Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Most people who’ve heard about Fort Lauderdale probably know about it for the warm Florida weather, beaches, and its old-school reputation for Spring Break. While it certainly is a coastal paradise and that shouldn’t be downplayed, it’s important to point out that’s not all it has to offer. Like to hit the links? Great, it has plenty of highly rated courses and chances are the weather will hold. Want to go out for a nice dinner? Lauderdale has some of the best restaurants in the state with a wide variety of options. Want to party? There’s still a jumping nightlife scene. It’s also extremely family-friendly, especially when compared to neighboring Miami, with a never-ending list of things you can do with the whole family (i.e. museums, amusement parks, etc.) and solid public schools. Fort Lauderdale is also aptly called “The Venice of America” due to all of the canals threading the city, so you’ll never be too far from the water even if you’re not living near the beach!

On the downside, whether it’s spring break or the middle of January, the beaches, streets, and roads are packed with tourists coming to enjoy the weather here and escape winter up north. This can be overwhelming for those from smaller and more spread-out communities.

Ft. Lauderdale is not cheap. The average listing price of a home is over $500k but that money goes a long way relative to bigger cities. The neighborhoods here are a mix of new and old with condos and apartment buildings offering rental options to counter the newer mega-homes and tasteful historical homes for those looking to buy.

Victoria Park is one of the grooviest places to live around downtown. It’s filled with beautifully restored historic homes, many on the Intracoastal Waterway, with a “diverse and tolerant” (from the community’s website) population.
Colee Hammock is a walkscore treasure with a mix of condos, apartments, great new homes, and beautiful old residences all a short walk to restaurants, theater, art galleries, museums, and the Atlantic Ocean!

Finally, consider looking at The Isles if living on water is important to you. Fort Lauderdale is the “Venice Of America” because of inland waterways throughout the city and this neighborhood is lined with waterfront properties whose residents enjoy speedboats, kayaks, sailboats, and easy waterway access to the ocean.

To see all the happenings in Fort Lauderdale check out the calendar of events.

We highly recommend visiting Fort Lauderdale and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for what it's like to live among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our partnership with Expedia as well.

Whether you’re looking for somewhere nice to work remotely, somewhere nice to raise your growing family, or somewhere nice to retire (Ft. Lauderdale consistently ranks in the top 5 best places to retire for a reason), the warm weather, bigger city amenities, and beaches of Fort Lauderdale have something for you.