When companies weigh whether to move to Southeast Volusia, the first thing they usually look at are its obvious plusses: tax breaks, open land, a trained workforce, geographic convenience. Yet there’s another consideration that is just as vital to a company’s success, and one that many businesses tend to overlook, at least until after making the move. It’s the quality of life your employees will be able to have here.
The good life in Southeast Volusia is not just a nice fringe benefit. That’s a competitive advantage that you can use to bring in talent, keep your top people and create a stable workforce that does not want to leave. Here are those secret benefits that make owning part of Southeast Volusia more than just a good business decision.
Your Commute Just Got a Lot Shorter (Way, Way Shorter)
Forget the hourlong struggle through traffic that you deal with in major metro areas. In Southeast Volusia, most people live within 15 to 20 minutes of where they work. That’s 10 hours a week your employees get back in their lives. Ten hours they’re not sitting in traffic, burning gas, and showing up to work already exhausted.
Short commutes improve work-life balance, reduce stress and lead to employees who still have energy at the end of the day. It also offers a distinctive selling point when you are trying to woo staff from bigger cities where commuting times can be among the deal breakers for taking, or not taking, a job.
The Beach Is Actually Accessible
Yes, lots of places say they are “on the beach.” Yet in Southeast Volusia, the beach isn’t a place to save for vacation days. It’s part of everyday life.
New Smyrna Beach provides 13 miles of beautiful, uncrowded shoreline. Your workers can surf before work, lunch break with their toes in the sand or unwind on a sunset walk after a grueling day. The beaches here are not elbow-to-elbow tourist traps. They are areas where locals actually hang out and unwind.
Believe it or not, this actually matters for recruitment and retention. When gifted engineers, technicians and managers decide between job offers, “I can really use the beach” outweighs “there’s technically a beach two hours away in traffic.”
Real Estate That Makes Sense
Here’s a benefit that affects every employee you bring on: Housing in Southeast Volusia remains affordable compared to other Florida markets, and especially versus major manufacturing centers across the country.
Here, your employees can actually afford to buy a home. Not small condos or fixer-uppers, but actual houses with yards in safe communities. Construction costs are competitive, land is fairly valued and property taxes won’t kill you.
This means the salaries are worth more. Your compensation packages get more enticing because people can have a way into homeownership, into equity, into putting down roots. That stability directly translates to workforce retention.
Water, Water Everywhere
Southeast Volusia sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon, with inland springs and lakes scattered throughout the region. For people who love being on or near the water, this is paradise.
Edgewater, located along the Indian River Lagoon, attracts serious anglers who can pursue 680 species of fish and birders who can spot 300 species of birds. The city earned Blue Way Community designation from the Florida Paddling Trails Association for its extensive paddling trails. Oak Hill borders the iconic Canaveral National Seashore and Mosquito Lagoon, known for exceptional fishing, kayaking, and camping.
Your workforce isn’t just living here. They’re kayaking the Intracoastal on weekends, fishing world-class waters, paddling through pristine natural areas. These aren’t vacation activities they dream about. They’re regular parts of life that keep people happy, healthy, and engaged.
The Weather Actually Delivers
It’s no marketing hype that for much of the year, the weather is spectacular. It’s a daily fact of life that influences everything from energy prices, and lifestyle in general to the health of workers.
Outdoor activities all year round will ensure your employees can keep fit and healthy all year long. No scraping ice off windshields. No half-year of gray skies and cabin fever. No heating bills as large as mortgage payments.
The climate here also provides an environment for healthy habits like eating smart and physical activity that results in less sick days, reduced opportunity costs, and happier workers.
Town and Country Offering in a Small Quaint Setting But Just Minutes to the Big City
Because here’s one of the best-kept secrets: In Southeast Volusia, you get small-town community and hospitality without the small-town isolation.
Edgewater bills itself as The Hospitality City for its Southern ambience and social life. Oak Hill cherishes its “old Florida” roots while also being thoughtful of the future. New Smyrna Beach has a charming walkable beach-side downtown which features great restaurants and a lively arts community.
But you’re not isolated from the world. Daytona Beach International Airport offers easy access to the area’s local air service facilities. Orlando is close enough for a day trip or overnight stay. You have the benefit of neighborhood connections and community events, but without losing access to things that are urban when you want them.
Arts and Culture Beyond Expectations
New Smyrna Beach is one of America’s 100 best small art towns. The Atlantic Center for the Arts accepts artists-in-residence from across the spectrum of creatives. Images, an annual juried art show, is a draw for artists and patrons from around the South.
Monthly art walks, wine walks, car shows, food festivals and its music festival. FishStock for fishing enthusiasts. A Mardi Gras parade on a Fat Tuesday. There’s always something happening.
All that cultural richness is money in the bank when you’re trying to attract college-educated professionals who want a life, not just a job. Engineers, designers, technicians and managers aren’t just seeking a job. They’re seeking places they can actually have fun living in.
Education Your Employees Trust
Charter and private schools are popular in Southeast Volusia. Burns Science and Technology Charter School, a community and Kennedy Space Center supported STEM academy is located in Oak Hill. Options for higher education and workforce development are provided by Daytona State College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and other colleges and universities.
Parents can be confident about the education of their children, and employees wanting to upskill or switch careers now have local choices for training and degrees. This educational structure serves for family’s decisions and career development also.
Healthcare You Can Count On
Good health care matters for the stability of a work force, particularly as it expands and ages. Southeast Volusia has quality medical services and specialists close at hand. Major hospital facilities are easily accessible in Daytona Beach, as well as expanded facilities in nearby Orlando.
Employees and their families can receive the care they need without having to drive long distances or have their options limited. Well, that peace of mind is priceless.
The Manufacturing Community Is Real
It’s not that Southeast Volusia is taking a little manufacturing action on the side. This is home to a real industrial community with over 400 manufacturers who are already doing good business here.
Edgewater alone includes an emerging manufacturing base, specifically boat builders that build thousands of boats every year. Oak Hill is home to steel fabricators Sauer, Atlantic Steel and Southeast Steel.
Your employees won’t be stuck in an industrial park, wondering if they made the right career move. They’ll be part of a pre-existing manufacturing ecosystem with networking opportunities, shared expertise and career paths that don’t involve moving away.
Aviation Access for the Adventurous
Oak Hill is home to a fly-in community with a 3,200-foot airstrip. For employees and executives who are pilots or simply aficionados of aviation, that’s a corporate benefit you won’t find available in other manufacturing enclaves.
Bottom Line: Good Life is Attracting and Keeping Talent
Taken together, those unseen benefits amount to something big: a quality of life that helps you attract and retain a stable, satisfied work force.
When you’re fighting over the same pool of skilled machinists, engineers, technicians and managers, you are not just competing on wages and benefits. You’re competing on lifestyle. Southeast Volusia furnishes a narrative to accompany your recruitment efforts, which is something people care about: cheap homes and short commutes plus beach access, outdoor recreation opportunities, cultural offerings, good schools and real community.
Life of plenty is not at a premium here. It’s part of the package. In a tight labor market, that’s all the difference.
Find out how the quality of life in Southeast Volusia can work for your workforce. Reach Southeast Volusia Manufacturing and Technology Coalition at www.sevolusia.com for further information about moving or expanding business in a region where the good life and business success are partners in progress!