Spanish is the majority language in many Miami neighborhoods, which is where the American grid meets Latin America. About 490,000 people live in the city itself, inside a metro of more than six million. Days run on heat, humidity, Cuban coffee windows and a lot of time in the car.
Visitors tend to split their time between the Art Deco strip of South Beach and Ocean Drive, the murals of Wynwood, food and music on Calle Ocho in Little Havana, and a quieter afternoon at Vizcaya. Everglades airboat tours make an easy day trip. The tradeoffs are real. Living here is expensive for the region, condo insurance and association fees keep climbing, hurricane season runs June through November, and car break-ins are common. Tourist zones are generally fine, but nightlife areas deserve some care.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- The Magic City; Gateway to the Americas; Capital of Latin America; MIA
- Founded
- Settled 1870s (Fort Dallas, Julia Tuttle and William Brickell); incorporated 1896
- Languages
- English; Spanish (widely spoken, majority of residents in many areas); Haitian Creole
- Airports
- Miami International (MIA), about 13 km west of downtown; Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL), about 45 km north; Opa-locka Executive (OPF) is general aviation
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20% (an 18-20% gratuity is often auto-added for parties of 6 or more, and some tourist-area venues add it to all checks; check the bill); bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel bellhops $2-5 per bag; housekeeping $3-5 per night; valet $3-5; hair and spa 18-20%
