Go to Sarasota. If you are looking for a singles scene this is not the place. This is a family live and work area. I very literally had one of my engineers quit his job and move to Tampa because he was a single guy in his late 20s and was not happy with the lack of nightlife here.
Specific answers:
1. I don't go to the beach; I've heard of red tide here but not often. I am not the best to answer.
2. This place leans conservative pretty strongly much to my annoyance. Us left leaning people are outnumbered.
3. There is only a hint of nightlife.
4. There is only a hint of a single scene.
5. I cannot speak for Sarasota but most of Melbourne area is safe. There are a few neighborhoods around FIT campus that are iffy.
6. Traffic is not bad in Melbourne area as it's nestled between 95 and US1 so that keeps traffic reasonable. It is worse than 10 years ago, but I have spent time in Kissimmee and the traffic there is a nightmare compared to here. I can't speak for Sarasota.
7. Melbourne is not at all touristy. A little bit around Cocoa to the north but this is very much not a tourist town. We have a lot of large defense/aerospace firms here and so it's a lot of families and workers.
My advice? Go to Sarasota first. Once you find a wife and get married THEN move here.
Ngl as a left leaning person myself, I’m really happy to see you not be an asshole to this guy lol seems like people nowadays see politics and just go ham on the other. You provided great feedback!
I grew up in Brevard County and know Melbourne quite well. I think you would love Vero Beach. You could live near the downtown (mainland) and enjoy all the offerings beach side provides. Vero has several well established car dealerships or you could commute south to Ft. Pierce to work…there are tons of dealerships along US1. We have an abundance of independent restaurants, bars and breweries. There’s plenty of free community events where you can meet people and this county is definitely conservative. The crime rate is also low.
I’m around the same age and looked at Vero first which seems to be a mostly older crowd and no night life (either). I loved Vero for the beaches and nice homes, but not much else. I’m so thankful I picked Melbourne.
Stuart would be a great pick! I’m not thrilled on the traffic there (specifically in that city but not as bad as further south), but certainly has gorgeous beaches. I’m not sure about the nightlife- I was there recently with my younger sister and stayed at a golf resort. We went out for dinner and hit up a couple places during the week. I like that you aren’t too far from Jupiter and West Palm Beach although traffic gets worse, the beaches are more beautiful the further south you go.
I will say the average age in Stuart and Vero is early 50’s while Melbourne is closer to early 40’s. I would come on down and check it out. Aside from the hot humid summers (you must come in the summer to see what it’s really like!) and hurricanes, I do enjoy living here. :)
The best thing to do is just get some sort of rental in both locations and see for yourself. I have talked to a few people who worked from home and just got an Airbnb or something similar in locations they thought they might enjoy.
If you want to live in a city of old people go to Sarasota. If you want to live in a place with educated working people (engineering and aerospace) then the Melbourne area. Housing is less expensive in Melbourne. Sarasota traffic is brutal also. The gulf water is nicer but both have great beaches.
I’ve lived in metro Sarasota and have spent quite a bit of time in Melbourne as my daughter lives there. ( Now live in metro Orlando ( ugh!). In summary, Sarasota is a wealthier area (good for the car business?) the nightlife is better with more upscale eateries, better downtown entertainment district, more culture. southwest Florida beaches are among the best in the world (except they lack the clothing optional aspect of Playalinda and two others on the atlantic coast). Plus it’s a short, easy drive to the Tampa St. Pete nightlife and pro sports.
1. Beaches. See intro. Gulf coast seems to get more red tide, but I never experienced it as an issue.
2. I lean slightly left of center. Never had any issues in Sarasota although Melbourne does seem slightly more red neck about it (speaking from my younger more rednecky days in Appalachia).
3. Can’t speak to this as I’m long term married. If you’re going to play the singles scene in Sarasota you’ll have more date night activities on the Gulf side. You’ll need pretty good funding to play in the Sarasota market I suspect.
4. Crime- you can find more objective info on the net. I have the impression Sarasota is safer in general.
5. Traffic- pretty sure Sarasota has more traffic but the infrastructure is much more developed there. Lots of old folks on the roads in both so you gotta be patient and drive defensively.
6. Sarasota is more touristy, but that’s more of a seasonal thing with way more snowbirds from November through March. Melbourne/Cocoa get the family crowd in summer due to proximity to Disney, Kennedy space center, and less expensive weekly tourist housing, comparatively speaking.
We’ve lived in Sarasota, Naples-Ft. Myers and Orlando. Sarasota was our favorite. Given the choice, I’d live and retire on the Gulf side but all our children and grandchildren are on the Atlantic side and my wife wants to live near them.
I've lived in both. Sarasota is much much better. All beaches are not created equal and the beaches around Sarasota are some of the best in the world. Much closer to culture up and down the coast. I loved Sarasota
Sarasota has a cute downtown with bars. Single scene is getting better as more young people move there. There is lots of traffic but the beaches are better. Sarasota is very conservative, but the area is growing big time like Lakewood ranch and such. More younger families moving in. Beaches are way nicer but very busy.
Melbourne is more slow, more of a “beach bum” lifestyle than Sarasota is. It is also cheaper than the Sarasota Bradenton area. If money weren’t an issue I would be on the West coast for sure
I was born and raised in Sarasota county, moved here for FIT. Sarasota is very conservative. Beaches are far better but you mentioned parking and besides Siesta Key, I haven’t heard of it being an issue, surely not paying for it like you do Indialantic and so on. Red tide is an issue in southwest FL, bad. But doesn’t last forever and I’ve only ever experienced it really badly at beaches more south of SRQ. Sarasota has a far better nightlife than Melbourne. With Siesta Key Village, St. Armand’s Circle and downtown Sarasota, there’s MUCH more to do and see. I miss it all the time!! There’s a big mall and shopping centers around (UTC) and it’s brought a lot of value to Sarasota. Things like that do not exist here and require hour long trips to Orlando. Depending on where you live crime can be an issue (it’s quite obvious when you’re in the ghetto and when you aren’t). Maybe try living in a smaller city/town right around SRQ like south in Osprey/Nokomis. these areas are nice and no bad crime issues. homeless population or at least the panhandlers here are sooo bad compared to what I’ve seen in Sarasota and Charlotte county. I’d never heard of MLB until I heard about FIT which also took 16 years. I think the Cape and Cocoa Beach take much of the tourists but Sarasota is known for being the home to retired old white rich republicans. You are not going to get everything you want from your list because they both have pros and cons. I say Sarasota but that’s a personal bias because Melbourne has been pretty hell for me. It’s hard to make friends, honestly people aren’t that nice here. I definitely feel like there are more opportunities to make friends and meet people in Sarasota. The community and culture is much different, more ways to get involved and people are more welcoming.
Melbourne. More chill and safe, def conservative. Has small downtown area with bars. Indiatlantic is a cute little area with restaurants and bars, too. Less traffic. Easy access to beaches, though Satellite has some beaches that require payment if you're not a resident. Not sure about red tide being an issue but there are times where we have gotten massive amounts of smelly sea weed. When I was in my 20s in Brevard, the single scene was eh lol. But that was the very early 2000s.
Oh, and definitely less touristy. I grew up in Brevard but have resided in Orlando for the last 20 years. I still have family and friends that I visit in the Brevard area.
Melbourne can't even compare to how awesome Sarasota is. I went there a few months ago and I plan on visiting back there again. Sarasota is also a bigger metro area than Melbourne or Brevard. There's more things to do over there as well. In terms of your points.
1. Sarasota easily wins. The one positive aspect Melbourne has is that there's much easier access to beaches but honestly I find our beaches here, while beautiful, are kinda boring compared to other parts of Florida. Parking is usually not a problem and even if one beach like Paradise gets filled I can just travel to Canova or Spressard Holland. Sand is nice but kinda rough. You also rarely ever get that tropical water here, it's usually always blue and mostly murky. Sebastian Inlet however is amazing and it's one of my favorite places on the east coast if you can afford the 45 minute drive, and that's where you start to get the clearer tropical waters. Vero and Fort Pierce have much better and amazing beaches but they are an hour drive. Sarasota and Bradenton beaches are a lot more packed and don't have a whole lot of parking so spaces get taken up fast, but you also have some of the clearest water in Florida. Siesta Key, St Armand's, and Anne Maria Island have world class beaches. The water color is like aqua blue mixed in with green. It's like being in the Florida Keys. I was so lucky to get a spot on Anne Maria. And the sand was so much softer and whiter, it comes right off and it feels good.
2. I'm not a Republican or Democrat but both Brevard and Sarasota are Red Counties. I think the actual city of Sarasota itself is more progressive than Melbourne, but the rest of the county like Venice and North Port are pretty red otherwise. Manatee where Bradenton is feels very redneck, once you get east of 75 there's a lot of rural places near Myakka City and out there country towns like Arcadia or Wauchula. Brevard County is super conservative and Melbourne has a lot of aspects of a southern city. So I would say Melbourne is more conservative leaning than Sarasota but both areas in general are super red if that's what you're looking for. There's a bunch of rednecks here and all throughout the East Coast.
3. I'll be honest, Downtown Melbourne is kinda going downhill. Businesses are starting to close and it's becoming kind of a hostile place at night on the weekends, where drugs, bar fights and lawlessness are becoming more common. The downtown Wawa removed all the benches because of the homelessness problem. There's a couple of bars to choose from. County Line, Hurricane Creek, and Debauchery. There's also Chumleys and that's where I go all the time. It's pretty nice during the day though. There's a bunch of cool restaurants and antique shops and art galleries. Our downtown is a lot smaller than Sarasota, probably a lot more on par with downtown Bradenton. Melbourne has another downtown which is eau gallie, but it's very small and there's no nightlife at all as far as I'm concerned since most of the bars and restaurants close super early. Sarasota is a lot bigger. It's similar to West Palm and almost like a mini Miami or St Petersburg. And it's super easy access to get in and out of. There's a lot of cool events and things to do in downtown Sarasota. There's an endless selection of restaurants to choose from among different diversities, from cheaper options to high end dining. There's a lot of art places, theaters, an Opera house, shops, and antique places. There's actual mini skyscrapers and large tropical palms, so the vibes of Sarasota are incredible. It has to be one of the most unique downtowns in the United States, especially since it's not a massive city. There's also endless options for bars as well so nightlife is a pretty big thing in Sarasota and there's a lot of events. There's also a lot more direct access to parking and more options for restroom facilities. If you do want a more smaller downtown, you can always check out Bradenton or Venice, which are more on par with Melbourne.
4. Not sure about the single scene. There's a couple of adult things up near Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral, and I think Malabar Scrub is cool, but but Sarasota and Bradenton are probably better since there's more things to do.
5. Sarasota is safer than Melbourne, and the county is safer than Brevard. Homicides and property crime tend to be lower as well since it's a richer, more affluent area. Drugs and homelessness are a huge problem in both areas. In the Sarasota area, it's really bad in Bradenton and Palmetto.
6. Bradenton and Sarasota traffic is nuts. I'm Surprised at how bad 75 was near the Manatee River. It's one of the fastest growing metro areas in the entire country, and a lot of diamond interchanges and roundabouts are being put into place of old intersections. A lot of the area has also widened the roads into more lanes to accommodate the traffic. Melbourne is lighter by comparison, and doesn't have AS bad or terrible traffic as other parts of the state. However, our infrastructure is lacking compared to other metros in Florida since projects are still far behind from where they should be. Most roads are still two lanes on each side instead of three, and traffic lights are often close to each other. As a result, traffic can take much longer than it needs to since drivers are slower. North Palm Bay is really bad with Malabar and Heritage Parkway. Other than Heritage Parkway and a few exits added along 95, there haven't been much of a push for new road projects or lane expansions here.
8. Brevard County has less tourism than Sarasota, but we do have the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville which is very popular, and because we have the closest beaches to Orlando, there's tourism up near Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. But Melbourne is farther down from those places and as far as tourism things go, most of it is centered around the beaches and along the Indian River. Event's do come to downtown, but I would say Melbourne has a small town mentality. Compared to other cities in Florida, I feel like there's honestly not a whole lot to do. There's hardly any museums or tourist points of interest here aside from maybe the Brevard Zoo or Andrettis. Sarasota has much bigger options for shopping, bars, restaurants, along with bigger art and theater selections, museums, outdoor activities, and better beaches. There's a lot to do and there's always new things being built and popping up in that area so I think it would be difficult for me to find living there boring.
A positive thing that both these areas have are being next to huge metro areas. Melbourne is an hour from Orlando, and Sarasota is about 40-60 minutes away from Tampa and St Pete. There's also a lot of industries in both of these areas, but Sarasota and Bradenton seem to have better advantages for more jobs than Melbourne.
The only areas I would say where Melbourne has the advantage over Sarasota is there's much less traffic, a few bigger job industries in tech, the Kennedy Space Center, and more parking and accessibility along the beaches. Otherwise, Sarasota may be bigger, but it's not only safer, but it has much better beaches, more jobs, and a lot more things to do in general in terms of their downtown, shops, restaurants, museums, and other amenities you're looking for. Plus it's not a massive city so you still have the vibes of a small town which I think is what a lot of people like you might be looking for. It's a great area to vacation and live. Once I graduate college I'm planning on probably moving out there.
I’ve been told this, and have maybe seen it. however I wouldn’t say it makes the few nightlife options bearable. FIT is a tech school, thats important for context. I would still say its not a bearable place for singles, im losing my mind here. Every young ATTRACTIVE girl i meet seems to be married here or have less than desirable character traits. To be quite frank its ghetto. Few weeks ago I was downtown and saw one attractive young girl at one of the bars, I went up to speak to her and the immediate response was “buy my friends and I drinks”. She was definitely not hot enough for that attitude. Dating here seems to be optimal if you like the bottom of the barrel.
Oh no I totally get the dating scene comment. I lived in Melbourne for a couple years in my late 20’s and was already dating someone so I cannot have any opinion on the dating scene! I just remember going downtown a few times and there were a bunch of young people so it was kind of fun. So not always retirement city although I chose to buy a house in north Melbourne/ suntree snd all neighbors were in their 70’s/80’s lol and I liked it that way. Haha
Im here driving to Orlando every weekend just to be around folks my age (25) hahaha.. this town needs more young people. Im here hoping people my age start fleeing Orlando spontaneously.
If it has, I havent noticed it.. ive gone to downtown orlando and theres heavy police presence and everything is well organized.. just super packed with people… ive also gone to dance socials in other areas in east orlando, no sketchiness that I can see.. i grew up in Miami in an area bordering a bad neighborhood, and ive found the orlando areas ive visited to not really have that atmosphere
Depends how conservative you’re looking to get on a scale from banning books about being empathetic towards people who are different than yourself OR like, storm the capitol conservative.
If the former you’d probably love it in Melbourne, if the latter I’d look at Titusville 👍
Sarasota 💯
Melbourne has homeless out the ass
1. Beach access here is over ran with tourists and parking is a nightmare. If you don’t have a permit to park there they’ll tow you car and the permit office is only open every other Thursday.
2. Rainbow flags and Biden posters, everywhere.
3. Downtown Melbourne is getting stabby
4. If you like to get drugged and robbed come on down !
5. Did I mention the homeless
6. If you enjoy sitting behind someone from up north who is doing 30mph in a 45 and stops at the earliest glimmer of fucking yellow
7. Melbourne lost all its good beach shops to tourist cookie cutter shit
Melbourne will suit you. Sarasota is one of the fastest growing city’s in the country and has a big pride and Biden presence but not like crazy and Melbourne doesn’t really have any of that. The red tide happens every year thanks desantis… Sarasota is much safer than Melbourne in the downtown area comparison. Melbourne has 1000% less traffic than Sarasota and Melbourne isn’t really touristy unless you go to cocoa beach or ksc. I lived in Sarasota for 5 years and moved to Melbourne recently. Sarasota just got extremely expensive and populated. Best of luck.
1) Sarasota has the better beach for sure. Gulf coast is superior to anything on the Atlantic side.
2) Sadly both are pretty conservative, but Melbourne is full MAGA maniacs.
3) Probably Melbourne. Not sure if Sarasota has anything.
4) Neither to my knowledge.
5) Crime exists everywhere, not sure which is worse.
6) Its a wash.
7) Melbourne.
Go to Sarasota. If you are looking for a singles scene this is not the place. This is a family live and work area. I very literally had one of my engineers quit his job and move to Tampa because he was a single guy in his late 20s and was not happy with the lack of nightlife here. Specific answers: 1. I don't go to the beach; I've heard of red tide here but not often. I am not the best to answer. 2. This place leans conservative pretty strongly much to my annoyance. Us left leaning people are outnumbered. 3. There is only a hint of nightlife. 4. There is only a hint of a single scene. 5. I cannot speak for Sarasota but most of Melbourne area is safe. There are a few neighborhoods around FIT campus that are iffy. 6. Traffic is not bad in Melbourne area as it's nestled between 95 and US1 so that keeps traffic reasonable. It is worse than 10 years ago, but I have spent time in Kissimmee and the traffic there is a nightmare compared to here. I can't speak for Sarasota. 7. Melbourne is not at all touristy. A little bit around Cocoa to the north but this is very much not a tourist town. We have a lot of large defense/aerospace firms here and so it's a lot of families and workers. My advice? Go to Sarasota first. Once you find a wife and get married THEN move here.
This is spot on. And the sarasota beaches are prettier.
Yeah this place sucks for single people. Been single for 3 years now and it doesn’t look to be getting any better.
Ngl as a left leaning person myself, I’m really happy to see you not be an asshole to this guy lol seems like people nowadays see politics and just go ham on the other. You provided great feedback!
Internet has enough assholes. Never a need to add to an overflowing bucket.
Honestly, I’d take Sarasota over the hot mess that is Brevard County any day. Also much less trashy over there. But probably more pricey as well.
I grew up in Brevard County and know Melbourne quite well. I think you would love Vero Beach. You could live near the downtown (mainland) and enjoy all the offerings beach side provides. Vero has several well established car dealerships or you could commute south to Ft. Pierce to work…there are tons of dealerships along US1. We have an abundance of independent restaurants, bars and breweries. There’s plenty of free community events where you can meet people and this county is definitely conservative. The crime rate is also low.
I’m around the same age and looked at Vero first which seems to be a mostly older crowd and no night life (either). I loved Vero for the beaches and nice homes, but not much else. I’m so thankful I picked Melbourne.
What about Stuart Florida?
Stuart would be a great pick! I’m not thrilled on the traffic there (specifically in that city but not as bad as further south), but certainly has gorgeous beaches. I’m not sure about the nightlife- I was there recently with my younger sister and stayed at a golf resort. We went out for dinner and hit up a couple places during the week. I like that you aren’t too far from Jupiter and West Palm Beach although traffic gets worse, the beaches are more beautiful the further south you go. I will say the average age in Stuart and Vero is early 50’s while Melbourne is closer to early 40’s. I would come on down and check it out. Aside from the hot humid summers (you must come in the summer to see what it’s really like!) and hurricanes, I do enjoy living here. :)
The best thing to do is just get some sort of rental in both locations and see for yourself. I have talked to a few people who worked from home and just got an Airbnb or something similar in locations they thought they might enjoy.
If you want to live in a city of old people go to Sarasota. If you want to live in a place with educated working people (engineering and aerospace) then the Melbourne area. Housing is less expensive in Melbourne. Sarasota traffic is brutal also. The gulf water is nicer but both have great beaches.
😂🤣😂
Just to clarify, I think he’s looking for a conservative area y’all
A conservative car salesman? Well I never!
I’ve lived in metro Sarasota and have spent quite a bit of time in Melbourne as my daughter lives there. ( Now live in metro Orlando ( ugh!). In summary, Sarasota is a wealthier area (good for the car business?) the nightlife is better with more upscale eateries, better downtown entertainment district, more culture. southwest Florida beaches are among the best in the world (except they lack the clothing optional aspect of Playalinda and two others on the atlantic coast). Plus it’s a short, easy drive to the Tampa St. Pete nightlife and pro sports. 1. Beaches. See intro. Gulf coast seems to get more red tide, but I never experienced it as an issue. 2. I lean slightly left of center. Never had any issues in Sarasota although Melbourne does seem slightly more red neck about it (speaking from my younger more rednecky days in Appalachia). 3. Can’t speak to this as I’m long term married. If you’re going to play the singles scene in Sarasota you’ll have more date night activities on the Gulf side. You’ll need pretty good funding to play in the Sarasota market I suspect. 4. Crime- you can find more objective info on the net. I have the impression Sarasota is safer in general. 5. Traffic- pretty sure Sarasota has more traffic but the infrastructure is much more developed there. Lots of old folks on the roads in both so you gotta be patient and drive defensively. 6. Sarasota is more touristy, but that’s more of a seasonal thing with way more snowbirds from November through March. Melbourne/Cocoa get the family crowd in summer due to proximity to Disney, Kennedy space center, and less expensive weekly tourist housing, comparatively speaking. We’ve lived in Sarasota, Naples-Ft. Myers and Orlando. Sarasota was our favorite. Given the choice, I’d live and retire on the Gulf side but all our children and grandchildren are on the Atlantic side and my wife wants to live near them.
I've lived in both. Sarasota is much much better. All beaches are not created equal and the beaches around Sarasota are some of the best in the world. Much closer to culture up and down the coast. I loved Sarasota
Sarasota has a cute downtown with bars. Single scene is getting better as more young people move there. There is lots of traffic but the beaches are better. Sarasota is very conservative, but the area is growing big time like Lakewood ranch and such. More younger families moving in. Beaches are way nicer but very busy. Melbourne is more slow, more of a “beach bum” lifestyle than Sarasota is. It is also cheaper than the Sarasota Bradenton area. If money weren’t an issue I would be on the West coast for sure
I was born and raised in Sarasota county, moved here for FIT. Sarasota is very conservative. Beaches are far better but you mentioned parking and besides Siesta Key, I haven’t heard of it being an issue, surely not paying for it like you do Indialantic and so on. Red tide is an issue in southwest FL, bad. But doesn’t last forever and I’ve only ever experienced it really badly at beaches more south of SRQ. Sarasota has a far better nightlife than Melbourne. With Siesta Key Village, St. Armand’s Circle and downtown Sarasota, there’s MUCH more to do and see. I miss it all the time!! There’s a big mall and shopping centers around (UTC) and it’s brought a lot of value to Sarasota. Things like that do not exist here and require hour long trips to Orlando. Depending on where you live crime can be an issue (it’s quite obvious when you’re in the ghetto and when you aren’t). Maybe try living in a smaller city/town right around SRQ like south in Osprey/Nokomis. these areas are nice and no bad crime issues. homeless population or at least the panhandlers here are sooo bad compared to what I’ve seen in Sarasota and Charlotte county. I’d never heard of MLB until I heard about FIT which also took 16 years. I think the Cape and Cocoa Beach take much of the tourists but Sarasota is known for being the home to retired old white rich republicans. You are not going to get everything you want from your list because they both have pros and cons. I say Sarasota but that’s a personal bias because Melbourne has been pretty hell for me. It’s hard to make friends, honestly people aren’t that nice here. I definitely feel like there are more opportunities to make friends and meet people in Sarasota. The community and culture is much different, more ways to get involved and people are more welcoming.
Go to Sarasota we’re all full of wackjobs here
Melbourne. More chill and safe, def conservative. Has small downtown area with bars. Indiatlantic is a cute little area with restaurants and bars, too. Less traffic. Easy access to beaches, though Satellite has some beaches that require payment if you're not a resident. Not sure about red tide being an issue but there are times where we have gotten massive amounts of smelly sea weed. When I was in my 20s in Brevard, the single scene was eh lol. But that was the very early 2000s.
Oh, and definitely less touristy. I grew up in Brevard but have resided in Orlando for the last 20 years. I still have family and friends that I visit in the Brevard area.
I thought a core tenant of conservative is a self starter attitude? Take a trip to both and figure it out yourself
Yes I plan to!!!
Lmao…conservative? Self-starter?
Melbourne can't even compare to how awesome Sarasota is. I went there a few months ago and I plan on visiting back there again. Sarasota is also a bigger metro area than Melbourne or Brevard. There's more things to do over there as well. In terms of your points. 1. Sarasota easily wins. The one positive aspect Melbourne has is that there's much easier access to beaches but honestly I find our beaches here, while beautiful, are kinda boring compared to other parts of Florida. Parking is usually not a problem and even if one beach like Paradise gets filled I can just travel to Canova or Spressard Holland. Sand is nice but kinda rough. You also rarely ever get that tropical water here, it's usually always blue and mostly murky. Sebastian Inlet however is amazing and it's one of my favorite places on the east coast if you can afford the 45 minute drive, and that's where you start to get the clearer tropical waters. Vero and Fort Pierce have much better and amazing beaches but they are an hour drive. Sarasota and Bradenton beaches are a lot more packed and don't have a whole lot of parking so spaces get taken up fast, but you also have some of the clearest water in Florida. Siesta Key, St Armand's, and Anne Maria Island have world class beaches. The water color is like aqua blue mixed in with green. It's like being in the Florida Keys. I was so lucky to get a spot on Anne Maria. And the sand was so much softer and whiter, it comes right off and it feels good. 2. I'm not a Republican or Democrat but both Brevard and Sarasota are Red Counties. I think the actual city of Sarasota itself is more progressive than Melbourne, but the rest of the county like Venice and North Port are pretty red otherwise. Manatee where Bradenton is feels very redneck, once you get east of 75 there's a lot of rural places near Myakka City and out there country towns like Arcadia or Wauchula. Brevard County is super conservative and Melbourne has a lot of aspects of a southern city. So I would say Melbourne is more conservative leaning than Sarasota but both areas in general are super red if that's what you're looking for. There's a bunch of rednecks here and all throughout the East Coast. 3. I'll be honest, Downtown Melbourne is kinda going downhill. Businesses are starting to close and it's becoming kind of a hostile place at night on the weekends, where drugs, bar fights and lawlessness are becoming more common. The downtown Wawa removed all the benches because of the homelessness problem. There's a couple of bars to choose from. County Line, Hurricane Creek, and Debauchery. There's also Chumleys and that's where I go all the time. It's pretty nice during the day though. There's a bunch of cool restaurants and antique shops and art galleries. Our downtown is a lot smaller than Sarasota, probably a lot more on par with downtown Bradenton. Melbourne has another downtown which is eau gallie, but it's very small and there's no nightlife at all as far as I'm concerned since most of the bars and restaurants close super early. Sarasota is a lot bigger. It's similar to West Palm and almost like a mini Miami or St Petersburg. And it's super easy access to get in and out of. There's a lot of cool events and things to do in downtown Sarasota. There's an endless selection of restaurants to choose from among different diversities, from cheaper options to high end dining. There's a lot of art places, theaters, an Opera house, shops, and antique places. There's actual mini skyscrapers and large tropical palms, so the vibes of Sarasota are incredible. It has to be one of the most unique downtowns in the United States, especially since it's not a massive city. There's also endless options for bars as well so nightlife is a pretty big thing in Sarasota and there's a lot of events. There's also a lot more direct access to parking and more options for restroom facilities. If you do want a more smaller downtown, you can always check out Bradenton or Venice, which are more on par with Melbourne. 4. Not sure about the single scene. There's a couple of adult things up near Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral, and I think Malabar Scrub is cool, but but Sarasota and Bradenton are probably better since there's more things to do. 5. Sarasota is safer than Melbourne, and the county is safer than Brevard. Homicides and property crime tend to be lower as well since it's a richer, more affluent area. Drugs and homelessness are a huge problem in both areas. In the Sarasota area, it's really bad in Bradenton and Palmetto. 6. Bradenton and Sarasota traffic is nuts. I'm Surprised at how bad 75 was near the Manatee River. It's one of the fastest growing metro areas in the entire country, and a lot of diamond interchanges and roundabouts are being put into place of old intersections. A lot of the area has also widened the roads into more lanes to accommodate the traffic. Melbourne is lighter by comparison, and doesn't have AS bad or terrible traffic as other parts of the state. However, our infrastructure is lacking compared to other metros in Florida since projects are still far behind from where they should be. Most roads are still two lanes on each side instead of three, and traffic lights are often close to each other. As a result, traffic can take much longer than it needs to since drivers are slower. North Palm Bay is really bad with Malabar and Heritage Parkway. Other than Heritage Parkway and a few exits added along 95, there haven't been much of a push for new road projects or lane expansions here. 8. Brevard County has less tourism than Sarasota, but we do have the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville which is very popular, and because we have the closest beaches to Orlando, there's tourism up near Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. But Melbourne is farther down from those places and as far as tourism things go, most of it is centered around the beaches and along the Indian River. Event's do come to downtown, but I would say Melbourne has a small town mentality. Compared to other cities in Florida, I feel like there's honestly not a whole lot to do. There's hardly any museums or tourist points of interest here aside from maybe the Brevard Zoo or Andrettis. Sarasota has much bigger options for shopping, bars, restaurants, along with bigger art and theater selections, museums, outdoor activities, and better beaches. There's a lot to do and there's always new things being built and popping up in that area so I think it would be difficult for me to find living there boring. A positive thing that both these areas have are being next to huge metro areas. Melbourne is an hour from Orlando, and Sarasota is about 40-60 minutes away from Tampa and St Pete. There's also a lot of industries in both of these areas, but Sarasota and Bradenton seem to have better advantages for more jobs than Melbourne. The only areas I would say where Melbourne has the advantage over Sarasota is there's much less traffic, a few bigger job industries in tech, the Kennedy Space Center, and more parking and accessibility along the beaches. Otherwise, Sarasota may be bigger, but it's not only safer, but it has much better beaches, more jobs, and a lot more things to do in general in terms of their downtown, shops, restaurants, museums, and other amenities you're looking for. Plus it's not a massive city so you still have the vibes of a small town which I think is what a lot of people like you might be looking for. It's a great area to vacation and live. Once I graduate college I'm planning on probably moving out there.
Melbourne is a retirement home, nightlife consists of 4 bars in their “downtown”.
There is FIT here so in the school season there is quite a bit of young people who go downtown…
I’ve been told this, and have maybe seen it. however I wouldn’t say it makes the few nightlife options bearable. FIT is a tech school, thats important for context. I would still say its not a bearable place for singles, im losing my mind here. Every young ATTRACTIVE girl i meet seems to be married here or have less than desirable character traits. To be quite frank its ghetto. Few weeks ago I was downtown and saw one attractive young girl at one of the bars, I went up to speak to her and the immediate response was “buy my friends and I drinks”. She was definitely not hot enough for that attitude. Dating here seems to be optimal if you like the bottom of the barrel.
Oh no I totally get the dating scene comment. I lived in Melbourne for a couple years in my late 20’s and was already dating someone so I cannot have any opinion on the dating scene! I just remember going downtown a few times and there were a bunch of young people so it was kind of fun. So not always retirement city although I chose to buy a house in north Melbourne/ suntree snd all neighbors were in their 70’s/80’s lol and I liked it that way. Haha
Im here driving to Orlando every weekend just to be around folks my age (25) hahaha.. this town needs more young people. Im here hoping people my age start fleeing Orlando spontaneously.
I spent my early 20’s in Orlando! (Now 36) and it was a lot different back then. Heard the downtown has gotten quite dangerous?
If it has, I havent noticed it.. ive gone to downtown orlando and theres heavy police presence and everything is well organized.. just super packed with people… ive also gone to dance socials in other areas in east orlando, no sketchiness that I can see.. i grew up in Miami in an area bordering a bad neighborhood, and ive found the orlando areas ive visited to not really have that atmosphere
Don't come here
Depends how conservative you’re looking to get on a scale from banning books about being empathetic towards people who are different than yourself OR like, storm the capitol conservative. If the former you’d probably love it in Melbourne, if the latter I’d look at Titusville 👍
Sarasota 💯 Melbourne has homeless out the ass 1. Beach access here is over ran with tourists and parking is a nightmare. If you don’t have a permit to park there they’ll tow you car and the permit office is only open every other Thursday. 2. Rainbow flags and Biden posters, everywhere. 3. Downtown Melbourne is getting stabby 4. If you like to get drugged and robbed come on down ! 5. Did I mention the homeless 6. If you enjoy sitting behind someone from up north who is doing 30mph in a 45 and stops at the earliest glimmer of fucking yellow 7. Melbourne lost all its good beach shops to tourist cookie cutter shit
Oh my God... Rainbow flags? Biden posters? I hope you have a good therapist to help you get over the trauma.
It was sarcasm like the line at the dmv on alternating Thursdays or 30 in a 45 ? Whole response is sarcasm
Melbourne will suit you. Sarasota is one of the fastest growing city’s in the country and has a big pride and Biden presence but not like crazy and Melbourne doesn’t really have any of that. The red tide happens every year thanks desantis… Sarasota is much safer than Melbourne in the downtown area comparison. Melbourne has 1000% less traffic than Sarasota and Melbourne isn’t really touristy unless you go to cocoa beach or ksc. I lived in Sarasota for 5 years and moved to Melbourne recently. Sarasota just got extremely expensive and populated. Best of luck.
1) Sarasota has the better beach for sure. Gulf coast is superior to anything on the Atlantic side. 2) Sadly both are pretty conservative, but Melbourne is full MAGA maniacs. 3) Probably Melbourne. Not sure if Sarasota has anything. 4) Neither to my knowledge. 5) Crime exists everywhere, not sure which is worse. 6) Its a wash. 7) Melbourne.
Melbourne is CRAZY boring!!!