Skip to content
Nanci Gilbert, PA logo

From the Journal

Notes on moving up in South Florida.

Practical writing about the moves families actually make: selling one home and buying the next, finding the space that fits, and reading the markets from Homestead to the coast.

Featured · Growing Families

Has Your Family Outgrown Your Home?

The signs are small at first: a garage that became storage, a kitchen that cannot host, and children sharing rooms that no longer fit. Here is how to read them and what to do next.

Nanci Gilbert, PA · September 9, 2026

Read the article

Selling & Moving Up

How to Sell a Home and Buy a New One at the Same Time

The biggest fear is not the sale or the purchase. It is the space in between: selling with nowhere to go, or buying while carrying two homes. Here is how the sequence gets planned, not feared.

September 9, 2026

Redland & Homestead

What to Know Before Buying Acreage in Redland

Five-acre lots, groves, wells, septic, and agricultural classification: Redland rewards buyers who do their homework. Here is the due diligence list Nanci walks through with every acreage buyer.

September 9, 2026

Moving Up

How Much Space Does Your Family Really Need?

Families shop by bedroom count and end up in a house that still does not feel right. Space is not the same as size; the right home is where daily routines stop colliding.

September 9, 2026

Luxury & Lifestyle

What Luxury Buyers Expect From a South Florida Home

Luxury in South Florida is rarely a single feature. It is the combination of privacy, proportion, light, and a home that functions as a backdrop for a full life.

September 9, 2026

Seller Tips

What to Fix Before Selling a South Florida Home

The costly mistake sellers make is doing the work in the wrong order. The right list, the one that protects your price and your time, is shorter than it looks.

September 9, 2026

Buyer Tips

Why Price per Square Foot Should Not Decide Your Offer

Price per square foot is the fastest metric in real estate and the easiest to misread. It is an average and a starting point, never the last word on the home.

September 9, 2026

Home & Maintenance

A Hurricane Season Checklist for South Florida Homes

Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and the quiet weeks are the time to prepare. Here is the home checklist in one place, from the windows to the paperwork.

September 9, 2026

Family & Education

Moving With School-Aged Children: The Timing and the Talk

The school question is the first one most families ask about a move, and it is the right one. It is not the only one: routine, timing, and the conversation matter to the plan.

September 9, 2026

Outdoor Life

Four Outdoor Escapes Within Minutes of Homestead

Homestead sits between two national parks, and the rest is a short drive: botanical gardens, a bayfront marina, and county parks. Here is the family circuit.

September 9, 2026

Community

The Pros and Cons of Living in Homestead, Florida

Homestead keeps growing for a reason: space, pace, and more home for the budget. The honest tradeoffs are the commute and the growth. Here is the full picture.

September 9, 2026

Local Dining

Five Restaurants Worth the Drive to Homestead

From an elegant bistro in the old downtown to a pizza place with a loyal crowd, Homestead's dining scene holds more than the drive suggests. These are the seasoned favorites.

September 9, 2026

Local Life

Things to Do in and Around the Redland

The Redland is farm country, and its best days are spent outdoors: botanical gardens, a coral landmark, groves, and a wildlife farm. Here is the local list.

September 9, 2026

Community Events

Homestead Con 2026: A Two-Day Weekend of Comics, Cosplay and Collectibles

The third edition of Homestead Con runs Saturday and Sunday, September 12 and 13, at South Dade Senior High, with comics, anime, cosplay, vendors and a gaming area for the whole family.

Event · September 12 and 13, 2026

Community Events

Adventure Day at Fruit and Spice Park: A Saturday of Harvest

On September 12, Fruit and Spice Park in the Redland turns its gardens into a family Adventure Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with crafts, scavenger hunts, seasonal tours and food trucks.

Event · September 12, 2026

Community Events

Give Back at the Track: Six Laps of the Oval for the Community

On September 12, Homestead-Miami Speedway opens the oval to street legal cars from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., six laps for 50 dollars per car, with the proceeds going to charitable causes.

Event · September 12, 2026

Community Events

The 18th Cutler Bay Open: A Day of Golf That Gives Back

The Cutler Bay Open charity golf tournament returns on September 12 at the Redland Golf and Country Club, a four person scramble with breakfast, lunch, awards and the community fund as the winner.

Event · September 12, 2026

Community Events

The Hollywood Beach Sweep: A Cleanup Morning By the Ocean

On September 12 from 7 to 11 in the morning, the city of Hollywood invites everyone to the beach sweep at Charnow Park, with gloves, bags and the whole shoreline as the reward.

Event · September 12, 2026

Community Events

Free Family Fun Day at HistoryMiami: September 12

HistoryMiami Museum opens free of charge on Saturday, September 12, from noon to 5 p.m., with guided tours, hands on activities and the permanent collection of Miami's story.

Event · September 12, 2026

Community Events

The Pinecrest Farmers Market: A Sunday Among the Trees

Every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Pinecrest Farmers Market fills the gardens of Pinecrest Garden with produce, honey, cheese and coffee, and September 13 is its regular turn.

Event · Every Sunday, including September 13, 2026

Community Events

Sunday at the Vizcaya Village: Market and a Walk Through History

On September 13, the Sunday market at Vizcaya Village opens at 9:30 a.m. and the guided walk of the historic village follows at 11, both at 3250 South Miami Avenue in the Grove.

Event · Sunday, September 13, 2026

Homestead vs. Miami

What $600K Buys in Homestead vs. Miami

Same budget, two very different homes. A practical comparison of what $600,000 actually buys in Homestead against the Miami market, and how families should read the difference.

September 9, 2026

Redland & Homestead

Wells and Septic in Homestead: What Buyers Should Know

Many acreage and estate homes in Homestead and the Redland run on well water and septic systems. Here is the honest due diligence list every buyer should walk through.

September 9, 2026

Living in Pinecrest

Living in Pinecrest: Estate Lots and Village Life

Pinecrest is Miami-Dade's estate-lot village: mature trees, large parcels, and a quieter pace. Here is what life there is actually like.

September 9, 2026

Selling & Moving Up

Selling and Buying at the Same Time in Florida

The Florida move-up playbook: order the two transactions, protect the gap with contingencies and lease-backs, and move once.

September 9, 2026

Redland & Homestead

Insurance on an Acreage Property in South Florida

Acreage homes bring stronger coverage questions: wind, flood, liability, and the outbuildings. What buyers should budget before the offer.

September 9, 2026

Client Stories

From Cramped to Comfortable: A Client Story

A South Florida family, a house that no longer fit the week, and the coordinated move that gave the children room.

September 9, 2026

Seller Tips

How to Prepare Your Home for Photography and Showings

The first impression of your home is usually a photograph, seen on a phone between errands. Here is how to get the house ready for the camera and for the buyers who follow it, without a full renovation.

September 9, 2026

Buyer Tips

The Questions I Wish Every Buyer Asked Before Making an Offer

An offer turns weeks of searching into one decision. These five questions, asked before the signature, keep that decision honest, and the numbers clear.

September 9, 2026

Home Care

Wet-Season Home Care: Simple Checks for a South Florida Home

South Florida's rainy season runs from mid-May to mid-October, when most of the year's rain falls. A few hours of simple home checks before and during the season protect the roof, the drains, and the budget.

September 9, 2026

Family & Home

Making Room for Visiting Parents in Your Next Home

A parent who visits often changes what a floor plan needs. A quiet room near a bath, a real door, and a little thought make the visit feel like family, not a project.

September 9, 2026

Outdoor Life

Green Spaces and Parks Near Palmetto Bay and Pinecrest

Palmetto Bay calls itself the Village of Parks, and the villages around Pinecrest and Cutler Bay prove it. These are the family afternoons worth packing for.

September 9, 2026

Community

The Pros and Cons of Living in Hollywood, Florida

A beach town in Broward with a real boardwalk, a walkable downtown, and a position between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Here is the honest list of what Hollywood does well, andwhat it trades.

September 9, 2026

Local Dining

Where Families Eat in Pembroke Pines

Dinner out with the family in Pembroke Pines has reliable answers: long-run Italian, wood-fired pizza, a seafood boil everyone can eat by hand, and a kitchen that dresses up the nights that earn it.

September 9, 2026

Local Life

Things to Do in Miami With the Family on a Weekend

Miami has two speeds: the packed weekend scene, and the generous morning version, where the city gets it right for families. The best weekend days rarely start with a beach towel. They start with one of these five places, a plan, and enough sunscreen.

September 9, 2026

Reading helps. A conversation decides.

Bring the article that sounds like your situation, and Nanci will walk you through what it means for your move.

Start the conversation