Relocate to Brevard Cty vs TX? (Palm Bay, Melbourne: real estate, loans, houses)

[mlarivie]

I just spent a week down in Palm Bay with a couple friends that live there and really enjoyed it, so much that I'd like to relocate. I find it's very similar to my current town Shrewsbury, MA with a lower cost of living, more sunny days, less rain/clouds, and no freezing at night. At the same time I enjoy the twisty roads and rolling hills at home and would really miss that being a biker. I've never visited a congested city like Houston or Austin, but an online job search says thats where the jobs are and it has it's benefits of twisty roads and rolling hills right outside of the city. I'm planning on hitting the road to wherever the jobs are and setting up in a intown suite. With the space program shutting down what are the chances of securing an IT job in Brevard county? Being 27 and single what are the statistics on age/marital status' for each state? What would (if?) a comparable county in Texas be outside of Houston/Austin/Dallas/San An? The beach is a great benefit, but I wouldn't miss it too much if I can double my income without being stuck in a Boston lifestyle.

[annagurl333]

Hello!
I really cannot comment too much on IT jobs, but check out the employment opportunities at Harris and Intersil. They are fairly popular employment companies for the educated in this area. A few years ago I would have suggested NASA, but, sadly, the space station is coming to an end.

Palm Bay does have its draws. It's more laid back, fairly friendly, and doesn't have near the traffic congestion of many larger cities. The beach is close by, and we even get a slight ocean breeze to cool things down a bit in the disgustingly hot summers. Since thousands in this county just lost their jobs from NASA closing, I would highly recommend you having a secure job lined up before moving, otherwise you might end up like many of the local young/highly educated population: working in retail (not that there is anything bad about working in retail, but, it doesn't pay off those students loans, that's for sure!). Many of the locals constantly complain about the area being boring, but imo, they are just boring people themselves. If you wish to enjoy your time here, you'll have to get used to doing more casual tings like staying at home and relaxing with friends, or perhaps BBQs (mmm!), walks on the beach, going to the movies, bowling, etc.

As for Texas, I hope you ask this question in the Texas forum so you can get all of our questions answered. It'll let you compare city to city (not state to state, sorry!). Good luck!

[mitty13]

The best place to look for jobs in the area is employflorida.com. NASA is still hiring on occasion and you may also be able to find something through Patrick AFB as well. They both list their job openings on that website.

[Danger Chris]

I work in the defense industry near Melbourne and I think there are a ton of IT related jobs outside of Shuttle work. The defense industry is booming in Melbourne/Palm Bay and is not reliant at all on the Shuttle Program like Titusville and Merritt Island are. I invest in real estate on the side and got me license, which allows me look up housing information. Let me know if you'd like to see some representative houses in the area! There are some amazing real estate deals here - like, blocks from the beach for less than $200K!

I lived in Colorado for a long time and loved biking there. I haven't touched my road or mountain bike in years because there are no hills of any kind here and the roads are very biker unfriendly. I switched to an Amersterdam cruiser that I use as my grocery getter, and I still get around pretty well, but stay on the sidewalks unless you want to do battle with angry motorists.

Socially, this place is like the hub of short shorts, tanned legs, and partying. It's kind of a small community, so it can be a little hard to break into social circles of the folks who grew up here...and never left. For the most part, folks are very friendly and if you are social and active you'll find it's pretty easy to meet friends or get a date; whatever you're looking for.

I'll say this about Texas: it sucks to even drive through it and the heat is way worse than Florida. Blech.