Inside America's most expensive neighborhood — and it's not Beverly Hills

One of the first planned communities in the US, Coral Gables was built by George Merrick as an ambitious and fast-paced project focused on building a thousand Mediterranean-inspired houses, with the goal of forming an organized, efficient, and resource-rich community, which The New York Times reported on in 1925.

A century ago, Biscayne Bay attracted some of America's wealthiest individuals. In 1922, International Harvester heir and Gilded Age millionaire James Deering built his grand Vizcaya Mansion on the same shores where billionaires' megayachts dock today. Today, the extravagant historic mansion doesn't feel at all out of place.

In 2024, the city of Coral Gables, which also includes the surrounding areas and neighborhoods around Gables Estates and the University of Miami, and extends near Little Havana, reported that households in the city had a median income of $127,834.

Most recently, as waves of billionaires flock to call the city their new homes, Coral Gables has begun growing into an industry hub for tech and finance.

Apple has recently signed a lease to expand its Miami offices in Coral Gables. The company will lease 45,000 square feet of office space in a new development, close to offices for Bacardi USA and Bradesco Bank.

Other firms that have recently expanded in Miami include Citadel, which is leasing 1.2 million square feet of office space on a new skyscraper development for its global headquarters; Amazon, which has begun moving its operations from Seattle as Jeff Bezos made his move down to the Sunshine State; and FIFA America, which will have higher interests in the city during the 2026 World Cup.

Those looking to buy a house in the Gables Estates neighborhood face a more tedious home-buying process than in other luxury communities.

First, they need to apply to and get approved to become members of the Gables Estates Club Inc., the neighborhood's homeowners association, which is a prerequisite for owning a property in the community.

After paying the hefty nonrefundable application fee of $100,000 (or $105,000 for foreign nationals), applicants must present their application before a private governing body, along with the names of two sponsors who are voting members of the club, letters of recommendation, all other active social or business club memberships, and at least two banking references in order to be considered, according to Dennis Carvajal Group.

Most Gables Estates homeowners earn "in excess" of $250,000 yearly and average 60 years of age, the group noted.

Living in this gated community, your neighbors might be a Royal Caribbean chairman, a Goya Foods heir, an NFL player's widow, a manufacturing mogul, a tech founder, or — formerly — a Venezuelan drug trafficking billionaire, as reported by sources including Realtor.com, the South Florida Business Journal, the Miami Herald, and Crunchbase.com.

The $100,000 membership fee and its yearly $7,500 HOA fee cover the community's robust security personnel, which includes a 24/7 armed security guard force, a monitored and recorded system of security and night vision cameras, and boat patrols guarding neighbors' backyards and superyachts.

For those who live in the community, privacy and security are the highest priorities, Stein told Business Insider.

While most neighborhoods in the area provide a high level of security to their residents, Gables Estates is on a different level. As an outsider, you can't get access to the neighborhood unless you're invited by a current resident or are touring a property on the market — in which case, Stein said, owners will ask brokers to require proof of funds before showing a property, as they don't "want random people walking through their house."

"Gables Estates is kind of something really unique," Stein said. "They don't want any riff raff — and you and me are riff raff. I mean, we're educated people, but they don't want people there that don't live there unless they're invited by an owner."

Even real estate agents sometimes face being turned away at the gate if their visits haven't been authorized, Stein said, citing his own experience.

For me, coming close to Gables Estates meant driving on the adjacent road, attempting to peek inside, and immediately turning back as displeased security guards stared.

One of the houses, currently listed for $29.5 million, features a 5,000-bottle wine cellar, while another — valued at $47 million — has Swarovski chandeliers in "almost every room," including the walk-in closet, as reported by Mansion Global.

If you'd rather build from scratch, an empty lot in the community can go for up to $17.5 million.

Located near some of Miami's most exclusive private preparatory schools, Gables Estates children typically attend big-ticket schools, where annual tuition can be as high as $35,000 for pre-school, $38,000 for elementary, and $54,820 for high school.

Parents of children attending some of the private schools closest to the neighborhood — namely, Gulliver Preparatory Academy, Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, Ransom Everglades School, and Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, among others — might pay over half a million dollars in tuition per child over the course of 13 years of schooling.

The schools are another driving factor motivating wealthy families to move to the neighborhood, Stein told Business Insider.

"These families will do anything to make sure their kids go to the best schools," Stein said. "And you can't even get into these schools — I heard it's almost impossible to get into some of these schools right now."

Alums from these schools include former US Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, The View co-host Ana Navarro, and Spanish music star Enrique Iglesias.

Outside of the gated community, Coral Gables is full of historic landscapes, like the vine-covered stone-built Plymouth Congregational Church, a former Victorian estate at the Barnacle Historic State Park, and the limestone-lined Ingraham Park.

The area is full of small gated communities like Gables Estates, and neighbors form a pretty tight-knit community.

"I would assume everybody knows everybody. Their kids probably play together, and it's so safe being in the microbubble of the world, you don't have to worry, your kids can hang out with each other," Stein said.

The main road and hiking trail adjacent to Gables Estates, Old Cutler Road, is lined with Spanish moss-filled Banyan trees that provide shade to joggers and bikers.

The Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens, located less than five minutes away from the Gable Estates gated community, have often been ranked among the top 10 best botanical gardens in the US thanks to their unique selection of rare and endangered tropical species.

Walking around the tree-covered roads feels like getting the best of Florida: enjoying nature and the warm climate while remaining cool with the coastal breeze and tree shade.

For Gables Estates residents, immediate convenience might be one thing that's lost in their luxurious lifestyle.

It's a 2-mile drive from the gated community entrance to the nearest grocery stores: a Whole Foods and a Publix. The stores are located around Sunset Place mall, a 1999 Art Deco-inspired open-air shopping center that now sits mostly empty and is set to be demolished starting next year, the Miami Herald reported.

The stores are close enough to not be much of an inconvenience, although the 10-minute drive might be quite longer during rush hours, as the community is surrounded by small two-way roads.

But that's assuming the homeowners run their own errands.

Often, residents rely on private property managers to hire cooks, cleaners, nannies, drivers, landscapers, and other workers, Stein said.

During their leisure time, residents can visit the walkable and densely packed streets of Coconut Grove's food-and-shopping district or the massive and more touristy Dadeland Mall.

In Coconut Grove, local designer boutiques sit next to art galleries and even Michelin-starred restaurants like Los Félix and Ariete, while Dadeland offers a more traditional mall experience, hosting a Macy's and an Apple store.

As a longtime Miami resident, I would assume that those living in Gables Estates rarely, if ever, choose to spend their time at the mall rather than the nicer, cleaner, and less crowded restaurants and stores in Coconut Grove.

Walking around, you could play a game of spot the Birkin.

At one of the nearest coffee shops to the neighborhood, lattes go for $7 before tip.

In a city where $2 Cuban coffees continue to be an average offering, paying $7 (plus tip) for a latte felt a bit ridiculous.

Across the street from the coffee shop I visited is Chug's Diner, which, according to Infatuation, has one of the most expensive Cuban coffees in the city, which also comes as no surprise.

While I was unable to step foot inside the exclusive gated community, I could see how some of Gables Estates' neighbors live. From a bridge on the nearby Ingraham Park, I spotted some of the yachts where residents park — and show off — their investments.

For those in the tax bracket where a multimillion-dollar yacht is just a floating addition to a megamansion, I can only imagine that the pleasant tropical surroundings and tight-knit, family-oriented community would inspire a sense of comfort and camaraderie in wealth. After all, your neighbors have to be just as rich as you to move in next door.

If I had a few dozen million to spare, I'd probably move here too.