4.

We now live in north Lake county, about 10 minutes from 429, and between it being open to Lake Mary now and all of the high density developments that have popped up along it, the difference in traffic compared to when we moved here in the spring of 2019 is very noticeable. And this is just the tip of the iceberg of what's planned.

Like SWFL a decade ago, this area has been "discovered", and the powers that be are doing all they can to destroy it. They just broke ground for another 1000 home high density development right next to one that they just finished on adjacent land, about a mile from my house. Never mind that the only access to either are a few, already overcrowded, 2 lane roads.

The good news for now is that the vast majority of folks still say "where's that?" when they ask me where I live. That used to happen when we lived in SWFL, but around the time that most folks started saying stuff like "It's so beautiful there!" is when the area started going downhill, and rapidly. They built roughly 40,000 homes within 5 miles of my old house in the last 6 years we lived there, with not one major road improvement to accommodate the 2 cars each home brought, and it's gotten far worse since we left.


It really is a shame how this once beautiful state is being completely trampled by irresponsible overdevelopment.

Sad but 100% truth.

Yungpilot

I apologize, I don’t know why I said late March. Typo. It starts mid September.

SlipKid

No worries. I was completely off too!

We watched the progress of this train for years. My folks lived in Jupiter, and when we moved up here 4 years ago, it would've been a nice way for them to come visit, vs. my octogenarian parents driving the whole way. They gave up waiting last year, and bought a place a few miles from us up here.