Daytona Beach

Home Sweet Home    Find a Realtor    Find a Company    Vital Stats    Rain & Shine    Job Market    Class Notes    Getting Around

Great Outdoors    Good Sports    Hot Times    Shop 'til You Drop    Nightlife    College Scene    Just for Seniors

Home Sweet Home

With so much to offer--a friendly community close to the Atlantic Ocean, the Intracoastal Waterway and the Halifax River--it's somewhat surprising that home prices aren't higher than they are. Yet homes here are very affordable. The Daytona Beach area offers housing choices in a wide price range--from $80,000 to $495,000--according to the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors. The median sales price for existing single-family homes in the two-county MSA (Volusia and Flagler counties) was $85,500 in 1999, up 5 percent from 1998. A 1,580-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath, two-car garage home on one-third of an acre is a lot of house for under $100,000. In eastern Volusia County--Daytona Beach and environs--condominium units are plentiful and represent about one-fourth of the single-family housing inventory.

New Smyrna Beach is a small beachside community that's close to major attractions in Orlando, Daytona Beach and Cape Canaveral yet manages to maintain to small-town atmosphere. Homes here range from $29,900 to $785,000, reports the New Smyrna Beach Board of Realtors. Seventy percent of the local housing inventory is single-family homes; 30 percent is condominium units. Area homes, while quite affordable, are priced slightly above the region's median price. In 1999, for example, the median price for an existing, single-family home in the Daytona Beach MSA (Volusia and Flagler counties) was $85,500, yet the median sales price for an existing, single-family home in New Smyrna Beach (located in Volusia County) was $87,365. Since part of New Smyrna Beach is on a barrier island, waterfront property on either the Atlantic Ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway is available. Existing waterfront property costs about $100 per square foot; new waterfront property is about $126 per square foot. Existing golf-course property is $51 per square foot; new golf-course property is $58 per square foot.

Several lovely small- and medium-size towns comprise the western part of Volusia County. Single-family homes dominate the housing market in the mid-size towns of DeLand (county seat), Deltona, DeBary and Orange City as well as in the charming villages of DeLeon Springs, Lake Helen, Glenwood and the fern-producing center of Pierson. Each of the towns has its own distinct personality, but prices are quite affordable throughout the area, which is served by the West Volusia Association of Realtors. In fact, the entire MSA (Volusia and Flagler counties) is characterized by reasonably priced housing, with $85,500 the median sales price of existing single-family homes for December of 1999. The West Volusia region is a popular residential area conveniently located between the more metropolitan areas of Orlando and Daytona Beach. Newer home developments include Cross Creek, where prices start at about $120,000, and the DeBary Golf & County Club, where homes start at $175,000.

Vital Stats

The Daytona Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Volusia and Flagler counties.

Population: 423,409
Median age: 42.3
New citizens: 7,080
New job creation: 3.0 (1999)
Unemployment rate: 2.9 percent August, 1999
Cost of living: 96.38 percent (U.S. average=100 percent)
Per capita income: $19,787 (MSA)
Median household effective buying income: $28,253

Rain & Shine

July, August and September are warm, but a breeze off the Atlantic Ocean is the rule rather than the exception, and late afternoon thundershowers also help keep things cool. The average July high is 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit; the average January low is 47.6 percent. Average annual rainfall is 50.2 inches, but it rains--on average--at least a little bit on 115 of the year's 365 days. It snows--once in a blue moon. Statistically average annual snowfall is 0.1 inches--1/10 of an inch, so winter isn't a worry in Daytona Beach. The ocean's water stays warm well into the autumn months. Tourists swim year-round, but locals usually prefer the warm surf temperatures more typical of May through November.

Job Market

In Flagler County, the service sector accounts for about one-third of the jobs. Flagler County's leading private employers are Palm Coast Data Inc. (700), Sea Ray Boats Inc. (720), H.P. Reid Co. (214), ABB CEAG Power Supplies, Inc. (180), American Radionic Company, Inc. (150) and The Wittemann Company, Inc. (80).

Volusia County owes much of its economic success to tourism. Race fans and motorcyclists and college students on break bring in big bucks every spring. Other major private industries include Halifax Community Health Systems (3,554), Memorial Health Systems (2,200), Embry Riddle (1,081), Atlantic Medical Center-Daytona/Ormond (880), The News Journal (860), Sherwood-Davis & Geek (850), Daytona Beach Community College (773), Stetson University (650), Florida Hospital-Fish Memorial (625) and Homac Manufacturing Company (550).

Class Notes

Extensive information about the schools in this area is online at the state's Department of Education (http://www.firn.edu/doe/doehome.htm). There you'll discover everything you'll need to know about Florida schools -- in general and in particular. All you need is the name of your county and the names of the schools students from your neighborhood attend.

Use links from the DOE home page for general information about entrance requirements, immunizations and so forth.

For the nitty-gritty details that really matter, click on the logo for the "Florida School Indicators Report."

Getting Around

Daytona Beach and much of Volusia County is equipped with major roads and transportation links. Daytona Beach International Airport is served by Delta and Continental airlines, which schedule flights to many domestic locations. And the award-winning Orlando International Airport is 50 miles or so from most parts of Volusia County. You'll find executive or municipal airports in several communities: DeLand, Ormond Beach and New Smyrna are among them. Spruce Creek Airport is another thing altogether. It's home base for about 300 airplanes owned by residents of the exclusive fly-in community.

Greyhound Bus Lines operates a Daytona Beach terminal. If you want to leave the county by passenger train, travel to DeLand and take Amtrak from there. Votran is Volusia County's transit service. It operates buses around the area and trolley service along Atlantic Avenue (Highway A1A) near the ocean from January through Labor Day. Another plus with Votran is its door-to-door transit service for disabled persons. Call ahead to make reservations for this special service. Taxis for hire and limousines for rent are also available, as are rental cars for visitors or residents with car trouble. Ports aren't a problem either. Port Canaveral maintains 12 cargo berths and several cruise ship berths at its 44-foot-deep facility. It's in northern Brevard County, just south of New Smyrna Beach. And the Port of Jacksonville is only about 90 miles north of Daytona Beach, even closer to Palm Coast.

Roads are good. Two interstate highways intersect here--Interstate 4 that crosses the state in an east/west direction from Tampa through Orlando to Daytona Beach and Interstate 95, which runs from Maine to Miami and travels right through the eastern sections of Flagler and Volusia County. Around the counties, U.S. Highway 1 travels north/south east of I-95. Even farther east, with an ocean view some of the time, you'll enjoy State Road AIA for its scenic beauty but not its traffic and traffic lights. Other important roads include U.S. Highway 92, north to DeLand, then east to Daytona Beach and State Road 40 that crosses the county east/west. In Flagler County, S.R. 11 runs north/south and C.R. 100 serves residents traveling in an east/west direction.

Great Outdoors

Most tourists who focus on the beaches and race track at Daytona Beach never discover that this is a great place to enjoy nature, Florida style. But residents and more discerning travelers know it well. During winter months, manatees winter in the 72-degree waters of Blue Spring. Visitors enjoy the spring, too, at Blue Spring State Park near Orange City, a place to view the gentle sea cows, to swim, dive, canoe, camp and picnic. Also in western Volusia, DeLeon Springs State Recreation Area is a favorite with locals. It's an old mill. The wheel is still there, but not operational. Nevertheless, it's become a place to swim, hike and canoe. A few hardy souls picnic here, but most choose to enjoy the homey atmosphere of the Old Spanish Sugar Mill & Griddle House, where patrons are allowed to cook their own griddle cakes right at their tables. On winter weekends when there's a chill in the air and a big fire in the mill's fireplace many people wait willingly for the privilege of cooking their own breakfasts. Also in the DeLeon Springs area is the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, a favorite with artists and photographers and walkers who enjoy spotting wildlife, including alligators. You'll be safe if you stay on the levees and out of the wetlands. Famous naturalists, John and William Bartram and John J. Audubon, discovered Lake Woodruff before you, but that shouldn't hamper your enjoyment. For a narrated ecologically informative riverboat ride, stop at Hontoon Landing Marina near DeLand and take a two-hour trip on the St. Johns River. You're likely to see eagles, hawks, osprey and other birds along with plenty of turtles and alligators. If your trip coincides with the winter visit of the manatees, you see them, too, when the boat stops at Blue Spring State Park.

Closer to the coast, the area offers up beautiful, hard-packed sand beaches, once the site of early auto races, now the destination of numerous sun-worshippers. But Daytona Beach isn't the only special beach in the area. Flagler County sports miles of pristine beaches. And in addition to the world's most famous beach in Daytona Beach, south Volusia County's little beachside community of New Smyrna Beach offers several public beaches, some you can take your car on and some that you can't. Just south of town is the beginning of the 24-mile stretch of beach called the Canaveral National Seashore that runs between New Smyrna Beach and the Kennedy Space Center. No cars are allowed on this beach, where dunes, sea oats, lagoons and wildlife are protected for the nation's enjoyment. Hiking trails and archeological sites augment what the beautiful beaches have to offer. In Port Orange, you can visit the Gamble Place in the Spruce Creek Preserve or take a self-guided nature walk among the wonders of this coastal wetlands region. At Tomoka State Park in northern Volusia around Ormond Beach, visit the 914-acre Tomoka State Park. Residents enjoy renting canoes or bringing their own for a quiet paddle along the Tomoka State Park. This site has a history, too, because it was both an Indian village and a plantation. You can also hike, fish or camp here.

Good Sports

Some 30 golf courses grace the area. One of the newest is the LPGA International, designed by Rees Jones as the home course of the ladies Professional Golfing Association, which is headquartered in Daytona Beach. Tennis courts are common. Marinas are both beautiful and good business with 25 or 30 in the area. They serve the thousands of fishermen and boaters who live here in the winter or year-round. Volleyball tournaments are popular, and there's even a frisbee golf layout at the corner of Nova Road and the International Speedway Boulevard. The Ocean Center is home ice to a minor league hockey team; even better, residents can skate here during certain times of the year.

Hot Times in the City

The Main Street Pier in Daytona Beach, complete with gondola, sky ride and boardwalk, is visited by millions every year. Equally enjoyable to browsers and popular with locals are the shops and restaurants on the recently revamped Beach Street, which is actually a bit farther from the beach than Main Street or Atlantic Avenue. For racing thrills at mega events like the Daytona 500 or Rolex 24, thousands flock yearly to Daytona International Speedway, but you can visit when the crowds are gone if you live here.

But this area offers lots more than pop culture and speed. The Museum of Arts and Sciences, located within a 60-acre park in Daytona Beach, is worth a visit. It houses period furniture and painting collections, a major Cuban art and furniture collection and several natural history exhibits. Additionally, high-quality touring exhibits add luster to the museum's calendar. In DeLand, the DeLand Museum of Art is part of a cultural center that includes a community theater operation. The museum itself is comparatively small but has some fine pieces and offers interesting curated exhibits on a regular basis. Across the street on the Stetson Campus, residents and students enjoy the art shows sponsored by the Duncan Gallery of Art. In Ormond Beach, the Casements, once a Rockefeller home, acts simultaneously as museum, park and cultural center.

Peabody Auditorium is home of the Daytona Beach Symphony Society, which sponsors the International Music Festival for several weeks every other summer. It's focused upon the London Symphony's numerous special performances, but many musical groups like chamber orchestras or organ soloists perform during the festival, although not always in the auditorium. Additionally, numerous name orchestras and ensembles from far and wide--Cleveland, Moscow, Jacksonville--visit Daytona Beach on a regular basis. The Ormond Performing Arts Center offers both community and children's theater in addition to touring companies. Besides a regular schedule of individual and group shows, the Art League of Daytona Beach hosts a full schedule of popular art classes. Seaside Music Theater usually offers plays in its winter season and musicals during the summer.

If lighthouses make your lights sparkle brightly, don't miss the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Museum. For history buffs, there's DeLand's historic downtown, rural Barberville's Pioneer Settlement (where you can see how the region's early settlers lived), the Birthplace of Speed Museum in Ormond Beach and the Halifax Historical Society Museum in Daytona Beach. Fun for car and bike fans is Mark Martin's Klassix Auto Museum on International Speedway Boulevard (Highway 92) in Daytona Beach, which features lots of old cars in period setting, some Bike Week scenes and an extensive collection of Corvettes.

Kids love the area's miniature golf courses and game arcades, not to mention visiting Dunn Toys & Hobbies in downtown Daytona Beach. Reportedly the biggest toy store in the South, it's a special place to buy or simply browse. Floor plans change weekly, challenging even repeat visitors at the giant maze at Castle Adventure, east of the Volusia Mall. Adults enjoy hearing the Bel Canto Singers or the DeLand Little Symphony, attending the Shoe String Theater or the Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach, watching the International Folk Dancers or the Daytona Beach Civic Ballet.

Major spring festivals and events include Bike Week, Spring Break, Ponce Inlet Art Festival and the LPGA Sprint Titleholders Championship. Summer highlights are Oceanfront Bandshell Concerts, Pepsi 400 and the Florida International Festival (alternate years). Fall brings Sand Pails & Kite Tails Festival, Ormond Beach Senior Games, Biketoberfest and the Daytona Skyfest Air Show. In winter, it's time for Light Up the Shores, the Halifax Art Festival, Kidsfest and Speedweeks, featuring the Daytona 500.

Shop 'til You Drop

On Saturday mornings, locals like to pick their produce from stands on City Island at the Farmer's Market. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the famous Daytona Flea and Farmers Market is operational at its convenient I-95 and U.S. Highway 92 location. In addition to 40 acres of covered booths, the market includes an air-conditioned antique mall.

For mainline stores and mall madness in shop 'til you drop volume, the 100-plus stores of the Volusia mall, including Burdines and Dillards, will keep even hardy shoppers busy. There's also a Daytona Beach Outlet Mall and Bellair Plaza beachside in addition to the quaint boutiques, shops and galleries of historic Beach Street. For the motorcycle maniac, everything you can think of in leather and Harley-Davidson logos is on Main Street.

In Ormond Beach, take a look at the many items sold in the Fountain Square complex on Granada Boulevard. For antiques of all types, one of your best bets is downtown DeLand, where antiques and architectural antiques are sold to astute shoppers. Out of the county, but also popular with locals, are the little antique shops of quaint Mount Dora and the large antique market outside town called Renninger's. Flagler County sports six shopping plazas but no major shopping complex.

Nightlife

Most of the nightclubs in the entire two-county region is located a few steps from the surf on Atlantic Avenue in Daytona Beach. Consider Splash Bar & Grill or the Clocktower Lounge located at Adam's Mark Daytona Beach Resort. Razzle's calls itself "Daytona's hottest nightclub" and tries to live up to the billing by staying open until 3 a.m. every night of the week. For dancing and an occasional concert, try "600 North" at the Treasure Island Inn.

But nightlife is more than nightclubs. For an evening out, dine at Karlings in DeLeon Springs or Pondo's in DeLand. In Daytona Beach, continental cuisine is featured at Clocktower's Restaurant at Adam's Mark. In Ponce Inlet, the seafood is as good at the view at Inlet Harbor Marina & Restaurant. For elegance and fine food, try seafood or steaks at the Chart House in Daytona Beach. In Ormond Beach , try La Crepe En Haut for fine French cuisine.

College Scene

DeLand is the home of Stetson University, a private, four-year liberal arts college. Embry Riddle University in Daytona Beach, also private, specializes in aeronautical education. Also in Daytona Beach is the historic Black institution of higher learning of Bethune-Cookman College, named after its founder, the remarkable Mary McCloud Bethune. A branch of the University of Central Florida is also in Daytona Beach, although the main campus is 50 miles away in Orlando. Daytona Beach Community College, part of the state's junior college system of two-year schools, operates several campuses that serve thousands of students for technical training or allow them to complete their first two years of college with an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree. With an A.A. degree, a Florida resident can apply to any of the states 10 major four-year universities.

Just for Seniors

Twenty-nine percent of Flagler County's population and 23 percent of Volusia County's citizens are 65 or older. Respite care, home-delivered meals, congregate meals, personal care, legal aid--you can find them here if you need them. Senior services abound, but some cost money. To discover what's available, what's private, what's public and which programs have waiting lists, call the Elder Helpline for professional information and referral assistance. In Flagler County, call 904/437-7300; in Volusia County, call 904/253-4700.