12 Things You Only Understand If You Grew Up In Melbourne Florida

If you grew up in Melbourne Florida, you HAVE to read these 12 things.

As a Melbourne, FL native I can easily say that I have gotten everything. From strange looks to common questions regarding the place dearest to my heart, I cannot express how much love I have for my small hometown. There’s nothing more annoying (but surprisingly all us Melb peeps take pride in) than meeting new people and getting the same reaction. If you grew up in Melbourne Florida, you HAVE to read these 12 things.

1. “OMG are you from Australia?” “Where’s your accent?”

Yes. I hear this statement about 1 in every 5 people I meet. Tragic, I know. Even though Melbourne is not a popular Florida destination I would like for every person who is about to blurt this out to check your geography real quick. To answer your question, no I am not from Australia and no I do not have an accent. I grew up in Melbourne FLORIDA.

2. The beach is everything.

The beach in general is already great but a Melbourne beach is 10 times better. West coast best coast my butt because east coast is where it’s at! I would spend my mornings running along the coast and look out for baby sea turtles making their way towards the ocean. This was probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen and very rewarding after a long run.

3. Speaking of beach, you will know the battle between Mainland vs. Beachsiders.

For some reason this was a big discussion and debate over which side was better. Of course, I was in on this battle because let’s be, real high school debates over the place you live in were fun. In the end, we still both live in Melbourne just one side is more “bougie” than the other

#TEAMMAINLAND

4. Runaway Country.

Although I’ve never been, I regret not going when I had the opportunity. I used to hate country music and found this festival to be a large amount of drunks who wear cowboy boots and drink cheap, nasty beer. Well, little did I know I ended up loving country music and found out that famous country artists would come here such as Luke Bryan, the Rascal Flatts and Florida Georgia Line only to name a few.

5. Sonic Booms from Rocket Launches don’t phase you.

You can differentiate a Melbournian from a tourist by seeing whether or not they flinch when they hear the loud BOOM during a rocket launch. It comes to the point where we would sit and count how long it takes for the lift off and then the sonic boom right after.

6. Going on a shopping spree meant taking an hour drive to Orlando.

Driving to Orlando was always so exciting, it’s like going to an actual city! Amazing. I always came back with a new wardrobe but also a wallet/bank account internally screaming. Don’t get me wrong, Melbourne is great and all but if we had actual stores it would be even better.

7. There’s a difference between Melbourne and Melbourne Beach.

Yes, we are that extra and no we are not sorry for it. I don’t really know the history behind it but it has something to do with dividing the area and a disagreement. Don’t even get me started with there being a West Melbourne as well.

8. The Sun Shoppe is probably the only coffee shop we have in town.

Sad but true. Hopefully they added some new places around town since I graduated but the OG is, and will always be, Sun Shoppe. Thank you for providing me a study, date and chill place to go when we didn’t know what else to do.

9. You only went to the Kennedy Space Center during field trips.

This is the sad truth. I take pride in living so close to here but the tickets are just so damn expensive. Love ya NASA but there’s just so many rockets I can see in a year.

10. Seeing the Ron Jon’s Surf Shop billboard on the way back from a trip means you’re close to home!

Always a comforting sight but lately I’ve noticed it making their way towards the north. I actually saw one in the middle of no where on my way back home around 30 minutes away from Gainesville. Nothing but respect for my billboards.

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11. That recent shipwreck at Spessard Holland beach has been the go to photo place.

That famous ship that is aesthetically pleasing but starting to annoy the people living in condos nearby. Laos fun fact, it’s owned by some guy in prison and the city can’t do anything about it since it costs a lot of money to remove it. In the meantime, get all your photo ops here!

12. You wouldn’t want to grow up anywhere else!

I have so much love for my tiny beach town. There’s just enough to do and the people in it makes it even better. Melbourne will always have a special place in my heart and I couldn’t be more thankful for being able to live in such a great place for 18 years. I am proud to say I grew up in Melbourne Florida.

Although Melbourne, FL has been known as “MelBORING” or “there’s nothing to do here” I still back my homie up 100%. I for one love this city and consider raising a family here myself. Who doesn’t love a cozy little area filled with people of all kinds and just a happy-go-lucky environment that’s always welcoming? I hope you Melb peeps can relate to this and those who never heard of this place, consider going someday! It will be worth your time…trust me. If you grew up in Melbourne Florida but haven’t been back since? Well, what are you waiting for?!