Miami, Florida
Magic City
LookyLOO Review of 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 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.
Lifestyle
Miami is justly celebrated as a gorgeous city, with beautiful people and a wonderfully diverse cultural and social scene. If you enjoy 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 daytime weather and water color much of Miami's lifestyle. It gets seriously hot here but the Atlantic provides 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.
Worklife
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 typically be stuck in your car for an hour.
There’s virtually no public transport and so many people commute into the commercial district 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 businesses down here.
Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schoolsis an above-average large city school district, receiving a "B+" grade on niche.com. It excels in College Prep and Clubs & Activities.
Like all large city districts, there is a big mix of high and lower-performing schools. As with many districts in Florida, charter schools have come on to be among the choices for many locals. Catholic and Private are also popular here. Among the most highly regarded include:
-MAST@FIU is the highest rated high school in Florida, receiving an "A+" on niche.com. It's THE public magnet in Miami and draws students from all over the area.
-International Studies Charter High School is another standout, coming in rated #5 in the high school rankings for Florida.
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.
Reviews of Miami from Locals
Transience
DonTom93
Living in Miami
6mo ago
✭✭✭✭
Beautiful nature, being able to see manatees and dolphins etc. in Biscayne Bay, visit miles of miles of beaches, and swim during winter is pretty cool. Lots of Latino and Caribbean culture and generally people from all over the world. Different neighborhoods to explore, Design District, Coconut Grove, Wynwood, Brickell, Miami Beach, Little Havana etc. Pretty much never run out of things to do, especially with events like the Boat Show, Wine and Food Festival, Art Basel etc. A sunny place full of shady people! 😂 but no it’s a great city, just takes a bit of time to figure out, moreso than other cities I think.
Edit: Just saw a manatee casually on my walk after work. That’s pretty magical.
For more reviews of Miami from locals check out The Reviews.
Living in Miami
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Neighborhoods in Miami
View AllThe Area
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.