Why So Many People Moving to East Coast Florida Choose Vero Beach

Well, when you think about Florida, you probably think Palm Beach, Miami, Boca. Those are the infamous places of Florida that everybody thinks about. But what you may not realize is that after a little bit of due diligence, a lot of folks who initially think those are the spots they want to land are quietly making a different move. And in a minute, I'm going to tell you where. I'm Sally Daley from The Daley Group at Douglas Elliman, and today we're going to drill down into why people are quietly not going to Miami, Palm Beach or Boca, but instead going to Vero Beach, Florida.

Where the heck is Vero Beach, you say? Vero Beach is an hour north of Palm Beach, tucked just inside the tropic line. A barrier island community, with three fixed causeways and bridges to get onto the mainland, dominated by a low-density, low-profile zoning policy in place since 1977. The only one of its kind on the entire eastern seaboard. Nobody else has such a rigorous smart-growth, let's-keep-sprawl-at-bay mandate. As a result, Vero is nicknamed, aptly so, the Hamptons of Florida, because it feels like a small town. It has managed to grow and become more dynamic without losing the small-town vibe, because of the zoning overlay that gives you a high quality of life and supports your value long term. It's not build, build, build with dilution.

So why do people come to Vero? In a nutshell, the three drivers are congestion, water, and bang for your buck. That's it. So let's break those down.

Congestion. Congestion is a thing. What do I mean by that? Indian River County, where Vero is, is the only county with such a rigorous growth plan. Height restrictions, density restrictions, only limited commercial zoning allowed. We don't have stores everywhere. Most of the barrier island's single-family homes and condos can only be four stories. So when I say congestion and density, what I mean is no six-lane roads, no 15-minute drive that takes 45 minutes because it's so crowded, no drawbridges that clog everything. We don't have any of those things.

And it's an everyday thing. Oftentimes I'll say to clients, when they're looking, think about the everyday things you don't think about. Does your garage fit your car? Can you park? I love a semicircle driveway in the front, because you can actually park extra cars. Our driveway is really tight, and we didn't know it would be a thing. I had very limited choices, so I love my new Mini Countryman, shout out to them, but one of the reasons I looked at it is because it would fit. My husband's Porsche takes up a lot of room.

So it's the everyday things. If you love your home and you love your neighborhood, and the moment you leave you're confronted with a drive to Walgreens that's two miles and takes half an hour because it's six lanes of traffic all the time, it weighs on you. It starts to restrict you, the way winter restricted us in Connecticut and made us want to get out of Dodge. A lot of folks say places like Naples and South Florida are focused on community lifestyle. One of the reasons is that there's a lot of friction to get out and do other things elsewhere, including going to the beach.

If you don't have access to a beach club and you're down in South Florida or Boca, it's going to be difficult to get to a beach. It's going to be crowded, and parking is going to be a challenge, the whole nine yards. Vero beaches are always free of charge. I couldn't believe that when we moved here, because I was used to a pay-to-play model, a season pass or certainly parking for the day. Whether you're talking about the ocean or the river, there are all kinds of free spots and ways to get in all up and down the barrier island. So the real-life to and fro is not limiting, and you don't feel like you hesitate to leave your community.

So congestion is a thing, and I've heard it constantly in the past 10 years. We are now getting more and more phone calls from people leaving Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Delray, places we frankly didn't used to get calls from. They're selling for huge amounts of money, so it's an arbitrage play. They can sell big, toodle on up to Vero with a bag of money, and only spend half of it, because we're 40% more affordable. But the biggest driver that gets them thinking about it in the first place is congestion that becomes a quality-of-life issue. And isn't that why we all came to Florida in the first place, or Texas, or wherever you choose to call home? To have a high quality of life. Nobody wants to feel constrained in their neighborhood because leaving becomes so difficult.

So what's the second? Water and golf. Let's break those into two discussions. Water, meaning the ocean, which we just talked about, or the river. We are a barrier island community that's blessed to have the Indian River as our intracoastal. It's an estuary, which means it's part fresh and part salt. In general, the alligators tend not to like it. I would never say never. I personally have never seen one, and I'm sure somebody's going to comment and say they have, but in 23 years I never have. Manatees, dolphins, bald eagles, river otters, herons. Super cool.

It means that whether you're on the island or not, you've got one body of water to play and paddle in, and it's fairly shallow, so you can pretty much walk out of harm's way, as well as the Atlantic. If you fish, there are very different species of fish. All of the spoil islands that have little mangroves on them are preserves that can't be developed. You can paddle around them. It's really cool. And it's easy to get to, all up and down the river. No beach club needed. We do have a couple of beach clubs, and you're welcome to join them if you want, but it's not a necessity to get to the water. I give clients info all day, every day about little pocket parks and free beaches, ways to get to the waterway, and places to launch your boat if you're not lucky enough to live on the river. That access is very, very appealing to a lot of people, because no club is required unless you wish to have one.

So now let's talk about golf. Golf is a challenge everywhere. People love it, and if there's no way to get onto a golf course and that's important to you, that may even be the driver that causes you to go someplace where you can. Or membership at one of these clubs is a bazillion dollars. During Covid, everybody was able to test the merits of that, because clubs could raise their prices and get it as people were coming down. So maybe you don't want to spend 350, or 400, or half a million. I was just reading in today's Wall Street Journal that people like the Kushners and Jeff Bezos still can't get into Indian Creek in Miami. If you can't get into a club and golf is important to you, some people are coming up to Vero and saying, what alternatives do you have?

Now, this is where I need to give it to you straight. Many of our clubs also have a waiting list. But two things I will say. Because we are a lower-density population, the wait list percolates along, and we still have some clubs that don't have waiting lists. Bent Pine has availability, a beautiful club, very well regarded. Indian River Club has availability, and so does Grand Harbor, which is doing a big glow-up on its clubhouse. That's super exciting, and they have a sexy beach club. Other clubs have waiting lists, and/or you must buy within the community. I just did a video on this channel about the clubs and the lay of the land, so please check that out.

Vero Beach Country Club, very well regarded, a small wait. The Moorings, very well regarded, with a shorter course on the island and a longer course called Hawk's Nest, probably about six to eight months, but it percolates away. So golf is not as easy as it used to be here, but there are still options, and it's always going to be more affordable. Even our toniest clubs: Windsor, so well regarded, has a real estate requirement, so you're going to need to buy there. John's Island has a real estate requirement, and there's no guarantee you'll get in. People get turned down all the time. They want to know you're going to be a good member, that you've got existing relationships, and that it's not just going to be a place marker for you. They're not inexpensive, but they're still less expensive than South Florida.

So golf and water are drivers as well for why people would consider coming to Vero. The other is bang for your buck. We've talked about it numerous times, and I alluded to it earlier. The same bag of money is going to buy you substantially more house than it would in Jupiter, Boca or Palm Beach. As long as you're within the tropics and you've got a charming small-town environment, a lot of people say this isn't a concession at all. I'd rather spend less money and get more house, or spend the same money and get more house. And it's causing a lot of people from those communities who thought they would never leave to reconsider, because prices have risen so dramatically down there. They can sell high and take that bucket of money to Vero.

For a million and a half to 2 million, I could get you a renovated or nearly new house on the barrier island. It might even have private beach access. Certainly for between 2 and 3 million I can do that as well. Oceanfront and riverfront, anywhere from four to eight million. My gosh, that wouldn't even buy you a lot in most of the communities I just referenced. So in a nutshell, affordability and bang for your buck, golf and water, and congestion are the main reasons buyers are reconsidering, and either moving up from Boca, Palm Beach and Jupiter, or saying, okay, I was going to look at those communities from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, California or Toronto, but instead I'm going to think about coming up to Vero Beach.

The only other friction I would talk to you about is transportation, and what I mean is air travel. If you live in Chicago, Los Angeles, really any place not on the east coast, it's not so easy to get to Vero. You're going to have to fly into West Palm, Fort Lauderdale or Orlando and drive over. Now, if you're going to be here for three or four months, it's not really a thing. You can have your car shipped, or keep a car if you buy a house.

In general, if you live on the east coast, it's easier than it used to be, thanks to some great progress at our small municipal airport, Vero Beach. Elite Airways, shout out to them, started it back in the day. They're no longer servicing anybody, and I think they're not operational at all, but Breeze took up the mantle. Yay, we love Breeze. Breeze now services all up and down the eastern seaboard, so smart with that business model. American and JetBlue have also jumped on the bandwagon. JetBlue services us from Boston, and American I believe is now Charlotte and Pittsburgh. Breeze goes to Newburgh, Westchester, MacArthur, which is Long Island, up to Burlington, Vermont, and I believe Portland. So increasingly there's less friction if you live along the eastern seaboard.

So in a nutshell, that's why people come, with a couple of provisos about a little bit of friction. There's no perfect place. If you're thinking about the east coast of Florida and your gut reaction is Boca, Palm Beach, Jupiter or Miami, please give Vero a consideration. You might be really surprised at what a great quality of life it offers and how much more bang for the buck you get. I'd be delighted to help you sort out whether or not it's the right place for you.

It's important that you make an educated decision, rather than say later, I wish I knew about Vero, we would have considered it. Or you considered it and for whatever reason it's not right for you. I live in Chicago and I need to get there with more ease, or I want a more urban environment, whatever it is. At least you will have known, and scratched it off the list one way or the other. So that's my advice. Give Vero a consideration, and I can help you figure it out.

And if you need an advisor in the other places I've mentioned, I've got trusted advisors all up and down, really all over the globe, whom I know, love and trust, who work like I do and are only focused on the best outcome for their clients. No commission breath. So I hope this has been helpful. If you're thinking about the eastern seaboard of South Florida, please make sure Vero is on that short list. Whether or not you ultimately land here is going to depend on you and how you like to live. I'm Sally Daley from The Daley Group at Douglas Elliman. Write to me or DM me at hello@thedaleygroup.com. I'd love to help you sort it out and point you in the right direction. Until next time, take care.