Vero Beach v. Vero Beach South - What's the difference?

[JERSEY MAN]

Awesome info about Vero Beach. It's nice to read a truthful and unbiased opinion about an area.

[1Teasingtan]

Hey Locolyokal, I grew up in Gifford 37 yrs ago, Did you know a man by the name of Leroy Brown, These black people had money, Him and his two sister, Own and ran Gifford, I grew up on Old US 1 Up the street from Charles Stone Funeral Home. I think they call Old US 1 Coral Road or Street Now. I live with one of the sisters, She had a Junk Joint call the Roseln Inn, She had Duplex, and a Rooming house.

[mscurrion]

Originally Posted by JimMe

Giving serious consideration to retiring in Vero Beach. Is there any advantage to living in Vero Beach over Vero Beach South?

Vero Beach South is just a census designation. It's just the way they break up Vero Beach into chunks for collecting data. Vero Beach South is an unincorporated part of Vero Beach in Indian River County. This means it is not part of the city of Vero Beach. From a government standpoint, it is governed by the county. However it is not called Vero Beach South, just Vero Beach. There are other unincorporated part of Vero to the north and west, they are also just called Vero Beach.

[mscurrion]

Originally Posted by JimMe

Does that mean that there is a single municipal government presiding over both entities?

No. The city of Vero Beach has a mayor and city council. Unincorporated Vero Beach is governed by Indian River County.

[k00p]

vero beach is small... and full of old retired CEO's.. that's all you need to know

[merriweather]

Originally Posted by runswithscissors

Well someone asked so it was answered. Um, no, nobody who lives in Vero Beach is going to say they don't. Why would that be?

It makes a major difference with utilities and probably even homeowners. Makes a difference in business taxes because they are different. Makes a difference in your COMMUNITY because planning, development, land use, zoning, the public hearings, efforts to get new businesses starting or opening, and voting for changes and permits etc are not held by City of Vero Beach politicians for say, GIFFORD. or vice versa. But I realize that most of the citizens in the USA are completely uninvolved in their government.

And who your police dept is - don't keep calling Vero Beach Police when you should be calling Indian River County sherrifs. And it makes a BIG difference when you look at the CRIME RATE statistics like the sex offender numbers on this site that are being calculated wrong and make CVB look like sex offender central.

It also makes a difference when you are examining density.

Vero Beach proper and contiguous is getting more dense. In fact, I heard that the receipts are up 20% for summer stays in temporary residences. I see that to be very true being in my car all day. The traffic is UNBELIEVABLE compared to 2009. That's a good thing, not complaining. Thank God they are building a Mcdonalds and just build a new gas station mini mart in the Gifford/No Vero end at 45th and 53rd at Publix because being in my car all day long I need somewhere to run in, or get gas AND coffee etc. LOL. But that means the density is changing. Yet on Sunday mornings I can catch every single LIGHT on Indian River Blvd and there are no cars. It's annoying.

We used to have flashing yellow lights around the mall all summer here at night! LOL.

It also makes a difference when someone is looking for a home and sees GIFFORD and thinks it's going to be in a "bad area" but it's no different than other places in Vero Beach proper and often MUCH NICER ie Grand Harbor compared to other HOAs on the Intracoastal.

Also makes a difference to ME when people contact me for service and say they live in Vero Beach but it's actually Winter Beach and get mad when I say I can't go that far North LOL.

You will make your decision based on the VIBE you get here. There's a major difference between where I live - Florida Ridge below Oslo compared to North Vero area, say, Waterway Village or anywhere along 66th (which is being expanded) compared to Rt 1.

You'll either LIKE the rural feel of one over the density and convenience of shopping or you won't care and will have your OWN criteria.

Or you'll find a house you love but it's not where you love or vice versa.

This is why I ALWAYS say relocators should RENT for a year to get their bearings. Unless you know for SURE what you want.

And even THEN you may change your mind.

I rented a house behind the mall in Woodfield 55+ HOA. I was SHOCKED to find that the pool was filled with KIDS every day all the time. As it turns out the docs allow a very generous visiting children's policy.

I bought somewhere that we don't have THAT. Even though I rarely use the pool LOL.

Have fun househunting!!

I think it'll take you a few trips. Not just one six day trip unless you get very lucky. There's ALOT TO SEE and I'd suggest you methodically drive up and down all the grid to see it all.

There are homes in the HEART of Vero that you'd never expect even mini farms, farmettes etc and every time I see them I'm like...OMG that's so cute! LOL

I would say most of my relocators from up North end up in HOAs like Legend Lakes. That particular one has no pool or clubhouse, just enough of an HOA to keep the common areas nice. There are a TON of "newish" developments like that. It's close enough to basic shopping without being mobbed HOWEVER they just decided to WIDEN OSLO and build an I95 exit so everyone who is on or near Oslo is about to have a major life change.

Another reason why you need to take your time. Things change or are in the works. Another reason why CITY OF VERO BEACH is a pretty guaranteed deal since it's entirely built. The only thing that may change is they make it a better destination because there's not much going on in the city proper mainland side....for most out of state people's "opinon" of what they look for in a small city.

Of course the barrier island is another story entirely.

THIS post above is so spot on for ANYONE from NY/NJ area looking to move anywhere in FLA. Our Northeast burbs/towns/cities are clearly identified re: govt, taxes, & especially zoning. Here in FLA completely different and things that will impact your daily life-style & economics can only be revealed while living here. An HOA that seems restrictive for enforcing 'curb-appeal' rules may drive one person crazy. But for some, it protects your property value & controls appearance of what you encounter on a daily basis. Many gorgeous HOA 55+ communities (developments) all over FLA are built in towns with ZERO zoning enforcement. If we had it to do over, we would DEFINITELY rent for a yr to learn about how different things are here from northeast.
PS. Many realtors don't point this out b/c they've been here forever & don't realize how different things are to northerners. Just as they don't tell you how CRAZY driving is here LOL!