If you know you are moving to Florida, and you are trying to find one of the best places to live in Florida; Cocoa Beach is one place you need to consider. Cocoa Beach is located on the east coast of Florida, about an hour east of Orlando and an hour south of Daytona Beach in Brevard County. Cocoa Beach is the small wave capital of the world and home of Kelly Slater. Cocoa Beach is on the Space Coast and near the Kennedy Space Center. According to the 2017 census, Cocoa Beach’s population is 11,737. Here are the top 10 reasons why Cocoa Beach is one of the best places to live in Florida.
The Beaches
The city of Cocoa Beach has over 6 miles of sandy beaches to enjoy, all of it is a public beach and you have over 50 public access points to the beaches of Cocoa Beach from Grant Avenue to 35th St South. So, pick a beach access point and enjoy the surf and sunshine. Once you are on the beach, you have instant access to over 40 miles of uninterrupted beach from Jetty Park to Sebastian Inlet.
Dog Friendly
Cocoa Beach has one of the dog friendly beaches in Florida. From 4th St south to 16th St south, you are able to bring your dogs to the beach with you before 10 a.m or after 5 p.m. Your pup needs to be on a leash and you have to pick up after your dog (you should always do this). If you want your dog to run free off a leash, take them to the dog park at Lori Wilson Park. It is open from 7 am to 7 pm.
City Parks
Cocoa Beach has 20 parks in the city to enjoy. We have Ramp Road park and Bicentennial park that offer public boat ramps. We have community parks that offer playgrounds (Cocoa Isles Park, Cove Park, Cameron Barkly Park & Ramp Road Park). We have parks with tennis courts (Cameron Barkly Park & Ramp Road). We have parks that offer beach access (Alan Shepard, Sidney Fisher, Lori Wilson, or Robert Murkshe Park). We have green space parks and maritime hammock parks too. More information on any of these parks can be found at the city of Cocoa Beach website https://www.cityofcocoabeach.com/679/Neighborhood-Parks
Sidewalks and bike paths
Low tide, you have access to miles of beaches. We also have miles of sidewalks and bike paths throughout the city connecting our southern border of Patrick Air Force Base all the way north to Port Canaveral. This is fantastic if you love to bike, take a walk or go for a run. You have unlimited options to explore. If you do not have a bike to ride, there are several places to rent a bike; Ron Jons, Beach Bum Bicycle, or a Zagster Bike station located throughout the city are just a few of the places to rent a bike. If you are a runner, check out my favorite places to run https://cocoabeachinsider.com/2018/05/25/who-runs-your-town-my-10-favorite-runs-in-cocoa-beach
Amazing places to eat
Cocoa Beach is home to some amazing restaurants. These aren’t the chain restaurants found in other cities in Brevard County (Longhorn, Outback, Chili’s, Applebee’s, etc) but local one of a kind fantastic places to explore and enjoy. There are over 30 places from 4th St North to Minuteman Causeway. This does not include the other great places to eat you will find on SR 520, along A1A, or near the Cocoa Beach Pier. Sure, Cocoa Beach does have the fast-food chains (McD’s, Taco Bell, etc); but why eat there when you could have all the other choices that are only found in Cocoa Beach. See where you can eat downtown here https://cocoabeachinsider.com/2020/01/23/barmuda-triangle-where-to-eat-and-drink-in-cocoa-beach/
Kayaking, SUP, and Kite Surfing
Cocoa Beach is surrounded by water and it only makes sense to find ways to enjoy our waterways. I personally love kayaking and Cocoa Beach is a great place to do this. I recommend launching from either Cocoa Beach Country Club or Ramp Road Park to explore the thousand islands and mangroves. You go at your own pace, relax and watch the wildlife. If you kayak or SUP during the summer, plan on a night kayak trip to enjoy the bioluminescence. If you do not have your own kayak, it is worth contacting a local kayak tour company like Adventure Kayak Cocoa Beach to experience the bioluminescence. https://kayakcocoabeach.com/book-kayak-tour/ Another popular water activity is kite surfing. If you have driven on the Cocoa Beach Causeway (aka 520) on a windy day, I am sure you have seen them. I personally have yet to try this, but I do love watching them go. If you want to learn more about kite surfing, either stop by Bicentennial Park on a windy day or stop by https://321kiteboarding.com/
Surfing
Surfing goes hand in hand with any beach community. Cocoa Beach is no different. We are the small wave capital of the world and home to Kelly Slater! You could really pick any of the beach access points and paddle out. Some of the more popular surf spots include the Cocoa Beach Pier (from sun-up to sundown, there are people surfing here). If you head to the south end of town (4th St south to Patrick Air Force Base) you will have the best luck catching a nice wave at low tide. (Really, anytime you can hit the water is a good day) I like to check the Surf Guru site to see when the tides are and they also have a surf camera set up for the Pier. Here is a link to their site https://www.surfguru.com/cocoa-beach-pier-surf-report
Cocoa Beach Schools
We are very fortunate to have high-quality schools here in the Cocoa Beach area. Everyone will be able to attend the Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School and it depends on where you live in Cocoa Beach on whether your children will attend Theodore Roosevelt, Freedom 7 or Cape View Elementary Schools.
Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School has grades 7-12 and has just over 1000 students. The student to teacher ratio is 17 to 1 and has scores an A in regards to the quality of education at the school. Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School also offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Baccalaureate_Diploma_Programme
Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School is PK-6th grade and has 357 students with a 13-1 student to teacher ratio and scores an A in regards to the quality of education.
Freedom 7 Elementary is PK-6th grade and has 409 students with a 15-1 student to teacher ratio and scores an A in the quality of education
Cape View Elementary is PK-6th grade and has 426 students with a 13-1 student to teacher ratio and scores a B+ in regards to the quality of education.
All of the school scores and information was taken from the following websites
https://www.niche.com/ and https://www.schooldigger.com/
Cocoa Beach Playhouse
Surfside Playhouse is a community theater that is dedicated to the performing arts through
productions, presentations, education, and outreach. They have been a part of the Cocoa Beach community since 1959 and have quality productions throughout the years. Some of the past performances include Hello Dolly, Miracle on 34th St, South Pacific and Spamalot. They offer improv classes and a youth musical theater. To see what is coming up at the Playhouse in Cocoa Beach, please visit their website https://www.surfsideplayers.com/index.php
Rocket launches
We do live on the Space Coast, so you would expect to see a rocket launch; right? From the beginning of the space program, rocket launches have been a big part of living in Cocoa Beach. Today is no different. Thanks to NASA, ULA, and SpaceX, we have can see the regular launches from the Kennedy Space Center anywhere in Cocoa Beach. These 3 companies are just the beginning. Blue Origin will begin launching from KSC in the near future. We have quite a few other companies planning to launch from KSC that include Firefly, Sierra Nevada, and Boeing’s Starliner. To see an upcoming launch calendar for the Space Coast, please visit https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/
You can see why one of the best beach towns in Florida to live is Cocoa Beach. If you are still looking for more reasons, keep in mind I didn’t mention the great fishing, the great boating opportunities (we are surrounded by water) or the 27 hole golf course in Cocoa Beach. The year-round Cocoa Beach weather is outstanding too. If you are moving to Florida, and you want one of the best places to live in Florida; Cocoa Beach is where you should be.
Since I am a real estate agent in Cocoa Beach with RE/MAX Aerospace, you simply need to give me a call or text at 321-795-1854, send me a message by filling out the box below, or visit my website https://ericlarkin.aerospacerealty.net/ and I can get started helping you find a place to live in the Cocoa Beach area.
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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