Brevard County questions?? (Jacksonville, Orlando, Merritt Island: for sale by owner, real estate, 2013)

[kateg06]

Hi all-
We are looking to move to FL in the next couple of years & I'm trying to find the best place for us (we are both 32 w a 5 & 1 yr old). We are currently in Virginia Beach & are ready for better weather & just an overall change! We recently drove to Disney & scoped out a few areas in Jacksonville/ponte Vedra but were not completely sold on the area. My posts on the general FL boards have directed me here. We plan on another visit to FL in Nov or Dec so I want to gather as much info as possible so I can check out the area when we come.

So a few questions:

Can anyone recommend specific cities & neighborhoods I could look at real estate on? We would want a 4bd/2bth >2000 sq ft single family home, no more than $325,000. Good school district a must, close to beach (15-20 min max), & lots of close shopping. Also, any neighborhoods/areas I would want to avoid?
Is there anywhere to live in Brevard where I could ideally drive into Orlando for hospital work? I would like to be hired at a children's hospital but will work where necessary for a great place to live. What hospitals would be in vicinity of Brevard county?

I thank you all & look forward to your responses!

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by kateg06

Hi all-
We are looking to move to FL in the next couple of years & I'm trying to find the best place for us (we are both 32 w a 5 & 1 yr old). We are currently in Virginia Beach & are ready for better weather & just an overall change! We recently drove to Disney & scoped out a few areas in Jacksonville/ponte Vedra but were not completely sold on the area. My posts on the general FL boards have directed me here. We plan on another visit to FL in Nov or Dec so I want to gather as much info as possible so I can check out the area when we come.

So a few questions:

Can anyone recommend specific cities & neighborhoods I could look at real estate on? We would want a 4bd/2bth >2000 sq ft single family home, no more than $325,000. Good school district a must, close to beach (15-20 min max), & lots of close shopping. Also, any neighborhoods/areas I would want to avoid?
Is there anywhere to live in Brevard where I could ideally drive into Orlando for hospital work? I would like to be hired at a children's hospital but will work where necessary for a great place to live. What hospitals would be in vicinity of Brevard county?

I thank you all & look forward to your responses!

Viera would probably get you to within 45 mins of Lake Nona where there is the Nemours Children's hospital. Viera also has decent schools and plenty of shopping with the avenues (and you're about 15-20 mins to the beach).

[clnewman]

Not to take anything away from Brevard County, but did you check out St. Augustine while looking further north? There are a number of homes in your price range close to area beaches, and the Mayo Clinic has a large facility in Jacksonville proper, with a primary care center in St. Augustine. Just an option. St. Augustine was our first choice, but we were unable to find what we were looking for.

Back to Brevard County: In our recent search for a home (which ran from November 2013 through January of this year), we looked all over the County, and finally settled on Merritt Island. We found it less "tract-style" than many other communities, but still quite affordable. It's close to Cocoa Beach (15 minutes or so), yet a relatively easy drive to the Orlando area if you need to make that commute.

This house is just a sample of what's available on Merritt Island. It's just down the street from us, and the outside pics don't do it justice. It's very well maintained, and shows lots of TLC. When we saw it, it had just gone on the market as a For Sale by Owner, and the Seller wasn't willing to cut our agent into the deal, so we passed (we're loyal that way). It's still on the market, and there are many more available in the $300k + $25k range.

Cape Canaveral Hospital is just a few minutes east of Merritt Island. I have no direct knowledge of the facility or the quality of its care, but there is a Careers section you can look at, as a start. Perhaps others on this forum can provide some insight into the hospital.

I have a tremendous agent that knows the entire area quite well. If you're interested, send me a private message, and I'll pass along her contact information.

Hope this helps.

[scottschuetz]

There are many places that could meet your criteria. The question I would ask is what type of lifestyle do you want? Do you enjoy outdoor or water activities, are you more of a neighborhood or a shopping mall family, do you want to walk to places....

BTW- I'm from Richmond and very familiar with Va Beach. It's much smaller, friendlier and less congested here. I've been here 7 years and I absolutely love it here!