Vero Beach Podcast - Meet Your Neighbors. Support Local. ™
Welcome to the Vero Beach Podcast—where we share the stories behind the businesses, makers, and dreamers shaping our community.
Each week, we’ll sit down with local business owners and community leaders to hear their journeys—the highs, the lows, and everything in between. From family-owned shops to bold startups, you’ll get to “meet your neighbors” and discover what makes Vero Beach such a vibrant place to live, work, and visit.
Because when we know the stories, it changes how we shop, connect and care for our community,
Meet Your Neighbors. Support Local. ™
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Vero Beach Podcast - Meet Your Neighbors. Support Local. ™
Coconut Casita - Part 3: Every Corner Has a Soul
From snowsuits to flip-flops and surfboards, Linda's journey to Vero Beach began with skepticism but quickly transformed into a 25-year love affair with this charming Florida coastal town. Despite her initial resistance—"I've done spring break, I've done Florida"—Linda found herself captivated by the lush greenery and stunning beauty of Vero Beach during what was supposed to be a brief reconnaissance trip for her husband's job opportunity.
Linda's story takes us from beachfront living (where she learned that salt air "eats everything") to the historic district near the arts village, and finally to Coconut Casita, her current home and thriving vacation rental. Her insights about Vero Beach living are invaluable for anyone considering a move to the area—you're never more than nine minutes from either the ocean or the river, offering endless opportunities for kayaking, paddleboarding, and beach walks without necessarily dealing with the maintenance challenges of oceanfront property.
What truly makes Vero Beach special, according to Linda, is its soul. Local coffee shops know your order before you place it, art "paints the sky and buildings," and vintage stores "smell like the seventies and smell like a dream." She beautifully articulates the community feeling that the podcast hosts themselves have discovered: "Everybody knows your name. Everybody waves, everybody cares." It's this strong sense of community that inspired the creation of the Vero Beach Podcast—to share these stories and showcase the unique character of a place where "every place is a story." Whether you're planning a visit, considering a move, or already call Vero Beach home, Linda's perspective provides a heartfelt glimpse into what makes this coastal paradise so special. Check out Coconut Casita at coconutcasita.com or follow on Instagram to experience a piece of this magical community yourself.
Presented by Killer Bee Marketing
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All right, welcome back to the Vero Beach podcast. This is part three of our recording with Linda at the Coconut Casita, so during this episode we're going to talk about Vero Beach. What do you love most about Vero Beach? Did you grow up in Vero?
Speaker 2:Beach. No, no, I did not grow up here and my husband was working. He was contracting with a company that opened up doors here. They looked all over Florida and they wanted to find the best little town and they opened up their doors here. It was called MC Miller and they kept sweetening the deal, sweetening the deal, and I said, no way, I've done spring break.
Speaker 2:We were in New York, we were in the Catskills at the time. I'm like I've done spring break, I've done that, I've done Florida. And as we drove down, I'm like I've done Spring Break, I've done that, I've done Florida. And as we drove down, just to take a little reconnaissance, we took the plane, came on down and as we drove down A1A and hit Vero Beach and it was so green and so beautiful and his company treated us like kings and queens and we stayed in just little local hotels and started falling in love and so we stayed here and I said if we're going to stay here, we're living on the beach.
Speaker 2:So for our first year and a half we lived on the beach and soon realized, like boy, that's tough because the salt air eats everything, but it was absolutely beautiful. So it just cemented how much we love this community and lived in a little great little neighborhood in a little old area that is now a historic area. It's the historic district and it's right next door to the arts village, which you guys really need to take advantage of seeing what's going on there, because it's beautiful.
Speaker 2:And then when my mom moved down, we found this place. So we've been in Bureau for 25 years now. So the kids came and it was nice giving up the snowsuits for flip-flops and surfboards.
Speaker 1:So that's my youngest.
Speaker 2:You know, this is what she knows the most is Vero Beach.
Speaker 1:Listen, everybody that's tuning in and listening. If you're thinking about moving to Vero, pay attention to every single thing that our guests say, because we've always dreamed of living on the beach and right now, now that we live, I think we're nine minutes from the beach, seven minutes, seven minutes from the beach. And as we looked for places to buy, you know, probably the next three or four years, uh, which I'm probably gonna get hit up by real estate agents like crazy now, uh, but as we're looking to buy in the next three or four years, shauna has said maybe we can move closer to the water. I was like maybe we can move just a few more minutes inland, just because I mean it's way cheaper, just like five more minutes inland. We're only. I mean we're seven minutes right now, but never thought about the salt water if you lived on the beach.
Speaker 2:So sea bay salt water, you know, causes some issues, so just keep that in mind, Although for many it's really really worth it, and it was absolutely wonderful waking up and just opening your doors and hearing the ocean and going for walks every morning, but anywhere in Vero Beach. You're no farther than you know. You're nine minutes.
Speaker 1:And so we're spoiled.
Speaker 2:And we have the beautiful river which we can, you know, we can kayak and paddleboard and boat ride and fish. So it really is a beautiful.
Speaker 1:Do you ever rent boats around here?
Speaker 2:There are places and in my guidebook I have many places listed where people can rent kayaks and boats. There's all sorts of places, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think actually your guidebook. What were some of the places we learned about? First, when we looked at Linda's?
Speaker 2:guidebook.
Speaker 1:Kilted Mermaid. We learned from there. And then there was somewhere else. We went and I can't think of oh it was a taco dive oh yeah, taco dive yeah I love highlighting local places, small local places.
Speaker 2:um, you know, vero, my favorite thing is that you, you can, you can feel the soul around every corner and you go to your coffee spot and they know what you want and you, there's, there's, there's art that that is painting the sky and the buildings, and there's artists, and around every corner, and there's, there's, there's, there's art that that is painting the sky and the buildings, and there's artists, and around every corner, and there's, there's little vintage stores that smell like the seventies and smell like a dream. I mean, we've, we've got phenomenal thrift stores, and the businesses aren't just shops. There's stories. Every place is a story, and there's so many hidden ones and beautiful ones.
Speaker 1:I love that, and so it's so exciting about the podcast is that we want to bring up more of those stories.
Speaker 2:I love that you're doing that.
Speaker 1:What really caught me there is you talked about how the coffee shops and stuff people know what you want. They know you. There was something said to me when we moved here in January and it was just recently, I guess it was in April when I was like I know what we need to do, we need to launch this podcast. And it was because I was having lunch with somebody and I was processing like what is it here in Vero? We love Vero, we love the community here. The more people we meet, the more stories we hear. So the person I was at lunch with said people here at this restaurant, they know you by name. It's like cheers. Now, anybody that's younger aren't going to know what cheers is, but it's just basically where everybody, everywhere you go, everybody knows your name.
Speaker 2:Everybody waves, everybody craps, everybody cares.
Speaker 1:And that's what I knew. I was like that's that's what it is. It's the community here. The community is amazing. So, uh, so yeah, that's what we absolutely love about V and love that you took the time to sit down and have a podcast with us to come and share part of your story.
Speaker 2:I'm delighted, I love that you're doing this and opening up Vero and its hidden secrets and gorgeous places and its soul to everybody. So thank you for what you do.
Speaker 1:Anybody that you know. If you know anybody that you're like, hey, they should be on your podcast. Let us know if they'd be good for it.
Speaker 2:I've got a list. Awesome, I have a list.
Speaker 1:And anybody listening. You can in the show notes. There's a link right there you can click to text us. You can text us some information or connect with us on Instagram or Twitter. Pretty soon we'll be launching a website. It'll probably be launched when this episode drops. So go to mybrowbeachcom and you can contact us there. Let me ask you a couple more questions before we wrap up. What does support local mean to you personally?
Speaker 2:when it comes to support local, Support local means literally the faces that are running the businesses and the stories behind those faces, and that's what I want to anybody that comes here. I want them to know that and feel that. Feel it in their, just in their heart.
Speaker 1:Linda, what is the best way you would encourage people to kind of learn more about Coconut Casita?
Speaker 2:Well, the simplest way is coconutcasitacom.
Speaker 1:We have a website.
Speaker 2:On the website there's some pictures and you can book us through Airbnb. We have Instagram, which is Coconut Casita, vero Beach. I believe that sounds right.
Speaker 1:I think so. I think that's right.
Speaker 2:And we have a Facebook page too.
Speaker 1:Linda, thank you so much for joining us and coming to share your story on the Vero Beach podcast. We loved having you. We know this won't be the last time we see you. Thank you, we podcast.
Speaker 2:We loved having you. Oh, we know this won't be the last time we see you.
Speaker 1:It's a thank you. We have so many great memories here. It's been great learning more about your story, even rekindling some funny stories from the tea kettle. And, if you know, we do plan on coming and staying again, cause I know Shawnee even said she's like even though that we live here.
Speaker 2:I want to go stay there. I was like we world and when we come back.
Speaker 1:Well, you already have a label on the tea kettle, but I'm still not touching it.
Speaker 2:No, that cabinet will be locked.
Speaker 1:Thank you, thank you, thank you. Everybody thanks for tuning in to the Vero Beach podcast. We hope you guys have enjoyed it and, if you have, please make sure you leave us a review. That helps other people learn more about your local podcast and.
