BDB: Woot. Woot. Brevard ranked No. 5 best place to live and more changes for the Cocoa Beach Pier

Jessica Saggio
Florida Today
This is a direct oceanfront, pool home in Satellite Beach listed for  $1.275 million. A similar property in nearby Vero Beach would list for $2.7 million, more than double the price in Brevard County.

RANKED

Well lookie loo, Brevard County. We’re getting some credit where credit is due.

Brevard was recently ranked the No. 5 best place to live in Florida by a company called SmartAsset (I see what you did there, SmartAsset).

The financial technology company released its list of best places to live based on median incomes and cost-of-living data.

SmartAsset put Brevard County's annual cost of living at $31,229 and the area's median income at $48,925 a year. That gives Brevard a "purchasing power" index rating of 70.94, whatever that means. #dontmakemedomath

Basically, we can buy stuff because it’s cheap to live here. We’re like the fifth best clearance rack in the shopping center of Florida counties.

 I mean, I’m pleasantly surprised. I thought for sure we’d get some kind of award for “most dollar stores per capita” or something like that. But hey, I’ll take the cheap housing award any day.

I mean, we all know why we love Brevard County, and I’m sure cost of living plays a part. Do I wish the ranking would mention things like “free backyard views of rocket launches” or “best People of Wal-Mart encounters”?  Yes. Yes I do. But I’ll take what I can get.

The counties that ranked ahead of us are Collier, Santa Rosa, Clay and St. Johns, in that order.

More:Brevard County ranks high for purchasing power, study shows

Plumping up the pier

The Cocoa Beach Pier is about to get bigger. The company that owns the pier is investing another $5 million to expand the iconic landmark, providing more space for restaurants and retail.

The first order of business? Revive the old Atlantic Ocean Grill. Construction should begin in September.

Westgate Resorts took over the pier back when it was a bit of a hot mess in 2014.

"When we bought it, it was pretty much a hangout for the dollar-beer crowd," said Mark Waltrip, Westgate Resorts chief operating officer. "It had a lot of less-than-desirable elements hanging around. You would see very few families hanging out there."

Pier owners have a vision to attract more tourists and families to the pier by adding attractions, such as carnival rides, and sprucing up the Feng Shui of the place.

 But back to the part about dollar beer… um… so can we go ahead and not get rid of that? K thanks bye.

More:Cocoa Beach Pier $5 million widening project in works

About BDB:


Boiled Down Brevard is an irreverent daily news column that discusses Brevard's biggest headlines and has a little fun along the way. Go ahead, hop on this crazy train because things get pretty weird around these parts. To get BDB daily, download the Florida Today app and allow notifications. We'll send you an alert every morning to get your day started with a smile. 

Follow Jessica on Twitter @JessicaJSaggio.