Moving to Melbourne area-some advice PLEASE PLEASE!!! (Jacksonville, Miami: for sale, crime rate)

[kahncss]

Originally Posted by Gareee

What do you think of Rockledge in Brevard???

I looked into Rockledge, but the schools don't look great. I have a dd who will be entering 7th grade, so a good school for her is a priority.

[LOVE THE U.S.A.]

Originally Posted by miakelly

Hi,
We just found out my husband has a job with a company right near the Melbourne Airport. We will be relocating from New Hampshire. I've lived here my entire life, so I absolutley need some help/advice and I fully respect the opinions of those that have lived there. I know virtually nothing of the area and am trying to gather as much info as I can. I will truly appreciate some constructive input so we can make an educated decision. Here is what we are looking for:

1. To be CLOSE to my husband's work (within a 15 minute drive if possible)
2. Schools are highly important, I have 2 pre-school aged children and education is a priority for us.
3. We want to find the safest neighborhood possible, family friendly, lots of kids around.
4. CLOSE to shopping/grocery stores etc.

IF you were moving to the Melbourne area right now, and these were important factors to you, where would you consider? Thank You kindly in advance. I also have a few other questions that I will post separately. Thanks!

*******************************************

I have been in the Melbourne area for about 12 yrs. The area that I
live in is Lake Washington---Wickham Rd.... This area is safe and you can
walk to shopping , one mile to super markets, golf course,resturants,
banks etc, etc,
Here is the number of the county appraisers office so you can call
and get all of the first hand info. direct. My home is approx. 2100 sq ft
and my prop. tax is about $1400 dollars and I pay $728.00 for home
owners ins. there are agents that charge $1300 plus for the same
coverage. Home owners association fee in this subdivision is abaout $150
per year. Grand daughter went to school here in the area and she did fine.
If there is any more info that you want feel free to contact me...

appraisers office 321-454-6681 ask for a Mr. Ed Thompson
( a personal friend ) this is a must call.

LOVE THE U.S.A. BOB

[FloridaGirl89]

Originally Posted by kahskye

Thanks, do you know what the best middle schools are?

thread.

Yeah, I made a post about the middle schools in the "Melbourne..Viera..Sebastian..Vero Beach.. relocating from NYC"

Top pick would be Delura followd by Hoover. Bottom pick would be Stone.

[kahncss]

Originally Posted by FloridaGirl89

thread.

Yeah, I made a post about the middle schools in the "Melbourne..Viera..Sebastian..Vero Beach.. relocating from NYC"

Top pick would be Delura followd by Hoover. Bottom pick would be Stone.

Thank you so much! You don't know how much this helps.

[kwick release]

We just moved to Indian Harbour Beach 3 months ago and LOVE it. Schools are great. Safe. Family friendly. Good time to buy too!

The only thing we lack here are a big choice of restaurants. Good luck.

[FloridaGirl89]

Originally Posted by kwick release

We just moved to Indian Harbour Beach 3 months ago and LOVE it. Schools are great. Safe. Family friendly. Good time to buy too!

The only thing we lack here are a big choice of restaurants. Good luck.

Ahhh I spend a tun of time there, love it. Don't be deceived by the outlook of some restaurants. There are some gems hidden everywhere. You may or may not know of these already, so this list is for anyone moving to the area really (This is not a complete list):

In Melbourne Beach:
On Ocean Avenue, East side of A1A, lies a small strip of buildings. Two places to eat are quite good. First, Friendly Toast, it's a very good breakfast place. Quite popular. Very small though. Near by there is a restaurant that I can't remember the name for the life of me. It used to be called South beach Pizza for years, but it just got re-owned and now it's different. It's good though, I've had fish tacos there that were great.

In Indiatlantic/Indian Harbour Beach -
Cheaper places:
Beachside Cafe, Bizarros Pizza, Starbucks, Boardwalk Burrito (I get the mahi mahi soft tacos done Baja style!), Java Surf (has great smoothies), Big Island Burrito (doesn't except cards, not my favorite place), Blueberry Muffin (EVERYONE goes there for breakfast! It's amazing!), Friendly's, Panera Bread, and Moo's Ice Cream.
Medium price places:
Haru (my FAVORITE sushi place, very good!), and Thi Thi (GREAT food), and City Tropics Bistro for lunch.
Nicer places:
www.citytropics.com and Skewers think is nicer.

On Eau Gallie:
RJ Gator's (quite popular, but not my favorite at all), Texas Roadhouse, and there's some more but I can't remember - it's a long street.

In Satellite Beach:
Da Kine Diegos: One of the best! Yes, it's shaky looking and there are stickers covering the wooden, outdoor walls; but the food is amazing. It's famous for the "insane burrito", it's HUGE. I always get the "gringo" because I think it's delicious. Directly next door is a new pizza place, I can't remember the name but it starts with an S, it's directly north of Da Kines. It has HUGE pizza and it's very good. I like it better than Bizarros.

In Cocoa beach, Cocoanuts is a popular bar on the beach, I don't like bars but people who do love it there. Captain Hirams is popular too, it's in Sebastian though. A lot of people go there and seem to like it.

My favorite of all is Long Doggers in Indiatlantic! I eat there about 3 times a week! Everything on their menu is amazing. My personal favorites include the lemon pepper shrimp, the "Lobsta Roll", and the tuna (whole tuna, not like tuna fish) sandwich done Hawaiian style (they put grilled pineapple on it and it's amazing!). This place didn't attract my grandparents who have lived in Indiatlantic for years because of the fact that it's small and stuff, but I won them over when I got take-out food from there. Now they're hooked.


If you feel like driving mainland I HIGHLY recommend Squid Lips (there's one mainland you can get there by driving on Eau Gallie road and there's one on the river in Sebastian - you can drive up there in your boat). They have great sea food, a little expensive but worth it to me!

Also mainland they have on 192 some chain resterunts and stuff such as Jasno's Deli, Shells, Smokey Bones, Steak and Shake, T.G.I. Friday's, Fiesta Azteca (spelling?), Olive Garden, and Red Lobster.
They also have like Applebees, Chillies, Carrabba's, and such places mainland but not on 192.

[lovethebeach]

There is a ton of detailed information on Brevard County Schools on the FloridaToday website. (That is the local paper.) Just go to the education section for the latest articles, scores, rankings, redistricting and more. There is a BrevardCountyMom section on this same site that also covers more education topics. For example, the latest news story is that Cocoa Beach Middle/High school was ranked number 101 in the entire country--the highest ranking Brevard County High School! They have a great IB program and many AP classes. Students come from all over Brevard to attend. But be careful where you choose to live if you want to attend CBHS. The school board just did some redistricting and are no longer allowing new students from the the northern and southern part of the county to attend the popular school.

[mariaL717]

Floridagirl89- Thank you for the time you put into your post. We are moving to either Brevard or Seminole County and there are so many things to think about. I want to be coastal and my husband inland. I am so confused about Viera. I think it is part of Rockledge and Melbourne. Is that right? I What is the better area and what developements will have great homes with lower taxes and insurance. We are actually making the trip down to check things out in a couple of weeks. Another question is are there any 55+ developements in Viera that are affordable and nice (for my mom) Thanks for all your help.

[Iris14]

Originally Posted by mariaL717

Floridagirl89- Thank you for the time you put into your post. We are moving to either Brevard or Seminole County and there are so many things to think about. I want to be coastal and my husband inland. I am so confused about Viera. I think it is part of Rockledge and Melbourne. Is that right? I What is the better area and what developements will have great homes with lower taxes and insurance. We are actually making the trip down to check things out in a couple of weeks. Another question is are there any 55+ developements in Viera that are affordable and nice (for my mom) Thanks for all your help.

Viera is between Rockledge (north) and Melbourne (south). It is a nice area mainly because it is very new, and they have developed it fairly well and modern (unlike other areas in Brevard (and the rest of FL as well), which can lean towards more hodgepodge and strip mall-y) Just below Viera is Suntree, kind of an "older" Viera (nice homes, more suburban, can be pricy, not as much shopping)...Rockledge itself is rather small, just kind of an outlier of South Cocoa/Merritt Island on US1, and they have built new developments towards the south going into Viera.... Brevard County's geography isn't as confusing as it seems, it is kind of a "narrow" place, and the cities kind of just flow into one another. It is not difficult to commute from nearby communities. Living there, you tend to drive all over the place...

Also, there are several 55+ developments in Brevard County, at different price points....Try to google "55+ communities Viera FL" ....

[mariaL717]

Thanks Iris14- Between the Rockledge and the Melbourne side of Viera which do you think is better? I like the way it sounds, being new and well laid out, but do you or anyone out there know if the developements are like living in a communist country. We have a small boat and a small toy hauler RV that we would not park at the house except on the weekends when we would need to use them. Mainly for set up and clean up after use. There is a neighborhood in NC where we are now that you can not have that, and you can not even wash your car in your driveway. If Viera is like this maybe it isn't for us. We need to be within a 45 mile radius of the Orlando airport and we NEED GREAT schools, and I would love to be coastal. If anyone has any other suggestions I would love to hear them. Thanks

Originally Posted by Iris14

Viera is between Rockledge (north) and Melbourne (south). It is a nice area mainly because it is very new, and they have developed it fairly well and modern (unlike other areas in Brevard (and the rest of FL as well), which can lean towards more hodgepodge and strip mall-y) Just below Viera is Suntree, kind of an "older" Viera (nice homes, more suburban, can be pricy, not as much shopping)...Rockledge itself is rather small, just kind of an outlier of South Cocoa/Merritt Island on US1, and they have built new developments towards the south going into Viera.... Brevard County's geography isn't as confusing as it seems, it is kind of a "narrow" place, and the cities kind of just flow into one another. It is not difficult to commute from nearby communities. Living there, you tend to drive all over the place...

Also, there are several 55+ developments in Brevard County, at different price points....Try to google "55+ communities Viera FL" ....