Satellite Beach, Florida (Orlando, Melbourne, Rockledge: condos, houses, to buy)

[Floridainsanity]

I have a lot of questions about not just Montecito but Satellite Beach as well. My husband is a Florida native from Lake Helen/Deland area but we lived in downtown College Park for several years before moving away from Florida. We are now trying to finish up our medical education and relocate back to Florida. I love Orlando but my husband wants to be closer to surfing and we also have a child who we have to think about now. I want a less stressful life so I am trying to avoid Orlando traffic and raise my daughter in more of a community feel but yet close enough to the city to offer her all of the extra-curricular options. The arts are very important to us and while she is in a private Montessori school now I am open to a small public school if it is extremely academically based.

Does anyone have any experience with Montecito community of Satellite Beach? It looks nice but they are Mercedes Homes, which have questionable quality homes. I worry about the safety and durability of the home. I like the newer homes or really old homes because they have more character as well as higher ceilings (my husband is 6’5) than the ranch style homes.

Can you walk or bike to local areas from there? I enjoy walking to beach, grocery store and local businesses over driving. I know I want small community but the conveniences of big city. Welcome to my internal conflict.

I know the schools are A schools but are they actually good, how do they compare to private schools?
Is it good area to surf? My husband prefers New Symrna because they have a great downtown area but the houses are so much more expensive and the schools aren’t great.

My husband and I both are in the medical field; will there be jobs close enough to have an easy commute?

Is the area laid back beach bums or is it country?

How long does it take to get into Orlando? I need my Disney, Universal Studios, Sea World, concerts, dance performances, and outlet malls fix pretty regularly.

Thanks for your patience in reading this thread, any insight you may have will be great appreciated. I want this to be our final move.

[kyle19125]

Does anyone have any experience with Montecito community of Satellite Beach? It looks nice but they are Mercedes Homes, which have questionable quality homes. I worry about the safety and durability of the home. I like the newer homes or really old homes because they have more character as well as higher ceilings (my husband is 6’5) than the ranch style homes. Can you walk or bike to local areas from there? I enjoy walking to beach, grocery store and local businesses over driving. I know I want small community but the conveniences of big city. Welcome to my internal conflict.
I know the schools are A schools but are they actually good, how do they compare to private schools? Is it good area to surf? My husband prefers New Symrna because they have a great downtown area but the houses are so much more expensive and the schools aren’t great. My husband and I both are in the medical field; will there be jobs close enough to have an easy commute? Is the area laid back beach bums or is it country? How long does it take to get into Orlando? I need my Disney, Universal Studios, Sea World, concerts, dance performances, and outlet malls fix pretty regularly.

Thanks for your patience in reading this thread, any insight you may have will be great appreciated. I want this to be our final move.

I have no experience with Montecito Homes but can tell you the best idea on the coast is to go with older CBS (concrete block structure) homes versus the matchstick quality newer construction. The older homes (1960s-1970s) have been through oodles of storms and are still standing in great shape. Not so much for new construction or 1990s onward.

Satellite Beach is very walkable/bikeable and getting around that way is not uncommon. You'll find getting to/from various services to be easy.

Public Schools will never compete with most private schools but the Satellite Beach schools have a long history of excellence and most importantly, parent involvement.

Satellite Beach has excellent surfing as does neighboring Cocoa Beach. World-famous Ron-Jon Surf Shop is in Cocoa Beach and Kelly Slater (pro surfer) is from the area.

In terms of jobs, you should be okay for nearby work as long as you're not in
nursing and in more a specialized Allied Health field. Most hospitals are on hiring freezes unless for essential skilled positions like Radiologic Techs, etc. Hospitals nearby are Cape Canaveral Hospital (smaller facility), Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne is the largest facility and Wuesthoff in Rockledge is a medium sized hospital. A new hospital is opening in Viera in 2011 that could offer some good possibilities also.

The area is neither predominately beach-bums or country, rather a lot of families who are attracted to the lower cost of living, beachside living, great schools and proximity to Patrick Air Force Base, NASA and the Melbourne area.

It takes about an hour to get Orlando and a bit longer to the Disney area (hour and a half). You'll find cultural opportunities in Melbourne that you won't have to drive to Orlando for like concerts and such. There are three good malls in the area (Merritt Square Mall, Melbourne Square Mall and the Avenues in Viera...love the Avenues!) There are a ton of outlets in Orlando and one south of Melbourne in Vero Beach, about 45 minutes south.

Hope this helps, you'll love the area!

[A. Ostrey]

Have you looked at Lansing Island in Satellite Beach? I know Balda Development & Construction ([url=http://www.baldadevelopment.com]Balda Development & Construction[/url]) just finished a home there with tall ceilings and superior craftsmanship. It is energy efficient too.

The new hospital in Viera is opening this year and it would be an easy 20 minute commute.

There is a Montessori school on South Patrick Drive with an excellent reputation. Not sure what grade they go up to though. Satellite Beach HS has a long and strong history. It is a good school.

Good luck

[Floridainsanity]

Thanks for your replies. I will definately take your advice. We keep hearing that hospitals continue to lay people off throughout Florida so I know finding jobd may be quiet difficult and time consuming. I would have to say after looking into public schools throughout the state Satellite Beach is only of the very few I would even consider, it has a nice small town feel to it.

A. Ostrey-I am going to look into the Blada development, thanks.

[jghorton]

Satellite Beach (on the barrier island) is a wonderful, family-friendly area ... which has changed very little over the past 30 years ... because, there isn't much new land to develop for housing. The one area that was open is the beach, but in the 2000-2005 boom, the developers pretty much took care of that with new condos. However, the city had the foresight to buy a lot of beach property on which they have erected parks.

As you pointed out, the Satellite Beach schools are among the best! -- We moved here with our pre-high school kids from a smaller Central Florida town and found a huge 'peer pressure' advantage. Where we came from, the high school question was, "Are you going to college?" -- Here, the question is "WHERE are you going to college?"

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

I met someone from Satellite Beach a while back at an antique auction and continued to talk to them every Wednesday at the auction house.

She moved here to Ohio from Satellite Beach and is planning on heading back to Satellite Beach soon.

She described it as a very family friendly town with good schools and plenty of things to do.

She talked about it with such a positive outlook that it made me actually look into it even though we are Gulf side beach lovers.