Question regarding Melbourne (Palm Bay, University, West Melbourne: apartment, to rent, high crime)

[Swimmom32]

Our Friends are looking Melbourne and are here in town..Anyway, They are looking to rent for a little while...They Need a really good High School..Is there any part of Melbourne they should stay away from? Their oldest will be in College here somewhere...

thanks for the input as Id love to get back to them while they are here this week!!

[niceguy19125]

The best high school in Melbourne is West Shore. It was ranked one of the top 50 high schools in the US.
It operates on an application/lottery system so getting in can be difficult. You might check out nearby Satellite Beach High School. It has a very good reputation and is a good place to live also.
Satellite High School (http://scorpnet.brevard.k12.fl.us/aboutus.htm - broken link)

[Swimmom32]

thank you Nice I will pass along this info...is Satellite HS in Melbourne?

[tilli]

No, it's in Satellite Beach. But that's not too far from Melbourne.

[Swimmom32]

I c that West Melbourne Jr/Senior School...It doesnt say anywhere that its a lottery to get in....they want to stay in Melbourne only...thanks for the info

[niceguy19125]

Satellite Beach a whopping 3 to 5 miles away. They should consider it, Melbourne isn't that prestigious.

[annagurl333]

Hello!
As for which parts of Melbourne to stay away from...
- Anywhere near University Blvd.....most importantly.
- Areas right off Wickham Rd., btwn 192 northward to Lake Washington Blvd. Northward from Lake Wash Rd. gets much nicer. Try avoiding Sarno and Eau Gallie Rds (not including beachside Eau Gallie Blvd.)
- Nothing right off of US-1.

As for schools, in my opinion, Melbourne High and Palm Bay High (ironically located in Melbourne) are pretty decent schools. Nothing fancy though. Westshore Middle/High School is a very good school with top academics in the area. Eau Gallie High is alright...just all right in my opinion. Also try checking out Viera High school...its a newer school and the Viera area in general is both nice and up-and-coming. Living in Viera is something your friends might want to look into. Satellite High is a pretty decent school too, although your friends will have to live beachside.


http://www.brevard.k12.fl.us/schools/pdf/High%20School%20Boundaries.pdf (broken link)
(Brevard County High School Boundries map)

[chantelINtheBay]

Since you only asked about Melbourne, there are 4 possibilities:
Melbourne High School
Palm Bay High School
Eau Galligh High School
West Shore Jr/Sr. High School.

I went to EG and my husband went to Mel High. We both think he recieved the better HS experience than I did.
All of the schools have a diverse population. PBH and EGH are known for some students from poorer backgrounds, and at EG there is a daycare program for pregnant students to be able to finish school. They dont encourage pregnancy, but while I was there I saw at least 5 students preg. at the same time. . Not my ideal place to send my own kids, yanno?
Mel high and PB high have some good academic programs to put students on an accelerated course towards their vocational studies. I have a family member who went to PBH and was part of the student nursing program.. when she graduated HS she wa able to attend the community college (Brevard CC) and get right into the allied health program, which normally has a lengthy wait.

Areas to stay away from in melbourne:
Definitely University Blvd. This area is riddled with drive-bys, high crime and prostitution. Unfortunately, there is a fine line, as it is the same road that Florida Institute of Technology is on! FIT is on the West side of Babcock though, while the bad side of University is on the East side of babcock. The neighborhood around / behind FIT and off of W. University is actually a nice area, although older. Some people refer to this as "going to melbourne" or "the hood".

Avoid an area off of US1 (Harbor City Blvd.) where there is a flashing yellow light, the street is called Masterson. The neighborhood is Booker T Washington Neighborhood. It is literally a crack town. I once got lost down here via a wrong turn, and while making a 3 point turn to get out was approached by 3 people trying to sell a different drug to me! This area is also accesible from Aurora Road. Locals call it "the bottoms".

Areas off of Post road in melbourne are pretty run down.

Otherwise, most of melbourne is older and the homes show their age throughout the city. Only in deed restricted subdivisions will you find the nicer show homes.

also, in west melbourne, dont go near hollywood blvd because this road has the worst rush hour traffic (people living on this road cannot get out of their driveways during rush hour).

[ceaser]

Any body have info about satellite beach area. I am a single male traveling salesman and am home on weekends only. I would like to find a small studio or 1 bedroom apartment on the beach of a1a.