Families leaving San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and the rest of the Peninsula usually arrive in Palm Beach County with one number in mind: California's top state income tax rate of 13.3%. Florida doesn't have a state income tax, and for a household with equity compensation or a business sale on the horizon, that difference alone can change the math on where to live.
The decision gets more interesting once the spreadsheet is closed. North Palm Beach County, from Palm Beach Gardens up through Jupiter and Tequesta, offers waterfront living, strong schools, and a professional community that has grown fast since 2020. This guide covers what Bay Area buyers ask us most.
Florida has no personal state income tax. Your federal return stays the same, but your state return disappears once you establish Florida residency (driver's license, voter registration, homestead filing, and where you spend your time all count).
Your Prop 13 basis stays in California, so your first Florida property tax bill is based on what you pay for the house. Florida's homestead rules are also changing. Voters approved Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026, raising the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, on top of the $25,000 school exemption. Buyers who don't have a permanent Florida residence on December 31, 2026 receive a $50,000 non-school exemption until their fifth year of residency, and the Legislature is setting the details in its 2027 session. Save Our Homes still caps annual increases in assessed value at 3% or inflation, whichever is lower. File for homestead with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year after you move in, and use its property tax and Amendment 3 calculators to model a specific price. Our Amendment 3 guide for people moving to Florida and Florida tax guide for new residents go deeper.
There's no exact match for Atherton or Los Altos Hills, but a few patterns show up again and again with our Bay Area clients.
Families who want top schools and a neighborhood feel look at Abacoa in Jupiter, a master-planned community with a walkable town center, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, and FAU's Jupiter campus, and at the newer communities in Palm Beach Gardens such as Avenir and Alton.
Buyers who want privacy, golf, and security gravitate to private clubs like Old Palm, The Bears Club, and Admirals Cove.
Buyers who want deep water and a boat at the back door focus on the Intracoastal and the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter, Tequesta, and North Palm Beach, and on the estate lots of Jupiter Island.
Bay Area transplants often expect to give up proximity to science and tech. Jupiter is home to the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and UF Scripps Biomedical Research, the former Florida campus of Scripps Research, both on the FAU John D. MacArthur campus. Thirty minutes south, West Palm Beach has drawn hedge funds, private equity, and family offices, a shift we covered in Wall Street South. Remote workers who still fly back to the Bay Area will connect through a hub, since PBI doesn't have nonstop service to SFO or San Jose.
Bay Area buyers trade earthquake risk for hurricane risk, and insurance is the part of the move most people worry about. The home itself drives the quote: roof age, impact windows and doors, the wind mitigation report, elevation, and flood zone. Newer homes built to post-2002 Florida building code usually insure more easily than older ones. The market has steadied since the 2022 and 2023 reforms, and Citizens and several private carriers filed rate decreases for 2026. Get a quote during your inspection period, before you close. Our Florida homeowners insurance guide walks through it.
Palm Beach County public schools are assigned by address, and several high schools run choice academies with their own applications, including Jupiter High School's Environmental Research and Field Studies Academy. Private options in north county include The Benjamin School, Jupiter Christian School, and The King's Academy in West Palm Beach. Private schools here can carry waitlists, so start applications before you sign a contract. Our guide to Jupiter's best family neighborhoods maps schools to communities.
Summers are hot and humid from June through September, with afternoon thunderstorms most days. Winters are the reward: highs in the 70s while friends back home are in fog and rain. The ocean is warm enough to swim most of the year, and Jupiter's beaches, including Juno Beach and the dog-friendly stretch along A1A, stay uncrowded compared with Bay Area coastline. The food scene is smaller than San Francisco's, but it has grown quickly around Harbourside Place, Downtown at the Gardens, and West Palm Beach's Rosemary Square and Clematis Street. Most new friendships start on the water, on the golf course, or at youth sports.
Most of our California clients start with a video tour and a list of questions about flood zones, HOAs, and school boundaries before they ever book a flight. We set up neighborhood days around those answers so the first visit is spent comparing finalists.
The Meyer Lucas Team serves buyers, sellers, relocators, and investors throughout Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach, Juno Beach, Tequesta, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, and Martin County.
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Mon - Fri, 9 am - 6 pm 1515 South Cypress Dr Jupiter FL 33469
Mon - Fri, 9 am - 6 pm 1515 South Cypress Dr Jupiter FL 33469
