What’s In A Name?

B-O-C-A R-A-T-O-N is another name for the best place to live in South Florida

is for Beaches, miles of them, still pristine, still not shadowed by condominiums and high-rises. Thanks to the foresight (and genius!) of city fathers in 1974, the beaches were bought by the city, guaranteeing they would be protected forever from development. Today, this stretch of coastline along A1A, Florida’s iconic coastal highway, is one of the only natural ones in South Florida, and offers unparalleled views of a Caribbean-blue Atlantic Ocean.

is for Outdoor

Living, a way of life here, filled with biking and jogging trails, 40-some parks, a par three oceanfront golf course and everything from pickleball to kayaking. The exotic coastal wilds and swamps, the heart of the South Florida experience, are also here, from the mysterious Everglades to Boca’s Gumbo Limbo Nature Center and Daggerwing Nature Center. At Daggerwing, the interactive center begins underground, continues underwater and rises above the surface into the canopy of a swamp. Along the way, guests can explore Daggerwing’s interactive exhibits, which feature a number of live animals—frogs, snapping turtles and, yes, even an alligator or two.

From top: “West Side Story” at the Wick Theatre, Boca Ballet and an artifact from the Machu Picchu exhibit

is for Culture. Just this year, a robust movement is afoot—with a ground-breaking on the horizon of a new multifaceted and state-of-the-art Boca Raton Center for Arts and Innovation downtown (page 97) at Mizner Park, the city’s center adjacent to the Boca Raton Museum of Art. In addition, the museum will hold the world premiere of “Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru” between October 16, 2021 and March 6, 2022, and is expecting approximately 400,000 visitors from around the country and the world.

Historically, Boca Raton has cultivated its arts and culture profile through a robust Cultural Consortium comprised of groups like the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Ballet Theatre, the Symphonia, the Wick Theatre & Costume Museum and many more. For the past 16 years the city has held its Festival of the Arts Boca, in the Mizner Park Amphitheater, a 10-day showcase of music and literature with marquee appearances by the likes of Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Salman Rushdie, Renée Fleming, Jon Meacham, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Thomas Friedman, Fareed Zakaria, Béla Fleck, Bill Murray, Pat Metheny and Herb Alpert, plus screenings of “The Wizard of Oz” and “West Side Story” backed by full orchestra. The festival draws more than 15,000 visitors and generates more than $1 million for the area economy every year.

is for A-list, which is what defines Boca

Raton’s quality of life, from housing to shopping and dining and overall aesthetics.

Boca schools make the grade here, as evidenced by Boca Raton’s reputation for A-rated public schools (See page 84) and well-regarded private schools such as Pinecrest and St. Andrew’s, known for their academic excellence. The city is also home to Florida Atlantic University, Lynn University, Palm Beach State College and specialty school Everglades University, with upward of 40,000 students working toward degrees.

Excellence is also the byword for city services, health care and office space. The city’s top-quality amenities and institutions are part of its overall association with luxury, undoubtedly helped by the city’s ambience—its careful zoning, its emphasis on lush landscaping, its attention to infrastructure and its sheer coastal beauty. When you add in topnotch dining, shopping and entertainment, the Good Life only gets better.

Boca Raton is known for its fine dining

is for R&R, that aspect of work-life balance everyone appreciates. In Boca Raton golf is a staple—and it just got better with the opening of a new municipal golf course—with all the amenities of a private club. The country club’s owners, MSD Partners and Northview Hotel Group, donated the golf course to the City of Boca Raton, which is currently updating the property into a first-class city amenity. The Southwinds Golf Course is a par-70 tract, and Osprey Point Golf Course boasts 27 holes of “Environmental Turf Grass.” Don’t forget to play a round at the Resort Course, one of The Boca Raton’s award-winning golf courses. For those who love professional or collegiate sports, Lynn University has several teams, including baseball, basketball, lacrosse, swimming and volleyball. At Florida Atlantic University, there are 19 NCAA Division I-A teams to support.

And then we have the water. South Florida offers a variety of diving and snorkeling experiences—from reefs to wrecks to right-offDiving Boca’s reefs and wrecks is a popular pastime the-beach. The Southeast Florida Reef Tract—two or three reefs running parallel to the beach— extends from Miami-Dade County to Palm Beach County, and it’s heaven for divers.

In addition to our reefs, divers also enjoy several wrecks such as the Sea Emperor, nicknamed the Aqua Zoo because it’s home to everything from goliath groupers to nurse sharks. The trail of wrecks continues, including the United Caribbean or Ancient Mariner, both popular diving destinations.

The Gulf Stream, flowing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, comes closest to our shores than anywhere else in the country, bringing spectacular fishing with it. Fishing for swordfish and sailfish and tarpon is common in these parts—and you can go for it right offshore. is for Amenities. Like Boca Raton’s airport and U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility just for you. An FAA Contract Tower on the field is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and manned with a team of highly trained air traffic controllers. Two Fixed Based Operators (FBOs) at the airport offer fueling, aircraft storage, conference rooms, catering and limousine service. Boca’s busy little airport averages more than 60,000 operations annually, and nearly 300 aircraft are based there. The city also has fine dining and shopping, with exquisite Royal Palm Place and Town Center, one of only two malls in the U.S. with four high-end anchors (Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom) under the same roof. The newly redone Town Center is luxury retail heaven on Earth with 200-plus stores and restaurants. The city is also known for exemplary service; valet parking is everywhere—even at some neighborhood grocery stores. It’s that luxury thing again, but in terms of service. There is valet parking at the hospital, at most restaurants, at all charity events—even at some of the anchor stores at the mall. Parking your own car is so not Boca.

is for Technology and innovation.

The IBM 5150, created right here in Boca and unleashed in 1981, put PCs on the map. And that innovation continues with a whole colony of high-tech firms, including Boca success story Modernizing Medicine and many others incubating at FAU’s Research Park. Not to mention our latest game-changer, the new Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC)—aka the former IBM building. Leading-edge health care is also at the forefront of Boca’s innovative culture, with Boca Raton Regional Hospital currently undergoing a $250 million expansion. The West Boca Medical Center, Delray Medical Center and more health care institutions offer a dizzying array of specialties and services. Opened in 2010, FAU also has the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.

The Rocket sculpture at BRiC

is for Openheartedness

which, in Boca, means impressive philanthropy. Giving is a way of life here, and the city’s affluent residents are known for their unflagging support of charities and institutions. The social season is based on giving back to a myriad of charities, and the town continually bests its level of giving. It has built hospitals, preserved its parks, fed the poor, aided medical research, sent hundreds of scholars to college and established a wide range of cultural institutions and programs. In full support of community initiatives and giving back is a robust Junior League, launched in 1971 and numbering more than 800 members today. Today’s League is a powerful advocacy group with many community leaders and formidable fundraising potential. Significant community achievements include founding the Boca Raton Historical Society, restoring Singing Pines—now Boca Raton Children’s Museum—founding the Vegso Community Resource Center, supporting “In the Pines” LEED housing and founding the JLBR Diaper Bank.

Giving to charity is how Boca People live.

Red Reef Park

is for Nature lovers,

and by that we mean being green to the core. Boca had one of the earliest recycling programs in Florida, recycled water initiatives, bike trails, a

Tree City USA designation, and some 42 parks. The city even has its own

“sustainability manager” to increase the level of community participation in environmental programs. One of her first moves was the creation of Coastal

Connection, a citywide environmental initiative that “identifies and promotes actions and practices which limit environmental impact and increase environmental benefit”—awarding businesses that eliminate single-use plastics and offer sustainable menu options, among other environmental actions.