[nomadic220]

I have lived in the surrounding areas my entire life and can no longer take the ridiculous heat and influx of criminals moving to Melbourne because they cant afford Miami of Orlando any more. Yeah I know " If you don't like the weather than move" I am currently scouting new cities as I type. Sure Florida has great tropical weather. But it really all depends on the individual. Every one tells you the great things about Florida. I am here to start a new thread to properly represent Palm Bay and Melbourne areas. Also to bring up some underlying issues not formerly mentioned.

1) The bus system is the only form of public transportaion. It is completely useless. Geared more towards retired people and elderly weekend shoppers. You are going to need a car no matter what for the entire state. That is if you want to live some semblance of a normal life. Everything is spread out with small clusters of what we call "woods". The woods consist of Brazilian pepper trees and palm trees. They are considered a weed and are a nuisance. The state and county workers are constantly cutting them down,but they grow at an alarming rate. If you are unfortunate enough to have to ride a bike or walk you will be covered in sweat.

2) The Police stations are stacked right on top of each other. Lots of cops are a good thing right? Wrong. Its basically a geographic error. Heading south from Cocoa Beach on A1A you hit Satellite Beach. LOL, its about six miles long. Then you hit Indian Harbor Beach. Drive three miles and your in Indialantic. Then four miles takes you to Melbourne beach. I understand the small beach town image the county is trying to preserve but its not that beneficial to the residents. For instance, Indian Harbor. You have I.H.B. police, state troopers, Brevard county sheriffs and Melbourne police. Confused yet? Even if you have one drink and have to drive through these towns you better watch your butt or you will end up in jail. That stretch is actually know by the locals as "the gauntlet". When we were younger and would drink in satellite and drive to Indialantic it was like a dare.If you did make it ( some don't) your buddies in the car would celebrate. I know dozens of bars where police just sit outside and wait for you to leave so they can harass you. They need to scrounge up all these small towns into one city. Melbourne and Melbourne beach. Problem solved.

[Eresh]

It sounds like it hasn't changed a whole lot since I moved away in 1997, though I don't recall crime being too, too terrible except in certain neighborhoods.

I still cringe when I think about driving A1A or 5th Ave in Indialantic trying to avoid cops. LOL

[nomadic220]

Crime is not bad. Lots of drugs hidden behind the whole paradise image. Hope your happier where you are now.

[Eresh]

Originally Posted by nomadic220

Crime is not bad. Lots of drugs hidden behind the whole paradise image. Hope your happier where you are now.

Melbourne will always be "home".

[jdoty]

Other than a few rougher neighborhoods like University east of Babcock or most of Cocoa, crime doesn't seem any worse here than anyplace else. I live in NE Palm Bay. The neighbors are friendly, there are always people out and about, and we've never felt threatened in the least. Even going to the local Wal-Mart late at night has never been a problem. Reading the paper, it looks like almost all of the actual crime we do have is drug related. Assuming you're not buying drugs, making/growing drugs, or selling drugs, you have nothing to worry about around here.

Now you're absolutely right about the cops beachside. My wife and friends and I tend to avoid going there in the evenings. We never, ever, ever drive drunk, but I know of people who didn't have a drop getting pulled over and harassed simply because they were driving late at night. The only ticket I ever got was a from a cop in Melbourne Beach. He got me for rolling a stop sign leaving a parking lot while turning onto A1A. He was nice enough to overlook my spotless driving record and gave me a ticket rather than a warning.

Our bus system is a joke, but that's true for every other suburban area I've lived in. Things are just too spread out in the suburbs to make mass transit feasible.

[Eresh]

Originally Posted by jdoty

Other than a few rougher neighborhoods like University east of Babcock or most of Cocoa, crime doesn't seem any worse here than anyplace else. I live in NE Palm Bay. The neighbors are friendly, there are always people out and about, and we've never felt threatened in the least. Even going to the local Wal-Mart late at night has never been a problem. Reading the paper, it looks like almost all of the actual crime we do have is drug related. Assuming you're not buying drugs, making/growing drugs, or selling drugs, you have nothing to worry about around here.

OK, that is how I remember it. So it really hasn't changed that much.

I remember when in my teens and early 20's my friends and I used to call it MelBoring. In spite of that, people we knew would move away and then wind up coming back after a time. We used to joke about how it was like a black hole and that one could never truely leave. When I moved away (for graduate school) in '97, I was determined to be the "one who escaped forever". Well, I still haven't moved back, but I can feel it calling me. I am really missing it, especially now that I have a daughter to raise. There isn't a whole lot for me in terms of jobs because of my profession (professor, and FIT isn't hiring in my field), but one day I'll be back....

[nomadic220]

So what state are you in now? Wherever its at I'm sure the economy is way better. Especially for a teacher. LOL. You better not be proof reading this!
JJ. My stepmother is an English teacher who is always correcting my grammar. I'm not so sure about bringing the daughter back to raise in Melbourne. Sure, it's a small, quiet, suburban area for the most part. Remember what you said though;
"Melbouring". The nickname has stayed. Unless you fill all your kids free time with extra curriculum activities, the kids have nothing else to do but find trouble. There is a huge rx drug problem here now. I lost my best friend and old childhood playmate to hydrocodone.I never went down the rx path, but a large majority of friends have. Im 27 now and dont drink or use drugs and I seem to be the odd man out. Why? Because there is nothing else to do in this town, so recreational drug use seems to be the new past time. Seriously, what did you do for fun on friday night when you were an adolescent?

[Eresh]

Originally Posted by nomadic220

Seriously, what did you do for fun on friday night when you were an adolescent?

Hmmmm, when you put it that was, you have a very good point.
When I was a young teen, I hung out at this place called Slicks. It was like a night club for teens (no alcohol, no one over 18 allowed) on Babcock St but got shut down after a couple years. (Yeah, I'm showing my age LOL). As I approached my middle teens, I usually went to parties - in the woods, at the beach, friends' houses with no parental supervision...
In my later teens I started hanging out with the "band crowd".
My siblings and I somehow turned out OK, but that could have been pure luck.

Right now I live in Tampa, but I am moving to a new job near Atlanta next month. I seriously doubt that's any better, but when I think about it... is there any place safe to raise a child these days?

[jdoty]

Originally Posted by Eresh

OK, that is how I remember it. So it really hasn't changed that much.

I remember when in my teens and early 20's my friends and I used to call it MelBoring. In spite of that, people we knew would move away and then wind up coming back after a time. We used to joke about how it was like a black hole and that one could never truely leave. When I moved away (for graduate school) in '97, I was determined to be the "one who escaped forever". Well, I still haven't moved back, but I can feel it calling me. I am really missing it, especially now that I have a daughter to raise. There isn't a whole lot for me in terms of jobs because of my profession (professor, and FIT isn't hiring in my field), but one day I'll be back....

I moved here from Indiana for my job and am quite happy. I haven't really understood the "MelBoring" label. The only legitimate complaint I've heard was about dance club and night clubs; there's plenty of nightlife here, but it's more low key and the crowd is more diverse (read: middle-aged) than in a college town. Other than that, nobody can really come up with anything that would make Melbourne more "interesting". Personally, my wife and I haven't had any problems at all keeping busy!

I've never met a teenager who liked where they lived!

[blackhype]

Originally Posted by Eresh

Melbourne will always be "home".

I agree. Melbourne is my home. Beachside is a little rough pertaining to the police.