There are four Palm Beach 55+ Communities.  If you're considering spending your retirement in a Florida waterfront condominium with amenities for an active lifestyle and proximity to shopping, dining, and entertainment, then Palm Beach is well worth your consideration.   Some Palm Beach 55+ Communities offer breathtaking ocean views and private beach access, while others are situated along the Lake Worth Lagoon with waterfront pools and balconies where residents can spend relaxing afternoons watching the boats drift by.  Each Palm Beach 55+ Community is comprised of condominiums that offer low maintenance living on or near the beach.  Since Palm Beach 55+ condominiums are rarely available, you might also consider all-age condominiums in this exclusive retirement destination.

If you are looking for a Palm Beach single-family home for your Florida retirement, you will need to be prepared for a multi-million dollar price tag.  Along a two-mile stretch of South Ocean Blvd, there are a collection of multi-million dollar mansions known as Billionaire's Row where some of the world's most expensive real estate can be found.  Palm Beach luxury real estate boasts sprawling estate homes and penthouse condos with panoramic ocean views.  Home to Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, Jimmy Buffett, and many notable billionaires, Palm Beach is the pinnacle of opulence.

Palm Beach comprises 7.8 square miles on the Atlantic Barrier Island, separated from the mainland by the Lake Worth Lagoon.  This is a yachting paradise with the Palm Beach Inlet located at the northern tip of town, allowing easy ocean access to residents living on the west side of the barrier island.  As of the 2020 Census, the population was 9,245 with 62.1% of residents 65 years of age or older.  Palm Beach is a popular retirement destination for the wealthy. The per capita income in 2020 was $193,662 with only 34.3% of the population over 16 in the civilian labor force.

Palm Beach offers elegant architecture against a backdrop of picturesque beaches. Residents enjoy an opulent lifestyle with a culture-rich art scene, oceanfront golfing, luxury boutiques, and fine dining.   While residents can simply cross a bridge to reach the bustling nightlife of West Palm Beach or the Old Florida Charm of Downtown Lake Worth, you won't need to venture outside of Palm Beach for a sun-soaked day of adventure or a memorable night out on the town.

The Society of The Four Arts is the cultural centerpiece of Palm Beach.  This non-profit organization was founded in 1936. The 10-acre campus situated along the Intracoastal offers an art exhibition building designed by Addison Mizner, a performance hall, an education building with classrooms and an art studio, two libraries, a sculpture garden featuring works by world-renowned artists, and a botanical garden that teaches visitors all about the plant diversity of South Florida.  The Four Arts Plaza hosts hundreds of events each year including workshops, traveling art exhibits, lectures, concerts, film, and opera.  The Society of Four Arts has something for everyone with a wide range of lecture topics, workshops on everything from Antique collecting to legendary film directors, and live performances of various music genres; click here for a list of upcoming events.

With 100 golf courses within 20 miles, Palm Beach is a haven for golf aficionados.   There are four golf courses in town.  The very exclusive Everglades Club and  Palm Beach Country Club are extremely private clubs with a high bar for membership.  The Breakers is a world-famous Italian Renaissance-style resort situated on 140 acres with private beach access and five-star amenities including two championship golf courses.  The Breakers is home to the oldest golf course in Florida, this oceanfront course was fully renovated in 2018 offering a slice of history blended with the modern sophistication of golf architect Rees Jones.  Palm Beach Par-3 is an oceanfront municipal golf course with 18 holes, each with three sets of tees.  Par-3 also offers a Key West-style clubhouse with outdoor dining, a full-length driving range, and a practice bunker.  Palm Beach is known for great golf courses with breathtaking ocean views, but for those who don't mind a short drive, there are many more great courses nearby in Palm Beach Gardens, another world-renowned golfing destination.

Palm Beach is a foodie's dream.  There are a number of five-star hotels in town that offer remarkable dining experiences.  Florie's at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach is a great example of resort dining that draws an enthusiastic local crowd.  The Meditteranean-inspired menu was carefully curated by three Michelin star Chef Mauro Colagreco.  Guests enjoy live-fire dishes prepared with fresh local ingredients on a beautiful oceanfront terrace.  Chef Colagreco sums up his vision for Florie's nicely, "The Island's coastal environment and exceptional Florida produce are perfect for my cooking. My vision for Florie's is to be a destination where locals want to eat every night of the week and guests leave with lasting food memories."  While Florie's is a local favorite, there are many delectable fine dining options in Palm Beach.

Worth Ave is often referred to as the "Rodeo Drive of Florida."  At the entrance of the avenue is the iconic Worth Ave Clock Tower which is proudly displayed against a beautiful backdrop of blue ocean.  Worth Ave is the heart of Palm Beach culinary excellence with modern French to old-world Italian cuisines served al fresco with unrivaled ambiance.   Scattered throughout the Avenue, you will also find a large assortment of high-end boutiques.  Worth Avenue is a major shopping destination for apparel, jewelry, fine art, antiques, and even rare books.  The list of Worth Avenue shops would delight the most elite shopper with Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Lugano Diamonds, and many other notable luxury brands.  If you love fashion, having Worth Avenue in your backyard will be a dream come true.

According to stories passed down from early settlers, Palm Beach got its name in 1878 when a ship named Providencia carrying a load of coconuts wrecked and washed ashore.  The new inhabitants of the island recovered the 20,000 coconuts and planted them throughout present-day Palm Beach in an attempt to launch a coconut industry.  Surprisingly, the palms that have become a prominent symbol of the region were not native to South Florida.  Despite the early settlers' efforts to establish a coconut industry, it was actually the tourism industry that planted the seed for Palm Beach's development.  The Cocoanut Grove House opened in 1880 in what was then part of Lake Worth.  Elisha N. “Cap” Dimick, who would later become the first mayor of Palm Beach, opened the hotel with just eight rooms. Dimick reached great success with 4,500 guests staying at the hotel from 1885 to 1893 he was able to expand to 50 rooms and even a beachfront bathhouse.  Sadly, the hotel burned down in 1893.

While Dimick set the stage for Palm Beach tourism, it was Henry Flagler who transformed palm Beach into the major tourist destination that it is today.  Flagler, a very oil tycoon, originally traveled to Florida under the recommendation of his wife's doctor. His wife was ill and her doctor thought that a warmer climate would assist in her recovery.  After living in New York and Ohio, Flagler enjoyed the warm climate and thought that other wealthy Northeast families would enjoy an escape to Florida during brutal winters as well.  While the weather was great, the transportation and accommodations were severely lacking.  Flagler was inspired to step back from his duties at Standard Oil to focus on transforming Florida into a winter playground for the wealthy.

Flagler built some hotels in St. Augustine and the Daytona area before focusing his attention on present-day Palm Beach.  He also launched the Florida East Coast Railway to transport tourists to his resorts.  In 1894 Flagler extended the railway to present-day West Palm Beach.  The Royal Poinciana Hotel was constructed to accommodate his railroad passengers.  This Georgian-style hotel was the largest wooden structure in the world at the time with rooms for up to 2,000 guests.  With tourists flocking to the island with the lure of sunshine, golf, tennis, boating, and lavish parties, Flagler needed to build an additional hotel to keep up with demand.  In 1896 Flagler opened the Palm Beach Inn.  In 1901 the hotel was renamed The Breakers.  The current structure was built in 1904 after a fire destroyed the original wooden structure.  After the fire, Flagler prohibited motorized vehicles on the grounds, and employees were tasked with transporting guests around in wheeled chairs.

The Breakers is still in operation today as a luxurious, oceanfront five-star hotel.  You can also step back in time to experience the glitz and glamour of the Gilded Age by visiting The Flagler Museum.  The museum was once known as Whitehall, Flagler's 75-room, 100,000 SqFt residence.  The extravagant mansion was built in 1902 as a wedding present to his third wife, Mary Lily whom he married 10 days after his divorce was final from his second wife Ida Alice.  In 1902 The Miami Herald described Whitehall as "More wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world..."  Flagler used Whitehall as a winter home until his death in 1913.

Thanks to Henry Flagler, Palm Beach was a thriving tourist destination long before it was a residential town with year-round inhabitants.  Palm Beach was incorporated on April 17th, 1911. Palm Beach became the second incorporated municipality in Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach being the first.  In 1929 the Garden Club of Palm Beach sponsored a Town Plan to ensure that zoning ordinances would promote public improvements with minimal interruption to the natural beauty of the island.  The Garden Club proposed the plan out of fear that the growing population and ever-increasing waves of tourists would threaten the privacy and security of the current residents.  This sentiment was made clear by the closing statement in the plan, "The Palm Beach of the third epoch was conceived as a playground, and it has achieved distinction.  In its allurement lies its insecurity."  The Garden Club would be proud of today's Palm Beach, with a Town Council that strives to balance the privacy and security of residents with a lucrative tourism industry.

Simply scroll down to the Featured Neighborhoods section on this page to explore Palm Beach 55+ Communities where you can find active listings, association rules & regulations (including detailed pet restrictions), monthly maintenance dues, and amenities.  Click the "Explore Nearby" box on any community page to discover shops, restaurants, nightlife, entertainment, hospitals, and transportation in the surrounding neighborhood.  Click here for a list of all homes for sale in Palm Beach 55+ Communities.  Happy Browsing!