Family looking at New Symrna Bch vs. Satellite Bch (Jacksonville: condo, houses)

[PeaceandBeach]

Hello, My family and I are looking to relocate. My husband's job will be on the East side of Orlando and we are not excited by the idea of living in that busy town. My husband is willing to commute to live in a beachside community...I was thinking New Smyrna or Satellite Bch as they look to be about an hour commute each..We love a slower paced lifestyle...like to have some options for entertainment but are not always on-the-go type people. We enjoy just being by the water, surfing a little, kayaking etc. My daughter is 2 now, but the potential for good schools and some activities for her are important to us. Safe community. I like the idea of walking to or biking to get coffee or lunch...library etc.
I used to live in Jacksonville Beach for awhile and it has gotten so busy...although I loved the community at the time I think I would prefer something more quiet now. We are in our late 30's. Any thoughts on either of these areas or surrounding ones that may fit for us? Thanks!!

[DeHaven]

Hello PeaceandBeach,
I have been going to NSB for the past 20 years, and while it is a nice get away and it is slow pace living, I think Satellite beach fits your needs a little better. Its near Melbourne which is good for a night on the town or shopping, it has great schools and more to do for entertainment in my opinion.
Hope this helps.

[jghorton]

Not sure about NSB lifestyle, but, we spent 27 years in Satellite Beach. It's a great little laid-back beach town with growth and traffic limited by the barrier island nature of the area. Still, it's a quick, 1-hour hop to Orlando or 30-minutes to Melbourne. You can't go wrong with Satellite Beach.

[Rabflmom]

One difference I notice between the 2 cities is that in New Smyrna there are more boats just parked out on the grass in front of houses and condo buildings. Here in Brevard County that is not allowed.
My cousin lives just off A1A in New Smyrna Beach. Her neighborhood is mostly 1950s/60s houses. It is quiet and she loves it there. I probably would advise only living beachside there. I don't know what the schools are like there. You would have a 10 minute drive up to Daytona Beach where you would have the track, concerts, things to do. I think my cousin mostly even goes to Daytona beach for grocery shopping. To the South you end up in the National Park where there are trails, boat ramps into the waterway etc as well as the beautiful beaches. Oh, yeah..New Smyrna also has a race track.
We go up to go to the Breakers a lot. It is a beach bar that has great burgers and other food.
There is a really cool area of houses on a street east of A1A before you get to the National Park. Really cool beach houses in those couplee of blocks and kind of a seperate beach community.

Satellite Beach has good schools. All the towns here sort of run into each other. There are things to do but maybe not as much in the Daytona/New Smyrna area.

Is your husband's job in the North or south area of Orlando? His commute might be a more important factor in which you choose.

[1insider]

As surfers it might be important to know that fall, winter and spring water temps north of the Cape can be 10 degrees colder than Cocoa Beach and south. We are skinning it down here many days when the New Smyrna crew is in wetsuits.