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Some of us never left Brevard County & some of us did, and want to return.
What do you like about living there?
Me, left Florida in 2015 to follow my only child to Virginia. She hated Virginia, I luv it. She returned to Melbourne in 2018 & now I need to return. I will miss the 4 seasons here in Roanoke, Virginia but as I age, commonsense tells me to move closer to her.
I had lived in both Melbourne & Palm Bay while working for Harris when she was born. Palm Bay fitted my need for quiet and some privacy = not too isolated, had 2 empty lots on each side of my rental house Melbourne, I was constantly being stared at by my neighbors when I was outside. They were too close for me. Palm Bay had (not sure if this is still true) lots of space between houses
I moved to Melbourne in 2009 and lived there until 2013 before moving to St. Augustine. I moved back to Melbourne in 2019 and love it here. I love the proximity of it. A little over an hour to the theme parks in Orlando, a drive up 95 to Daytona Beach or St Augie for a day trip, and the beach is almost a walkable distance from my house. A vibrant downtown with lots of quaint shops and restaurants. Port Canaveral is a short drive for cruises, along with KSC right there which is an underrated attraction IMO. I'm a healthcare worker so the numerous hospitals in Brevard make it very attractive as well. Add in the fact that this area isn't too bad for hurricanes and its nearly perfect. The only con is that it's gotten a bit over crowded in Brevard, specifically Melbourne.
We live in Merritt Island on a canal front (technically backed) property since Aug 2021. Coming from LI, NY, it is a different life down here. The obvious weather is a huge difference but I don't miss the cold and enjoy the fact I can go outside everyday, even when hot and enjoy life. It is slower here and more people stop to chat and everyone waves when driving by. For me, it is being close to the water that makes the most impact. I love watching the fish, occasional dolphins and birds, right in my backyard. Being by the water also ensures a nice breeze almost everyday, which takes the edge off the hot sun.
What I miss up north is the variety and quality of food. We had some better restaurants that were closer. I am not saying all restaurants are bad here. We have many we love even better than up north. But overall, you have to hunt them down, which I guess is part of the fun. Just frustrating with gas so high in recent months.
Another thing I find down here is that prices are not really less than up north. Sure, no state income tax and real estate is overall lower. But insurance is much higher per what is covered. Also grocery prices are no better and sometimes worse. The biggest negative for us though is the pay scale. Jobs overall just pay less. If you are of working age and don't have a specialty in the space industry or engineering, you likely will find it tough to get paid as you did up north.
Overall, we are happier here. Warm weather just makes life less irritable from my experience. I can't compare to other parts of Florida, but we like the laid back and casual nature of Brevard.
We live in Merritt Island on a canal front (technically backed) property since Aug 2021. Coming from LI, NY, it is a different life down here. The obvious weather is a huge difference but I don't miss the cold and enjoy the fact I can go outside everyday, even when hot and enjoy life. It is slower here and more people stop to chat and everyone waves when driving by. For me, it is being close to the water that makes the most impact. I love watching the fish, occasional dolphins and birds, right in my backyard. Being by the water also ensures a nice breeze almost everyday, which takes the edge off the hot sun.
What I miss up north is the variety and quality of food. We had some better restaurants that were closer. I am not saying all restaurants are bad here. We have many we love even better than up north. But overall, you have to hunt them down, which I guess is part of the fun. Just frustrating with gas so high in recent months.
Another thing I find down here is that prices are not really less than up north. Sure, no state income tax and real estate is overall lower. But insurance is much higher per what is covered. Also grocery prices are no better and sometimes worse. The biggest negative for us though is the pay scale. Jobs overall just pay less. If you are of working age and don't have a specialty in the space industry or engineering, you likely will find it tough to get paid as you did up north.
Overall, we are happier here. Warm weather just makes life less irritable from my experience. I can't compare to other parts of Florida, but we like the laid back and casual nature of Brevard.
Nypafl4u,
Enjoyed reading your post. My husband and I will be retired on November 30 and will be coming out to FL for two weeks at Christmas to look for a place. One child lives in West Melbourne and one in Indialantic. Since the housing prices are crazy right now, we will be looking at purchasing at mobile home in a 55+ park, so that we can take our time to look around. We are both retired from the aerospace industry, so will enjoy everything that the Space Coast has to offer.
My husband has his heart set on Merritt Island and having a boat and dock. I would like a pool and a grassy area for our two small dogs. We want to be half hour or less travel time from our girls. Recently, we have run into mostly negative comments about the heat and hurricanes. I have stayed many times, but never in the summer. I love the cool mornings and evenings and the breezes.
We are hoping to find some other areas that might fit our wants in addition to Merritt Island. One-story, 3+2, boat ramp, pool, and grassy area for the pups. Are there other areas that would fill those wants?
Reddog53, I am sure there are other areas. What I can say after visiting down here for over 12 years and finally moving here, when prices were lower pre pandemic, Merritt Island offered everything you mentioned. We are 30-40 min from Indialantic and West Melbourne. We have a property on a canal with a boat lift (no boat yet). Our .20 acre lot has a small grassy fenced backyard with the remaining majority of the back taken by a screened in pool and deck, large side yard and plenty of front yard with grass. This back pool area is our oasis. No nasty no see ums with the new screens we just put in. The fish jump and I walk to the seawall several times a day and feed the needle nose gars, cat fish and stingrays that have made a home in the shallow water on one side of the seawall. We got the spot we wanted, far enough away from the busy roads but close enough to be minutes away from stores. After about eight years of searching, investing and studying the differen areas, we chose to settle here. Being unincorporated, you do need to pick and choose the street carefully. There are minimal enforceable laws when it comes to upkeep of the yard, vehicles or boats on the front lawn and upkeep of the houses. But if you drive around, you can see one street vs the next and what may or may not work for you. Merritt was and can be a very good bang for the buck compared to many of the other waterfront properties in Florida. If boating or waterfront is not on your needs list, then there are many nice areas to consider.
I always say drive around. Choose a property down the block and not on a Main Street. If getting on a canal, try to avoid bridges or underpasses, so as to not have height retristions for a boat. You pay more for that feature, but you tend to get nicer streets that are well kept and likely not a lot of vehicles in the yard. Do your due deligence and take the time to get to know your preferred area. We did with no regrets.
Palm Bay had (not sure if this is still true) lots of space between houses
Most of the empty lots have been filled in with new homes. There has been a massive building spree in the whole Brevard/IRC area. They are now even reviving developments that were abandoned at the last crash.
Reddog53, I am sure there are other areas. What I can say after visiting down here for over 12 years and finally moving here, when prices were lower pre pandemic, Merritt Island offered everything you mentioned. We are 30-40 min from Indialantic and West Melbourne. We have a property on a canal with a boat lift (no boat yet). Our .20 acre lot has a small grassy fenced backyard with the remaining majority of the back taken by a screened in pool and deck, large side yard and plenty of front yard with grass. This back pool area is our oasis. No nasty no see ums with the new screens we just put in. The fish jump and I walk to the seawall several times a day and feed the needle nose gars, cat fish and stingrays that have made a home in the shallow water on one side of the seawall. We got the spot we wanted, far enough away from the busy roads but close enough to be minutes away from stores. After about eight years of searching, investing and studying the differen areas, we chose to settle here. Being unincorporated, you do need to pick and choose the street carefully. There are minimal enforceable laws when it comes to upkeep of the yard, vehicles or boats on the front lawn and upkeep of the houses. But if you drive around, you can see one street vs the next and what may or may not work for you. Merritt was and can be a very good bang for the buck compared to many of the other waterfront properties in Florida. If boating or waterfront is not on your needs list, then there are many nice areas to consider.
I always say drive around. Choose a property down the block and not on a Main Street. If getting on a canal, try to avoid bridges or underpasses, so as to not have height retristions for a boat. You pay more for that feature, but you tend to get nicer streets that are well kept and likely not a lot of vehicles in the yard. Do your due deligence and take the time to get to know your preferred area. We did with no regrets.
Thank you, Nypafl4u, for the great information. The following question should be relevant to the post, et al.
Have you or do you expect to have issues with homeowners insurance rate increases or cancellations in the foreseeable future? Any suggestions related to this are appreciated. We are planning on purchasing a reasonable mobile home in a 55+ park to give ourselves time for prices to come down, then look for a permanent home on Merritt Island. Thank you.
Reddog53, until the state steps in with some planned help, prices for insurance will keep going up. The good news for you is, a mobile home in a 55 year and up community will have significantly less cost insurance wise, than a larger brick and mortar house. It will take at least two years for that insurance relief bill to take effect. That should coincide with your plan of waiting until prices drop or thereabouts. I would not be too worried.
Citizens is not an ideal option and it is expensive for the coverage they provide, but at least it's a guarenteed option when so many companies are dropping policies or shutting down completely.
For us, insurance as not a major blocking point for choosing to live down here. It's one of those thorns that we all need to deal with as part of the total package.
Thank you, Nypafl4u, for the great information. The following question should be relevant to the post, et al.
Have you or do you expect to have issues with homeowners insurance rate increases or cancellations in the foreseeable future? Any suggestions related to this are appreciated. We are planning on purchasing a reasonable mobile home in a 55+ park to give ourselves time for prices to come down, then look for a permanent home on Merritt Island. Thank you.
Best,
Reddog53
We just bought in a 55+ manufactured home community in Indian River County. We had a few options for homeowners insurance and they varied greatly. I suggest calling a few different brokers since they all seem to work with different insurance companies. Ask a neighbor or someone in the park office for recommendations. We had to replace the roof (from 2004) in order to get coverage, so be prepared for that eventuality depending on the age of the roof.
We just bought in a 55+ manufactured home community in Indian River County. We had a few options for homeowners insurance and they varied greatly. I suggest calling a few different brokers since they all seem to work with different insurance companies. Ask a neighbor or someone in the park office for recommendations. We had to replace the roof (from 2004) in order to get coverage, so be prepared for that eventuality depending on the age of the roof.
Thank you, Tulippsy, for the helpful information. Good recommendation on check the age of the roof.
Best,
Reddog53
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Melbourne, I was constantly being stared at by my neighbors when I was outside. They were too close for me. Palm Bay had (not sure if this is still true) lots of space between houses 
Thank you!
