Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne, FL
Factoids

Size

Melbourne is Brevard County, Florida's second largest city. This city has 65,000 residents, is 30 square miles and is considered the hub of South Brevard.

History

Melbourne, in South Brevard County, originally was a training area for soldiers during the Civil War. Some soldiers, who were attracted to the river and the ocean, returned and bought land at 5 cents per acre. After the Civil War, pioneer families arrived and Melbourne was founded in the late 1860's by former slaves. The city was named after the first postmaster's home city of Melbourne, Australia. The first school in Melbourne was built in 1883 and is now part of the Florida Tech campus.

Climate

Summer highs are in the mid 80's while the winter highs are in the low 70's. Melbourne experiences brief late afternoon rains, but the average of sunny days in the area is 300!

Day Trips from Melbourne

Nation-reknown places, such as Disney World, Sea World, MGM Studios and Cape Canaveral are just an hour's drive from Melbourne.

Beach

In the Melbourne/Palm Bay area, 33 miles of uncrowded, clean and sandy Atlantic beaches are available. One of these public beaches is Spessard Holland in Melbourne Beach.

Housing Options

Brevard County is ranked first in the south and tenth in the nation as one of the most affordable places to buy a home. Homes which reside in neighborhoods by the beach are generally 20 percent more expensive, however, they are still reasonably priced. Another plus is that Florida homeowners get property tax breaks!

Tourism in Brevard County

Tourism is the number one revenue producing industry in Florida. Tourism provides 20% of the total state budget for services. It contributes an estimated 14% of the annual school budget. Broken down, this is paid for by 16.2% on motor fuel & gasoline, 27.3% on retails, 52.4% on restaurant sales, 78.5% on admissions, 78.9% in taverns and bars and 87.1% in hotels and motels by tourists.

Dining

The local cuisine includes a variety of restaurants in different categories, such as: casual, Chinese & Japanese, ethinic & gourmet, family, fast food, Italian and steak & seafood.

Outdoor Recreation

Minutes away from the Atlantic, Melbourne offers many water sports as well as on-land activities. You can engage in boating, fishing, sailboarding, scuba diving, surfing, water & jet skiing or camping, golf, hunting and tennis in several places in Melbourne.