Melbourne..Viera..Sebastian..Vero Beach.. relocating from NYC (Tampa, Clearwater: real estate, housing)

[FloridaGirl89]

I like Melbourne, Vero is a bit quieter and definitely has a reputation as having a lot of old folks...a lot of people go to retire there. Viera is new and developing, looks like it's going to turn out really nice. Sebastian(beachside)/Melbourne Beach is slightly on the quieter side. Melbourne itself is big and diverse, northern parts of Melbourne (like Suntree and Satellite) are definitly nicer and worth checking out. Satellite Beach is a very nice and safe community with the best schools (in my opinion, and it's because of the quality of the students/teachers). Don't move into Palm Bay, it's a step down from Melbourne. Merritt Island is nice. Cocoa Beach is a beam bum town. I peronally LOVE Indiatlantic but that's because I prefer the beach. It's easy to get to the beach from Melbourne and it's a nice place to live in. I'll post to you what I posted as a reply to a different forum question:


I was born and raised in Melbourne/the Melbourne area. I've lived here my whole life and I love it.



Melbourne: Melbourne is a big town (not a big city, just a large town). There are SEVERAL different neighborhoods all in the Melbourne area. When I say Melbourne area I mean Melbourne is kind of the center and has surrounding places that I'll list in detail below. Melbourne has Harris, the Melbourne Airport, the mall, big stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, a community college campus, movie theaters, the biggest local hospital, etc. and it also has a lot of the normal chain restaurants. I've always thought of Melbourne as kind of the central hub of this area. It will have most of the major chain stores and places to eat. There are several gated neighborhoods in all price ranges, it's a pretty safe area. Those neighborhoods have lots of houses and not much yard space though. Melbourne also has regular neighborhoods, some better than others. Don't buy a house near University St. or by Stone Middle School because it isn't a good area. It's easy to get around, it's not too big but not too small. Traffic during rush hours is a drag for me, but nothing compared to like Orlando/other big city traffic.
Areas surrounding Melbourne:



West Melbourne:
Right next to Melbourne (actually I don't really know where the borders are for West Melbourne/Melbourne – it's kind of just the same area but those are the “official names”). There are just more neighborhoods and stuff in West Melbourne. Some nicer than others.



Downtown Melbourne:
Closer to the River (and the beach) is West Melbourne. It's sometimes called “Old Town Melbourne” or “Historic Downtown Melbourne” it's all little specialty shops and antique stores. There is a theater for performances and a chocolate shop, I like the area but I don't think many people actually live IN downtown Melbourne, we just shop there.



Northern Melbourne- Includes towns like Suntree and other nice neighborhoods. It's a rich area and very safe. It is expensive though.

Eau Gallie- (Kind of north of Melbourne) Parts of Eau Gallie are very ghetto, but some areas are okay.



Cocoa- (north of Melbourne) Parts of Cocoa (mainland) are also very ghetto, but I'm assuming some are okay.



Viera- (very north of Melbourne) Viara is a newly developed (and still developing) area. It seems to be developing into a nice, kind of rich area that has safe communities.



Palm Bay: Just west of Melbourne is Palm Bay. (Palm Bay also includes Bayside Lakes, Malabar, Valkaria, and Grant) Palm Bay is even bigger than Melbourne, but just in size, not like city wise. I must say, if you aren't from the area, “Palm Bay” might sound nicer than “Melbourne” but it isn't. It kind of has a reputation of being a more poor than Melbourne/other areas around Melbourne. Because there is so much land, it is very diverse. There is the Palm Bay area that is near the river, which is I don't think THAT good of an area but you might find a nice condo there. There are some country/southern/hick parts of Palm Bay too. They are Valkaria and Grant. There is also the Palm Bay that is just neighborhoods, I don't go in to Palm Bay much so I don't really know about the areas like that. If you want to be closer to Melbourne but live in Palm Bay, than choose Lockmar Estates to live in, it's a really and nice neighborhood, homes will be more than other places in Palm Bay, but worth it. I don't even consider Lockmar to be part of Palm Bay really. There is one nice neighborhood in Malabar, I think it's by “Malabar Lake” or something. And if you have to live further in Palm Bay, Bayside Lakes is a good community to live in, it's nicer than the surrounding areas. Grant and Valkaria are kind of farm style, I have only been there a couple of times. If you live in the outskirts of Palm Bay than it's not so bad, I just wouldn't want to live deep in Palm Bay because I prefer the beach and it's social class is kind of a step below mine (not to be mean or anything).



Going BEACHSIDE is...
Going from north to south, this string of towns is considered “beachside” for the south Brevard County area:
Merritt Island
Cocoa Beach
Satellite Beach
Indian Harbor Beach
Indialantic
Melbourne Beach
South Beaches
Each is a couple of miles long and less than a mile wide (it's one big stretch of land between a big river and the Atlantic ocean. There are causeways in Indialantic (connecting it to Melbourne) and I think Indian harbor Beach (connecting it to Eau Gallie? ...I don't remember the exact boarders for these beachside beaches, they all run together) and some more north too. But there isn't a causeway south of the one in Indiatlantic until you get out of Brevard county, so southern Melbourne Beach and the South Beaches aren't populated as much and they don't have as many stores/restaurants as the other beaches. Some like it that way though, it's quieter for sure. Sebastian Inlet is down in the South Beaches area and it's world famous for surfing. Cocoa Beach is famous for surfing too because Kelly Slater is from there (8x world champ). Satellite Beach is a nicer community, it's very, very safe. Indian Harbor Beach and Indialantic are WONDERFUL, some neighborhoods are gated and nice. Some houses along the river or beach are mansions, and some houses in between are small older houses. It's pricey to live beachside but I think it's worth it. Along these beachside communities are several neighborhoods, some local little shops, surf shops, local amazing places to eat, some chain stores and stuff (all the basics are covered such as Wal-Mart & Publix) and a verity of things everywhere, I love it. Satellite beach and north from there is more in the northern area of the Melbourne area. They are more in the northern Melbourne (mainland) area and Viera (mainland), a nice place for sure. Southern Melbourne Beach and below are a bit out of the way for the Melbourne area because of the lack of causeway connecting it to the mainland. Beachside is definitely a nicer place to live and more expensive, but with the sunrises over the ocean and sunsets over the river, the amazing people and places to go, and the surf community, I think it's definitely worth it.



Schools:
There are several preschools and elementary schools. Florida schools aren't known for their high quality, so don't be surprised with the over attention on standardized testes, namely the dreaded FCAT. I personally am NOT a fan of the public school system so I'll just try and say the good about the local high schools:



Melbourne High School (Mel Hi to the locals) is a very nice high school (very big too) with tuns of clubs and stuff. The students that go there are pretty well off when it comes to social class. It's a typical high school, I think it's second only to Satellite in the area when it comes to....how shall we say...quality of the students and school as a whole. Students that go there include those who live in Melbourne, Indian Harbor Beach, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, West Melbourne, and a little part of Palm Bay.


Satellite High: Pretty much the richest kids around go there. I love it, it's a wonderful school. Their cheerleading team is VERY good and their football team is VERY bad! The students that go there seem to really enjoy everything about the school. Students who go there are from Satellite Beach, nicer parts of Melbourne (northern Melbourne), and I don't really know where else.


Palm Bay High School:
PBHS is kind of a ghetto school. Even though it's technically located in Melbourne it's called PBHS because most of the kids who go there live in Palm Bay. They have a VERY good football team, always are in the top 5 in the state. I wouldn't send my kids there just because the class of students/teachers is...not above average. Students who go there are from Palm Bay, (including from the neighborhood of Lockmar, those kids stand out in a positive way) but not deep into Palm Bay.


Bayside High School:
Bayside is a pretty diverse school, half the students are rednecks and half are gangster. I don't know too much about the school, it seems okay, probably nicer than PBHS but I'm not quite sure. I do know they have a horrible football team! Students who go there are from deep in Palm Bay, including Bayside lakes (those kids are not rednecks or gangster so they stand out in a positive way), Grant, Valkaria, and Malabar.


Other high schools I don't know much about:
Eau Gallie High- include kids from parts of Melbourne/Eau Gallie
Cocoa High- includes kids from the mainland side of Cocoa, a really ghetto school. Worse than PBHS.
Cocoa Beach Jr. & Sr. High- includes kids from Cocoa Beach and I'm not sure where else.
Merritt Island High School- includes kids from Merritt Island and I'm not sure where else.
Viara High School- A brand new school in Viera, a nice area, a nice school.


A new high school is being built in Palm Bay this year and will be open soon. Not sure about the details of that. All the high schools are very large, 2-3 thousand kids in each of them. If you have specific questions about a particular school, ask me and I will be able to tell you.





South Brevard County is a good area, I love it. If you have any questions, let me know.

[verobeach]

Floridagirl, you certainly put a lot of work into your analysis but I want to say that Vero is not a town for old people. Our schools are excellent and young families abound. Vero also is without C.D.D.'s whereas Viera has all kinds of hidden costs and fees.

The Melbourne/Space Coast area has a certain appeal that attracts midwesterners. You'll even find gift stores there with Ohio and Michigan memorabilia. Vero has more of a NY/New England crowd.

What I like about Melbourne is it's proximity to Orlando for shopping and for the airport. Vero, however, is 90 miles (still a great distance) from beautiful and exciting West Palm Beach.

It's a matter of what you want from an area. Here in Vero, we have an excellent hospital with doctors who are approachable and who remember your name. People are nice, the beaches are uncrowded, restaurants are plenty, and there's a safe feeling here. Perfect for raising a young family.

[kahskye]

Can someone point me in the direction to the best Middle School in the Brevard area. I really like Viera, but notice there isn't a Middle School. My dd would be entering 7th grade.

Thanks!

[FloridaGirl89]

Originally Posted by kahskye

Can someone point me in the direction to the best Middle School in the Brevard area. I really like Viera, but notice there isn't a Middle School. My dd would be entering 7th grade.

Thanks!

You have to remember that middle school is only 2 years and high school is 4, I'd pick based on which high school not middle if I were you. There are SO many middle schools. My parents picked our location based on which elementary school I would be going to - which was really good, until the roof had a problem and grew mold that made me so sick I had to be homeschooled for a couple of years. Then the high school for the location was not good. I went to Southwest middle when I was in 8th grade (Community Christian for 7th - do NOT send your kids there!) and I loved southwest, but you either have to go to Palm Bay High or Bayside High if you go there and you would have to live in Palm Bay. Hoover is beachside and an amazing school. The kids have fun there, it's in Indiatlantic. I should say I rate the schools on the quality of students/teachers who go there because I'm familiar with the students/teachers around here, I just graduated high school myself. Also, how much the students who go there enjoy their school. But I don't know too much about the specific academics at them. When I say quality, I'm referring to safety and such. Also, all the schools are wayyyyyy to focused on the FCAT, it's widely reported too. The schools themselves and the teacher's salary is based on how good the kids do on the FCAT, so pretty much FCAT prep is being done when actual learning about important things is supposed to be taking place. Anyway, here's a short list of the schools I know of around here that I haven't already talked about:

Central Middle - located in west Melbourne. It's an okay school, they have had a problem with bomb threats lately. No serious threats but it's sure annoying for the kids to have to evacuate all the time. The quality of the students who go there could improve. Big school. Students who go there usually go to Mel Hi for high school, which is a great high school. I might send my kid there if I lived in Melbourne/west Melbourne itself. It's okay, not bad like Stone but not a 10 like Hoover.

Stone Middle - located in a bad part of Melbourne, don't send your kid there, trust me. I mean, I hear people defending it sometimes, but realise they are defending it because everyone bashes it for being a bad school. The academics may be okay, it's NOT a safe area and the quality of students is poor. Students who go there go to Palm Bay High afterwards.

West Shore Jr. & Sr. High- It's a charter school with a lottery system for entering it. Your chances of getting in are slim, but academically it's a wonderful school. They wear normal clothes, no uniforms. It's a really good school and a lot of parents try to get their kid in, but again, it's hard to get into because the long list of applicants. I hear it's worth trying, I know the kids who go there get a great education.

Delaura Middle- Located in Satellite Beach. I'd say if you can afford it - move to Satellite Beach. Extremely safe and everyone who lives there loves it. Their schools are good and the quality of students who go there is excellent. Students who go there go to Satellite High, which is a great school.

Viera is a nice area being developed. The high school seems great. I don't know where the kids go for middle school though, sorry.

[MichaelNYC]

Hi F.G.

WOW,,,,, Thanks for the indepth work up on Melbourne and the surrounding areas...

It was all terrific to receive and perfect for what I need !

I am headed down in July to check out the complete area.... and I need what you had to say,, Thanks.

I will be speaking to realtors, job opportunities etc... same thing I did for 12 days in Pinellas Cty last Oct.

I cannot wait to get down there and apply all you wrote

We hope to move in 1 years time....
Our first child is to be born in Oct... otherwise we would have been there already.

Not certain which areas are for us... that is why of course I am coming down for my fact finding tour.

Seems to be Melbourne and the surrounding areas.

Hey question please F.G.
Is a pool needed ?
I have been there done that with my house Upstate NY,,, 20x45, 30 or was it 40,000 gallons, 12' deep etc... and it was a waste as we realized and did not open it anymore. Would rather go to a community pool if there is one. Safety also an issue with a child(ren)... ok and the costs. I know about pools... opened it and closed and maintained it myself... but have a feeling the house we will love will have one and we will balk at it ?

But of course we are renting first... when we get down there.,,,

Thanks for all of your time... it was great to receive, please feel free to comment more and ok to write me directly if you wish, thanks

Michael

[FloridaGirl89]

A lot of families get a pool, use it a lot for maybe a couple of years, and then slowly but surely it gets used less and less. A few of the neighborhoods in Melbourne have a neighborhood pool, so that can be an option. There are a couple of community pools, one referred to as the Fee Ave pool, it's in Melbourne off of 192. I used to go there when I was little, they offer great swim classes for children too. There is also the Brevard Community College Palm Bay campus' pool. The BCC PB campus is right off of the high way in Palm Bay.
I didn't have a pool growing up but some of my neighbors did so I would just go swimming there. It's definitely hot here in the summer so if you don't have a pool the beach is always a great option. I think it really depends of your family. Once you find a neighborhood you like check to see if they have a neighborhood pool. If not, check out the closest community pool (Fee Ave or BCC) and see if they are ok for you guys. If not, look at the size of your new backyard and see if there is enough room for both a pool and space for you child(ren) to run around and play. I had a big back yard and I'm glad a pool didn't take up half of it because all the neighborhood kids and I would use my backyard to play tag and hide and seek in and all. That made trips to the pool all the more fun because it was something we didn't have in our own back yard. Like I said though, it's up to you guys.

[MichaelNYC]

As I thought,,,

Initially everyone gets the pool and uses it...
Then as the years pass.. it gets used less and less...
I have been there done that... we did not even open the pool at one point and got out of the house instead

I will yes of course check the areas for community pools as well as the BCC PB etc.
As you said.. it was an adventure for you,,, getting out to go to a pool as you did not have one.

Hope the house we find is without one,,,,
The house I found years back Upstate NY had one and we did not want it.. but the house was FABULOUS and we could not turn it down....
Initially used it and had parties for 30-50+ people and then little by little decided to get out of the backyard and never opened it again.

Hey buy a lil kiddies pool.... 1 foot deep and fill it and lay in it,,, arms and feet dangling over the edge (I'm 6'2) and close ones eyes and imagine an olympic size pool,, without the electric cost and safety issue for the kids

[Florida15]

Michael.....since you're going to be speaking to realtors,I'd like to recommend one who will help you out a lot even right now on the computer. His name is Paul Whitehouse and his website is Melbourne FL homes for sale,Melbourne FL real estate for sale, incl Lake Washington Viera Cocoa Palm Shores Palm Bay Indialantic Rockledge,homes for sale in Melbourne Fl. Be sure and tell him Bob & Eunice recommended him. Like I said before....BEST OF LUCK!

[MichaelNYC]

Thanks F-15,

He has quite a nic website...
I might just contact him... as I sometimes contact brokers before I come to the area.
But walk into offices as well once I am driving around there.

I need to get a feel for an area...

It just did not happen in Pinellas Cty.

Hoping Brevard Cty does it for us

We would not buy initially.. but would rent.

Either rent a house and leave once we find our own place as we investigate the area better once living there.

Or possibly but a condo... sort of a 'vacation' condo.

Live there same as a rental house.. but when we leave for our own house... we would rent the condo apartment, use it for rental income.

I do that up here having several rental apartments.

Then I need a broker to help direct me to those 'vacation' condos to possibly buy. I need to know the usual, rental fees, occupancy rates, break even times etc.

A lot of work.. but cannot wait to get down there !!

Michael

[ctnski]

FloridaGirl89,

What's the skinny on Melbourne Village? We are looking for an older home on a larger lot in a safer neighborhood close to everything. Would the Village fill such a bill? BTW, our youngest daughter is an '89. Think she'd be bored there?

Any neighborhoods with filipinos? Palm Shores, perhaps?

Thanks for all the great posts.

Craig (from Manila)