"We decided Orlando stacked up best of the 85 cities we looked at in the original search," Hooker says. "Our decision was driven by cost and availability of labor. We had a better chance to attract workers if we went to a place like Orlando rather than someplace like Phoenix. Also, because of the tourism industry, Orlando is very attuned to customer-service skills."

Another of Orlando's diamonds in the rough is the Voxeo Corp., which has headquarters in Scotts Valley, Calif. (Silicon Valley). Last February it opened an Orlando office. It was attracted to Orlando because of the work force and technical support the cluster of high-tech companies provide.

It's much easier and cheaper to rent space in Orlando than in Silicon Valley, says John J. Higgins, Voxeo's vice president. The Orlando office will provide technical support for customers. Some 20 work there now, but that's expected to grow to 50 by the end of 2000. Higgins also notes that qualified workers in California would cost the company 50 percent to 100 percent more than in Orlando. Plus, Florida workers in the computer industry don't expect as much in stock options as they do in California.

Orlando and points east and west are also home to major distribution centers, being served by Interstate 4 and the Florida Turnpike. The area has easy access to I-95 on the east coast and I-75 on the west coast.

"It's a big market," says Ken Nelson, a spokesman for the Central Florida Development Council in Bartow. "Within a 100-mile (161-km.) radius, there are 7 million people. A lot of companies try to locate as close to I-4 as they can, because that's the main east-west corridor. A lot of companies are serving international markets. We're a big export area because of the Orlando and Tampa airports."

Farther west are two more growing areas: Tampa and Sarasota.

Tampa is quick to recall how major banking operations have sited or expanded back-office operations there in the last couple of years, notably Citi Bank and Chase Manhattan.

"If they didn't feel confident in their ability to attract a highly qualified labor force, they wouldn't come here," says Robin Ronne, director of economic development for the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. Ronne talks glowingly of how General Motors launched a customer-service center in the area last year that employs 600 people. He talks of how Ford Motor Credit opened a customer-service facility in Tampa in August that will employ about 800 within three years.

"There's a strong bent on telecommunications here," Ronne says. "High-speed data and transmission facilities are here. State-of-the-art facilities allow global telecommunication operations to locate here."

South of Tampa in Sarasota, one sees a community that's anxious to attract new high-paying jobs, but it's also an area anxious, like most of Florida, to maintain the quality of life that has led many to relocate to the state.

"Most of our job growth is being fueled by our existing companies," says Kathy Baylis, development vice president with the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. "We have some companies that have doubled in size over the last couple of years. But we're growing cautiously. We're trying to manage growth. We've seen what has happened in other communities."

Developments continue to spring up in the area, one being Lakewood Ranch, a fully planned housing, retail, office park and light industry community being built on 5,500 acres (2,228 hectares) on the Sarasota/Manatee County line. Ground was broken in 1994. When the build out is complete within 20 years, the development will include 7,000 housing units, an office park and two 18-hole golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer.