Miami has one of the most fascinating populations on the planet due to its location at the intersection of the Caribbean, Central America, the Northeastern United States and Canada. 

Economic and snowbird expats combine to give Miami both the most and least American vibe of any city. Economic ambition has always been a hallmark of immigrant populations but these communities brought along the culture, beauty, food and language or their native countries and made Miami the capital of the Latin diaspora and the city with the highest percentage of foreign born residents.

Here's a local on Miami:
*Miami is one of the best cities I’ve ever lived in, keep in mind this is a naive perspective. it’s open minded. it’s multicultural in fact one of the most diverse group of people in the world. Egyptian, Spanish, I’m American, European, Italian. Etc. which comes with a very special underlining you can find your tribe here if you wait long enough. Also, the food here is great.*

*I’m middle income, coming from the north east this is a huge plus. Taxes, cost of living while living in a higher standard of living city. don’t get wrapped up in the scene. I mean dabble and have fun, but really people that have money don’t need to show it off really.*

For more reviews of Miami from locals check out the Buzz: https://lookyloomove.com/locations/miami?page=buzz

The People

The Best Thing About Miami? 

The average Miamian only stays for 4-5 years. That makes living here feel like a constant influx of new and departing neighbors. This transience is only increasing as northerners flock south to escape the pandemic and live in a city with better weather than New York. Some who have lived here claim it is more like a multi-year vacation than a real permanent home. 

Here's a local on is issue:
*That's interesting that thats your view point. I'm not saying that you are wrong, but i believe that Miami is one of the most transient cities in our country with so many people coming and so many people leaving each day*


Transience 

The Worst Thing About Miami?

Miami is widely noted as a beautiful city, with beautiful people and a beautifully diverse cultural and social scene. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys a night out then expect some amazing food from across the Latin food world with a particular brilliance in authentic Cuban dining, and one of the better music scenes in the country. Warm nights out in Miami are unlike any other city in the U.S. so again, if nightlife is your passion then you’ll love it here. 

In the day time weather and water color much of Miami lifestyle. It gets seriously hot here but the Atlantic provides much comfort and hitting the beach is a big part of weekend and summer days. 

If you're curious what locals do in Miami check out the calendar of events: https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/events


Lifestyle Of Miami

During Covid Miami became popular as a destination for finance and wealthy techies to flee their northern cities. That trend aside, many people think of Miami as a place to move for the lifestyle rather than work. One of the challenges of working in Miami is that it’s very expensive and not particularly family-friendly downtown so if you’re commuting in then you’ll historically be stuck in your car for an hour. There’s virtually no public transport and so many people commute into the tourist and commercial work downtown. While some of that may be changing, a heavy service, real estate and tourism economy means in-person dominates much of the job opportunities. There is a growing tech economy here as the lack of state taxes and cool culture is pulling VC and startup business down here. 


Workstyle Of Miami

Miami has a lot going for it: great beaches, a diverse population, booming economy, and warm weather. However, if there is one thing we’d say that should drive you to make the move to Miami it is the nightlife. If you enjoy great music, amazing restaurants, delicious food from all over the planet, packed bars and dance clubs, and a beautiful population to enjoy it all with then this could be your city. 


I Like The Nightlife, I Like To Boogie 

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**The Best Thing About Miami?** The People 

Miami has one of the most fascinating populations on the planet due to its location at the intersection of the Caribbean, Central America, the Northeastern United States and Canada. Economic and snowbird expats combine to give Miami both the most and least American vibe of any city. Economic ambition has always been a hallmark of immigrant populations but these communities brought along the culture, beauty, food and language or their native countries and made Miami the capital of the Latin diaspora and the city with the highest percentage of foreign born residents. 

**The Worst Thing About Miami?** Transience 

The average Miamian only stays for 4-5 years. That makes living here feel like a constant influx of new and departing neighbors. This transience is only increasing as northerners flock south to escape the pandemic and live in a city with better weather than New York. Some who have lived here claim it is more like a multi-year vacation than a real permanent home. 

**How You Living?** In A Condo

There are several stunning neighborhoods in Miami, with Coconut Grove and Coral Gables topping the list. Both have luxurious sections with beautiful homes, beach access, and jumping commercial districts. Much of living in Miami now though is about the condo market. Lining the coastline are a truly varied selection of condo buildings: stunning luxury with penthouses and full floor units, smaller hipster spots dead center in the bar scenes of downtown, and more modest and more affordable units for the rental and middle class. The majority of these newer buildings and complexes offer incredible amenities including pools, fitness centers, indoor/outdoor yoga studios and some get crazy with chef’s kitchens, private movie theaters, and helipads. 

**Why You Should Move Here Now?** I Like The Nightlife, I Like To Boogie 

Miami has a lot going for it: great beaches, a diverse population, booming economy, and warm weather. However, if there is one thing we’d say that should drive you to make the move to Miami it is the nightlife. If you enjoy great music, amazing restaurants, delicious food from all over the planet, packed bars and dance clubs, and a beautiful population to enjoy it all with then this could be your city. 


Miami is part of an area collectively known as the “Gold Coast”. It is known as such because so many wealthy northerners brought their $$$ down in winter and had big estates and fancy condos built for their snowbird lifestyle The Miami Metro area lines the southeast Florida Atlantic coast and includes Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Palm Beach/West Palm Beach, Hialeah, Hollywood and Boca Raton. Miami and the surrounding area is majority Hispanic in part due to proximity to the original homes of those who have immigrated. Cuba is only a couple hundred miles away and The Bahamas only 100-160 miles away. The majority of people here speak Spanish  and Miami truly feels like the most International city in the U.S. 


The Area

As with most cities Downtown draws tons of young professionals. The massive condo/apt buildings that line one of the more famous neighborhoods, Brickell. Sitting on the water, overlooking Brickell Key, and surrounded by shopping, amazing dining options, bars and nightclubs. Unlike much of the area Brickell also has great public transportation options with free trolleys, the Metro-Movers and the Metrorail to scoot you around town. There are a lot of good options but we’d suggest at least starting with Brickell if you’re moving here to be in the action. 
- Brickell
- Wynwood
- Downtown


Young Professionals

Brickell

Coral Gables and Coconut Grove are interesting options for couples with no children. Coconut Grove has an incredible walkable social scene that rivals Miami for quality of food, bars and shopping. If you can afford it this is a compelling place to start your search. Coral Gables is a bit more affordable, as it is a bit more off the water and has more traditional housing than the “Grove”. It also has its own social scene and walkable commercial district. 
- Coral Gables
- Coconut Grove
- Midtown


DINK/SINKs

Coral Gables

Only a few other cities rival Miami for the richness of the LGBTQ life and culture in Miami. If you’re looking then start with the South Beach neighborhood. Imagine the Castro but glamorous, filled with all-night parties, access to sun, sand and surf, and bathed in extremely cool Art Deco architecture. Wynwood and the adjacent Design District also acts as a hub of the Miami LGBTQ community. It used to be a relatively empty warehouse district that is now an incredibly hip arts center filled with galleries, boutiques, breweries, cafes and clubs. 
- South Beach
- Wynwood
- Design District


LGBTQ+

South Beach


Coconut Grove is Miami’s oldest neighborhood and is the most popular for families in the city. It has tall oak trees (rare for Florida), tons of parks and has bike riding trails for families to spin around town. It’s extremely walkscore friendly and you’ll feel good about it because it has 24/7 police surveillance making it one of the safest neighborhoods in Miami. It has the great private and public schools and the local CocoWalk commercial district has a movie theater, shops and Silly Monkeys Playhouse, where the kiddos can take art, music classes and just play and explore. 
- Coconut Grove
- Weston
- Brickell


Families

Coconut Grove

Edgewater is a popular neighborhood for retirees. Right next to the happening neighborhoods of Wynwood and the Design District, it has a bounty of great condo options and easy access to shopping and entertainment. The University of Miami Hospital and Jackson Hospital are minutes away and prices are reasonable relative to some of the other neighborhoods nearby. 
Bal Harbour is a technically a suburb of Miami but it sits at the north end of Miami Beach and is famous for upscale shopping and beautiful oceanfront resorts, condos and apartment buildings. Retirees who want the beach but want to be a bit removed from the city pick Bal Harbour. 
- Edgewater
- Bal Harbour
- Miami Beach


Retirees

Edgewater

Miami

**What is it like to live in Miami?**

As someone born and raised in Miami, I have much to say based on my own experience on this topic. I'll try to cover the things helpful to someone comparing things to any other city; the entertainment culture, weather, public transportation and also culture in terms of people.

So many people refer to Miami as culturally diverse, though it’s far less “a little bit of everything” and more so very diverse in Latin/Hispanic Spanish-speaking culture; Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Chileans, etc. This high concentration definitely makes it unique. There is an established Jewish community in South Florida - and also pockets with Haitian residents, though I didn’t have much exposure to either in the area where I grew up.

People think of Miami as a nice and warm place to live, but I'm not sure if they realize it's very humid and often sweltering hot to the point of discomfort. If you don't mind frequent heat, moist air and no change of seasons, it could be your dream. :)

To no surprise, it is hands-down, the best place in the country to find authentic Cuban food. If you’re not familiar, look up things like Ropa Vieja, Mariquitas, Congri and Platanos Maduros to name a few. My mouth waters just thinking about it. :) Hialeah is a part of Greater Miami area in Dade County and you will find plenty of really legit and affordable Cuban food there in particular.

In terms of general vibe, people are unfortunately known for being less friendly and sometimes outright rude. It's much less common for people to hold a door open for you, for example. In some cities, people might greet you in an elevator or even make polite conversation while waiting in a line; much much less common in Miami. (There are, of course, exceptions to the rule and some more friendly and polite people here and there. And of course, no city exists without some rude people, but it’s just more common there.)

**What is it like to live in Miami?**

GOOD

Wonderful weather for one third of the year (November through February) It is usually the only reliably mild weather location in the continental USA in the depths of winter. When I first arrived decades ago, even October and March to mid-April were usually tolerable at night without the need for a/c at nighttime; however, summery, humid weather has increased and now the Fall and Spring months can have days that are uncomfortably humid.
Lots of outdoor activities and beach areas.
Many open-air, popular culture activities and festivals.
For cities of comparable size, cost of living is reasonable, partly as labor costs are lowered by arrival of immigrants from less developed nations.
Very socially tolerant, live and let live attitude, largely born of the waves of recent immigration from various countries, as well as many overseas visitors.
Excellent logistics by sea and by air. South Florida airports have non-stop flights to many destinations, stretching from the Dubai to Argentina.
Good schools for children.
No State income tax
BAD

Nearly 2/3 of the year (from April to October) is now mostly a steam house, humid and hot. Even at night, it may remain above 80 F., still and humid in the doldrums of summer. So, your life becomes moving from one air conditioned space to another; people get irritable and you feel cramped by the constant feeling of enclosure.
It’s not just a “preference” for warm temperatures but a matter of public health. More people die of heat stroke than from hypothermia per year, and Miami is the large US city that has the most number of days with a heat index above 105 F.


**Do you like living in Miami**

I grew up here, but I'll try to be as unbiased as possible...

Miami has a lot to offer. If you're interested in nature, there's plenty.

Aside from the breathtaking Everglades, you can find an insane amount of nature in everyone's backyard. Many people have avocado or mango trees and some even have wild peacocks or iguanas roaming around.

If you're looking for shopping, nightlife, and a generally luxurious lifestyle, well, that's an obvious "check". Unfortunately, with that comes some negative cultural aspects, like materialism, vanity, more focus on money than education, etc. But that does not represent everyone.

There's plenty of cultural diversity, but it's pretty limited to this hemisphere. Being of Cuban descent, I dig the fact that I can get Cuban coffee and pastelitos at every corner (ventanitas) and that everyone speaks Spanish.

I just wish we had a more forward and open thinking approach to our future. That goes for traffic, cuisine, environment, music, etc. The traffic is terrible, the food is not as diverse as say NYC's or SF's, people litter and sea-level rise doesn't get as much attention as necessary, everything is reggaeton...

But ultimately, it's my city. I feel out of place anywhere else, even within the US. The reality is there's no place like Miami.

**Do you like living in Miami**

This is to help the next human settling in. I live 3 blocks behind the ocean and work from home. Something I plan to keep doing. COVID as a silver lining opened up a door for me.

Miami is one of the best cities I’ve ever lived in, keep in mind this is a naive perspective.

it’s open minded

it’s multicultural in fact one of the most diverse group of people in the world. Egyptian, Spanish, I’m American, European, Italian. Etc. which comes with a very special underlining you can find your tribe here if you wait long enough. Also, the food here is great.

I’m middle income, coming from the north east this is a huge plus. Taxes, cost of living while living in a higher standard of living city.

don’t get wrapped up in the scene. I mean dabble and have fun, but really people that have money don’t need to show it off really. There is a poverty of mind here that really shows so avoid that non sense. .

people are fitness focused and image concious. I left yoga in pants and walked to ask for a lighter a couple wouldn’t even say hi to me at all because I asked for a lighter. However, lol I a person that doesn’t care and kept asking then proceeded to have a conversation about their stay and then told me to have a good night. Basically, you just gotta break em down here a little more.

Give it a year which is what I’m thinking I’ll do. I assure you there are a million places to not live. This is probably one of the few you don’t want to miss in the United States.

Do get a remote job, post COVID it’s easy so LOOK then move. As Miami is service heavy without much industry outside of Brickell (finance / downtown) there isn’t much out there. The income here is changing however post COVID rentals have sky rocketed then again inflation is a big issue now in the US. When people are not killing each other for no other reason but that is another topic. . .

**Living In Miami For Over a Month... 5 Things You Need To Consider Before Moving Here**

Miami, Florida

Magic City

Looklyloo Score: 93

We're on it!