I don’t want it to lose its small town feel. When I want to be in big city. IT’s Orlando or Tampa for me. Then back home.

Actually Winter haven is about 20 minutes to the outskirts both Tampa and orlando and about 45 minutes from both downtowns but an hour and a half when traffic is bad which to be honest is very often especially to Orlando. Winter haven is more of a big town or small city. Auburndale is next to it and is truly a small town and lake Alfred near by is even smaller.

Pros: Amazing location between Orlando and Tampa and connected to many other towns in the area. Disney universal bush gardens Legoland sea world and all the theme parks are not far away. Amazing winter weather Plenty to do lively town Lacks big city traffic jams but yet it's far from sleepy. It's very diverse seems to be an equal amount of every race white black Latin and asian. Safer from hurricanes than most parts of Florida. Safe from sea level rise issues Charming downtown with many nice events. Legoland is in town. 15 minutes? Wrong more like 5 minutes max. Nice large lakes are never far no matter where you are. Lots of restaurants Nice library Right next to lakeland which is a growing metropolis. Not quite a major city yet but the metro area is getting near that 1 million mark. Right next to multiple other charming small towns such as auburndale and lake alfred. Much more affordable than most of Florida such as the big cities and coastal areas. Cons: Hot as hell 9 months of the year even early winter can still be in the 90,s!!! High crime in some neighborhoods yes winter haven actually does have a few scary ghettos neighborhoods Inwood for example. High homeless population. High poverty rate. High drug problems particularly meth and crack. Schools are not the best. Hurricanes are a fact of life although not nearly as bad as most of Florida. For Florida the beaches are far nearly 2 hours away although there are beaches at the lakes but the lakes are dirty and alligator infested although many don't mind taking a chance to enjoy water sports on the lakes. No major malls only strip malls However lakeland mall is only 20 minutes away or Tampa and orlando malls are roughly an hour away or more depending on traffic.

Yes winter haven is hot hot hot umbarable for most people most the year but winter is real nice.

This man said a hour from Orlando.. he must not drive like a Floridian or isn't one.