[surfrider]

My wife and i are in are mid 20's with a 10 month old little girl,we are moving to florida in about 10 months and just want feed back on life on the space coast .My wife is a banker and has a transferable job,i on the other hand am a jack of all trades.I have all my own tools and a truck ,i'm very skilled in all aspects of home repair and remodeling.I'm wondering what chance i have of landing a good job.I make over 25 dollars an hour now.any one with info on good neighborhoods or anything to give me a better idea of the cocoa beach/melbourne area i would appretiate it.

[sunrico90]

Can anyone from the area provide advice.....

Thank you....

[edwards6]

Originally Posted by surfrider

My wife and i are in are mid 20's with a 10 month old little girl,we are moving to florida in about 10 months and just want feed back on life on the space coast .My wife is a banker and has a transferable job,i on the other hand am a jack of all trades.I have all my own tools and a truck ,i'm very skilled in all aspects of home repair and remodeling.I'm wondering what chance i have of landing a good job.I make over 25 dollars an hour now.any one with info on good neighborhoods or anything to give me a better idea of the cocoa beach/melbourne area i would appretiate it.

First, make sure you have a job before you get here! If your wife can transfer within her bank, that is great. Construction/renovation jobs have really slowed down. Our church provided free lunches to several day labor sites in the area. While we could barely keep up with the lunch production for many years, we have recently seen the demand for labors come to almost a complete halt. New housing still exists and you could look for a job w/a major builder. You also might find some luck with a general contractor with an outstanding reputation. Most people are wary of hiring a jack of all trades. Especially someone from out of town. We've had MANY, MANY, MANY unreputable people come here from out of the area and rip off people who are desperate to rebuild after hurricanes. As a result, people in your line of work are viewed with extreme caution. I would suggest you contact a contractor like Hippo Construction to see if they are hiring. They are picky about who they hire and you'll have to pass a background check. But they pay well and are always busy because they hire the best people! You also might want to check with a condominium property management company like B.P. Davis in Cocoa Beach. They manage condo associations and hire maintenance men. Again, they like skilled people with no criminal past and no substance abuse problems. They also like people who will stick around a while.
Now, as far as the area to live in, it really depends on you. Cocoa Beach is nice and it's safe, but it's also very pricey, unless you want dumpy surfer apartments. You also won't find that many families w/kids. They certainly are there, but mostly it's seniors and tourists. Melbourne has a huge variety of neighborhoods. All prices. All kinds. Many people w/young families like Viera, Suntree and Rockledge. Not on the water, but nice and safe. Tons of kids! Stay away from Palm Bay, much of Cocoa and Port St John. Not that all of it is bad (in fact Cocoa has some wonderful areas), but that is where the crime is.

I would suggest you take a vacation, tour the area to find the housing you like and can afford and try to find a job. BTW, you'll find hundreds of Steeler's fans around here!

[smash731]

lol edwards what is up with all the steelers fans...I'm in Canaveral Groves (Cocoa) and I've been puzzled by why my neighborhood sports dive is Steelers Nation since I moved in 2 yrs ago

I love to walk in sporting my Baltimore RAVENS gear.

surfrider...Cocoa is a very slow area for jobs, you will have more luck with Melbourne. I will strongly agree that Port St. John is a no-no.

[kellyjane]

surfrider, we have a young family in port st lucie, about an hour south of melbourne/cocoa. we are both fl natives, and live in a great family neighborhood. quiet but really close to everything. though the housing market has slowed to a crawl, the area is really growing. We are 5 min. from Jensen Beach and certainly close enough to drive up to the space coast when the surf is better up that way. Any more specific background I can give, just let me know.( also have a house we want to sell asap, our first home and we have outgrown it 4 kids later!)

[Prichard]

I just come right out and say it. You will have a tough time finding adequate work in your trade in Cocoa, Titusville, or any of the surrounding towns. While Orlando, Tampa and some of the larger cities continue to grow, this area's future job prospects is not all that great. There are already many handymen and contractors that live in that area looking for work. Many of them commute to Orlando, but gas prices is making this quite difficult.

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

Who said he was a Steelers fan? Hopefully he's an Eagles fan instead!

[edwards6]

O.K., O.K., Smash731 and BeenAroundTheBlock, you're right. I simply saw that surfrider was from PA and made the snappy Steelers connection. My apologies Smash 731, I don’t know what is up w/all the Steelers fans. They’re EVERYWHERE! Sigh. Even most of our friends here on Merritt Island are Steeler's fans. We’ve lived in so many places that we like a number of teams, but my husband is a diehard COLTS fan. He and my son sport their jerseys proudly. Not that any of this helps surfrider...

[rolltide12]

I am moving to the Melbourne area in July and wondering what would be the best area for me.I am 26 and looking for good food, beaches, and laid back night life. Thinking of trying to rent a place on or close to the beach. Please give me any info you can.

[smash731]

indialantic. Cute beach town with some good grub.