Melbourne or Melbourne Beach ... Your thoughts? (Jacksonville, Miami: best city, condos, crime)

[BestEver9]

I am a soon to be 29-year-old single guy in Philly. I'm completely sick of this city and I'm seriously considering moving over the next year. One of the finalists for my new destination is Melbourne, FL. (Ideally a nice condo near the beach.)

I'm thinking Melbourne primarily for the beach lifestyle. (It's my favorite place to be.) Also - I love water-parks and outdoor activities. If my nephews / nieces were to visit when they get a little older, a reasonable drive to Orlando where they have some of the best water-parks in the world makes Melbourne very attractive to me.

I run a small business which I can do from my laptop, so getting a new job is not a requirement. But I'm interested in finding out some other things:

--What's the main difference between living in Melbourne versus Melborne Beach? Does anyone have any thoughts? Is the beach 'nicer' in one area?

--I see the median age in Melbourne is around 38. (Compared to Cocoa Beach where it's 55.) Is it safe to say Melbourne is a fairly young city?

--Do you have any other recommendations of cities by the beach for someone like me? (More than likely I'll be going it alone and so meeting some new friends / significant other is definitely high on the to-do list.) But I'm fairly easy to please. Just give me a city that's clean, has a great beach, and has a lot going on (but not over the top.) Being near Orlando doesn't hurt, either. Love those water-parks.


...All thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I'm planning on making the move within the year. Thanks

[Infinite loop]

I often go to Melbourne Beach from Orlando. I like MB, it's a small beach area, not the best beach, but nice enough, lots of wind there. Melbourne itself is a small city so you might get bored but crime is not really an issue.

I don't really know a lot of small beach cities in FL. But I like Clearwater and Hollywood. I think both are nicer than Melbourne but have more traffic. HW is further away from Orlando though.

[BestEver9]

Originally Posted by Infinite loop

I don't really know a lot of small beach cities in FL. But I like Clearwater and Hollywood. I think both are nicer than Melbourne but have more traffic. HW is further away from Orlando though.

Thanks for the reply. What's your main complaint about Melbourne's beach?

[Infinite loop]

Not really any complaints, just kind of a small beach and I know there are nicer beaches. Main reason I often go to MB is that it is easy to drive in/out, few crowds, little traffic. It does have brown sand which some people don't like, but sand's still clean and doesn't have a lot of shells. Lifeguards are there, too.

Clearwater has white sand and water is more pretty/clear. Hollywood has a big sidewalk for running/biking along the beach. But HW's not close to Orlnado.

[BestEver9]

I think Clearwater sounds awesome, but the gulf beaches aren't the best for surfing. I'm all about the waves.

Thanks again for your input. Much obliged.

[FLABoyJ]

Melbourne Beach!

[BestEver9]

What's the main difference between Melbourne and Melbourne beach. Is one preferable to the other -- in terms of living?

[halfwaygone]

I have family in Melbourne Beach. The main difference is one is on the beach (and thus more expensive).

Melbourne Beach is not a "young" city exactly. It's got old people, middle age people, lots of college-age townies still hanging around working crap hospitality jobs, and lots of kids. The age is probably dragged down by the high number of families/kids. Actually, there's not a great community of folks your age (young professionals) right now, mainly because there aren't a lot of jobs. Likely more men than women, since the jobs there are seem to be engineering and tech jobs (not that women can't do these, but going by statistics).

There are no water parks in Melbourne. The beach is nice enough at Melbourne Beach, but that's the most expensive part (particularly if you want to actually be on the beach in MB. Most of it is actually a short walk away, not within sight-distance. What is beachside, they call it the 'golden triangle', because there aren't many condos there, mostly fancy houses). There's also Indiatlantic right nearby (directly North; you have to drive through it to get to Melbourne) and Satellite Beach (North of Indiatlantic).

There is really nothing to do there. Honestly. Weather is Florida-nice, the beach is pretty, but a pretty dull place to live. If that's what you're after, it's a fair enough place. It's a lazy, small town. You say you want "a lot going on" and that is definitely, definitely, definitely not Melbourne Beach. There is almost nothing going on. It's a good place to raise a family if you want a really quiet suburban community in a relatively pretty (the beachside part) setting.

I'd try Gulf Coast (parts near St. Petersburg/Tampa - not all of it's nice, but most places beach side are) or perhaps down South (near Miami, but not in the main city) if you really want beach side. Honestly, to me, the best city in Florida is Orlando, but that's land-locked. I gues. . . Tampa isn't too bad. Parts are crap, like any city, but any place with "stuff going on" is going to have a seedy part.

Maybe Sarasota? I was only there a few times. Or Jacksonville? I hate it, but other folks think it's nice.

[newtofl407]

I live in Orlando and head over to that area quite a bit just to go to the beach....while the beach is real nice (our favorite along that strip which includes New Smyran, Cocoa etc) the area has really taken a hit in the last few years with teh economic downturn. Lots of closed shops, restaurants etc which I personally always find a bit depressing.

Honestly, don't think there's too much going on for a person your age....and with all the cutbacks expected at NASA overthe coming years I don't think its an area I'd be too interested in.

Much more going on in Orlando for your social life and you're still a quick shot over to the beach. Or, I'm sure there are places better suited for someone your age along the Atlantic Coast.....maybe further south?

[BestEver9]

Thanks for your replies. I've heard that Melbourne (inland) isn't all that bad and downtown has a decent amount of bars / restaurants all within walking distance. I know it's not exactly buzzing like say New York or L.A., but from what I've heard there's enough to keep me busy. It's also a good centralized location not too far from Orlando.

I have thought about the gulf (Tampa / St. Pete in particular) but I'm an Atlantic coast guy at heart. I'm a sucker for the waves.