Congratulations, you’re moving to Florida. Specifically, somewhere in Brevard County on the Space Coast. More than likely, you are moving here because of the Space Industry, one of the government contractor/aerospace companies, the medical field, or you have PCS orders for Patrick Space Force Base. No matter the reason, this is an introduction to a place I have called home for over 40 years…Brevard County.
Since Brevard County is uniquely shaped, over 70 miles long and 26 miles wide; with some natural boundaries separating the County from east to west (the ocean, the intracoastal waters, and the St John’s river) I will be talking about the different locations, the north end, the south end, the central area, and the barrier islands; to help you determine where a good location would be to call home.
If you are going to be working at the Space Center, the north end of the county to the Pineda Causeway/404 makes sense for you to research.
If you are going to be working at a government contractor/tech/aerospace that is near the Melbourne Airport or north Palm Bay, the south end of the county to the Pineda Causeway/404 makes sense for you to research.
If you are stationed at Patrick, central Brevard County makes sense from the Port St John area south to 192 in Melbourne makes sense for you to research.
If you are in the medical field, it depends on which hospital you will be near. Most are in the Melbourne area, with locations also in Titusville, Cocoa Beach, and Palm Bay. Almost every area has doctors’ offices & walk in clinics. It really depends on where you will be.
If this is the first time you will be living in Florida or close to the coast, questions about hurricanes always come up. How often do you evacuate? Are you forced to evacuate? What’s it like to go through a storm? Mandatory evacuation is for the barrier islands. This is the beach communities along the A1A corridor, all of Merritt Island, and living east of US 1 on the mainland. If you are living here and they call for mandatory evacuation, they are asking you to leave your home to get west of US 1. This doesn’t happen with every hurricane. It doesn’t happen every year, either. So far in 2025, it’s been a quiet season. You will learn more about living through a hurricane season from your neighbors, from your co-workers, from the local news, and other online resources. I have several videos and blogs covering how to prepare for an approaching hurricane.
The next question that usually comes up after the hurricanes is “Where are the flood zones?”. While there are properties in flood zones A, E, or AE throughout Brevard County, you will be surprised to hear that a lot of the county is considered flood zone X. This means that flood insurance is not required if you are obtaining a mortgage. For any property that you are considering, we will look at the flood maps to determine what the particular property is in. This is a link to the FEMA website if you want to do your own research: https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/national-flood-hazard-layer
If you have kiddos and the schools are important, there are some great resources online to help you with your research. The first is the school zone locator map that the Brevard County School Board has provided. Enter the address of the property you are interested in, and the map will confirm the school district. https://fac-plan.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=cbc5aa49364a4a65ad17098ec6a33d6b
Fortunately, most of the schools in Brevard County are well rated. Of course, there are a couple that aren’t either. Here are several online resources to help research the schools throughout Brevard.
https://www.greatschools.org/florida/
Besides the elementary, middle and high schools, we have the Eastern Florida State College with campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, and Palm Bay. Florida Institute of Technology is in Melbourne.
I get asked a lot about how safe an area is. Legally, I am not allowed to answer this due to fair housing laws. Even if I could, I wouldn’t be able to answer accurately. It’s an opinion-based question. I might be think a particular neighborhood is wonderful & you might be locking the doors and wanting to get out of there…and vice versa. If you want crime statistics, there’s resources online
I recommend taking a drive through the area to see if you are comfortable with what you are seeing.
Restaurants: we have all the fast food restaurants & national chains. We have great local/one of a kind restaurants too. I am happy to provide my favorites. Plenty of Facebook groups to jump in and ask what the “locals” like.
Cool downtown areas. Titusville’s downtown has a small-town vibe. Old buildings with nice storefronts. Historic playhouse. Riverfront parks.
Cocoa Village has the same small town vibe near the river. I think there are more restaurants & shops than in Titusville. They also have a Historic Playhouse. They host concerts & events throughout the year.
Port Canaveral has restaurants on the water. I enjoy watching the cruise ships come in while having a bite to eat. Weekends will have live music at a few restaurants.
Downtown Cocoa Beach has 40+ bars & restaurants. Live music on the weekend. & the beaches.
Indialantic has Nance Park on the ocean with shops and restaurants along 5th Ave/192/Melbourne Causeway.
Melbourne has an arts district off Eau Gallie Causeway between US1 and the river that is worth exploring. Shops, restaurants, and a lot of murals.
Historic Downtown Melbourne is off 192/Melbourne Causeway. Just like the Eau Gallie Causeway, its between US1 and the River. Great shops, bars, and restaurants. The Henegar Center is here for shows/performances. The city of Melbourne is in the process of upgrading Front St Park to connect downtown to the Indian River.
If you like to golf, there are golf courses throughout the county. Most are open to the public. We also have a few that are membership only.
I already mentioned the Henegar Center for shows/live performances. There is also the King Center in Melbourne by Eastern Florida State College. National bands come through, comedians, Broadway plays, and holiday/Christmas shows, too.
For other forms of entertainment, Orlando is not far away. You have concerts at the Kia Center, House of Blues, and Hard Rock. Pro basketball-Orlando Magic. Orlando City Soccer. Minor league hockey with the Orlando Solar Bears. Plus, all the attractions are about an hour away.
To help you navigate Brevard County, here is an overview of the major roadways that run north & south in the county.
A1A is the major roadway in our beach communities. I reference the A1A corridor in a lot of videos.
State Rd 3 is on Merritt Island, which is also known as Courtney Parkway or Tropical Trail, depending on where you are at in Merritt Island. The main gate to KSC is the north end of SR 3.
US1 is on the mainland and runs near the railroad tracks and the intracoastal waterways (aka the Indian River). US 1 runs the entire east coast of Florida.
Wickham Rd in Melbourne becomes Minton Road south of 192 and into Palm Bay.
I-95 is the major roadway on the west side of the county. This interstate runs from Miami north to Maine.
The east-to-west major connectors. A lot of them are exits of I-95. We have 18 exits off I-95 in Brevard County.
Exit 223 is SR 46 in Mims, connecting to US 1 and to Sanford
Exit 220 is Garden St in Titusville. This will take you to US1, over the bridge, and to Playlinda Beach
Exit 215 is Hwy 50 in Titusville. This will take you to US1 and to East Orlando
Exit 212 is Challenger Memorial Hwy. This will take you to US 1 and the main gate of KSC. Also provides access to SR 528
Exit 205 is SR528. East will take you to US 1, Merritt Island, Port Canaveral, & turns into A1A. West will take you to east Orlando and the MCO airport
Exit 201 is SR520. East will take you to Cocoa Village, Merritt Island, and end in Cocoa Beach. West connects to SR528 and Hwy 50.
Exit 188 is SR404, aka Pineda Causeway. East will take you to Melbourne & US1. Continue east to Merritt Island, A1A, Patrick and the Beaches.
Exit 183 is SR 518, aka Eau Gallie Causeway. East will take you to Melbourne, US1, over the river to A1A & the Beaches
Exit 182 is Ellis Rd. East will connect you to the Melbourne Orlando International Airport. West of the road becomes St John’s Heritage Parkway. This is a new and important road connecting you to West Palm Bay.
Exit 180 is SR192. East will take you through Melbourne over the river & to the Beaches. West will connect you to Kissimmee and the south Orlando area.
Exit 176 is Palm Bay Rd connects to Minton, Babcock, & US1
Exit 172 is Malabar Rd connects to St John’s Heritage Parkway to the west. Connects to Babcock, Minton, and US1
Exit 166 is to St John’s Heritage Parkway. Right now, it only connects to Babcock. Eventually will be a loop around west Palm Bay that connects to the north section of St John’s Heritage Parkway.
A couple of factors are going to have an impact on where you end up living. What kind of commute are you looking for? Do you want to stay under 30 minutes, or are you ok with a 45 minute drive? Do you want a house, townhouse, or condo? Do you plan on renting or purchasing? Do you want new construction? Something from the 2000s? Are you OK with older, built in the 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s? We have a lot of older homes here (built 1950s to 1980s). Then it’s questions onthe number of bedrooms, bathrooms, size of garage, size of home & size of the yard. Are you OK with an HOA or not? Waterfront? Place for a boat, rv, or other toys?
Drive time. If you are working at the Space Center and want to stay within 30 minutes of the main gate. The mainland from Titusville south to Cocoa. Merritt Island from 520 north. Cape Canaveral and most of Cocoa Beach. If you are OK with a 45 minute drive. Anything north of the Pineda Causeway.
If you are working at any of the aerospace companies or government contractors that are near the Melbourne airport/north Palm Bay, and you want to stay under 30 minutes from work. All of Melbourne and West Melbourne are within 30 minutes. Palm Bay from Malabar Rd north. Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, or Indialantic. Suntree and Viera. Maybe Rockledge. If you are OK with a 45 minute drive. Palm Bay, south of Malabar Rd. Melbourne Beach, Cocoa Beach, south of 520. Maybe Merritt Island south of 520 and Cocoa south of 520.
If you have PCS orders for Patrick, a lot of the county is within 30 minutes, thanks to the 404/Pineda Causeway & I-95. Port St John is probably 45 minutes. Palm Bay, north of Palm Bay Road, is probably 45 minutes. South Palm Bay and Titusville will take over 45 minutes.
If you are in the medical field and working near one of the hospitals, it really depends on the location. Parrish Medical is at the north end of Titusville. Anything from 520 north is 30 minutes. The Health First in Palm Bay is off Malabar Rd. If you are closer to US1, then south of the Eau Gallie Causeway. If you are closer to I-95, then 192 south.
The hospitals in Melbourne, anything south of 528 on the mainland, should be within 30 minutes of any of the beach communities. If you are at Health First in Cocoa Beach or in its new location on Merritt Island, anything south of Hwy 50 to the north or Eau Gallie to the south should be a 30 minute drive.
Here is an overview of the single family home sales by city. The sales period is from January 1, 2025, to September 30, 2025.
I know I covered a lot of information, and it was a general overview. I am here to help. If you have any questions about your upcoming move, let’s talk. Drop a comment below or use this link to grab a time on my calendar for a discovery call.
Eric Larkin is a Broker Associate with Real Broker, LLC. He lives, works, and plays in the Cocoa Beach area. If you have questions about moving or relocating to Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast, let me know! I get calls, texts, direct messages & comments on my posts every day about the real estate market and things that are happening in Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast that I love answering. Ask me your questions on moving, relocating here, or anything about the community. I am here to help. I have been helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since becoming a real estate agent in 2003. My 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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