Any good advice for a young professional relocating to Melbourne, FL from PA? (Orlando: spring break)

[Cathyr919]

Hello all,

I am a young professional just hired by one of the big technology firms in Melbourne. I haven't been to the city yet...so I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. Is the city nice? Safe? Fun? Expensive? For a new young professional, which areas offer apartments that are nice, safe, younger and affordable? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[jtuck2]

Where in PA are you moving from? I grew up in Pittsburgh, then relocated to Clearwater for 4 years, then Melbourne for 9 years (I live in CA now). When I first moved to Melbourne, I was bored to tears. Worked for Harris Corp (is there another company?). I missed Clearwater so much. I was in my 30s in Melbourne. After I met friends, it was great. In fact, I met the best group of friends there I ever had, and I still go back to visit (still own a house there near the King Center). If you're in your 20s, you may want to look toward Ft. Lauderdale or some other city for your next job. Melbourne is extremely laid back! Weather is ALWAYS beautiful there (except for when the hurricanes hit). Let me know how you're doing!

[Matt1976]

Hi, I'm interested i how you like Melbourne now, did you move there for your job as your post points out? Reason is i'm also looking to relocate to this area in the next couple months, I'm in my early 30's and have similar questions to what you highlighted, see my post for details?

[faithfulFrank]

This thread is a year and a half old, and the OP has never posted since.

It is better to start a new post if you have questions so your answers will be specific to you.

Frank D.

[AONE]

Melbourne is nice, a bit quiet but the traditional surfer kind of place. buy a few swim suits. and have a good time. Homes are very reasonable there. It is close to Orlando for more entertainment. It has alot of small town appeal. and much better weather than PA.

[barbossamonkey]

Melbourne is okay to *live* in. But if you are looking for career advancement, then Orlando is where to look for your job. Orlando is only a 30-45 min drive from Melbourne by taking the Beeline (Beach Line or SR 528) off of I-95. So if you don't mind the drive every morning and evening, then Melbourne is fine to live in.

We do have plenty of technology firms here and I have a few friends who work for them and do well for themselves.

There are plenty of decent neighborhoods in Melbourne and crime is not that high there. Traffic is a bit congested on Wickham Road but once you know your way around, you can easily bypass it to get to where you are going. If you are looking for land, then further north around Rockledge, Titusville and Cocoa you will find plenty of open land for sale but the crime rate rises compared to Melbourne. You find most of the hicks and rednecks live further north. West Melbourne and Palm Bay also have land but the prices will be much higher since the social status in that area is higher on the ladder. In fact my family is looking into buying a portion of 16 acres down there that the guy wants to sell for 1.5 million. XD

NASA is only fifteen minutes away so you can see and hear the launches from the beaches or causeways and depending on the type of launch, you can hear *and* feel it as far inland as the interstate.

If you are a beach person, then you will find the beaches all along Brevard County pleasant. Although they do get crowded during the summer and spring break as all beaches tend to do. Ron Jon's Surf Shop on A1A in Cocoa Beach is a must stop for any beach goer.

The only downside to Melbourne is its own mall on SR 192. It sucks, plain and simple. The outdoor mall just off of I-95 behind the Wal-mart off of Wickham Road makes up for the crappy mall further in town. We have three major movie theaters in Melbourne. The most expensive but best quality is the Oaks Premiere (and a huge teenager hangout) behind the Melbourne Mall. The cheapest but still decent theater, Cinemaworld, is just off of I-95 on SR 192 and Rave Theaters (another teen hangout) is in the outdoor mall.

Downtown Melbourne is a must to visit. Plenty of small shops there ranging from art galleries to bookstores and antique shops to Irish pubs (Meg O Malleys) can keep you busy all day long. Especially during the seasonal events such as Halloween, St Patricks Day, Oktoberfest, Bike Week, Art Shows and so on.

Every year the Moving Wall (Vietnam Wall replica) comes to Melbourne and is put on display in Wickham Park. Over a thousand bikers from all over the county will gather in Cocoa and escort the Wall to its final destination and people come to remember the War and the fallen. This event lasts a few weeks. Wickham Park also hosts a number of other events from the Strawberry Festival to Horse Shows.

The Martin Luther King Jr Theater located at the Brevard Community College hosts all sorts of artists and performances from Broadway plays to Kenny Chesney.

Along the Banana River you will find a flotilla of sail boats out on it as you pass over it on the causeways. So if you like to boat or have one, you will feel quite at home here. Further north near Cape Canaveral at Port St Johns you will also find casino boats. These boats will take you out into the Atlantic where you can legally gamble away your money and get drunk and have a good time. You can also plan a cruise from Port St Johns to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

This is only a portion of what you can find here.

So anyone who says that Brevard County sucks is a person who has not experienced what the county can offer. As you can see there is plenty here. You just need to look for it.

[Rabflmom]

[LEFT]<<<<<<Along the Banana River you will find a flotilla of sail boats out on it as you pass over it on the causeways. So if you like to boat or have one, you will feel quite at home here. Further north near Cape Canaveral at Port St Johns you will also find casino boats. These boats will take you out into the Atlantic where you can legally gamble away your money and get drunk and have a good time. You can also plan a cruise from Port St Johns to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.



>>>>>>>>
barbossamonkey, We don't have casino boats and haven't had them for quite a while.

I agree though that there are lots of things to do in this area though.

I also agree with the other poster that times are tough with all the foreclosures already and will get tougher in the next year when the shuttle ceases and people are laid off, but I think it is important for people to move here and start filling up the houses that are sitting rotting in our cities. New blood will bring new money and maybe help keep some of the businesses afloat. The shopping center where I work was completed in 2009 and I expected it to stay pretty empty but there are quite a few stores and more coming in. All of the stores that opened the center are still open and the one I work for is actually pretty busy and sales etc are generally at the upper level of the district so not all is gloom and doom.
One good thing....not everything in the county depends on the space center like it did back in the 60s when one program ended and it took a long time to get the next up and running. We are somewhat more diversified and hopefully we will all survive. We just need to be willing to adjust and try new things, go back to school to be retrained, or look elsewhere if we need to.
[/LEFT]

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by Cathyr919

Hello all,

I am a young professional just hired by one of the big technology firms in Melbourne. I haven't been to the city yet...so I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. Is the city nice? Safe? Fun? Expensive? For a new young professional, which areas offer apartments that are nice, safe, younger and affordable? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Assuming your job is with Harris? They are a great place to work and you should find lots of people your age in the company. This area is a safe family community but there are things for the younger generation to do too. Being new to the area get your discounts from Harris and get season passes to the parks in Orlando. You will be able to find clubs, concerts, etc within driving distance. Do you golf? Lots of great places for that.

As to apartments stay away from any right on Palm Bay Road that are close to Harris and the ones out on Wickam road in Melbourne. If my son had not bought a house here I think he would be living in a condo on the beach which is something you might want to consider. There are great deals right now-even beachside and there are a lot of condo rentals, too.