Jimmy Buffett didn’t just live in one place. That’s the big secret. Most fans—the die-hard Parrotheads—associate him strictly with Key West, and honestly, that makes sense. It’s where the legend began. But if you really want to know where did Jimmy Buffett live, you have to look at a map of the Western Hemisphere and start throwing darts. He was a nomad with a very expensive real estate portfolio. He moved where the wind, the waves, or the business opportunities took him.
He was a billionaire by the time he passed away in September 2023. You don’t get that kind of wealth by just sitting on a porch in the Florida Keys. He had homes in St. Barts, Palm Beach, Sag Harbor, and even a rural patch of Montana.
The Key West Years: Where the Myth Was Born
In 1971, Buffett was basically broke. He’d failed in Nashville. His first marriage was falling apart. Jerry Jeff Walker—the guy who wrote "Mr. Bojangles"—threw him in the back of a Packard and drove him down to the end of the road. Key West. Back then, it wasn't the tourist trap it is today. It was a sketchy, beautiful, drug-fueled haven for smugglers, poets, and treasure hunters.
He lived in a few different spots around the island. One of the most famous was a small apartment on Lighthouse Court. Later, he moved into a spot on Ann Street. These weren't mansions. They were humble, salt-sprayed wood houses where he wrote "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean."
If you visit Key West now, you can see the Shrimp Boat Sound studio. It’s a nondescript yellow building on the water. That was his "office." He didn't just live there; he inhaled the culture. The characters he met at the Chart Room Bar became the lyrics to his most famous songs. He once said that Key West gave him the "license to be weird." But as the island got more crowded and "Margaritaville" became a global brand, the man who put the island on the map started looking for an exit strategy.
Moving North: The Palm Beach and Jupiter Era
By the 1980s and 90s, the Key West vibe had changed. It was loud. It was busy. Buffett had a family now. So, he migrated up the coast. For a significant chunk of his later life, if you asked where did Jimmy Buffett live during the work week, the answer was usually the Palm Beach area.
He owned a massive estate in Palm Beach on North County Road. It was a sprawling, elegant Caribbean-style home. But he also spent a ton of time in Jupiter, Florida. This is where he kept his toys. We’re talking about his fleet of boats and his "Hemisphere Dancer" seaplane.
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Jupiter offered more privacy. It’s where the high-net-worth crowd hides from the cameras. He was often spotted at local joints like the Square Grouper Tiki Bar. He lived there like a local, even if his "local" lifestyle involved flying his own Cessna to grab lunch in the Bahamas. He eventually sold his main Palm Beach mansion for around $18.5 million in 2010, but he never really left the area. He just downsized to a slightly "smaller" $8 million home in a gated community nearby.
The Hamptons: A Different Kind of Island Life
It surprises people to learn that the King of the Tropics spent a huge amount of time in New York. Specifically, Sag Harbor in the Hamptons.
Why? Because the surfing is actually decent in the winter if you have a thick enough wetsuit, and the social scene is elite. Jimmy was a businessman. He hung out with Harrison Ford and Billy Joel. He lived on an estate in the North Haven area of Sag Harbor.
This wasn't about "cheeseburgers in paradise." This was about the high life. He had a custom-built recording studio there. He could be seen paddleboarding in the bay or grabbing a coffee at a local shop like any other wealthy retiree. It proves that his brand was a lifestyle he sold, but his personal life was much more sophisticated than a tequila-soaked beach party.
International Waters: St. Barts
You can't talk about Jimmy’s residences without mentioning St. Barthélemy.
He famously owned a home there for decades. He even owned a hotel/restaurant called Le Select—well, he didn't own the whole thing, but he was so synonymous with it that people thought he did. He played surprise sets there for years. St. Barts was his true escape. It was the one place where he could be "Jimmy" and not "The Brand."
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He lived in the Gouverneur area. It's rugged. It's expensive. It’s private. When he was there, he was usually on his boat, the Continental Drifter. For Buffett, "home" was often wherever he dropped anchor.
The Montana Mystery and the West Coast
Wait, Montana? Yeah. Jimmy Buffett owned a ranch in Livingston, Montana.
He was part of the "Livingston Group" in the 70s and 80s, a collection of writers and artists like Tom McGuane and Jim Harrison. They’d go up there to fly-fish and drink bourbon away from the humidity of the Gulf Stream. It shows a side of his life that wasn't about the ocean. It was about the solitude of the mountains.
Later in life, he also kept a residence in Beverly Hills. Why? Because he was a mogul. He had deals with movie studios, Broadway shows, and casino developers. You can't do that from a hammock in the Caribbean. You need a base in 90210.
What People Get Wrong About His "Home"
People think he lived in a Margaritaville Retirement Community. He didn't.
While he developed the Latitude Margaritaville communities in places like Daytona Beach and Hilton Head, he wasn't living in a 55+ neighborhood with a golf cart. He was living in high-end, architectural masterpieces.
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He also didn't live in a "margaritaville" state of mind 24/7. He was a disciplined pilot, a father, and a CEO. His homes reflected that. They were organized, clean, and filled with books.
Summary of the Buffett Map
To recap the primary locations where Jimmy Buffett actually resided over his 76 years:
- Mobile, Alabama: Where he grew up and found his musical roots.
- Nashville, Tennessee: His failed attempt at being a country star.
- Key West, Florida: The 1970s "Golden Era" home.
- Palm Beach/Jupiter, Florida: His primary business and family hub for 30 years.
- Sag Harbor, New York: His summer retreat and creative workspace.
- St. Barts, French West Indies: His spiritual and vacation home.
- Livingston, Montana: His fly-fishing getaway.
How to Find the "Real" Jimmy Today
If you want to walk in his footsteps, go to Key West, but stay away from the neon lights of Duval Street for a second. Go to the Blue Heaven restaurant for breakfast. Walk past the old Lighthouse. That’s where the ghost of the "real" Jimmy Buffett lives.
He was a man of the world. He lived everywhere because he could afford to, but he always kept a piece of the Gulf Coast in his pocket. He died at his home in Sag Harbor, surrounded by family and his dogs, which is a long way from the bars of Key West, but exactly where a successful life's journey was meant to end.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Visit the Key West Cemetery: Look for the local legends he sang about; it gives context to his early residences.
- Check out the Shrimp Boat Sound Studio: You can't go inside, but standing outside that yellow building at the bight gives you a sense of his "office" life.
- Read "A Pirate Looks at Fifty": This is his autobiography. It details his travels between his homes in his own words, specifically his flight across the hemisphere for his 50th birthday.
- Explore the Latitude Margaritaville locations: If you want to see the "lifestyle" he built for others, visit the Daytona Beach community. It’s the closest thing to a "Buffett-designed" living experience available to the public.
- Support the Everglades: Jimmy was a huge environmentalist in Florida. If you want to honor his legacy in the place he called home most often, donate to the Save the Manatee Club, which he co-founded.