Melbourne Arts and Culture

The Melbourne/Brevard County area is extremely welcoming to actors, artists, musicians, photographers and writers in all genres.
There are first class Art supply stores, photography, book stores and libraries for supplies and research.
The Maxwell King Center brings in national acts, from Rock legends to Tony Bennett.
Another important thing is that its very easy to get involved in the community and the Arts scene. I do wildlife photography and have found incredible promotional support from the Brevard Arts society here. It is very professional and very approachable group. email: at brezinal@artsbrevard.org

Melbourne and its communities are definitely receptive to new ideas and creativity.
Listed below are a few places/organizations in the area.

Brevard Museum of Art & Science
1463 Highland Avenue
P. O. Box 360835
Melbourne, FL 32936-0835
321-242-0737
American Watercolor Society
Hosted by a terrific watercolor Website that is full of info for watercolor artists
Brevard Cultural Alliance
Administers tax dollars for support to art in Brevard County.
Offers Art in Public Places Programs. Maintains a registry of art related events in the county.
Central Brevard Art Association
Located in Cocoa Florida, the organization offers exhibits and classes for Brevard County artists
Florida Watercolor Society
One of the largest state watercolor societies in the country. Annual meeting and exhibit every Fall
The Strawbridge Art League
The Strawbridge Art League Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization devoted to a facility in the Doc Strawbridge building (Eau Gallie) for working artists. The studios open daily for public business.
The Brevard Watercolor Society
Open to all media artists who are full time or winter residents of Brevard County.
MAXWELL C. KING CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS. Brevard Community College, 3865 N. Wickham Road. Melbourne
Titusville Art League, Inc.
1421 Draa Road
(across from Draa Field)
P.O. Box 6133
Titusville, FL 32782-6133
Community Theatre-There are 13 organizations

Bayside Players
1153 Malabar Road, Suite 18. Call (321) 729-8435
Brevard friends of Shakespeare
625 E. New Haven Ave., Melbourne. Call (321) 723-8698.
Brevard Symphony orchestra
http://www.brevardsymphony.com/index2.html
Space Coast Writers Guild
SCWG, P.O. Box 262, Melbourne, FL 32902-0262
There’s more-much more. So if you’re a creative type-you really need to consider Melbourne and Brevard County.

Cost of Living

The cost of living index is based on the composite price of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, clothing and entertainment.

Cost of living indexes will generally be higher in areas that offer access to beaches, culture, arts and recreation. In addition areas, that offer a wider variety of services such as health and education will run higher due to higher wages, and increased quality of living.

Cost of living indexing explanation
A figure of 100 points is used as an average both for the USA and Florida. For example:
Boise Idaho is ranked at a 99
Boston Mass is rated at 240
San Francisco at 217
Statewide, Florida cities come in from a low of 90 and up.
One way to compare Florida areas to salary requirements
For example-If you were relocating from Portland Oregon (whose rate 1s 110) to Melbourne fl, and you currently make $50,000 per year, the formula is as follows
Take the destination index, in this case Melbourne-92.72 and divide by Portland’s index-110, then multiply by a salary of $50,000.
This will give you a figure of $42,145.00 which would be required to make in Melbourne to have the same quality of life.

See comparable Florida statewide

2008-09 stats Source C2ER formerly accra-col index and http://www.bestplaces.net/

Boca Raton-154.74
Cape Coral-Ft Myers-99.6
Ft Lauderdale-137.0
Destin-145.61
Jacksonville metro-97.1
Big Pine Key fl-132.46
Key Largo-146.9
Key West-167.97
Marathon fl-162.06
Miami metro-137.41
Melbourne-92.72
Naples Fl-250.59
Orlando metro-101
Palm Bay-84.56
Palm Coast-Flagler-125.01
Panama City-86.35
Pensacola metro-82.0
Sarasota-107.2
Tampa 97.3
St Pete-Clearwater-95.6
Vero-Beach Indian River-122.87
West Palm Beach metro-112.05
(Population Weighted-State Average=100
See national comparisons
Cost of living (100 = nationwide average)

* New York, NY -164.50
* Long Beach, CA -135.71
* Palo Alto, CA -234.42
* Boston, MA -127.60
* Malibu, CA -492.80
* San Francisco, -187.23
* Greenwich, CT 215
* Chicago, IL -126.45
* Dallas Tx -92,94
* Atlanta Ga -112.21
For more information about cost of living go to either Sperlings best Places http://www.bestplaces.net/
or Accra's site at http://www.coli.org/

The Melbourne area (Brevard County) is ranked at 92.72 on the price index.
Go to the link below to get more information regarding City and Municipal services.
http://www.melbourneflorida.org/serv/

A personal observation: Melbourne is a small city and so the drive time to shopping, recreation etc is short…meaning you won’t burn as much gas, which in this day and age is definitely a help. I find the car insurance and home insurance rates very reasonable. (If you live on or near the water and require flood insurance, the rates will be higher)

In conclusion, Melbourne is a great place to live.

Health

In addition to living in a town with great beaches and lots of outdoor recreational opportunities, Melbourne and Brevard County are home to some of the best Hospitals and healthcare facilities in the State. In addition to this, life in Melbourne is less stressfull, due to quicker commute times and a definite small town atmosphere.

DEVEREUX HOSPITAL & CHILDREN'S CENTER OF FLORIDA
MELBOURNE
CIRCLES OF CARE
MELBOURNE
HEALTHSOUTH SEA PINES REHABILITATION HOSPITAL
MELBOURNE
HOLMES REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
MELBOURNE
REHABILITATION HEALTHSOUTH HOSPITAL
MELBOURNE.
PARRISH MEDICAL CENTER
TITUSVILLE
HEALTH FIRST/CAPE CANAVERAL HOSPITAL
COCOA BEACH
WUESTHOFF MEDICAL CENTER,
ROCKLEDGE
WUESTHOFF MEDICAL CENTER,
MELBOURNE
PALM BAY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
PALM BAY
Brevard County also offers:

37 assisted Living facilities.
17 Nursing homes
11 Adult Day care facilities
24 Health care clinics
In addition to all this, you also have the nearby communities of Orlando and Kissimmee with general and specialized medical centers.

Due to the amount of medical facilities and especially health First, medical jobs make up one of our leading employment categories.

The Brevard County Health Department http://www.doh.state.fl.us/chdBrevard/directory/clinic_loc.htm

For specific information and addresses go to
http://facilitylocator.floridahealthstat.com/

Schools

Brevard County has 97 public and private elementary and middle schools, 14 high schools, and 42 schools in an other classification
Some of the Listings:
Colleges/Universities:

Barry University
Florida Institute of Technology
University of Central Florida
Webster University
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Junior/Community Colleges:

Brevard Community College
Keiser College
Florida Metropolitan University
Brevard Community College (BCC) serves all sections of the county with campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Titusville and Palm Bay. The college's president says, "We are proud that one of every two citizens of Brevard County is served each year with classes, culture or events by BCC.

" Open Campus, a Patrick Center branch on the air force base and classes at Kennedy Space Center expand the community-oriented school's reach. The full two-year curriculum is also offered for home-based learners via WBCC TV68. BCC maintains a strong reputation for its academic programs. It's an important part of the 28-member system of state-supported, two-year community colleges.

The closest of the state's 10 major four-year schools is the University of Central Florida University (UCF) in Orlando, which maintains a branch in Brevard County. Highly respected academically, Florida Institute of Technology (a.k.a. Florida Tech), a four-year private university, is located on 175 landscaped acres in Melbourne.

Adult Education

Palm Bay Adult Education Ctr (321) 952-5914
101 Pirate Ln Melbourne, FL 32901

Programs Offered

Adult Basic Education (ABE) provides literacy instruction for students functioning at grade levels 0.0 through 8.9 on the TABE Test.
Adult High School Diploma (AHS) allows adult students to work toward their high school diploma.
Child Care Program is available before and after school at all public elementary schools in Brevard County except Holland Elementary.
Citizenship classes prepare ESOL students for success in the Naturalization process.
Enrichment classes offer low cost community education in a wide variety of subjects including basic computer skills.
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teaches communication skills and cultural competencies.
Family Literacy includes the Zoo Explorers Project which provides literacy education for parents and remediation for students who are functioning below grade level.
GED Preparatory Instruction (GED) prepares a student to take the Official GED Tests.
Project Success for Adults with Disabilities is a transitional program to assist students in meeting their educational and career goals.
In addition to the schools offered in Brevard County, Orlando is just 67 miles away, which makes all their facilities usable.

In conclusion, Melbourne and the Brevard county area, has great educational resources and due to the increase in residents and home appreciation, the tax base is increasing meaning even more schools in the future.

Weather

You can lay in the sun on 33 miles of beaches at least 300 days a year.
True, it rains at least a little 115 days of the year, but most of the county's average annual rainfall of 50.2 inches falls on sultry, mostly sunny summer afternoons--just in time to cool the air and freshen the spirits. A balmy 73 degrees Fahrenheit is the average year-round temperature. In January, the temperature averages 62 degrees, in August 81.5 degrees.

For more specific information regarding weather, wind, rain as it applies to each month go to the following site.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Melbourne-Florida.html

Another nice thing about the climate here is that it does cool off at night as compared to the more Southern parts of Florida. In Melbourne for example, we see a 20 degree drop day to night whereas in the Keys it averages 10 degrees.
All in all the weather here is great.

To see average January temperatures across the United States go to http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/thematic-maps/usa-temprature-january.html

Compare these to Melbourne.
Remember we spend the majority of our life indoors…sleeping and working. So when we are off, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to spend it outside in nice weather!

More about Hurricanes:

I moved to Melbourne Florida (central east coast) partly because the area NEVER got hurricanes (and in fact the whole northeast and central Florida coast is in a geographical bight that in fact does not get hit, but Melbourne is on the cusp, a bit south).

In fact, Lots of people have moved here from other parts of Florida in part because there aren’t many weather dangers here. True, we DID have a couple of hurricanes in 2004, but it had been decades before that.
Moreover, if you lived inland just a few miles that summer of 2004, because of the buffer of the long barrier island and the wide ICW/Indian River Lagoon, the net effects of the hurricanes were pretty mild.

In any case, the likelihood per the historical record of that happening again remains very low. The reality is that the weather on both Florida’s east and west coast is great, and you really don’t have to worry yourself through hurricane season, like folks perhaps do in some other parts of Florida (the Keys, the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico).
Bottom line? I would be remiss if I did not tell you that hurricanes are a potential fact of life. But what I’ve outlined above underscores the reality that the very occasional occurrence is the exception, absolutely not the summertime rule.

More Info and observations:

Despite four devastating hurricanes in 2004, the number of Florida visitors rose 7% to an all-time high of 79.8 million last year and is on target to hit 80 million this year. Florida tourism generates about $57 billion annually and employs 912,700.
If you live on the coast you stand the greatest chance of having one affect you. Some areas of Florida have gone fifty years plus without one but you never know.
As a resident having lived in the Keys and now in central Florida I’ve been through them.
In my opinion, the best thing you can do is buy a home that was built after Andrew-August 92 that was built to stricter building codes. Have window protection and a backup generator and make sure your insurance is up to date. If they ask you to leave, do it!
Realize-If you live in an older home that was not built up to the stricter building codes (After Hurricane Andrew-August 1992) or you live in a mobile home you stand the best chance of having major structural damage.
Living on the beach in a mobile home is asking for it. Although, you may never have a problem, you’re still definitely taking your chances. Barrier islands and open-water beaches are the most prone to damage.
Having lived in California, I prefer the threat of a hurricane however as opposed to an earthquake. At least you have a warning.
For current information about hurricanes go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
For 2005 climate info by areas go to http://www.coaps.fsu.edu/climate_center/LCD/2005LCD.html
For current weather forecasts by cities go to http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/fl/fl.html
*Living in a waterfront home typically means that you will pay a higher Insurance premium. The insurance is higher due to flood and wind concerns.
Part of this is also because the pricing on these homes is higher so there is more value to insure against.
Having said all this, I can’t imagine living elsewhere. It is really great to wake up and it’s sunny out.

We spend over half our lives indoors…so when you do go outside, wouldn’t it be nice if it was warm and sunny?