Moving to Brevard County with a Teen (Jacksonville, Tampa: renting, home)

[Nattiejean57]

hi Everyone!!

I have been spending lots of time browsing the forums but this is the first time i have ever posted so bear with me

I currently live in good old Fargo ND and my husband and I are looking to relocate for about 1-1 1/2 yrs and then return back to north dakota. I have never lived anywhere besides minnesota/north dakota and we just want one adventure before we put roots down back home and start having babies. We really want to live on the coastal part of Florida and really like Brevard county. We were there a few weeks ago and really like the the melbourne beach/satellite beach and so area. From what I read they have good schools too as we do have a 14 yr (she is my stepdaughter)

My questions are

1) Is there any parts of Brevard county we should absolutley stay away from?

2) Is there another part of florida in general that we should consider that we may have not thought of?

3) Are there are jobs in brevard county (from what I have read this seems to be the most difficult part)

4) Are there communities with families who have teenagers or are they mostly retiree communities?

I am 28 my husband is 32 he is a welder and I am a hairstylist. Also we plan on renting not buying since this will not be permanent

Thanks!

[KaciNC]

The east coast of Florida seem to have younger folks compared to west coast... or so I've been told.

We lived in Viera/Suntree and there are soooooooo many teens. Viera is an excellent high school. There are teens walking, on bikes, skate boards, golf carts, you name it. It is a nice and safe area. The teens love the beaches, too. You'll see surfers aplenty. They even have surf classes here. Don't know about the job situation, but guess you'll find out by looking through city-data.

Good luck! K

[mommster]

I see the opposite. I lived in Tampa for several years and found there to be more younger people in the Tampa area than in Brevard by far. I would recommend Tampa hands down.

[KaciNC]

I do agree, I also think there are more jobs there.

[kyle19125]

I would also look to the north at the Jacksonville area. It has the best unemployment rate of the large cities in Florida and has shares similarities to what you like about the Brevard County coast. Check out the areas just south of the city (Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, Julington Creek) which have a lot of families with kids as the school district there is the top-rated school district in Florida (St Johns County).

[AydensMama]

I can't speak for other areas of Florida, but for Brevard County I would say Viera would be a good choice, the high school is wonderful as the other poster said, there are lots of restaurants, shops, etc and you are not far from the beach.

[HarryWho?]

Please, Please stay where you are until your teen graduates high school. You chose to have a child, think about her, not your fantasies. When she's a functioning adult, go for it.

[TestEngr]

Every single person told us to look at Viera before we came, from agents to friends to coworkers, etc. While there are some impressive aspects of Viera, we found it not for us as a whole. There really is nothing there unless you like the local government buildings in Viera which are quite high end, the spring training baseball done there or the high school. We were not impressed with the high school because it is beyond belief to my children as too large. The public high where our kids came from was the largest in ten area counties and had 800 students. Viera high goes up 800 students in a year. So if you want huge gigantic high schools, government complexes, and over priced housing (some is really nice) go for Viera.

This area seems too driven by the defense industry for my tastes. I used to do engineering jobs for companies all over Orlando area and while I never lived here till last summer, I knew many small companies here. They are mostly gone now during economic downturns. For whatever reason only the big defense companies are surviving here, but there are some glimmers of hope for a more normal based economy with small shops, small companies, medium startups and so on. At least I hope so.

I don't see Brevard as any bigger a positive or negative than most places in FL. We always hated Jacksonville, too southern for us. If I were moving again I might look back at south FL, but you have to be brave to raise a family there. Brevard still provides access to Orlando and that is good, and it isn't super rural. There are beaches and modest population. A bit more heat than N Dakota though, be sure you try the heat of summer and like it.

[trucker23]

there is no work here.your best thing would be to live on the out skirts of a large city like tampa or jacksonville

[Rabflmom]

Coming from the far North, there will be culture shock for your daughter. Does she want to come down and hit the beaches or is she being forced to leave friends etc. Like Testengr said the schools will be large compared to many places. It is not unusual for elems to have over 1000 kids and high schools with 2500+. Kids can get lost. She will need to join clubs and being in music classes like band or chorus will help make friends quicker. Playing a sport will also mean instant friends usually. It offers a support system if you can start out with a core of friends.

I have never been one to advise living in Viera as have several others on here, but posters tend to shoot us out of the water as all wrong. Remembering the beginning years with the government buildings flooding and having to have pumps added to keep water out gives us an insight newer residents don't have on the area. To me living in Viera is too cookie cutter, too many Northerners as residents, not really Florida lifestyle just a Florida wanna be. It is like living in any suburb anywhere with Palm trees instead of Maples in your yard. JMHO

If you really do decide to move down for a few years, beachside is the way to go. Satellite Beach has a great high school and elementary school. You will get more of a Florida feel.