What Is Miami Like?

Miami is having a moment. But really, Miami has been having a moment for a few decades now. The city has steadily grown, fueled by its proximity to Latin America, its beautiful tropical setting, and its total avoidance of any weather resembling winter. Moreover, the rise in work-from-home culture certainly put a spotlight on Miami, an attractive place to live and work, where you can easily go for a walk on the beach before the work day starts, tap into the bubbling tech and entrepreneur scene, and then end the day with a world-class meal or memorable night on the town. 

Read on to find the inside scoop on what living in Miami is really like. If you’re considering a relocation to Miami, we tapped locals to give you the inside scoop on what you should know before moving to Miami. 

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The Inside Scoop

What Makes Living in Miami the Best?

The best way to live in Miami is to pretend that you’re on a beautiful Caribbean island, living a laid-back life in the tropics. All of the city’s amenities serve as added bonuses. Come for the verdant vistas, the palm trees, the tropical plants, and the lush green drives. Stick around for the ocean views, the easily accessible beaches, and the warm Caribbean water. The fact that you reside in one of the country’s most up-and-coming cities just adds to the allure. 

One of the best parts of living in Miami is the cultural diversity. Spending time here means getting to know the cuisines of all the Caribbean and Latin American countries. Your weekday lunches will explode with flavor from so many robust options, including Peruvian, Colombian, Argentine, Salvadoran, Jamaican, Haitian, and Cuban cuisines. Add to that mix the high-end options, celebrity chefs, and local standout culinary stars, who draw from their home countries and food traditions in order to share them with this eclectic city’s foodies. 

You will face the traffic, prices, and attitudes of a major city, but the rich diversity of mom and pop businesses, beautiful landscapes, and interesting architecture make up for it. 

So, Why Doesn’t Everyone Live Here?

Return to the aforementioned traffic, attitudes, and pricing, and it becomes clear that not everyone is cut out to live in Miami. Then, there’s the summer, accompanied by a heat that burns so hot with heavy humidity that it’s hard to remember when the weather last felt crisp, warm, and delicious during the winter months. Summers in Miami are rough, but the sea breeze and a nice dip in a pool or a quick beach trip alleviate them.  

It’s worth mentioning that while the city’s diversity makes it an interesting place to live, it also creates a local culture absolutely unlike anywhere else in the country. There is a bit of a learning curve in navigating it, especially once you venture out of the tourist-heavy areas and really live here. 

Things Locals Know That You May Not

Miami is a big, sprawling city. You’ll see the same backdrops of South Beach over and over again on TV, but the city goes much further, and its many pockets are all worth exploring. Once you pick a place to live, it’s easy for your life to be centered around that neighborhood (remember the mention of traffic?). Make an effort to get to know as much of Miami as possible, and you’ll be rewarded by surprising and unique experiences all across Miami-Dade County. 

The kitsch areas of South Beach, like Ocean Drive, aren’t particularly rich cultural areas, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fun for a pop in. You’ll get a touristy experience, but don’t miss the interesting architecture while you’re there for a bit of a cultural bend. Bayside, in Downtown Miami, is probably the most significant dead zone to locals, an area really only frequented by tourists. However, the surrounding neighborhood is full of things to see, like the FTX Arena and the Perez Art Museum. 

Contrary to the rest of the country’s calendar, the “season” in Miami is the delightful stretch when it starts to get cold everywhere else but becomes perfect for outdoor activities here. It starts post-Halloween and runs through March or April, depending on the year. 

Check out Little Haiti and Little River, cool up-and-coming areas that cater to a trendy audience and have a lot of interesting new openings to explore. 

Must-Haves

If you’re planning a Miami wardrobe, you’ll need athleisure, and lots of it. The city is very workout-centric, and you’ll see people in fabulous workout gear all over the city at all times of the day. Get yourself some chic workout gear. It doubles as comfortable clothes to wear for the hot summer months. You might also want to consider investing in your swim wardrobe before you arrive here full-time, as the opportunities to wear it are plenty. 

Get yourself some bug spray! The mosquitoes can really get the best of you, especially if you’re sweet-blooded, as the locals say. 

Miami oscillates between a laid-back island vibe and a cutthroat attitude. It’s part of the beauty of the city, and you learn to live with it. Generally, people have a sense of humor, and it’s best to have one too so that the unavoidable, less pleasant interactions roll off your back (psst… it’s that pesky traffic again). 

The Housing Scene

One of the best things about Miami is the mix of housing options. You can find old, charming apartments in a wide range of architectural styles, sparkling high-rise buildings, lofty penthouses, cozy spots, and more. Almost everywhere in the city, with the exception of Downtown, there are townhouses available with cute little backyards with much-coveted outdoor living space. 

In the most dense areas, you can find an apartment that is within walking distance of retail, or sometimes even provides shopping options right downstairs. More residential neighborhoods still offer charming little downtown zones, for the most part, where you can hop from store to store to shop and pick up groceries. 

Overall, the demand for apartments is very high, and the Miami real estate market continues to be hot, hot, hot. Start your search with AptAmigo to alleviate the stress of finding the right place for you in this buzzy climate. 

Find your Dream Miami Apartment

Interested in calling Miami home now that you know the pros and cons of living here? Reach out to AptAmigo and find your apartment in Miami with their stress-free, VIP method. All you need to do is let us know your preferences, and we’ll do all the hard work for you. 

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