Cocoa Beach Insider

You just found out your new job is in Brevard County Florida.

You just received PCS orders to PAFB and/or CCAFS.

You are simply tired of the cold and ready to move to the Cocoa Beach area. 

You will be moving to Florida and Brevard County

Where is Brevard County? What are the Brevard County Cities? Where are you going to live? 

Where is Brevard County? We are in central Florida on the east coast pretty much right in the middle between Jacksonville and Miami, just south of Daytona Beach and east of Orlando. Brevard County is pretty unique in size and shape. The county stretches over 70 miles long and is less than 30 miles at its widest point.  

Brevard County is surrounded by water. The Atlantic Ocean to the east. The St Johns River to the west. Sebastian Inlet and St Sebastian River to the south. The Canaveral Seashore to the north. We have the Indian River Intracoastal running through the entire county that separates the mainland from the barrier islands and beaches. We have a lot of other waterways that include the Banana River Lagoon, Crane Creek, Turkey Creek, Sykes Creek, Lake Washington, and Lake Poinsett just to name a few. 

Brevard County Cities. Our cities include Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Titusville, Cocoa, Merritt Island, Rockledge, Melbourne, West Melbourne, Melbourne Village, Palm Bay, Micco, Mims, Scottsmoor, and Grant-Valkaria.

Brevard County is home to the Kennedy Space Center and 2 military bases, Patrick Air Force Base (soon to be Patrick Space Force) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. We have a lot of companies that support the space program, aerospace and military that include NASA, L3Harris, ULA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Embraer and Boeing to name a few. 

Now that you have a little information about the area, it’s time to figure out what part of Brevard County is right for you.

Where are you going to live? If you want to live on the beach (or Beach-side as I refer to it often) Anywhere along the A1A corridor will be a great option. This includes Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, and Melbourne Beach. You could be living direct ocean or just a few blocks away from the ocean. Since the widest point of land beachside is 2 miles, you will be pretty close to the beach anywhere along the A1A corridor.

If you are OK with a short drive to the beach (approximately 15 minutes) then Merritt Island could be an option for you or anywhere on the mainland that is near one of the 5 causeways that connect to the beach. The causeways are State Road 528(Martin Anderson Beachline Express), State Road 520 (the Cocoa Beach Causeway), SR 404 (the Pineda Causeway), SR 518 (the Eau Gallie Causeway), or US192 (the Melbourne Causeway). Near the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville would also be a good option. No matter where you live in Brevard County, you are within 25 miles of beach access and can be there within 40 minutes (depending on traffic).

 

If you are PCS’ing to Patrick Air Force Base and you want to be within 30 minutes, you have a lot of options because of the location of this military base. Anywhere Beachside from Cape Canaveral south to 192 could be an option. The cities are Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, and Indialantic. Most of Merritt Island from 520 south or on the mainland from Rockledge to Melbourne near the Eau Gallie Causeway would be great too.

If you are PCS’ing to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and you want to be within 30 minutes, you should look in Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, and Satellite Beach. Merritt Island north of 520 and Cocoa to Port St John on the mainland.

If you are going to work at the Space Center (NASA, ULA, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Sahara Nevada, Firefly) and want to be within 30 minutes of the Gate, you could look anywhere on Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach. Titusville south through Port St John, Cocoa & Rockledge would be great options too.

If you will be working at L3Harris Technology and want to be within 30 minutes of the Palm Bay location, you could look anywhere in Palm Bay, West Melbourne and Melbourne (including Suntree and Viera). Anywhere beachside from Satellite Beach south to Melbourne Beach would be great options too.

If you will be working near the Melbourne Airport (Embraer, L3Harris, Northrop Grumman) and want to be within 30 minutes, you have a lot of options. All of Melbourne, including Suntree & Viera, West Melbourne, Palm Bay, Rockledge, and Cocoa (south of 520). Beachside options from South Cocoa Beach (south of Minutemen Causeway), Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, and Melbourne Beach.

Once you decide on the area of Brevard County, we need to figure out what kind of property is right (single-family house, condo, townhouse, half-duplex or manufactured home) and if you will be looking to buy a property or if you would be renting first. If you are renting, do you want to consider a short term rental until you buy a place or if you are looking for something long term?

Things to keep in mind when you are house hunting.

If you are considering a condo, these are some questions I ask because of some of the restrictions a condominium has:

Do you have a pet (or pets)? Most condos have a weight limit and restrictions on the number of pets allowed.

Do you have a motorcycle, boat, RV or trailer? Most condos have restrictions on the type of vehicle that can be parked on the property.

Do you plan on ever using the condo as a rental? Most condos have some type of rental restriction.

If you are not on the ground floor, do you need an elevator? We have a lot of 2 and 3 story condos that do not have elevators. Anything over 3 floors will have an elevator.

If you are using a loan to purchase the condo, the condominium complex also has to qualify for the mortgage. They look at the financials of the complex, the master insurance policy, and the ratio of owners to tenants.

We have a lot of homeowners associations in Brevard County(sometimes referred to as an HOA). An HOA can have either a single-family home, townhouse, half-duplex, or manufactured home. You have rules that govern the community. Some of the common rules and restrictions are similar to the condominium associations (pet restrictions, rental restrictions, and vehicle restrictions) Most associations have an ARC (Architecture Review Committee) that help control the color you paint your home, the landscaping, and type of fence that is allowed. While some people don’t like being told what they can do to their homes, others like uniformity and how well the community can look with this kind of rules and restrictions in place. 

If you have children and want to know more about the schools in the area, here are several websites to help you find out about the schools in the area.

https://data.floridatoday.com/school/brevard/

https://www.schooldigger.com/

Would you like to live in a 55+ community? There are quite a few to choose from in Brevard County that is either a single-family home, condo, townhome or manufactured home. These communities require at least one of the residents to be at least 55 years old and have restrictions on how often someone under the age of 18 can visit. 

As you can see, the Cocoa Beach area and Brevard County has a lot of options to consider when moving into our area. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask. My family moved to Cocoa Beach in the early ’80s and I have spent most of my life here in Brevard County. Since becoming a real estate agent in 2003, I have helped a lot of people move into the area and I would be happy to help you. Simply leave a comment below or give me a call or text at 321-795-1854. My name is Eric Larkin and I work with RE/MAX Aerospace.

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About the author:

Eric Larkin is a Broker Associate with REMAX Aerospace. He lives, works, and plays in the Cocoa Beach area. Eric has been helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since becoming a real estate agent in 2003. His focus is always on helping, answering your questions, and doing everything possible to make certain you have a smooth transaction from beginning to end.

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