Why the Palm Beaches

Public beaches run the length of the coast. Conservation land runs from the Intracoastal to the edge of the Everglades, all of it open at no charge, with paved trails, kayak launches, and campgrounds inside a short drive of most towns.

Being the closest point in North America to the Gulf Stream is why the diving and offshore fishing here are what they are. It is also why the turtles come: this coast has the highest nesting density in the country, and the summer nesting walks fill early.

Golf is the county’s calling card at every price point, and the marquee events come to it: the Cognizant Classic on the PGA TOUR at PGA National, and SoFi Center, the permanent home of TGL.

Wellington makes this the equestrian capital of the world, with the USPA National Polo Center and Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival drawing Olympic-caliber riders inland from the coast. Racquet sports took the same path: pickleball and padel courts across the county, and Major League Pickleball’s newest franchise in the Palm Beach Royals.

The GreenMarket runs Saturday mornings along the West Palm Beach waterfront and was named the best farmers market in the country. Fresh markets and clean eating are shaping the social calendar as much as the restaurants are.

Clematis Street and Atlantic Avenue carry the density the rest of the week. The NORA District is the newer entry: coffee in the morning, galleries and small restaurants in the afternoon, and a short walk from Brightline.

The social hubs concentrate in stretches you can walk end to end. Twenty-eight of them run the length of the county: Clematis Street and CityPlace in West Palm Beach, Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, Mizner Park in Boca Raton, which doubles as Boca’s nexus for the arts, and Love Street and Downtown Abacoa at the Jupiter end. Out west the equestrian season is the social calendar, and Saturday Night Lights at the Wellington showgrounds runs free or low cost from January through April. Several districts run free weekly events: Clematis by Night is free every Thursday on the waterfront, and Northwood Village is the most affordable walkable strip in the county on any other night.

Culture sits alongside it rather than across town. The Norton Museum of Art and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts anchor West Palm Beach. Miami is 47 miles down the coast, which puts its professional teams in football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer, the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, and the Delray Beach Open all inside an hour.

Most of these groups are free or low cost. Six run clubs cost nothing to join and meet on a fixed weekly schedule. The chamber young professional groups run from 21 to 39 or 40 and are free if your employer is a member. The arts boards at the Norton and the Kravis start around $150 and come with the social calendar attached. Group fitness, beach workouts and yoga meetups run across the county alongside the happy hours.

The county is turning that into an industry as well as a habit. Eudēmonia, the country’s most prominent longevity summit, is hosted in West Palm Beach, and next-gen wellness centers, recovery lounges, and clubs built for people under 45 are opening alongside it.