Possibly moving to Melbourne--would love feedback!

[SickofJersey]

Originally Posted by Reddog53

Hi there Sick of Jersey,

Both of my daughters live in FL for work. One is in West Melbourne and one in Indialantic. They both love their locations. We are looking to move there in 2 years when my husband retires. I noted that you said that safety is your first concern, as would be mine. I know exactly the location with regard to N. Wickham Rd. Did you choose this location based on interpreted safety from the hurricanes? What have you discovered re: increase in temps and humidity in the last couple of years. Will be following your posts to absorb your research information.

Best,
Reddog53

Hi Reddog. So thrilled for your daughters and, like you, can't wait to be there myself.

We choose the areas we did strictly on safety and crime data. That will always be my first concern because I have a wife who works from home and just one child, my 26 year old daughter.

As for hurricanes, my research has told me that the space coast is rarely ever hit by a hurricane, and when it does happen, it is with less veracity than other areas on Florida's east coast or the gulf area. I've read that is the reason NASA choose Cape Canaveral in the first place. Anyone here who find me wrong please let me know, I am always learning and open minded.

As for the heat/humidity, well that comes with the territory of moving to Florida. I will say though that many have commented that living along the coast is an entirely different animal than living inland, like near the Orlando area. Less heat/humidity, and much more of an ocean breeze, where living in central Florida (inland) is much more oppressive.

We will be making our move in May/June of 2021, and visiting this coming January to drive the areas we like. I feel it's always good to see the areas your moving to in person, and not just on a map. Go into supermarkets and drive through neighborhoods to get the feel of the people there. But if my nephew (who has lived in the area for years) stands by his love of Brevard and the great neighborhoods it holds, I have a feeling I'm going to be very happy.

I'll continue to post my friend, and let you know what I discover. Maybe once you come down we can do a lunch on the water. I always believe you can never have enough friends!!!

[Nypafl4u]

SickofJersey, as Florida goes, Brevard is pretty good with huricanes. They hit from tine to time but less often directly. Compared to NY, you should feel very safe in much of Brevard. Yes there are some pockets you may feel are a bit rough, but that is the deal wherever you go that has a dense population. Again, nothing really like what NYC is going through. You are wise to come down and drive around. See what goes on at night and with traffic during commuting times. Try it out as you would if living here. We fell in love with Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island. I want to be near the water and see it if possible as much as possible. So canal fronts and ocean fronts are for us, budget allowing.
Get that job first and then find your piece of paradise. The hunt to me is the most fun. I suggest renting for a year as you may find the true perfect spot months after living here. Just my opinion from someone that bought four "forever homes" over the course of seven years and we still have not moved down yet. The more you see, the more you learn, and your ideal one may change as well. Good luck.

[SickofJersey]

Originally Posted by Nypafl4u

SickofJersey, as Florida goes, Brevard is pretty good with huricanes. They hit from tine to time but less often directly. Compared to NY, you should feel very safe in much of Brevard. Yes there are some pockets you may feel are a bit rough, but that is the deal wherever you go that has a dense population. Again, nothing really like what NYC is going through. You are wise to come down and drive around. See what goes on at night and with traffic during commuting times. Try it out as you would if living here. We fell in love with Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island. I want to be near the water and see it if possible as much as possible. So canal fronts and ocean fronts are for us, budget allowing.
Get that job first and then find your piece of paradise. The hunt to me is the most fun. I suggest renting for a year as you may find the true perfect spot months after living here. Just my opinion from someone that bought four "forever homes" over the course of seven years and we still have not moved down yet. The more you see, the more you learn, and your ideal one may change as well. Good luck.

Good morning Nypafl4u,

I see your posts a lot here, and find them as informative as anyone else here (well, including Rabflmom and a few others). Thank you for that.

I have a good situation for my family once we get down there. I'm close to retirement and, with the equity and savings I've built up, can take a few months off before looking for a new job. It's a great feeling after working my tail off for so long and trying my best to set us up for our "later" years!!!

We plan to take our time and find the right area and home, so nothing is rushed. The home I own now is in a very desirable area of Jersey, so my RE agent has said homes like mine sell in less than a week. With that knowledge, we plan to buy once we find the best home down by you, then put ours on the market. We really would rather move just once, but understand that may change. I also would rather not rent, as it's tough with two dogs (I love my pups).

Knowing the best areas of Merritt Island (and having family on the Island), that has become an area of focus for us. We hate having to travel 1 1/2 hours to the beach here, as we live inland a bit. I also see many nice homes in our price range (350-400) and desired size (2100 sq ft or less). We don't need anything big, just soon to be just my wife and I and grandchildren one day visiting. With that said, can you provide insight on living in Merritt Island? I have a good feel for it from both our visits and research, but you could never have enough viewpoints from those who experience it daily.

Thank you again

[Nypafl4u]

Good Morning Sickofjersey. Thank you for the kind words. There are many of us on these pages that have great information for you.
As I don't live down here full time (yet), I may not be the best for daily viewpoints. I do visit a lot though over the past ten or so years and have gotten to know where I like for various reasons. Too much to detail here. Feel free to Direct Message me privately and we can talk.

[FPSav]

Where do you go to Church?

[kyle19125]

[quote=SickofJersey;59386044] the space coast is rarely ever hit by a hurricane, and when it does happen, it is with less veracity than other areas on Florida's east coast or the gulf area. I've read that is the reason NASA choose Cape Canaveral in the first place. Anyone here who find me wrong please let me know, I am always learning and open minded. QUOTE]

The only problem with that assumption is that it doesn't require a direct-hit to sustain wind damage, flooding and/or extended power outages. Hurricane Ian made landfall a few hundred miles southwest of Brevard County on the opposite coast and still caused significant flooding along with power outages lasting a couple of days to nearly a week because the storm extended 250 miles from the eye wall and the storm's rotation always causes worse conditions on the storm's right side. Florida's width is about 350 miles so a direct-hit of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane within 100-200 miles can still be devastating regardless of which coast it comes ashore on.

[Nypafl4u]

We got through Ian just fine. Sure some blocks had several inches of water. We lost power for a few hours on two seperate days and suffered minimal damage, thankfipully. My point is, most other areas on this side faired better than much of the west coast. In fact, we had worse wind hear after the eye came directly over us and the wind changed direction. It was odd as we thought the worst was on Wednesday, but not the case. My remaining Palm Bay house sustained enough roof damage that it will need repacement. But in Merritt Island, none of my neighbor's needed anything like that. So it just depends on where you are. My street for instance sits about 4 feet higher than the next black where there was more street flooding.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by Nypafl4u

We got through Ian just fine. Sure some blocks had several inches of water. We lost power for a few hours on two seperate days and suffered minimal damage, thankfipully. My point is, most other areas on this side faired better than much of the west coast. In fact, we had worse wind hear after the eye came directly over us and the wind changed direction. It was odd as we thought the worst was on Wednesday, but not the case. My remaining Palm Bay house sustained enough roof damage that it will need repacement. But in Merritt Island, none of my neighbor's needed anything like that. So it just depends on where you are. My street for instance sits about 4 feet higher than the next black where there was more street flooding.

My friend who lives on 46 west of Mims still can not even get to their driveway. Last I heard water was still rising. We are getting rain down where the St. Johns River forms which is not helping. People are also saying that Lake Washington in Melbourne is still rising. When Hurricane Charlie cme across the state we got some flooding in Brevard but not as bad as Ian.

NY just got a $100 gift card to Home Depot from our roofer. Pretty cool Thank you for choosing them.