Brickell, the Beaches and the islands

Miami offers genuinely different living patterns within a short distance of each other. The useful way to choose is by how you want to move around.

Brickell and the urban core

Dense, vertical and walkable. Offices, restaurants and services are on foot, and the housing stock is overwhelmingly high-rise. If you want to use a car rarely, this is where that works.

Miami Beach and the oceanfront

Across the bay, oriented to the sand. A mix of towers and lower-rise, with a stronger seasonal rhythm and a different pace. You trade the walk-to-work pattern for the walk-to-water one.

The islands

Star Island, Fisher Island, Bal Harbour and Key Biscayne each offer a more contained, gated setting. Access is the defining characteristic — Fisher Island is reached by ferry — and that constraint is exactly what residents value.

How to decide

• Map the three or four places you will go weekly and time the trip from each area.
• Decide whether you want a building with full services or something quieter.
• Consider the season — some areas change character noticeably through the year.

How we help

MiamiBuyer is a referral service. Raoul Shah is a licensed real estate professional in Virginia; he is not a licensed agent or broker in this state. What he does here is match you, at no cost to you, with a top licensed local Miami agent, join the tour, and stay in your corner through the purchase. All local real estate services are provided by that independent licensed agent. Equal Housing Opportunity.