East or West - Melbourne or St Pete

[PacketHauler]

Originally Posted by Nypafl4u

Nothing wrong out west, but the waves on the Atlantic coast are music to my ears.

^^^^^ This. With that east coast sea-breeze coming inland at night, lets me enjoy a beer by the pool, watching baseball on TV, and not sweat out of my clothes even in the middle of August.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Brevard County Manatee baseball club. Yeah, they are Class-A advanced, not MLB, but still very cheap entertainment. The breeze comes out of left field at night keeping it pleasant even during July/August.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Nypafl4u

There is something to be said about winging it. I can fondly remember my college and post school days grabbing a paper map with a buddy or two and just heading out. Pick a state, rent a car and see what ever there is to see. Fun times. Now it seems, you spend more time intricately looking up every detail on line, taking the gps and when you get there, it isn't always what it seemed it would be from all the on line reviews (good or bad ones). You miss a lot too when you plot a course on the gps. The ride is just the means of getting there. What happened to just exploring a bit, meet the locals and hang where THEY hang. So much out there I feel we all miss.
I would definetly go off course in your travels. You find some fun and different places tucked away from the tourist traps. Go on a kayak tour in Melbourne/ Palm Bay and greet a manatee family up close. Check out downtown Cocoa Beach for nice vibes and great food. Check out the less populated beaches along A1A in Brevard. I am an east coaster. Nothing wrong out west, but the waves on the Atlantic coast are music to my ears.

Soooo true.

[Rebek56]

How is Brevard County for an acoustic singer/songwriter who likes open mics and coffeehouses but would really like the occasional paying gig? We are considering a variety of locations (including staying put in the Mid-Ohio Valley) when I retire in December 2016, and while we love the Rust Belt cities a bit north of us, the winters have indeed gotten old. My retired-math-teacher spouse grew up in Melbourne, and we have visited his relatives a few times but have no sense of the music scene there from a musician's perspective. He likes to be out performing at least a couple of times a week, and the opportunities here are drying up.

My retirement wish (different from his) is to drive as little as possible and to do some volunteering in parks as an interpreter/outdoor educator/storyteller/gardener, so are there decent areas to live (especially to rent for a couple of years) near some of the more interesting park areas? I don't mind driving a few minutes, but if we settled in, say, Indialantic (we like the Seascape Motel, which reminds me of places I knew in 1965), driving to the Enchanted Forest (to give just one example of an interesting park) on a regular basis would not be appealing.