Moving to Orlando: The Good

What’s it like to live in Orlando? Here’s part 1 of my experience as a trailing spouse in Florida with young kids.

We moved to Orlando in 2015 for my husband’s job. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being a “trailing spouse,” but the timing was decent. Since our first kid was one-year old and we planned to have another, I didn’t see an opportunity for me to work full-time again soon. It was as good a time as any to move and continue freelancing.

Moving from Los Angeles to Orlando was not easy. And since quite a few people are now deciding whether to make that move themselves thanks to two large corporations announcing the imminent relocation of their hubs, I thought you might appreciate the perspective of two former Angelenos who moved their family to Orlando for one spouse’s job. We had a great stint in Beijing in the middle there, but that’s another story.

In an attempt to stay positive but fair, I’ll start with my favorite parts of living in Orlando with kids:

Things I Love About Orlando

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        <div class="image-caption"><p class>At the 2017 Ren Fair.</p></div>
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Plentiful Parks.

Orlando boasts so many parks and playgrounds, nature trails, hiking trails, exercise trails, splash pads, basketball courts, campgrounds, beaches, and probably more. Especially coming from Los Angeles, we love all the different choices nearby. I’ll go into detail on my favorite parks later, but rest assured, families will have an abundance of playgrounds and green areas here.  We even started paddleboarding as a family! Our dog is not as hooked on it as we are, though.

Favorites include

• Lake Eola
• Maitland Community Park
• Martin Luther King Jr. Park (known as the “Castle Playground”)
• Langford Park
• Mead Gardens
• Barber Park
• Delaney Park
• Phelps Park, and more.

A lot of my favorite indoor playgrounds are moot right now, unfortunately.

Ren Fairs and the Scottish Highland Games.

We made so many great memories at these annual fairs from 2015-2019. There’s also the MakerFaire, which is large and loud and fun as hell. The fairs are mostly outdoors so we are comfortable now that our kids are vaccinated and stay masked, and Maker Faire requests masks to be worn indoors. Most cities have these kinds of activities, but Orlando’s fall and spring are especially well suited to hosting them.

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        <div class="image-caption"><p class>Waiting impatiently for Storytime to start.</p></div>
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The Orange County Public Library

We also look to the libraries for free entertainment and enrichment. Los Angeles has great programs too, but in my pursuit of ways to keep my toddler and myself happy while we moved (and in air conditioning), we used the OCPL kids’ events calendar as our personal planner. We hopped around from Storytime to Storytime to art activities and movie showings, enjoying the discovery of each unique branch. Pirate Dude learned how to use a computer and mouse in their common areas playing the games. Even better, if you went to the same storytime every Friday morning then you saw the same kids, and it was an unspoken playdate at Lake Eola’s playground afterward. Now they have a mix of virtual and in-person, and masks are heavily recommended.

Beyond the family events, there are so many wonderful and free adult events, from scrapbooking to writer’s circles to a monthly hour with a social worker. Now with the Libby app, I can easily borrow ebooks of any Bridgerton story I want.

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An Abundance of Dogs

There are a number of excellent dog-friendly spots, which isn’t really unique for a big city, but it makes for a nice outing. Whether you want bar food at Lake Eola or Sidewards Brewing, pizza and more at Crooked Can Brewery, or a fancier locale, you can find it. There are also some excellent dog daycares, each with its own personality, and off-leash dog parks. Baldwin Park in particular has a cool dog beach with a very large area they can be off leash.

A Lot to Love

Orlando is absolutely a family-friendly spot, and not just around the theme parks. The schools, especially for younger kids, are a little more complicated and I’ll get to those soon.

I will also compile a -short - list of things I do not like about living here, and even a neighborhood by neighborhood breakdown for families considering a move here.

   Should you move your family for a job? Here are the questions you have to ask first.