Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is the small beach town at the northern edge of Fort Lauderdale coastal market — a distinct municipality with its own character, its own town center, and its own relationship to the Atlantic. The dive community is real: LBTS is reliably called the dive capital of the Southeast, with artificial reefs 100 yards offshore and a dive industry built into the commercial fabric of the town.
The town scale is the defining feature. This is not Fort Lauderdale with a beach — it is a village that happens to be on the ocean. The weekly rental market is strong; the permanent resident community is real.