Melbourne..Viera..Sebastian..Vero Beach.. relocating from NYC (Lakeland, Jupiter: sales, foreclosures)

[Florida15]

There's some VERY nice condos and Townhomes in Viera......."Three Fountains" is within walking distance of shopping and dining. There's also some very nice townhomes in "Stoneridge".

[cryschap]

Viera is nice if you can afford it. I'm not a fan of Holmes Regional Hospital in Melbourne, I work in healthcare myself, so consider having the baby at Winnie Palmer in Orlando, it is new and beautiful!!! If you want to have a nice home and money to spare look at Palm Bay. I loved it there. Bayside Lakes is a nice gated community and you can get a nice home there.

[MichaelNYC]

Hi Aliza,

Great to hear from you....

Any more detail about your recent trip to Melbourne ?

I plan to get there end of August.. after I redo the kitchen and 2 bathrooms here before the baby in Oct.

Any feedback, comments would be great to hear....
the feel, the mood, the people, the shopping, the real estate market, look etc.

Any interest besides Melbourne ?
i.e. Viera, barrier island towns (Satellite, Indian Harbor) and further south, Vero Beach, PSL etc.

Write me here or directly please... would love to hear more in depth and personal from someone just there

Thanks

Michael

[Florida15]

I would stay out of the Palm Bay area....way too much crime there.

[MichaelNYC]

Originally Posted by Florida15

I would stay out of the Palm Bay area....way too much crime there.

HiYa F-15 !!

That is what I heard.... about Palm Bay !

Was surprised to hear from someone saying go there ??

Cannot wait to get the house done here, doing the kitchen in next 2-3 weeks, so I can leave for FLA in August to scout around

[Phoenix lady]

We lived near Vero Beach for 4 years in the 90's. The only thing I can add is that Vero is very much a retirement area with many older folks. Nothing wrong with this, but if your younger you have to factor this into your decision (and for your family).
I personally liked Melbourne better and north of that, even. Port St. Lucie/Stuart/Jupiter might be of interest to you.
I found Sebastian very sedate. Nice, along the water, etc. but no movie theatre, etc.

[Florida15]

I've never been to Port St. Lucie,but on the new list of fastest growing cities that just came out...they ranked 7th,so they must be doing something right.It might be worth checking out Michael while you're scouting around next month. Best of luck to you and be sure and give us a report when you get back.

Oh....and about Palm Bay....I was surprised too that someone would suggest you going there,but take my word for it and don't waste your time. Make sure you look in Viera though. I think you'll really like what it offers for you and your family.

[nytoflorida]

Hi Michael and everyone else -

I just read through this thread in the hope of gaining some more insight into Vero Beach. It's nice to read so many positive things about it. I was down there last summer with my parents and we checked out the whole area and looked at many houses. We were very impressed with the quality of life there. Laid back yet with everything you need, and only a little over an hour from Palm Beach airport. In researching other areas and even visting a few, like Stuart, Port St. Lucie, and even Daytona and Orlando, Vero by far outweighs them.

My only concern is the job market. I work in the Hotel/tourism business and there isn't much of it there. A few hotels, but not many as compared to other Florida cities that have a lot of tourists. So I don't know how easy it will be for me to find a decent job. One thing I've heard about Florida is that the job market is tough unless you are in a profession where you know there is work. This was a hinderance to my moving down there, since I was going to move down ahead of my parents and live in the house until they retire here on Long Island and sell the house they're in. I also wanted to go back to school, and aside from the community college, there aren't any around from what I can find. But outside of those two (somewhat) problems, it looked like a great place to live. And maybe it does have the reputation of being a place with many retirees, but I don't mind that. I saw families and some younger folks around my age (29) while there. Personally I don't need a lot of nightlife, a good quality of life in a decent area means more to me than that.

Another plus to Vero is the outlet mall, which has just about every store you'd want for clothes, and hardly anyone there as compared to the outlet mall on Long Island! It's like a zoo on the weekend, yet we were at this one in Vero on a Saturday and it was nice and quiet. No lines or anything.

The beach was also pretty amazing. I haven't been to too many beaches in Florida but I was very impressed with how clean and nice it was, and not crowded at all. It's also nice that they don't allow high rise condos or hotels along the beach, it's all zoned so that it will retain that serene appeal that it has. Just clean sand and blue water, and a great park that leads up to it. The whole barrier island in fact was very impressive. Very rich of course since that's where all of the expensive homes are, but that's where the access to the beaches are for everyone, as well as nice restaurants and shops.

To me Vero was perfect for anyone who wants a good quality of life for not a lot of money. It amazes me that it costs at least double to live here in NY and yet it's so much nicer down there for so much less money.

Really the only downside to buying a house there or anywhere in Florida is the extremely high insurance prices. I don't remember exactly what we were quoted, but I know for each house we looked at it was pretty high. But still worth it I'm sure.

[runswithscissors]

If you look under my screen name you can see more posts with reviews of Vero. Yes it's "not alot of money" by NY pay standards perhaps. But with the pay scales being so low here, it's expensive.

Try Marriott.Remember they have an abundance of different channels such as resort, business, etc... And try any chain in Melbourne. It's a quick commute. Also Marriott by Florida standards pays well, imo. There's some kind of Disney property on the beach and also some J Lo thing, I'm not sure.

I like Marriott for the benefits and good advancement....and one that my son and gf enjoyed is the property asks the employees stay there during storms, including their dogs. That is very valuable perk if you are not the type to drive to Georgia every hurricane, as in 2005 they stayed at the property several times. The one time he didn't he had to hold is king mattress up against his door for 6 hours during Rita. His opinion is he was glad he was home or he woulda lost everything.

His gf went from part time college student working there to full time front supervisor to two more promotions and now is an assistant property director and it only took her a couple years. They paid her 40,000 back in 2005 for the front supervisor job which was good by Fl standards AND she had no hospitality degree.

You should never buy now. RENT until you get your bearings here. Your needs and desires will change when faced with a variable that you didn't know to plan for....AND you can rent on the barrier island CHEAP. RIGHT NOW for 950 for a duplex that a realtor I know can't get filled. Everything on the island is nice and she's one block from the south beach.

You can also rent on the mainland for as little as 400-500 for a small condo. Just by example. LOL in NY you need 6 roomates paying that for a small place.

[MichaelNYC]

Hi NY to FLA

Thanks for adding to the post and your comments were great to read,,,,

Curious as to hear more comments, feedback on PSL, Stuart etc... because beside besides Melbourne,,, I was now considering those areas south of Melbourne/Vero etc.

Any more feedback would be great !!

Michael

Originally Posted by nytoflorida

Hi Michael and everyone else -

I just read through this thread in the hope of gaining some more insight into Vero Beach. It's nice to read so many positive things about it. I was down there last summer with my parents and we checked out the whole area and looked at many houses. We were very impressed with the quality of life there. Laid back yet with everything you need, and only a little over an hour from Palm Beach airport. In researching other areas and even visting a few, like Stuart, Port St. Lucie, and even Daytona and Orlando, Vero by far outweighs them.

My only concern is the job market. I work in the Hotel/tourism business and there isn't much of it there. A few hotels, but not many as compared to other Florida cities that have a lot of tourists. So I don't know how easy it will be for me to find a decent job. One thing I've heard about Florida is that the job market is tough unless you are in a profession where you know there is work. This was a hinderance to my moving down there, since I was going to move down ahead of my parents and live in the house until they retire here on Long Island and sell the house they're in. I also wanted to go back to school, and aside from the community college, there aren't any around from what I can find. But outside of those two (somewhat) problems, it looked like a great place to live. And maybe it does have the reputation of being a place with many retirees, but I don't mind that. I saw families and some younger folks around my age (29) while there. Personally I don't need a lot of nightlife, a good quality of life in a decent area means more to me than that.

Another plus to Vero is the outlet mall, which has just about every store you'd want for clothes, and hardly anyone there as compared to the outlet mall on Long Island! It's like a zoo on the weekend, yet we were at this one in Vero on a Saturday and it was nice and quiet. No lines or anything.

The beach was also pretty amazing. I haven't been to too many beaches in Florida but I was very impressed with how clean and nice it was, and not crowded at all. It's also nice that they don't allow high rise condos or hotels along the beach, it's all zoned so that it will retain that serene appeal that it has. Just clean sand and blue water, and a great park that leads up to it. The whole barrier island in fact was very impressive. Very rich of course since that's where all of the expensive homes are, but that's where the access to the beaches are for everyone, as well as nice restaurants and shops.

To me Vero was perfect for anyone who wants a good quality of life for not a lot of money. It amazes me that it costs at least double to live here in NY and yet it's so much nicer down there for so much less money.

Really the only downside to buying a house there or anywhere in Florida is the extremely high insurance prices. I don't remember exactly what we were quoted, but I know for each house we looked at it was pretty high. But still worth it I'm sure.