75 replies to this topic

[zaadee]

i love florida , i love orlando !

[PERIDOT]

I've lived in both Jacksonville (7 years collectively) and Orlando (7 years), as well as other areas of Florida too.  I prefer Jacksonville over Orlando.  Why?  Because it's closer to the beach and there's more to do in Jax than to just hang out at an over-priced amusement park.  There are also things of interest for someone that's not in their 20's & 30's to enjoy.  The city as a whole offers a diverse collection of different areas to choose from...San Marco, Riverside, Avondale, Downtown, the Westside, the Northside, Southside/Baymeadows/Deerwood and of course the beaches...Neptune, Atlantic, Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra.  Jacksonville hosts an NFL team (Go Jags!), the Jacksonville Suns baseball team, a wide selection of colleges (UNF, JU, FCCJ, Jones, etc.) and an impressive line up of shopping/retailers around town...especially at the evolving St. Johns Towncenter.  You have easy access to Atlanta (5 to 6 hours), Savannah and the Carolinas (5 to 6 hours); while being within 3 hours of the capital, Tallahassee.  You have Amelia Island to the north and St. Augustine to the south...with Daytona and Orlando a short drive away...in case you'd like to go for a visit.  Lastly, it's the 'true south' so people tend to be friendlier, which is a big plus in my book.

[VistaLakes01]

PERIDOT, on Nov 5 2007, 09:39 PM, said:

I've lived in both Jacksonville (7 years collectively) and Orlando (7 years), as well as other areas of Florida too.  I prefer Jacksonville over Orlando.  Why?  Because it's closer to the beach and there's more to do in Jax than to just hang out at an over-priced amusement park.  There are also things of interest for someone that's not in their 20's & 30's to enjoy.  The city as a whole offers a diverse collection of different areas to choose from...San Marco, Riverside, Avondale, Downtown, the Westside, the Northside, Southside/Baymeadows/Deerwood and of course the beaches...Neptune, Atlantic, Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra.  Jacksonville hosts an NFL team (Go Jags!), the Jacksonville Suns baseball team, a wide selection of colleges (UNF, JU, FCCJ, Jones, etc.) and an impressive line up of shopping/retailers around town...especially at the evolving St. Johns Towncenter.  You have easy access to Atlanta (5 to 6 hours), Savannah and the Carolinas (5 to 6 hours); while being within 3 hours of the capital, Tallahassee.  You have Amelia Island to the north and St. Augustine to the south...with Daytona and Orlando a short drive away...in case you'd like to go for a visit.  Lastly, it's the 'true south' so people tend to be friendlier, which is a big plus in my book.

I think you may be correct about the people being friendlier (but maybe not quite as tolerant of lifestyles, race.etc.  Orlando has become (the actual city, not tourist town) has become snootier and trendier, the past few years, Tampa as well.  Kind of a more "i'm a "beautiful" person, stay away from me!"  And the age demographic is highly young, just out of college, 20 and 30 somethings.  It makes going downtown kind of intimidating  makes you think more about what you are wearing and having to wear black, etc.)  I haven't seen that in Jax, even in the downtown area.  But don't worry, it's probably coming when your pop hit 2,000,000 +. Wait until one of your downtown neighborhoods turns in to a "Thornton Park" or SoHo, Hyde Park (Tampa.)

[nanaaapl]

I just have to say that I love both cities dearly and can't live without either.  Both are great places.  Lets just celebrate!

[95-Souf]

PERIDOT, on Nov 5 2007, 10:39 PM, said:

I've lived in both Jacksonville (7 years collectively) and Orlando (7 years), as well as other areas of Florida too.  I prefer Jacksonville over Orlando.  Why?  Because it's closer to the beach and there's more to do in Jax than to just hang out at an over-priced amusement park.  There are also things of interest for someone that's not in their 20's & 30's to enjoy.  The city as a whole offers a diverse collection of different areas to choose from...San Marco, Riverside, Avondale, Downtown, the Westside, the Northside, Southside/Baymeadows/Deerwood and of course the beaches...Neptune, Atlantic, Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra.  Jacksonville hosts an NFL team (Go Jags!), the Jacksonville Suns baseball team, a wide selection of colleges (UNF, JU, FCCJ, Jones, etc.) and an impressive line up of shopping/retailers around town...especially at the evolving St. Johns Towncenter.  You have easy access to Atlanta (5 to 6 hours), Savannah and the Carolinas (5 to 6 hours); while being within 3 hours of the capital, Tallahassee.  You have Amelia Island to the north and St. Augustine to the south...with Daytona and Orlando a short drive away...in case you'd like to go for a visit.  Lastly, it's the 'true south' so people tend to be friendlier, which is a big plus in my book.

  Its sad when one of the perks to your city is its prox. to other cities in its area lol..
I like Jacksonville, but if I had to make a choice I'd pick Orlando and here's why;

First of all, when flying into Orlando, I don't have to make a bunch of connection flights into the airport.
Arriving in Orlando, there are obviously more possibilities on how you can spend you time. From night clubs all over the metro area to the parks and restaurants. Top rated Hotels, Malls and shops. Orlando is really a world class city. It has to be because more people visit Central Florida than any other destination in the US.

This shouldn't even be an argument. In Jacksonville, there are a few places to go for entertainment, but not many and each on is scatter thruout the city. Unfortunately, most of Northeast Florida's entertainment does in fact revolve around football games during the season, after which the downtown area is usually deserted after about 8.

[VistaLakes01]

How long ago did you live in Orlando?  It has got great historical old neighborhoods that are a lot cleaner and well kept, even though they have been taken over by "non"-southern city types with lots of choices of dining (real restaurants), if my friends from Jacksonville take me to Olive Garden one more time I'll puke.  It must depend on the person, whether you like a large metro area with electricity and excitement or a slow paced southern town that is finally getting a lifestyle center 10 years after the rest of the country that still doesn't have everything a top retail destination should have.  It's definetly not up to par with The Mall at Millenia or even the Florida Mall and no other mall in Jacksonville compares to the average mall or lifestyle center in Orlando.  Did you work for Disney when you lived here because I don't know of anyone who has nothing to do but hang out at a theme park.  As for the Jags, it was apparently true that Jacksonville was not a large enough city to handle them, can't fill the stadium and there is already talk of them leaving.  If you like a lot less traffic and a slower pace with dull suburbs and inner city and think of St. John's Town Center as a new concept that still is not true upscale retail, just catching up with getting some of the newer retailers that have become popular since the 90's and 2000, a tiny airport, lack of nice luxury resort hotels and casual chic dining throughout the downtown neighborhoods and beyond, a major lack of real nightclubbing, then Jacksonville, or Jackson, Mississippi are for you for sure.  And Orlandoans go to the beach constantly, except the beaches in the area are nicer that Jax Beach and if you look at a map, Orlando is not much further away from the beach than Jax is and many Orlandoans own beach condos in New Smyrna, Cocoa or Daytona.  When I went to school in Orlando, the beach and surfers were a large part of the culture and the latest beach fashions were always big sellers, Orlando is the home of Everything But Water retail chain and it's too cold in Jax to hang out at the beach much, it's like living in Myrtle Beach or Atlantic City.  If you're in to retail, when is IKEA opening up it's Jacksonville location?  People can be slow and "friendly" someplace but still not have learned the tolerance to accept many different cultures and lifestyles.  Although I've never had much of a problem with my neighbors as being rude, I suppose there are people in Orlando that are in more of a hurry and don't have time to wait on someone to ponder or who moves too slow and keeps them from getting to where they need to go.  Orlando is very busy and very congested and there is probably more road rage, but they are probably on their way to see a foreign film or a film festival or a play at the countries largest Fringe Festival, a Magic game, or some other event that you can find happening any night of the week.  They could be on their way to Winter Park to shop in a true outdoor upscale shopping enviornment with dining options that include real chefs or anywhere else in the city where they can dine al fresco on a beautiful evening with their dog and watch the beautiful people go by in the latest designer fashions (Not hip hop wear) heading to the latest ultra-lounge walking or in a pedi-cab, many without having to leave their own neighborhood.  You can go on to your latest restaurant chain concept or in Jax if your really chic, I think you may have a Cheescake Factory there by now in the only center of activity the city has got which is that St. John's town center.  We can dine and browse in many of our metro cities such as Sanford, Winter Garden, even downtown Kissimmee is up and coming.  And if we choose we can head to Waterford Lakes Town Center, The Loop, The Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves, or for a little more upscale dining and movie going and a bit of shopping we can head to Colonial Town Park or Winter Park Village, pretty soon the exciting new SoDo area or Thornton Park, College Park or Colonialtown or Baldwin Park, all Orlando neighborhoods, as well as MetroWest and Veranda Park.  You can go ahead and mix things up by heading out to Orange Park and the 1970's or that lovely Regency Square area where people dye their hair with Kool-Aid.  Oh, there's that Avenues Mall which could be called The Avenues Mall of Anywhere Anytown, USA. Yeah, you can mix it up and go to a Jags game.  Or we along the I-4 corridor can mix it up and head over to Tampa for a game or Ybor City or Channelside or funky, hip downtown St. Pete.  They are a short drive and aren't a theme park of the "Oldest City in the U.S." which has nothing at all to do once you've taken the tour.  And having theme parks does have advantages entertainment wise, like the Hard Rock or House of Blues, and I don't believe there is a Virgin Mega Store up in No'th Floriduh or a CityWalk or Pointe Orlando or the fantastic outlet shopping that keeps expanding.  Peace!

[Spartan]

Thanks for the rant about all the great things there are to do in the Orlando suburbs. I can't wait to check that out.

• You need to chill out.
  
  
  
• You need to look at a map.  

  Quote

  "Orlando is not much further away from the beach than Jax is"
  If by "not much further away" you mean "not close at all" then yes, I agree.
  
  
  
• This is exactly the type of reply that brings to light why we typically don't allow this type of thread on UrbanPlanet. You did not made a single constructive comment in that entire rant. You don't have to like Jacksonville, but please consider a more intelligent reply as to why you think Orlando is not overrated. Having more nightclubs and more sprawly shopping centers and crappy Swedish furniture stores won't win many arguments around here.

[VistaLakes01]

Spartan, on Mar 1 2008, 11:11 AM, said:

Thanks for the rant about all the great things there are to do in the Orlando suburbs. I can't wait to check that out.

• You need to chill out.
  
  
  
• You need to look at a map.  If by "not much further away" you mean "not close at all" then yes, I agree.
  
  
  
• This is exactly the type of reply that brings to light why we typically don't allow this type of thread on UrbanPlanet. You did not made a single constructive comment in that entire rant. You don't have to like Jacksonville, but please consider a more intelligent reply as to why you think Orlando is not overrated. Having more nightclubs and more sprawly shopping centers and crappy Swedish furniture stores won't win many arguments around here.

My apologies, I said I didn't want discuss the subject any more and I'm sure Jacksonville has some fine
pluses to it.  In all my years as a Floridian I've never really heard Jacksonville described as a beach town, maybe that will help out the tourism business up there.  Usually beach cities in Florida are full of hotel rooms and are heavily marketed in that aspect.  As a kid I always thought of Jax as the biggest city in Florida with lots of bridges in the downtown area. Is the Landings still there and operational or has it changed function?  I always thought that was cool, then Church Street Exchange opened here and it was similiar and Bayside in Miami topped them both and apparently is still vibrant. Sorry again, I've never been that big on the beach so maybe that's why Orlando is the perfect fit for me and many others in Florida, cause the beach is always right down the expressway, that is a daily commute for thousands in this metro, to or from KSC or from Daytona and Volusia county to downtown and back. Even though Jax is closer to Orlando than Miami it's always been kind of isolated on it's own up there and I wish it the best as it is one of our states large metropolitan areas.  We need to see and hear more about it and especially if it goes through a major transformation that would arouse people's interest.  I know of some people who have moved up there due to the cost of living, although it seems we are losing most of the people who have decided to flee Orlando to the Carolinas and Charlotte in particular and Tennessee.  I've always been confused as to why the north end of Jax doesn't grow much, or the western end.  It seems to be that Southeast section is the boomtown and possible due south through Orange Park.  I know that Northeast section seems to be mainly national or state preserve and Amelia Island and Ferndandina Beach.  I think you should rant back at me and tell me why Jacksonville is such a great city and what is happening there.  The only positive I've heard is the beach thing and that St. John's Town Center.  I've noticed that there seem to be a lot of brick homes that you don't find much of below Jacksonville.  Tell me some more fun facts, I am actually very interested, I love to hear about every city and the growth and major projects happening or proposed. Peace out!

[Spartan]

Like I said before, rants in response to rants are not what this forum is about.

Jacksonville has a lot more going for it that you might think. There is an urban revitalization happening within Downtown and the Southbank. Now I can't pretend to know everything thats going on in Jax, but its going to impact the city core for the better. Lots of condos towers, and I assume some office and hotel type of things. Jax is also looking at transit around the city. Someone more familiar with these things than I can elaborate. What I know from my personal experience with these cities is that they are not all that dissimilar. Jacksonville has a more historic and large urban core, but in more recent years the cities have sprawled out about the same.

Jacksonville is growing towards the beaches, which is why there is less growth to the north and west. Most of the growth I have witnessed in Jax has been to the east between the river and the ocean. In Orlando there are no beaches, and there are lakes all around, so there is not a general direction that people want to live in. You can live in any part of town and still have the same traffic and same commute and same stores, etc.

I don't know what the deal is with St Johns Town Center or any of that. But then I could really care less about trendy suburban shopping centers no matter what stores they have and no matter what city they are in.

[VistaLakes01]

Spartan, on Mar 2 2008, 10:05 PM, said:

Like I said before, rants in response to rants are not what this forum is about.

Jacksonville has a lot more going for it that you might think. There is an urban revitalization happening within Downtown and the Southbank. Now I can't pretend to know everything thats going on in Jax, but its going to impact the city core for the better. Lots of condos towers, and I assume some office and hotel type of things. Jax is also looking at transit around the city. Someone more familiar with these things than I can elaborate. What I know from my personal experience with these cities is that they are not all that dissimilar. Jacksonville has a more historic and large urban core, but in more recent years the cities have sprawled out about the same.

Jacksonville is growing towards the beaches, which is why there is less growth to the north and west. Most of the growth I have witnessed in Jax has been to the east between the river and the ocean. In Orlando there are no beaches, and there are lakes all around, so there is not a general direction that people want to live in. You can live in any part of town and still have the same traffic and same commute and same stores, etc.

I don't know what the deal is with St Johns Town Center or any of that. But then I could really care less about trendy suburban shopping centers no matter what stores they have and no matter what city they are in.

Once again, I apologize, when I said rant back I didn't really mean to "rant back", I just meant I deserved to be put in my place for getting carried away.  I'm sure Jacksonville is a very important city for people in that region of North Florida and Georgia, since it is over a million and there is nothing of that size for hundreds of miles (North and West), except I'd say Savannah is a much more interestingly historic city, if it would clean itself up more like Charleston.  But there are differences in the directions of growth in Orlando.  There are more upscale and quaint towns in some directions and nothing but empty land and swamp and flatlands in other directions.  And the lakes and hills in the southwest area makes for more expensive estate and golf course communities in the Windermere/Isleworth/MetroWest direction.  Due east is totally developed and man made much like west Broward and Palm Beach counties and there are no towns at all in that direction. Orlando is half coastal swampland to the east and the west is the Florida Ridge with lots of hills, highlands and established towns that have become suburban.  Different types of plants and trees grow better in the east in the rich soil than in the west in the sandy hilly soil, so the east has more of a tropical Florida look and the west more of a "Southern charm" look.  Major stores may be in every direction but some of the little towns and cities have some upscale independent downtown shopping or antique shopping and dining options aren't all chain restaurants. Just a little info on Orlando for those who think the whole metro is just one sprawling concrete jungle of Super Targets.   Once again, sorry and GO "THE FIRST CITY OF THE SOUTH". JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA!!

[Spartan]

Indeed. Generally speaking, I think Orlando and Jacksonville are two different beasts. Comparing them on a level playing field may not be possible.

[depechecureguyorl]

Spartan, on Mar 2 2008, 09:05 PM, said:

Like I said before, rants in response to rants are not what this forum is about.

Then why feed the need with an insulting rant about Orlando? Sheesh...and you're a moderator??? How childish...

[Spartan]

depechecureguyorl, on Mar 17 2008, 02:58 PM, said:

Then why feed the need with an insulting rant about Orlando? Sheesh...and you're a moderator??? How childish...

Did you even read this thread? I have not ranted against Orlando. Please consider contributing something to this thread instead of insulting me.

[UrbanXplorer]

Jacksonville:  A nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there.
Orlando:        A nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

[Charles77]

I think Jax and Orlando are two very different cities. Orlando is much more cosmopolitan - not just b/c of tourists, but also its ethnic makeup. Orlando started booming in the 1970s so a lot of the locals you see (Whites, blacks, latinos, Asians) are from various regions of the country and the world. Jacksonville, on the other hand, being at the northern tip of the state, close to Georgia, has a much more traditional Southern mix of people. The majority of whites, as is the case with most places in the South, can trace their ancestries to England, Scotland, Ireland, or Germany. Orlando's ethnic makeup is more like that of South FL - lots of whites from up north, which means a lot more people with Italian and East European ancestries mixed in. Orlando's also got a thriving Hispanic population, especially Puerto Ricans, but also Cubans, Colombians, etc. The black population also hails from different parts of the country, as well as the islands.
It's really only in recent years that the population of Jax has started to diversify, and experience a more rapid type of growth. Due to Jax being one of Florida's biggest cities, it hasnt viewed too much as a Southern town, or if it is than it would be considered less conservative than similar sized cities in the South, and more in line with Houston and Atlanta. It's also perceived as much more of a blue collar town when compared to Miami, Orlando, or Tampa, but it's also more affordable. The city's got a lot of potential as it is after all a coastal town, with a lot of room to grow.
If one just looks at population figures you'd think Jax was this bustling city of 800,000 people whereas Miami barely has 400,000. Yet that 800 K figure comprises the entire county of Duval, which is the same as saying Miami has a population of 2.5 million people (Dade County).
Orlando's progress has been so explosive at times that the city hasn't always been able to keep up with the changes. For example, the way its international airport is set up should have been changed years ago. Also, aside from I-4 all you seem to have are toll roads, unlike Tampa with I-75, I-275, I-4, and several toll roads all passing through the city (St. Petersburg is a different story). Part of Orlando's traffic problem arises not just from the toll roads, but by the fact that aside from the 2 million people living in its metro area there's another million or so tourists on any given week. So you've got heavy traffic till 9 from the locals, then as the tourists wake up they take to the roads as well. This is especially prevalent on Fridays, where it seems like there's always an accident and heavy traffic around 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

I think if we we bringing up all 4 of Florida's major metro areas (Jax, Tampa-St. Pete, Orlando, and South FL) I'd pick South Florida. I mean, this is a site called Urban Planet, and South Florida has always been light years ahead of the rest of FL, or even most of the country, in that sense. It's not just that it's densely populated, but also there's a lot of great places to walk around, especially in Dade County. You've got South Beach with Washington Ave, Lincoln Road, Colllins, and Ocean Drive. Over in downtown Miami you have Flagler an Brickell, and the kind of plans they got going on over there are even more ambitious than what they have planned for Atlanta (Atlanta's Midtown will evantually resemble the magnificent mile, AKA Michigan Ave. in Chicago. There's also the streets of Buckhead project opening in less than a year, and something similar in the suburb of Alpharetta). Another part of Miami is Coconut Grove, which is extremely walkable. Same is true for Coral Gables and even parts of Kendall. All these areas offer numerous stores, restaurants, galleries, and more. I'm not just talking about chain stores or cookie cutter restaurants, but a true variety of retail.
Head north of Miami and you can do more walking in Hollywood, and in Ft. Lauderdale you can walk around the streets along the beach, and continue on Las Olas Boulevard. Personally though I prefer to head even further up north to Palm Beach, which is extremely walkable and a very clean and pretty city. They've also done a great job reviving downtown West Palm Beach as you've got both Clematis, and nearby City Place.
As far as shopping malls go, Orlando has Millenia and Tampa has International Plaza, but South Florida has had those kind of malls long before that. Aventura Mall and the Shops at Bal Harbor in the north Miami Beach area, there's also the Village of Merrick Park in Coral Gables with Dadeland Mall and the Shops at Sunset Place nearby, Town Center in Boca Raton, The Gardens Mall in West Palm Beach, etc.   Orlando also has some amazing outlet malls with Premium Outlets (one of the best Premium Outlets in the country no less) and Belz, but South Florida has Sawgrass Mills, which is HUGE.

[VistaLakes01]

Charles77, on Aug 8 2009, 05:30 AM, said:

I think Jax and Orlando are two very different cities. Orlando is much more cosmopolitan - not just b/c of tourists, but also its ethnic makeup. Orlando started booming in the 1970s so a lot of the locals you see (Whites, blacks, latinos, Asians) are from various regions of the country and the world. Jacksonville, on the other hand, being at the northern tip of the state, close to Georgia, has a much more traditional Southern mix of people. The majority of whites, as is the case with most places in the South, can trace their ancestries to England, Scotland, Ireland, or Germany. Orlando's ethnic makeup is more like that of South FL - lots of whites from up north, which means a lot more people with Italian and East European ancestries mixed in. Orlando's also got a thriving Hispanic population, especially Puerto Ricans, but also Cubans, Colombians, etc. The black population also hails from different parts of the country, as well as the islands.
It's really only in recent years that the population of Jax has started to diversify, and experience a more rapid type of growth. Due to Jax being one of Florida's biggest cities, it hasnt viewed too much as a Southern town, or if it is than it would be considered less conservative than similar sized cities in the South, and more in line with Houston and Atlanta. It's also perceived as much more of a blue collar town when compared to Miami, Orlando, or Tampa, but it's also more affordable. The city's got a lot of potential as it is after all a coastal town, with a lot of room to grow.
If one just looks at population figures you'd think Jax was this bustling city of 800,000 people whereas Miami barely has 400,000. Yet that 800 K figure comprises the entire county of Duval, which is the same as saying Miami has a population of 2.5 million people (Dade County).
Orlando's progress has been so explosive at times that the city hasn't always been able to keep up with the changes. For example, the way its international airport is set up should have been changed years ago. Also, aside from I-4 all you seem to have are toll roads, unlike Tampa with I-75, I-275, I-4, and several toll roads all passing through the city (St. Petersburg is a different story). Part of Orlando's traffic problem arises not just from the toll roads, but by the fact that aside from the 2 million people living in its metro area there's another million or so tourists on any given week. So you've got heavy traffic till 9 from the locals, then as the tourists wake up they take to the roads as well. This is especially prevalent on Fridays, where it seems like there's always an accident and heavy traffic around 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

I think if we we bringing up all 4 of Florida's major metro areas (Jax, Tampa-St. Pete, Orlando, and South FL) I'd pick South Florida. I mean, this is a site called Urban Planet, and South Florida has always been light years ahead of the rest of FL, or even most of the country, in that sense. It's not just that it's densely populated, but also there's a lot of great places to walk around, especially in Dade County. You've got South Beach with Washington Ave, Lincoln Road, Colllins, and Ocean Drive. Over in downtown Miami you have Flagler an Brickell, and the kind of plans they got going on over there are even more ambitious than what they have planned for Atlanta (Atlanta's Midtown will evantually resemble the magnificent mile, AKA Michigan Ave. in Chicago. There's also the streets of Buckhead project opening in less than a year, and something similar in the suburb of Alpharetta). Another part of Miami is Coconut Grove, which is extremely walkable. Same is true for Coral Gables and even parts of Kendall. All these areas offer numerous stores, restaurants, galleries, and more. I'm not just talking about chain stores or cookie cutter restaurants, but a true variety of retail.
Head north of Miami and you can do more walking in Hollywood, and in Ft. Lauderdale you can walk around the streets along the beach, and continue on Las Olas Boulevard. Personally though I prefer to head even further up north to Palm Beach, which is extremely walkable and a very clean and pretty city. They've also done a great job reviving downtown West Palm Beach as you've got both Clematis, and nearby City Place.
As far as shopping malls go, Orlando has Millenia and Tampa has International Plaza, but South Florida has had those kind of malls long before that. Aventura Mall and the Shops at Bal Harbor in the north Miami Beach area, there's also the Village of Merrick Park in Coral Gables with Dadeland Mall and the Shops at Sunset Place nearby, Town Center in Boca Raton, The Gardens Mall in West Palm Beach, etc.   Orlando also has some amazing outlet malls with Premium Outlets (one of the best Premium Outlets in the country no less) and Belz, but South Florida has Sawgrass Mills, which is HUGE.

Very well said.  Also, the US Census just reported that Orange County is now a non-minority/non-majority county one of only 2 in Florida.  Apparently that means the Caucasian population in now under 50%.  I think the OC was something like 43% white, 30% Hispanic, 22% Black (which I believe the majority of the black population is now from the Carribbean, and the rest Asian and Middle Eastern.  That gives Orlando a different vibe althogether than Jacksonville, or even Tampa, especially Pinellas County.  Because of the expressway system in Orlando it is a very sprawling place, I remember a few years ago Orlando was voted the #1 worst city in the US for urban sprawl. The CSA population is 2.6 million and the census includes Flagler county in that as well as Sumter county, not too far north of Tampa on I-75.  Although expensive to use, the Orlando metro has the most advanced toll road expressway system in the country, and the locals take it as a cost of living expense, the EPASS express lanes are awesome and most locals that include an expressway in their commute or to get into the city has one. The Turnpike systems SUNPASS is also used on the system, although SUNPASS is just now updating their toll booths to include express lanes and their roads are not usually as well kept as the OrlandoOrangeCounty Expressway Authorities. Another connection Orlando has that adds to it's population is it's relationship with Brevard County and the Space Coast.  Their is a lot of commuting between the the two areas and Brevard and Volusia are covered by the Orlando television market.  
Also, residents in the coastal cities seem to think that Orlando has no beach connection.  Most of the condos in New Smyrna Beach and Cocoa Beach are owned by Orlando residents and depending which side of town you live on, it can take as little as 20-30 minutes to get to the beach.  New Smyrna is "Orlando's Beach" and you can see by the license tags that most people using the beach are from the metro area.  Also water sports have always been a major part of the Orlando lifestyle because of it's lakes.  Water skiing and jet skiing have always played an important part in living in Orlando and is probably the main reason Orlando exists and started growing.  In the late 1800's and early 1900's Orlando and Winter Park had famous hotels and spas on some of it's lakes and the Florida Hospital System started because of the "healing, healthy, springs."
There are more and more walkable areas also.  Winter Park's Park Avenue has been famous for years and now the neighborhood between Park Ave and Winter Park Village is developing rapidly to join the two together.  Downtown has gone through it's struggles but the upscale movieplex finally opened in the heart of the city, there's Lake Eola, Thornton Park, College Park, Colonialtown, Baldwin Park and the metro area has got to be the king of "village centers", they are all over the place in the suburbs.  And the OC has the Dr. Phillips municipality, just head west on Sand Lake Rd from I-4 and you will be shocked at the development of fine dining and shops.  The metro has a lot of renovated cities and downtowns, such as Winter Garden, Mt. Dora, Sanford, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, Windermere,DeLand,etc.  Forbes magazine just put out the most failing malls in the country and the most succesful malls in the country and Millenia was listed in the top ten succesful with sales of $1000 per square foot.  I don't think International Plaza in Tampa really compares.  I've never seen the St. John's Town Center, I know there's a Dillard's and Dicks Sporting Goods for anchors and rumors in this ecomony go back and forth about additional anchors.  Things have pretty much ground to a halt in Orlando now, these are some bad times for the whole country I believe.  Oh, also Forbes Magazine just listed the most abandoned cities in the country, Kansas City was the worst, San Francsisco was second, Miami was third, and I was shocked to see Jacksonville and Charlotte on the list.  I was under the impression that Jax had one of the better economies in Florida right now.
I've been to Jacksonville many times and I like it ok, but development seems to be mainly in the area between downtown and the beach.  In Orlando, you can go north, south, east, and west and always hit a developing area and nice place to live.
The radio is much different here with a Top 40 Hip Hop Power Station, two very strong Latin stations, one of them reggeaton and the reggeaton crosses over to the Power station and you get a little Spanglish spoken on these stations.  The Hip Hop and R&B station 102Jamz also caters alot to the caribbean crowd.  I have listened to Jax's Hip Hop and R&B station and it was totally different than what you hear in Orlando, Tampa or South Florida.
One other thing, downtown Orlando has a very cosmopolitan population, in dress, activities, and attitude.  It's a very liberal scene.  The festivals are huge and downtown and nobody gets offended.  The Gay Pride Parade in October is in the middle of the city, and there is also a huge Puerto Rican Parade as well. There's a concert/festival called Calle Orange as well as a huge latin festival called Fiesta Medina.  There's the huge GayDays in the tourist area in early June which attracts 150-200,000 people and also the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival which attracts just as many people.  Nightlife is never dull and mainly concentrated downtown, I have yet to find a nightlife district in Jacksonville.
I'm not downing Jacksonville, it just isn't big enough or have the cultural diversity that Orlando has.  And Miami and South Florida tops Orlando in all aspects, and Tampa/St.Pete is pretty much even with Orlando in a lot of areas.
All of Florida's cities were on the cusp of stepping up another tier, including Jax, but the economy has pretty much put a halt to things for now.