Exploring the Key Biscayne Lifestyle in Miami
By Adriana Montbrun
Key Biscayne offers one of Miami’s best lifestyles, making it a top destination for many families and active seniors. This blog features a video in which Adriana and David explore the Island of Key Biscayne in a golf cart (of course) while they discuss the lifestyle, family life, schools and real estate on the island.
00:00: Introduction
01:00:The The Key Biscayne Lifestyle
09:55: Schools & Family Life on Key Biscayne
11:05 Key Biscayne Real Estate
Key Biscayne Basics
Key Biscayne is a small island with roughly 1,200 homes and 5,500 condos on slightly over one square mile.The island is enclosed by a state park and a Miami-Dade county park where it is normal to see fashion photography sessions, music videos and movies being recorded in gorgeous settings. These parks provide access to several miles of beaches and waterfront ocean views. Bill Baggs state park is also home to the Cape Florida lighthouse, dating back to 1825.
Home to CEO’s, investors, conglomerate owners and many families who appreciate the privacy, convenience and sense of community the island provide in a affluent laid-back lifestyle. Most key residents use shorts year round and walk or bike across the island with many others using golf carts as their means of transportation.
Where is Key Biscayne located?
Key Biscayne is an island off the coast of Miami, connected via the panoramic Rickenbacker causeway to Brickell Avenue in South Brickell, by turning on SE 26th Rd.
The usage of the terms “Key” and “Biscayne” typically lends itself to confusion with people not familiar with the island assuming it’s located in the Florida keys or other remote location.
Key Biscayne is actually only a 10 minute drive from Brickell and causeway traffic is much, much lighter than driving to Miami Beach, Bal Harbor or Surfside. Not to mention places like Sunny Isles that require at least an hour traffic or Fisher Island that requires a ferry trip to get home.
Plus, the Rickenbacker causeway is one of the most beautiful roads anyone can hope for, with ocean views all the way home.
Key Biscayne Features and Amenities
Key Biscayne is known for its tight-knit community, safety, excellent lifestyle, beautiful beaches, outdoor activities, great school district and luxurious real estate. Just like a country club, the exclusive island enclave offers:
- A par-72golf course, recognized as one of America’s top 75 upscale courses by Golf Digest
- 5 different Beaches
- A private yacht club and 2 Marinas
- Private Beach clubs such as Key Biscayne Beach Club for Key Biscayne home owners, Grand Bay Club for paying members and beach clubs for community owners, such as The Ocean Club
- Parks such as Bill Baggs State Park and Crandon Park
- 40 Tennis Courts (Former Home to the Miami Open) and world-renowned Cliff Drysdales tennis academy at the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne
- Dog park
- Its own police and fire department
- A complete Community Center with:
- Fitness Center
- 25-Meter Swimming Pool
- Basketball Gymnasium
- Indoor Playground
- Game Room
- Teen Room
- Toddler Room
- Multipurpose Rooms for Classes, Meetings and Parties
- Dance / Aerobics Studios
- Arts & Crafts Room with Kiln
- Computer Lab
- Dedicated Space for Adults & Senior Programsbea
The Key Biscayne Lifestyle
The Key Biscayne lifestyle is very different than the rest of Miami. Although Key Biscayne is a very exclusive island with high-end real estate, and high income residents, the lifestyle is extremely laid-back, favors outdoor active lifestyles with a wide variety of activities for all ages. Kids cycling on the streets or walking to school and people driving around in golf carts are the best examples od the laid-back lifestyle that Key Biscayne is known for. The island offers beaches, parks, tennis courts, top rated schools, golf courses and a strong sense of community. Slightly over one square mile, the island is very private, safe and offers its own police force, fire station, shops and restaurants. It’s the safe, small town community vibe within a large city that attracts families to the island.
Key Biscayne Small Town Living & Country Club Similarities
We recently published an article on how life on Key Biscayne is similar to life in a gated country club where we highlight safety, sense of community, exclusivity and activities. The island offers shops, restaurants, schools and sport clubs, which creates the sensation of being in a small town. Additionally, the majority of kids attend the local schools and therefore children and their parents know each other. Just like a country club Key Biscayne provides access to a variety of activities for the entire family and many parents love the resort aspect as it means the kids can play and run around freely without having to worry too much about them.
Who lives in Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne residents are mostly families with children looking for the good schools, safety, oceanfront real estate, the convenience and proximity to the city and airport. They also like the outdoors lifestyle and the proximity of beaches and parks. Active seniors also love the island, country club lifestyle; some of them are retired while many of them are still active in boards, running their companies, doing pro-bono work and many often have at least another home in the US or overseas.
Why Key Biscayne and not Miami Beach?
When people think about Miami, the beach is one of the first things that comes to mind. And of course, Miami Beach is the natural destination. These days, the different sections of Miami Beach whether its “south beach”, mid beach, the Faena district or even Surfside, Bal Harbor and Sunny Isles, offer distinct value propositions. However, none of them provide the sense of community, the single access, small town living and state/county parks that the island offers.
In addition, the convenience of living in Key Biscayne means you are 10 mins from Brickell and 20 mins from the Airport or Coral Gables, avoiding the access gridlock across the beaches. Also, the lack of traffic is one of Key Biscayne’s advantages. Furthermore the island is extremely safe and secure. Image cycling around town, walking to school or letting your kids roam free anywhere else in Miami. While Miami Beach is home to many tourists with crowded beaches, Key Biscayne is more local with quiet beaches. Finally, many of the real estate options in Key Biscayne are more affordable.
Family and Business
Key Biscayne schools are one of the reasons families opt for the island. They are top-Rated public schools and excellent private schools in Key Biscayne and additionally there are busses for children that attend private schools elsewhere in Miami. For more information on Key Biscayne schools or other Miami private schools, please click on the link belo
Is it too laid back for me and my business?
Don’t mistake laid-back for extremely slow or a retired, aging population. The island is home to many entrepreneurs, captains of industries, CEOs and very wealthy families. This is an exclusive community that likes to hang out with neighbors and be active during their time off.
Many successful corporate leaders and business owners run their business from the island. These owners and leaders run the gamut including local financial & Healthcare businesses, global tech companies, US based Fortune 500/100, Latin America conglomerates, European divisions and of course a healthy dose of startups, private equity and angel investors. Many of these individuals actually appreciate the opportunity to recharge from their highly demanding business responsibilities in a private, active environment.
Key Biscayne Real Estate
The island is split into two parts, separated by Crandon Boulevard. On the east side you will find the beaches, the parks and the lighthouse along with the 5,500 condos, most of them in 10 resort-style beachfront complexes. On the other side of Crandon, facing the bay, we find the single-family homes along with the Key Biscayne Yacht Club. Key Biscayne is known for its ultra luxury waterfront homes with incredible bay and city views including president Nixon’s former winter white house.
The island does not have bridges so all homes offer direct access to the open ocean, a desired feature with boaters. Dry lot homes are normally on smaller lots of around 8,000-10,000 SF and trade between $1.5M (those will need renovation or work) and $7M while waterfront homes sit on lots between 10,000 and 35,000 SF and trade anywhere between $8M and $20M. Waterfront homes on Key Biscayne tend to be more affordable than waterfront homes in Miami Beach, Coral Gables or Coconut Grove
The 3 main condos on the island are: Oceana, Grand Bay Residences and the Ocean Club. Oceana trades on average for $1,950 per SF, Grand Bay for $1,000 per SF and Ocean Club for $800 per SF. Below we left links to all of them to see current listings and more information.
Take action
Call, text or send a Whatsapp by clicking the buttons below so we can get started and get you the best Key Biscayne Real Estate resources to work for you and deliver the results and customer experience you deserve. As Key Biscayne real estate leader and, I am happy to help you navigate the options and characteristics of different Key Biscayne Waterfront condos, dry lot homes, Single family homes with dockage either standing on a canal or in a premium open bay location.
Contact Adriana
Adriana Montbrun is the Miami Urban Core (Brickell, Edgewater, Downtown, Midtown) & Key Biscayne lead for the David Siddons Group (DSG) at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. DSG is a top real estate group in Miami, ranked #7 in Florida by the Wall Street Journal, with sales of $390M in 2021 and the leading real estate market analyst in South Florida.
Adriana’s caring personality, unrelenting client focus and her Duke University Communications training allows her to understand and guide clients through the emotional aspects of real estate. Her engineering and Top5 Consulting background provides her clients with structure, predictability and strong business terms in the transactions she oversees. She leverages her 15+years as realtor to deliver her motto “Live Miami your way” and is fluent in English and Spanish.
