Fajardo's housing reflects its coastal, tourism-oriented setting. The market includes single-family homes in the town and its barrios, along with condominiums in coastal communities such as Las Croabas, where developments may offer amenities like community pools. Properties range from modest local residences to waterfront and marina-adjacent homes catering to boaters and seasonal buyers. Fajardo's appeal for second-home and expatriate buyers is tied to its marinas, beaches, and access to the offshore islands, though it remains a full working municipality rather than a resort-only enclave. The market offers a mix of primary residences, vacation properties, and investment-oriented units.

Fajardo's communities include the central town, known as Fajardo Pueblo, which anchors government, commerce, and daily life, and a string of coastal barrios that define its maritime character. Las Croabas, on the peninsula near the Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve, is a notable coastal village with homes and condominiums close to the bio bay and Seven Seas Beach. The area around Puerto del Rey Marina supports a boating-oriented residential scene, while El Conquistador Resort anchors the tourist sector. This mix of an urban core, working waterfront, and resort-adjacent residential pockets gives Fajardo a layered, coastal-municipal character.

Life in Fajardo is oriented to the sea. As Puerto Rico's recreational boating hub, the municipality revolves around its marinas, charter fleet, and the daily rhythm of boats heading to Culebra, Vieques, and the offshore cays. Residents and visitors alike spend time on the water, at beaches such as Seven Seas, and exploring the Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve. Evenings bring kayak tours into the bioluminescent Laguna Grande, one of the island's signature natural spectacles. The town blends a working coastal community with tourism and ecotourism, and its proximity to San Juan, about an hour and a half west, keeps the metro accessible.

Fajardo is served by Puerto Rico's centralized public school system, the Departamento de Educación, which operates elementary, middle, and high schools across the municipality. Private and faith-based schools provide additional options for local families. Higher education is available through the University of Puerto Rico system and other institutions on the island, with additional campuses and professional programs reachable in the San Juan metropolitan area. Because Puerto Rico's schools are centrally administered rather than locally districted, families considering Fajardo typically evaluate individual campus options within the municipality rather than a single local school district.

Fajardo sits along Route 3, the main east-coast highway connecting it to San Juan and the rest of Puerto Rico, about an hour and a half to the west. The municipality is the traditional gateway to the offshore islands: the ferry terminal serving Vieques and Culebra operates from nearby Ceiba, just south of Fajardo, with air service also available. Puerto del Rey Marina supports extensive private boating traffic. Within the municipality, travel is by car, and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan is the primary air gateway. This combination of highway, ferry, air, and marina infrastructure makes Fajardo one of the island's most connected east-coast communities.

Fajardo's recreation is anchored by the sea. The municipality is Puerto Rico's boating hub, with Puerto del Rey Marina and numerous charter operators offering sailing, sport fishing, diving, and day trips to Culebra, Vieques, and the Virgin Islands. Seven Seas Beach provides calm, family-friendly swimming with palm-lined sand, while the Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve protects coastal trails, a historic lighthouse, and the bioluminescent Laguna Grande, explored by guided night kayak tours. Snorkeling, kayaking, and island-hopping are part of everyday life, and the ferry terminal in nearby Ceiba makes trips to Vieques and Culebra straightforward.