What is so great about living in/near Melbourne? Who loves or hates it & WHY? (relocating)

[whatsitlike]

Maybe moving to Melbourne Florida. Just wanting opinions and comments from people that actually LIVE in or near the Melbourne.

What are the pros and cons?? What is there fun to do in Melbourne? What are the people like and jobs. What should someone beware of?

Are there busier areas...constant traffic issues in particular places? Are there any affordable rentals, pursching of homes left or is everything a condo?

Not to be mean, but this is for those actually living IN the area, NOT from a visitors point of view. I have visit 4 times already.

What is it REALLY LIKE living in or near Melbourne???
All comments are greatly appreciated. Thanx!

[tx2fla]

I moved to melbourne about a year ago, relocating from Houston, Tx.
I REALLY like it here. The traffic is not that bad, the air is clean, the people are nice and there is very little crime. Its nice to have a commute that is along a pretty river VS. the dirty freeway in H-town.
Things to do here are pretty low-key. There aren't any upscale restaurant chains (here I'm referring to PF Changs or Ruths Chris ) No upscale places to shop (pottery barn, west elm) There is a Macys and a Dillards at the local mall....a Havertys and a norwalk, if you want nice furniture (I'm an interior designer, so thats why I've included furniture!) Downtown historic Melbourne is fun, and they have Friday fest once a month, where they close off the streets downtown and have food and live music. There aren't any night clubs to speak of (like the ones in Houston, anyway.) But I'm not into that, so it doesn't matter to me.
The beaches are clean and the water is pretty and blue most of the time. You can see dolphins swimmming in the Indian River (so do manatees, but I've never seen one.) and you can see whales, dolphins and turtles beachside. last fall I walked down to the beach and watched the shuttle take off....very cool. (Kennedy is about 25 miles north of here.)
I live in a 3/2/2 a 1/2 block from the beach and my rent is 1175 a month....expensive, especially since the house is small and bare bones, but I'm paying for the location, not really the house itself. There are places in melbourne/palm bay that are affordable, and there are houses here that are way over-priced.
Wages are about what I've heard in other places in Florida...a little low. I'm disappointed about that.
The high school here is pretty good....my son likes it....and its "A" rated.
If you want to live somehwere in this area that has lots of places to shop, and is family friendly, I'd recommend Viera (north melbourne)
Overall, I think melbourne is a wonderful place to live.
P.S. I was laid off from my job about a month ago, thanks to a downturn in the housing industry and I'm probably going to have to move.....which is a total bummer because I don't want to leave this place!