Seriously considering Palm Bay, opinions? (Melbourne, Malabar: short sale, insurance, day care)

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by furby lover

can any one give me the low down on which area(palm bay or melbourne) is better realestate tax and utilities wise. i'm selling my home in VA and want to move to brevard or surrounding area. i'm on disabilty, but hope to buy a foreclosure for about 75000 or less, i'll have to redue the kitchen and bath for wheelchair complaince. how much is average electric and water bills. i like to shop at walmart. is it better east or west of int.95? any advice you give will be helpful. i was considering lehigh acres until i read about the crime rate.

You will get a better house in Palm Bay for $75000 than you will in Melbourne. Of vourse it depends on the size of the house but electricity in an older home built in the 80s or 90s probably averages between $250 and $350. For a family of 4 when we had city water and sewer we paid about $120 a month about 6 years ago. There are a lot of houses with septic systems in Palm bay so water bill is cut in half if you have city water. A lot have wells, too.
As for W or E of I-95, depends on which city and where I-95 is located. In Palm Bay the newer areas are mostly West of I-95. In Melbourne a larger part of the city is East of I-95.

[furby lover]

thanks for the reply: everyone i've talked to is so nice, i hope i czn sell my house, i'm ready for a change.

[Lookintoleave]

Is Palm Bay friendlier than Orlando? How would you rate the friendliness factor compared to orlando?

tia

[annagurl333]

Shoreone: I would classify PB as low crime personally. Of course you have your typical teenagers who are bored and cause a bit of trouble. As well as the group of people that drink/do drugs often, whom start domestic disputes among themselves. But really, it's safe here. Small groups of individuals cause most of the problems, so just be careful whom you spend time with. After having lived in Orlando for 2 years, I was very happy to come back to PB. I feel so much safer here. As a female, I even feel safe around town at night time by myself. Just be smart if your alone, try to stay away from the area around University Blvd at night, as well as areas right by bars and clubs.

Lookintoleave: Yes, I would def. say PB is way friendlier than Orlando. That, along with traffic and safety issues, was one of the main reasons I came back to PB. In Orlando, if you smile and try to say hello to someone, they just stare back at you, almost as if they are worried you are going to try to rob them. In PB, they actually smile and say hello back! Perhaps there are areas in the country even more friendly, but comparing Orlando to PB? Trust me, it will almost shock you how much nicer people can be just an hours drive away. Of course you have individuals whom are just snooty/rood/mean. But the majority are friendly...or at least respectful.

[FLABoyJ]

crime is bad

[Swindelz]

I use to live in Orlando and Brevard County. Some people may say that PB has alot of crime. Yes maybe compared to the rest of Brevard County (minus Cocoa), but Orlando makes PB look like Disney World. I lived in Cocoa and certain areas of Cocoa are "bad". It all depends where you come from and what you are use to. I love Brevard county and after I finish my masters degree I am going to move to either PB/Melb. to raise my two children. With me being a military brat and living in so not so great areas like East St. Louis, PB is a greatttt place. There are alot of retired military families in Brevard county as well as retired individuals. Yes it can be boring if you are looking to wildout..this is not Miami, but there are nice night clubs, and bars where you can get out and enjoy your time. Education..well thats a Florida issue all together..as a parent just make sure you are envolved with your childrens education so they wont fall throught the cracks. With the job issue..there are not a great deal of jobs in Brevard county or Orange county unless you are in the Medical field, military, engineering, or IT....if i missed something I am sorry....but I LOVE Brevard county...small town feel....I cant wait till I graduate so that I can move back down and buy a home and start to live my life.....

[Seabeacon]

Originally Posted by Shoreone

So would you say the crime is not bad in palm bay?

Any given night, if you watch the news, Palm Bay, as small as it is, will be mentioned.

[Seabeacon]

Originally Posted by Swindelz

With me being a military brat and living in so not so great areas like East St. Louis, PB is a greatttt place.

Did you live in East St Louis? Was someone stationed at Scott AFB? We used to live in Belleville. I got lost and drove into ESL at night, and a prostitute jumped in front of the car. Scared me to death!

[muggums]

The house we are renting is nice enough, but in our neighborhood you could hear a pin drop day or night, 7 days a week. It's like a ghost town. My daughter and I took a walk a few evenings ago, for an hour and a half, and saw maybe 5 people. Pluses were that I found a job after my first interview, the area was pretty easy to navigate, and the people we did see were friendly. After we close on our Indiana house at the end of October, we are going back to Palm Bay for good. At the end of our lease though, we may look at houses in other areas. Although we felt safe, I would like to be closer to the beach and shopping, if possible. Melbourne looks good, and we hear Port St. John is nice. Both are closer to hubby's new job.

[mak624]

We've been in PB since 2008, unfortunately we have to move out of state. We live in a gated Community with only 90+ homes, The Lakes at Waterstone. The model we have is 2000 sq. ft under air, tile roof, stucco
exterior you name it, it has it. If you think you'd like to view the home online go to Brevardmls.com. The mls#596326
This part of PB is a little country but only 10 mins. from stores.
It's a great area. If you need an questions answered my e-mail is mak624@gmail.com

Originally Posted by muggums

We have been told we likely have a buyer for our house, and we just spent a week exploring Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, and Palm Bay in anticipation of our move.

Everyone, everywhere we went, was friendly and enthusiastic about living in these three areas, and had nothing but good things to say, and said they were very happy there. We found several nice, affordable, pet friendly rentals in Palm Bay and thought the town seemed nice. Palm Bay seemed to have the most reasonable cost of living. A lot of people said there are jobs to be had, if you really wanted one. We will have six months of income saved until we find jobs.

Any opinions on recent crime rates, schools, and neighborhoods? TIA