I’ve talked about Lakeland, Florida before in some of my past articles. It is definitley a place I tell people to consider when you find living too close to the magic too expensive or too touristy. Lakeland is located 45-70 minutes to Disney depending on traffic and 40-60 minutes to Tampa. It’s a great in between area where you can find nice, safe, and affordable places to live. Or even if you don’t want to live in Lakeland, you can choose an area nearby like Winter Haven and visit Lakeland for it’s beautiful downtown area and great shopping.
Lakeland feels like a local’s place and it doesn’t seem touristy which is something I really love about it. Paul and I visited Lakeland a few times already since moving to Central Florida and it continues to be one of our favorite areas. Here are some photos from our time in the Munn Park Historic District in downtown Lakeland, FL this past Sunday. The time of day and cold weather gave me the opportunity to get a lot of beautiful empty shots. This is a super walkable area after you park your car. There are lots of places you can walk to and check out.
Lots of Great Local Restaurants
Harry’s Seafood & Bar
These are just some of the many amazing looking places to eat in this area. You’re probably wondering if we ate at one of them and we did. We headed to a place called Harry’s Seafood & Bar. Harry’s is a New Orleans-inspiried seafood joint serving up notable dishes like jambalya. We both had a cup of the shecrab soup and it blew us away. All of our food was great and the service was top notch. I highly recommed Harry’s. My only issue is I want to go back soon, but there are also so many places in this area I want to try.
Dissent Craft Brewing
We also checked out Dissent Craft Brewing, a cozy little brewery tucked away with all these great places to eat. They have some fun beers to try. I’m not a beer person, but my husband enjoys breweries. However, I definitley enjoyed their Purple Rain IPA and a seasonal beer called Fallorida.
Munn Park & Other Great Outdoor Spaces
This whole area is surrounds Munn Park, a beautiful open park centerpeice. You can also find a quick walk down the street is Lake Mirror. If you head that way, you’ll also find, Barnett Family Park, Hollis Garden, and Frances Landford Promenade. These are great areas to explore and open to the public.
Final Thoughts
This area is just a small part of the unique places you’ll find in Lakeland, FL. It’s definitley an area I would encourage you to check out for yourself. You may decide this area or somewhere near here might be a good place to live. The cost of living near Disney has certainly gone up. But, you can still find a beautiful home in a great area to call home. And you can find it within a reasonable distance for a date night or day trip to Disney.
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We have relatives that have lived in Lakeland for about 30 years or more. It’s a great place to live!!! And Harry’s is always a good choice for a delicious meal.