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Kels, we have been directed to Viera, Satellite Beach and Indialantic because of their elementary schools. See below...
Jdoty, thank you for your detailed write-up. I appreciate your very specific suggestions about neighborhoods and will consider all of them. Your descriptions and opinions are in line with what we have heard from others and how we are leaning, so I will especially check out Windover Farms. Since we are very family-oriented right now, it seems that beachside may be for us. We will be giving some serious weight to Viera, but I too am a little concerned about the lot sizes and lack of architectural variety that I am seeing on the builder sites. Thank you!
Cbmama, I had to laugh about your snowbird comments. We are FL natives, so we are well-acquainted with our friends from the north. Your numbers are in line with what I have heard and estimated in terms of taxes and insurance. I guess we will just have to sell one of the kids and see how that works out. Thank you most especially for the heads up on the pedophiles and I hope others do the search you suggested, as well. I happened to run the search a week or two ago and was horrified at the number of subhumans down there! I am of the belief that pedophiles should have to have signs in front of their homes and on their cars, but I digress. Good to hear about Cocoa Beach! You are actually the first person I have been able to find from that area, so I appreciate your viewpoint. As for the Orlando commute and lucky for me, it will just be my husband who loves getting behind the wheel of the car!
I will continue to check this thread for other comments and suggestions. Thanks, everyone!
I grew up in Cocoa Beach and moved away to college. I live in a large city now and have two elementary aged boys. We visit my parents every summer for 6 weeks and my boys love it...the beach, the river tons of things to do. They live a "Tom Sawyer" life--only with high tech rockets going off in the distance. We live in the best school district in our current city - and go to an award winning school. After researching school options, we have decided to move to CB. Freedom 7 elementary is one of the top elementary schools in Florida -- it is on a lottery system, but chances are decent. The other elementary school--Roosevelt-- is also good. The Jr/Sr. high is the other reason we are moving. US News and World report ranked Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr as the number 48 or so high school in the US in 2006. It has an IB program that is challenging. Freedom 7 is also an IB school. (our current school is also -- and it is great)
The town is small, but has lots of outdoor stuff to do. Kids ride their bikes to the library and to school. They ride their bikes to the beach with a surfboard under their arm. They fish. They can have some freedom to play and explore. There is a small downtown with a few restaurants and a local coffee shop. City hall shows a movie outside once per month...families come by bike, skates, or wagons with blankets and food and the kids play and watch the movie. The library has good programs and a great kids section.
For just under a million to just over a million, look in the country club area --near the schools. It is one of the nicest areas. Bid low--houses are still overpriced. There is golf club (relatively cheap to join and play!) and a large rec area with swimming pool and swim team. For another area to look, try 4th street south. There are also alot of kids along the Yacht haven subdivision off of 4th street south. Most all of these houses have waterfront lots. Do not look north of Holiday lane. This area is closer to the tourist area and is zoned for an elementary school that is not as highly ranked as Roosevelt. Some people in this area send their kids to the Catholic school --Our Saviors.
The commute to Orlando is easy from here. Get on A1A going north and follow it. It changes its name to 528 - a toll road. It is about 55 minutes from the center of town to the Orlando airport. (35 minutes to the Melbourne airport).
Traffic in Viera is bad. Is is also getting overbuilt. Merritt Island also has some traffic issues. The beach is not as congested, except on launch days. Speaking of launches...
There is a big Space Center culture here. When the shuttles are preparing to go off, store owners change their signs to read "Go Discovery" or "God Speed Endeavor" or something like that...kind of like a local sports team! Many parents are in the Space business.
Hi There!
I sent a PM to you, but here is more information for you! Lake Mary, Sanford, Longwood, all have great advantages here in Seminole county. This area is about half way to the beach, (New Smyrna is my favorite), and half way to disney and the attractions. Ice skating....hmmmm the only place I know is about a 15-20 min. drive on I-4 to the RDV sports complex. Swimming is available there too, but of course I imagine you will find a home that has a pool......if not, I know a great pool company to build you one! Seminole county also has miles and miles of bike trails, and they are trying to interconnect them all over the county! There are a lot of families in this area, and lots of great family communities. Welcome!
Our budget was half of that of yours and we still got a large, brand new home in Winter Garden. I have a few posts about that if you want to do a search. Though we haven't really lived there as we're moving tomorrow , the area looks very promising. I have two very young children and we love the family appeal that the city has. It's not too far from downtown but it's close enough to everything.
Well, we are back from our first trip and were able to see a lot in a few short days. Once again we were reminded that one of the nicest things about Florida is the people. Everyone was friendly, open and eager to help.
I have quite a bit to share for those of you who are like-minded in wanting to move to central Florida and will try to address some observations that others have made on similar issues. As you read, remember that we saw Orlando and the Space Coast in about four days so what we saw may be totally different than what others, most particularly-locals, may have found.
Orlando:
Some traffic, but not as bad as others have mentioned. While I am sure that rush hour can be tremendous, we never experienced any "parking lot" driving. Windermere would be our choice if we were wanting to be close in. However, this area is aging and we were a little horrified by the massive number of portable classrooms behind the schools in many of the Orlando areas we visited. A couple of elementary schools even appeared to have classrooms on some of the ball fields. School construction is clearly not in step with growth. As a teacher, I can tell you that this is a red flag. Seminole schools are undoubtedly better than Orange County schools. We wanted to get into some of the more dicey areas to be sure that we were getting a full picture, and there are definitely areas of Orlando that look like a third world country. I can see that one could get excited about a house on the internet and end up extremely disappointed in seeing the real thing.
There is new growth in many areas, but the lot sizes are disappointing. Moderately priced new homes DO exist.
Fun city. Restaurants, night life and activities for kids are enumerable.
It most certainly does get cold at this latitude.
Cocoa, Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island:
Older, in sad need of some solid city planning to spruce things up. It's time to force residents and business owners to keep places more attractive or they're going to run off potential tourists, residents and businesses. Nice neighborhoods seem to run into more questionable ones. We found a beautiful house that we would have purchased on the spot but when we drove around the area a little more we found abandoned businesses and run-down houses. There is no question this area peaked in the 1960s.
Viera/Suntree:
If you want new and shiny, then you want to be west of I-95. Newert Viera has a massive traffic design flow problem that is going to worsen as more residential housing is completed. I have read about this problem with many developments in central FL and experienced it first hand - at 2 PM of all times! The public schools in this area seemed to be the most promising (without having to participate in the school lottery system). If you do not like cookie cutter housing than Viera/Suntree is not for you. Viera is the place is you are middle to upper middle class and want new shopping, schools and like-minded neighbors. This is the suburb that looks like the newer suburbs we are all familiar with across the country. The other downside to this area is that the terrain is as flat and treeless as Kansas. A simple fix to this would be tree planting requirements with all new commercial and residential construction.
Space Coast Beaches (Melbourne Beach, Satellite Beach, etc.):
If you are a beach person/family, then shop no further. I recommend south of Patrick Air Force base, in general. We were able to find beautiful homes that were a stone's throw from the MANY very nice beach accesses along the coast. We may have the perfect, white sand along NW FLorida, but you all have the gorgeous water - lovely and uncrowded this time of year. You will have to drive to get to the chain restaurants and shopping, but it's worth the trade for the mom and pop places that still exist here. Like their neighbors to the north, many of the tacky tourist areas are getting run down and in sore need of sprucing up. The people were terrific. The schools rate highly here, though we got bogged down at looking at houses and did not see them first hand. We have heard nightmarish stories about taxes and insurance, so these should be considered before buying in this area, but we did not think that the quotes we got on a couple of particular houses we too out of line.
Central Florida in General:
The Good:
Lovely climate, beautiful (uncrowded this time of year) beaches, eclectic. Much for a family to do. Tropical gardening would be a dream. If you can manage it, your own backyard with a pool would be about as good as it gets. If you are kidless and not buying strictly for investment, there are many housing options available. It's definitely a buyers market.
The Concerns:
Old Florida does not exist here - 1960s Florida does. I was very much bothered by all the gated communities. If there are gates then there are probably good reasons for them. Schools are hit and miss. Cities need to be more vigilant in maintaining the appearances of common areas, businesses and homes. There is no reason to have trash and overgrown weeds in common areas. Rednecks.
viera or suntree area its on the space coast. Great schools such as Suntree elementry/A school, nice homes, low crime rate,Great food,10 minutes away from beach,on the river,beutiful
Stay away from North Brevard altogether (Titusville, Cocoa, Rockledge). Cocoa Beach could be nice... but there are a lot of drunks and drugs, but there are also nicer things to do and you're not far from fun in Orlando.
Keikis,
I definatley agree with AmyK. I have lived all through Brevard county for 27 years including Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Palm Bay and the Satellite Beach Indian Harbor Beach Indiatlantic areas.
I would suggest Satellite-Melbourne Beach area as well. The schools are all top notch and all "A" rated. The crime rates are extremly low.There are lots of things to do outdoors as this area is located in about a 3 mile stretch between the Indian River and the beaches. with the price of 1M for a home, this area would definatley be the best for you on the Space Coast. Household incomes in this area tend to be higher. It is definatley a laid back, relaxed beach town that is only about an hour from orlando.
I would stay away from Palm Bay as the crime rates are higher because of all the growth and lower income households. I would also stay away from Cocoa Beach as it is much more touristy and Titusville tends to be a little trashy.
Unfortunatley we are moving to Orlando for work and will miss home terribly but hope to be able to move back home within 2 years.
Good Luck with your move I am sure you would really love it here
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Look at Cocoa Beach
Seminole county also has miles and miles of bike trails, and they are trying to interconnect them all over the county! There are a lot of families in this area, and lots of great family communities. Welcome!
, the area looks very promising. I have two very young children and we love the family appeal that the city has. It's not too far from downtown but it's close enough to everything.
