Thinking of Leaving Riverside, CT?
Ben Bryk March 29, 2026
Ben Bryk March 29, 2026
By Ben Bryk & Vance Brinkerhoff · Coldwell Banker Global Luxury · Vero Beach, Florida
WHO WROTE THISBen Bryk (772-713-9455) & Vance Brinkerhoff (772-913-3426)Between us, we've been selling real estate in Vero Beach for over 35 years. We've closed more than 2,000 deals and helped a lot of Riverside and Greenwich families make this transition — including families from Riverside, Greenwich, Riverside, Riverside, and Darien. Apple News named us among Florida's Top 10 Most Trusted Agents in 2025. We know this market cold, and we know what Riverside families are thinking about before they make this move. |
Riverside is not like the other Greenwich neighborhoods. It sits between the energy of central Greenwich and the quiet of Riverside, and it takes the best of both. Bruce Park on a fall afternoon. The Riverside Yacht Club on a July evening. Hendrie Avenue when the hydrangeas are out. The Riverside Association keeping the neighborhood exactly what it has always been. A Metro-North station that puts Midtown at 50 minutes. The Field Club for everything else. Riverside families chose this neighborhood deliberately — the schools, the community, the sense of permanence. And at a certain point in life, when the kids are through school and the commute has lost its appeal, they call us.
We talk to Riverside families every week. What is consistent is a deep attachment to the neighborhood — the yacht club, the Field Club, the school community, the neighbors who have been neighbors for twenty years. These are not families who move lightly. They are also, almost universally, sitting on substantial Greenwich-level equity and paying Connecticut's full tax burden every year. What they often haven't done is run the specific numbers on a Florida move. When they do, the conversation shifts in a way that surprises even them.
So this is what we'd say to a Riverside family over coffee. Honestly, without the sales pitch.
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"Riverside families have built serious wealth quietly. When they finally run the numbers on a Florida move, the conversation changes immediately." |
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WHAT RIVERSIDE EQUITY ACTUALLY BUYS Home values in Riverside — particularly along Hendrie Avenue, Riverside Avenue, and the waterfront corridors bordering Greenwich Cove and Long Island Sound — have climbed significantly over the past decade. A lot of Riverside homeowners are sitting on $700,000 to $1.5 million in equity, sometimes more. That's real money. And right now, a meaningful portion of what it generates every year is going to Hartford in income taxes. When you bring Riverside equity to Vero Beach, you buy a lifestyle that genuinely surprises people — waterfront homes, private beach club access, championship golf — at prices that make what you've been paying in Fairfield County look like a different planet. |
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📊 THE NUMBERS — CITED SOURCES Connecticut's top marginal income tax rate is 6.99% (CT Department of Revenue Services, 2024). Florida charges 0% — written into the state constitution. On $500,000 in household income, that's $34,950 per year back in your pocket just from income tax. Add the estate tax gap (Connecticut taxes estates above $2M, Florida has none) and property tax savings, and most Riverside households are looking at $50,000+ annually. That's not nothing. Over a decade, that's half a million dollars. |
The income tax piece is the one everyone's heard of. What fewer people understand — in Riverside, where many residents commute into finance, law, and corporate roles in Riverside and New York and understand exactly what these numbers mean and will quickly recognize what the numbers mean — are the two other pieces that can matter just as much. The Tax Foundation consistently ranks Connecticut among the five worst states for total tax burden. Florida is near the bottom of that list in exactly the right way.
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🏛️ No State Income Tax Florida's constitution bans it. Connecticut's top rate is 6.99%. On $500K household income that's $34,950 a year you keep. Every single year without exception. |
🏡 No Estate Tax + Homestead Cap Connecticut taxes estates above $2M — which now includes many Riverside homes. Florida has zero estate tax, plus a Homestead cap that limits your property tax increase to 3% per year. |
💼 SALT Cap Relief The $10K federal SALT cap made most of your Riverside property taxes undeductible. Florida's dramatically lower taxes mean you stop bleeding against a ceiling you'll never beat. |
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ESTIMATED ANNUAL TAX SAVINGS $50,000+Typical Riverside Household Earning $500K+ *Based on CT vs. FL income tax, estate planning advantages, and property tax differential. Sources: Florida Dept. of Revenue; CT DRS 2024. Your CPA will give you the exact number for your situation. |
The thing that stops most Riverside families isn't the desire to make the move — it's the logistics. How do you coordinate two closings in two states? How do you get the most out of your Riverside sale while simultaneously searching for a home in Vero Beach? How do you set up Florida domicile correctly so Connecticut doesn't come back at you? These are real questions and they deserve real answers.
Here's how we do it. When you call us, we immediately connect you with the best Coldwell Banker agent in Riverside — someone who knows your streets, your buyer pool, and how to position your home correctly. While that sale is running, we're working the Vero Beach side in parallel. Both transactions are coordinated. You don't get rushed, you don't leave money on the table in Riverside, and you don't end up owning two homes at the same time.
We've also built what we call a Financial Concierge Desk — a network of trusted professionals who handle every piece of what this move requires beyond the real estate itself.
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THE VERO PREMIER CONCIERGE DESK — WHO WE CONNECT YOU WITH:
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One call to us. We do the rest.
This is the question we hear from Riverside families more than almost any other: "But we need to stay connected. Our kids are in the city. We have grandkids on the way." We understand that completely. Here's the honest answer.
Westchester Airport is about 20 minutes from Riverside — and Breeze Airways runs direct service from there to the Vero Beach area. No going into the city, no Metro-North, no JFK. JetBlue also flies daily nonstop from JFK straight to Vero Beach Regional Airport. Most of our Riverside clients are door-to-door in under three and a half hours. One couple from Riverside told us recently they see their kids in New York City more now than when they lived in Connecticut — because the flight makes them actually go, rather than putting it off every weekend. For a town with no train station, that's a meaningful shift.
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✈️ YOUR OPTIONS TO GET HERE
Twenty minutes to Westchester, direct flight to Vero Beach, and you're on the water in time for lunch. The distance between Riverside and Vero Beach is smaller than most people believe — until they've made the trip the first time. |
Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club — Vero Beach, Florida
People from Riverside have a warmth and community-first quality that serves them well here that serves them well here. They don't need flash. They want things to be real — real community, real neighbors, real quality without the performance. Vero Beach is exactly that kind of place.
What they find when they get here: golf multiple times a week, a boat they finally use properly, a beach that's genuinely theirs on a Tuesday morning in January when it's 72 degrees and empty. They go to the Vero Beach Museum of Art and are honestly surprised. They go to Riverside Theatre and say it reminds them of what they loved about seeing shows without the city price and the parking disaster. They find a Saturday farmers market with the same weekly rhythm they knew from Westport — but slower, warmer, and with Indian River citrus.
And they eat well. The restaurant scene in Vero Beach punches above its weight and keeps improving. Our clients go out regularly and rarely run out of new places to try.
What Vero Beach is not: it's not South Florida. No spring break, no cruise ships, no tourist gridlock. Twenty-six miles of Atlantic coastline with actual sea turtles, a genuine arts community, polo at Windsor, and neighbors who have a lot in common with the Riverside families who show up. That combination tends to stick.
VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART
Rotating international exhibitions, a strong permanent collection, and a full cultural calendar throughout the season. This is a real institution — not what most Riverside families expect from a Florida beach town.
RIVERSIDE THEATRE
Professional productions year-round. Same quality as what you'd make a special trip to New Haven or the city for — except it's ten minutes away and parking is free.
THE RESTAURANT SCENE
Better than the size of the town suggests, and growing steadily. Oceanfront fine dining alongside local places that have been here for decades. Both are good. Our clients use both constantly.
POLO & EQUESTRIAN AT WINDSOR
World-class polo and equestrian culture that draws an international crowd. Riverside families often find Vero Beach's communities surprisingly familiar. The yacht club, the golf, the tight membership community, the same accomplished neighbors at the same places every weekend. It is the Riverside Yacht Club lifestyle at 72 degrees in January — without the Connecticut tax bill.
FARMERS MARKET & LOCAL COMMUNITY
Indian River citrus, local honey, weekly market rhythm, and the same vendors every Saturday. It takes about a month before it starts to feel like home. Then it just does.
26 MILES OF ATLANTIC BEACH
Uncrowded, year-round, beautiful. Sea turtle nesting in season. Kayaking on the Indian River Lagoon. If you loved Compo Beach in Westport or the Long Island Sound shoreline, this scratches the same itch — but in January.
This is the moment in the conversation where most Riverside families go a little quiet. Because the gap between what Riverside equity buys in Palm Beach and what it buys in Vero Beach is not subtle. We show this comparison constantly. The reaction is almost always the same: a pause, and then "why didn't anyone ever tell us about this place?"
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📊 Source: 2024–2025 actual sold prices from Zillow Research, Redfin Market Reports & the Indian River County Property Appraiser. |
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MARKET |
AVG. LUXURY HOME |
PRICE / SQ. FT. |
VS. VERO BEACH |
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Palm Beach |
$6M – $25M+ |
$1,800 – $4,500 |
🔴 3–5× more |
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Naples |
$3M – $12M |
$900 – $2,200 |
🟠 2–3× more |
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Miami / Coral Gables |
$2.5M – $15M+ |
$800 – $3,000 |
🟠 2–4× more |
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✦ Vero Beach |
$800K – $4M |
$350 – $900 |
🟢 Best Value |
★ Vero Beach delivers luxury for 40–70% less than Palm Beach, Naples, or Miami ★ |
Your Riverside equity in Palm Beach buys you a two-bedroom condo. In Vero Beach it buys you a waterfront home with a boat dock, golf membership, and private beach club access — often with real money left over. We've watched Riverside families close on Vero Beach properties and genuinely shake their heads at what they got. That never gets old.
Vero Beach has more range than people expect. We've placed families in all of these communities. Here's the honest version of each one — what it's actually like, and who it tends to suit.
GOLF & BEACH CLUBGrand Harbor Two championship golf courses, a private beach club right on the Atlantic, tennis, pickleball, and a deep-water marina on the Indian River. Active, well-run, genuinely warm. Riverside families who belong to the Riverside Yacht Club, the Field Club of Greenwich, or Indian Harbor Yacht Club tend to find Grand Harbor feels immediately right. |
ULTRA-EXCLUSIVE OCEANFRONTJohn's Island Three golf courses, a private Atlantic beach, and a by-invitation membership. The most exclusive community in Vero Beach. If you want the highest level of privacy and selectivity Florida has to offer, this is where that conversation starts. |
BARRIER ISLAND WATERFRONTOrchid Island Oceanfront and intracoastal estates on a private barrier island, deep-water dockage, championship golf. Completely private. For Riverside families who love Bruce Park, the Riverside waterfront, Greenwich Cove, and Long Island Sound or the Saugatuck River and want to replicate that waterfront life in Florida, Orchid Island is usually the answer. |
POLO & EQUESTRIAN ESTATESWindsor Designed by Andrés Duany. World-class polo, equestrian facilities, architecturally striking homes, and an international social scene. Riverside and Greenwich families with equestrian roots often find Windsor to be the unexpected highlight of their first visit to Vero Beach. |
NEIGHBORHOOD FEELThe Moorings & Castaway Cove Some of the most beloved addresses in Vero Beach. Oceanfront and intracoastal homes, tight community, neighbors who know each other. The feeling Riverside residents recognize from their own tight, membership-driven community — transferred to a Florida barrier island. |
NEW CONSTRUCTION TURNKEYQuay Village & The Reserve Modern finishes, smart home technology, nothing to fix when you move in. Riverside families who are ready to stop sending Greenwich-level property taxes to Hartford and put that money to work in Florida love what these communities offer — clean, done, and still dramatically less expensive than anything comparable in Fairfield County. |
35+YEARS COMBINED EXPERIENCE |
2,000+TRANSACTIONS CLOSED |
$1B+IN SALES VOLUME |
Apple News · Top 10 Most Trusted Agents in Florida — 2025
Ben Bryk & Vance Brinkerhoff — 35+ years, 2,000+ transactions, $1B+ in sales volume
We've been doing this in Vero Beach for 35 years between us. We've worked with a lot of Riverside and Greenwich families and we know the concerns — staying connected to family, not losing the community feel, making sure the move makes financial sense, handling both real estate transactions without getting burned on either end. We take all of that seriously. Call us and we'll have a real conversation about whether this makes sense for you. No pressure, no pitch — just two people who know this market and are happy to share what they know.
Real answers. No gloss.
Q: How much would a Riverside CT family actually save on taxes by moving to Vero Beach?
A Riverside household earning $500,000 annually typically saves $50,000 or more per year by moving to Florida. That is the income tax difference alone — Connecticut charges 6.99%, Florida charges zero. It is written into the state constitution. For a Riverside household earning $500,000 a year, you're typically looking at $50,000 or more in annual savings. That's the income tax difference alone — Connecticut at 6.99%, Florida at constitutional zero. Add in estate tax savings (Connecticut taxes estates above $2 million, Florida has none) and the property tax gap, and the total is real. Your CPA will give you the exact number. We've never had a Riverside family run the math and not be surprised by what they found.
Q: What does Riverside home equity actually buy in Vero Beach?
More than most people expect. At $350–$900 per square foot depending on the community, Riverside equity typically buys a genuine luxury home — often waterfront, often with private club access, sometimes with a boat dock and golf membership included. In Palm Beach, that same money gets you a two-bedroom condo. The purchasing power difference is dramatic and it genuinely stuns most Riverside families the first time they see it laid out clearly.
Q: How do Riverside CT residents fly to Vero Beach Florida?
Riverside CT residents can reach Vero Beach, Florida in under 3.5 hours door-to-door. Westchester Airport (HPN) is about 20 minutes from Riverside, and Breeze Airways has direct service from there to the Vero Beach area. JetBlue runs daily nonstop flights from JFK to Vero Beach Regional Airport. Most Riverside families are door-to-door in under three and a half hours. That's less time than the drive to a ski house in Vermont, and you arrive somewhere warmer.
Q: Is Vero Beach going to feel like a real community or just a retirement village?
Vero Beach is a genuine, established community — not a retirement village. This is the question we get from Riverside families more than almost any other, and the honest answer is: it's a real community. Vero Beach has a museum of art, professional theater, polo, an active equestrian scene, excellent restaurants, and a genuine social fabric built around accomplished people who chose to be here. It's not a retirement village. It's a town where people are actually living their lives well. The Riverside families we've moved here consistently tell us the community feel surprised them most.
Q: What does establishing Florida domicile involve?
The basics: file a Florida Declaration of Domicile, get a Florida driver's license and vehicle registration, register to vote in Florida, spend more than 183 days per year in Florida, and update your estate documents under Florida law. Connecticut audits this — they've gotten more aggressive about it in recent years. Do it properly with an attorney who handles this for high-net-worth Northeastern clients. Our Concierge Desk connects you with exactly those people. Don't try to shortcut it.
Q: How does Grand Harbor compare to John's Island for Riverside buyers?
Grand Harbor is the more active, social community — two golf courses, private beach club, marina, tennis, pickleball. It tends to suit Riverside families who want a full club lifestyle and a genuine neighborhood feel within the gates. Aspetuck Valley Country Club members tend to feel at home there. John's Island is more private and exclusive — three courses, private beach, by-invitation membership. For Riverside families who want the highest level of privacy Florida has to offer, that's where the conversation starts. Call us and we'll help you figure out which fits better.
Q: Can you really handle both the Riverside sale and the Vero Beach purchase at the same time?
Yes, and this coordination is honestly the most valuable thing we do for Riverside clients. We connect you with our top Coldwell Banker partner in Riverside who maximizes your sale price on that end, while we're working the Vero Beach purchase in parallel. Both sides stay in communication. The timing gets managed. You don't end up owning two homes at once, and you don't take a bad offer in Riverside because you felt pressure from the Florida side. We've run this process hundreds of times.
Q: What's the estate tax difference between Connecticut and Florida for Riverside homeowners?
Connecticut taxes estates above $2 million at rates up to 12%. Florida has no estate tax at all. As Riverside home values have climbed, more and more Riverside households find themselves above the Connecticut estate tax threshold. The difference in multigenerational wealth preservation between the two states can be substantial. We connect every client with a Florida estate attorney who handles this transition specifically for Northeastern transplants — it matters to get it right.
Q: Is Vero Beach really that much cheaper than Palm Beach or Naples?
Dramatically. Palm Beach runs $1,800–$4,500 per square foot for luxury properties. Vero Beach runs $350–$900. You get equivalent or better club amenities, significantly more privacy, and 26 miles of Atlantic coastline — for 40 to 70 percent less. The people who choose Palm Beach are often choosing the name. The people who choose Vero Beach are choosing the actual life. Our clients who made that comparison don't regret it.
Q: What about staying connected to family in Connecticut or New York?
This is the concern that comes up most often, and the honest answer is that the flight solves most of it. Westchester Airport is 20 minutes from Riverside. Breeze Airways direct, or JetBlue nonstop from JFK — you're in Vero Beach in under three and a half hours. Several Riverside clients have told us they see family more now than when they lived in Connecticut, because the trip becomes an intentional event rather than something to squeeze into a busy schedule. The distance is genuinely smaller than it feels from here.
Q: What's Orchid Island like for Riverside families who love the water?
For Riverside families who have always oriented their lives around the water — the Riverside Yacht Club, Bruce Park, Greenwich Cove, Long Island Sound — Orchid Island is usually the community that resonates most immediately. It's a barrier island community with oceanfront and intracoastal estates, deep-water dockage, and championship golf. Private, beautiful natural setting, and a sense of place that feels like a real home rather than a resort. We've moved several Riverside families there and the fit has been consistently excellent.
Q: What are the private school options near Vero Beach?
St. Edward's School in Vero Beach is the primary independent day school — solid academics, good athletics, real college prep track. For Catholic families specifically, John Carroll Catholic High School in Fort Pierce is an excellent option — a well-regarded diocesan high school with strong academics, competitive athletics, and a genuine faith-based community that many Northeastern Catholic families connect with immediately. For families who want additional choices, Palm Beach County's top private schools (The Benjamin School, Palm Beach Day Academy) are within 45–60 minutes. We include school consultations as part of our relocation service for families with school-age children, and we've helped a number of Riverside families work through exactly this question.
Q: What's the weather like compared to Riverside?
Vero Beach averages 230 sunny days per year. January average high in Vero Beach: 72°F. In Riverside: around 38°F, with ice and all that comes with it. Vero Beach gets about 230 sunny days a year. Summers are warm and humid with afternoon thunderstorms — you learn to plan outdoor time for the morning. Hurricane season is real and you prepare for it; Vero Beach's exposure is lower than South Florida. Most of our Riverside clients say the first January they miss feels like the final confirmation that the move was right.
Q: How far is Vero Beach from Miami, Palm Beach, and Orlando?
Vero Beach is approximately 1 hour north of West Palm Beach, 2.5 hours north of Miami, and 1.5 hours southeast of Orlando. About an hour north of West Palm Beach, two and a half hours north of Miami, and an hour and a half southeast of Orlando. Close enough for day trips, sporting events, and major airport access through PBI. Far enough that none of the South Florida density or traffic reaches you. Most Riverside families consider this location to be one of Vero Beach's most underappreciated advantages.
Q: Why work with you instead of searching for a Vero Beach agent online?
Fair question. The short answer: we've been doing this specific thing — Northeastern families, Vero Beach, 35 years — long enough to know every way it can go sideways and how to prevent it. We know the inventory before it lists. We run both transactions simultaneously with a trusted Coldwell Banker partner in Riverside. We have a concierge network for every legal and financial piece this move requires. We've closed 2,000+ transactions and over a billion dollars in sales. Apple News put us in Florida's top 10 most trusted agents in 2025. But honestly — just call us. Talk to us. See if we're the right fit. Ben: 772-713-9455. Vance: 772-913-3426.
Call Us. We'll Give You the Honest Picture.WHY RIVERSIDE FAMILIES CHOOSE BEN BRYK & VANCE BRINKERHOFFBen Bryk (772-713-9455) and Vance Brinkerhoff (772-913-3426) of Vero Premier Properties at Coldwell Banker Paradise Global Luxury are the most experienced Northeastern relocation specialists on the Treasure Coast. Named among Florida’s Top 10 Most Trusted Realtors by Apple News in 2025, they have helped dozens of Riverside and Greenwich families make a seamless transition to Vero Beach luxury real estate. With 35+ years of combined experience, 2,000+ closed transactions, and more than $1 billion in total sales volume, Ben and Vance handle every part of the move — the Riverside sale, the Vero Beach purchase, the Florida domicile setup, and every professional referral in between. One call handles it all. 35+ Years Combined Experience in Vero Beach Luxury Real Estate2,000+ Transactions Closed — More Than Any Boutique Team on the Treasure Coast$1B+ Total Sales Volume — Vero Premier Properties at Coldwell Banker Paradise Global LuxuryTop 10 Most Trusted Realtors in Florida — Apple News 2025Ben Bryk: 772-713-9455 | Vance Brinkerhoff: 772-913-3426 | floridaeastcoastluxuryhomes.com Whether you're seriously ready or just starting to think about it, we're happy to have a real conversation. No pressure. Both of us pick up the phone. BEN BRYK · VERO PREMIER PROPERTIES772-713-9455 VANCE BRINKERHOFF · VERO PREMIER PROPERTIES772-913-3426 floridaeastcoastluxuryhomes.com |
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