Palm Bay vs. Naples (Miami, Melbourne: bank owned, condo, crime)

[Hogzilla]

My husband and I may be relocating to Florida this spring. Right now we are looking at Naples or the Palm Bay/Melbourne area. We currently live in Oklahoma City but are originally from Arkansas. We are 30ish, no kids yet, easy going people just looking for a great area to call home. I'd like to get some honest opinions on these 2 areas. Housing seems about the same price-wise. Is the gulf beach in Naples nicer than the atlantic side of Palm Bay? My husband will be relocating for his job so job-hunting will only be a factor for me. Which area has the least amount of crime and nicest people? We don't care too much about the entertainment.....as long as there are a few nice places to have a drink or shop, etc. Are hurricanes less likely on the east coast? What's the difference in the weather? Of course, being in Oklahoma, we have the constant threat of tornadoes. And we welcome the hot weather. We hate hate hate cold! Thanks for your honest answers.

[jdoty]

I live in the Melbourne/Palm Bay area. For beaches, I like the gulf better, but our beaches here are nice also. The best reason to move here rather than Naples is housing costs. You can get much more house for the money here! Whenever we have folks visit us from out of town (usually family from the midwest), they're always amazed at the number, variety, and quality of restaurants here. Lots of people from the northeast like to complain about how terrible our restaurants are though, so I guess it depends on your perspective.

You'll have to worry about hurricanes just about anywhere in Florida! Our weather is a bit cooler in the winter than Naples, but our summers are pretty much identical - hot and humid!

[floridasandy]

naples is hard to compare against palm bay because it is considered a little more upscale. i would not recommend palm bay (unless you were considering it against fort pierce) but melbourne is pretty good, with north and west being better. you could consider viera which would be a good fit for your demographic group and it is newer and nicer. i like the east coast of florida better than the west, but that is just me and there are plenty of people who like the west coast better than the east. i found the traffic a lot more annoying on the west side of florida. (although south florida has a lot of traffic too).

[sydneymelbourne]

I was wondering if anyone has input on what the level of noice and pollution is near the Patrick Air Force Base, and the Annex near Palm Bay. I am also looking to relocate to this area and was wondering about that.
Appreciate your reply.

[jdoty]

The Annex in Palm Bay isn't an active base; it's just an antenna range. As for Patrick AFB, I've never heard anyone complain about pollution or noise from there. They seem to fly mostly C130 cargo planes, not loud jets.

[jennyspfl]

My husband and I now live in Melbourne (in the Viera area), but we have spent a LOT of time in Naples over the last few years due to his business. Naples and Palm Bay are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT areas! They are nothing alike. Naples is much more high end and beautiful! There are very nice shopping districts, beautiful beaches, fine dining, and 5 star hotels. There are very upscale golf courses, country clubs, etc... However, it is filled with a much older group of people. It is a huge retirement area. Don't expect to have an exciting night life in Naples for that reason. There is a lot of money in Naples and the area is growing. We Love to visit that area!

Palm Bay is....well, in my opinion, not an exciting or very nice area to be. Shopping & dining is non-existent. There is also not much of a nightlife in Palm Bay, but not because it is filled with Senior Citizens, just because it has nothing to offer anyone. I would NOT live in Palm Bay..ever. There is a lot of crime in Palm Bay, as well. You may want to look into some of the crime statistics from Palm Bay before you consider moving there. You can probably get a great deal on a forclosed home in Palm Bay though and I am sure there are a lot of them available there. We recently moved to the Viera area from Miami and love this area. I would highly recommend you look into the Viera/Rockledge/Suntree areas of Brevard instead of Palm Bay if you are considering a move to this area. It is much newer and does have more shopping/dining to offer you than the Palm Bay area. Plus, it is much safer and family friendly. Viera/Suntree/Rockledge offer some of the best shcools in the county, as well. Safe communities, nice parks, good schools, less crime, more community ammenities, etc...

Good luck to you!

[Fred_in_Melbourne_Beach]

The gulf coast, especially Naples, is far hotter and more humid in the summertime than the east coast. It's almost unbearable because besides higher heat and humidity, you don't get the seabreeze that the Atlantic coast enjoys. There is also a much higher incidence of lightning strikes on the gulf coast. If you check the demograhics on city-data, Naples is an older community compared with Melbourne/Palm Bay. It's quieter but also very pleasant. I would choose south Brevard over Naples. I actually made this same choice recently and have no regrets. I prefer a younger, more economically diverse community and the climate in South Brevard is so much more hospitable. You don't want to trade OKC cold for stagnant, intense heat.

[airforce backer]

Originally Posted by jennyspfl

My husband and I now live in Melbourne (in the Viera area), but we have spent a LOT of time in Naples over the last few years due to his business. Naples and Palm Bay are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT areas! They are nothing alike. Naples is much more high end and beautiful! There are very nice shopping districts, beautiful beaches, fine dining, and 5 star hotels. There are very upscale golf courses, country clubs, etc... However, it is filled with a much older group of people. It is a huge retirement area. Don't expect to have an exciting night life in Naples for that reason. There is a lot of money in Naples and the area is growing. We Love to visit that area!

Palm Bay is....well, in my opinion, not an exciting or very nice area to be. Shopping & dining is non-existent. There is also not much of a nightlife in Palm Bay, but not because it is filled with Senior Citizens, just because it has nothing to offer anyone. I would NOT live in Palm Bay..ever. There is a lot of crime in Palm Bay, as well. You may want to look into some of the crime statistics from Palm Bay before you consider moving there. You can probably get a great deal on a forclosed home in Palm Bay though and I am sure there are a lot of them available there. We recently moved to the Viera area from Miami and love this area. I would highly recommend you look into the Viera/Rockledge/Suntree areas of Brevard instead of Palm Bay if you are considering a move to this area. It is much newer and does have more shopping/dining to offer you than the Palm Bay area. Plus, it is much safer and family friendly. Viera/Suntree/Rockledge offer some of the best shcools in the county, as well. Safe communities, nice parks, good schools, less crime, more community ammenities, etc...

Good luck to you!

thankyou for the info there, im hoping to get orders to patrick soon and we are now researching housing areas

[justNancy]

Naples is very expensive, unless you go a little East of route 951 and look for some bank owned properties Golden Gate Estates or Golden Gate City. Golden Gate Estates is still part of Naples, but it's more rural. It's very pretty and you can get a nice home on 3 acres (if that's what you want) for what you'd pay for a small condo in the heart of Naples. However, living in downtown Naples or North Naples and living in Golden Gate Estates are very different, so it depends on how close you want to be to shopping, restaurants, nightlife and the beach.

I never lived in Palm Bay, but I've driven through it, and Naples is definitely much prettier and more of a resort. However, if you find Naples to be a little too pricey, you might want to look in Bonita Springs and Estero just up the road.