Miami has many words to be summed up, but the ones that describe the best the essence of The Magic City are vibrant and growth, because of the city’s change from one year to another in terms of real estate infrastructure, shops, restaurants, businesses, and other remarkable places. The perfect depiction of this situation is the current wave of new residents in the past few months who have arrived in Miami to settle in once and for all in this lively town and live a brand-new experience full of benefits and advantages.

Miami has established not only as a popular vacation destination but also as an appealing destination to live permanently, finding the ideal location to work, make business, and have fun. Moving permanently to Miami is the right choice for several reasons.

For starters, about 470,000 people call the city of Miami home, besides the nearly 2.8 million people who live in Miami-Dade County, of which almost 60% of the population was born internationally, making Miami one of the most multi-cultural towns in the world.

It is no secret that many people move to Miami to escape from the hectic lifestyle of the big cities like New York and Chicago, since Miami has a more laid-back spirit, perhaps because the cultural diversity is part of the DNA of the town.

We have explored some of the best features of living in Miami to help readers decide why moving here is the right choice for them and their families.

Walkability: How to get around in the city

Downtown Miami is so walkable that locals and even visitors forget that there are other transportation means available. With a walkability score of 78, Miami is considered the fifth most walkable city in the United States, making it a great town in terms of walkability.

This high score may be due to the well-built sidewalks and marinas, making it very attractive to walk all over town, in addition to the fact that the top places and landmarks are relatively close one from another. Downtown Miami, Brickell, and Coconut Grove are locations aesthetically pleasing to watch, and many of these neighborhoods are worth walking by just to get the best views in detail.

On the other hand, walking as the favorite transportation method makes Miami a green city, besides high levels of safety in town, which encourages doing this activity and stopping by the beach to relax and have fun while doing some exercise.

Phenomenal weather all year long

One of the best benefits of living in Miami is the spectacular weather, which has all the qualities of a long summer, interrupted by a period that passes as a late spring in northern regions. Imagine visiting Florida any time of the year and having a summer season every day.

Many features change throughout the year, some months are windier, and others are rainier, while other months are a bit more humid and wet, but no matter what the season is, living in Miami means having pleasant weather with long sunshine, and the best part is the chance of enjoying the warm sea all year long, the weather is just for enjoying the fresh breeze or swimming to cool up when the sun is too hot.

An active city with an infinity of sports and outdoor activities

With an average year-round temperature of 77 degrees and 248 sunny days each year, Miami is the top city for outdoor enthusiasts in the state of Florida and has been established as an all-time favorite to go on vacation. And in efforts of getting the best of the wonderful weather, outdoor and watersports activities are a must for locals and visitors, such as kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding on the hypnotizing Biscayne Bay, or South Beach‘s Sunset Islands.

Miami has a wide variety of sites and spots for residents and visitors to practice safely other outdoor activities including biking, mountain biking, hiking, jogging, or running in pet-friendly trails and parks such as Snake Trail and Rickenbacker Trail.

However, if visitors are more into nature, Miami is also the perfect place to engage in observing the stunning species of birds that come to town and other wildlife species, since the city is surrounded by the astounding Everglades National Park and the Biscayne National Park, without mentioning the over 800 parks the city has.

But no matter what the chosen activity is, it is clear that Miami is a city where staying active is a very important priority for locals and travelers, using efficiently the privileged green space the city has at its disposal.

Recommended: Top 5 Fitness and Sports Activities Wealthy People do in Bal Harbour

Lower tax rates to use the money more wisely

In some situations, housing costs are elevated making the cost of living in Miami extremely high. However, the low taxes in Florida balance out this condition, making residents feel confident about their choice of living in Miami.

First, there is no state income tax in Florida, which could save permanent residents thousands of dollars in this matter, helping them invest this money on housing costs, having fun in the town, or even better, investing it in a profitable business. However, residents are still required to pay Federal income taxes.

Likewise, sales tax in Miami is only 7%, making it a slightly less percentage than other what other parts of the country tax.  As to property taxes, they may vary depending on the municipality, but in overall terms, locals can receive a discount on property taxes just by paying their bills early.

Instead of a state income tax, the state of Florida earns revenues from the millions of tourists that visit and travel to the state every year through a 7% sales tax (state level) and a 5% tourist tax (county-level) from revenues on rental properties and hotel visits for six months or less.

This benefit is not exclusive for residents, since companies can also use this advantage in their favor to save a large amount of money and use it to invest in better infrastructure, hire more people or simply save it when the right time comes. This has been one of the main reasons why there has been an exodus from many companies that not too long ago were located in New York and relocated a part of their team in Miami, like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase.

Great conditions for development and growth

Miami is considered one of the most popular retirement destinations of the state and perhaps of the country. In the past few years, the doors have opened for Miami in terms of a growing real estate market, employment market and investment, due to the rising interest of big national and foreign investors and brands in the city’s potential.

The real estate market has been rising steadily in recent years due to many people relocating to the area, including last year when many celebrities like The Kushners and Tom Brady, to name a few, were moving to Florida permanently leaving big cosmopolitan towns like New York.

On the other hand, in 2019 Miami ranked in third place as a “Best Large City to Start a Business in” in the nation considering multiple factors such as the current business environment and growth rate, access to funding and resources as well as an actual business operating costs such as rent and labor. This conclusion is not far from the large number of big companies that are moving their operation teams to South Florida, seeing a golden opportunity to invest in the city while also taking advantage of the great benefit that represents a low tax rate for these companies, a place to invest in resources, technology, and the best talent.

This last factor has resulted in positioning Miami as a location with a strong employment market, thanks to the strong economy of the city in the past few years, brought by top sectors in the Miami economy including tourism, financial services, agriculture, education, and healthcare. Likewise, some of the largest employers in the Miami area include Miami-Dade Public Schools, Miami-Dade County Government, Baptist Health South Florida, and the University of Miami.

High-quality schools

The Miami-Dade public school district is the fourth largest in the nation with about 400 schools which are education centers for over 340,000 students. However, there are both public and private school options located throughout the entire county, offering parents of children and teenagers a wide invitation so they get the best education in the state and one of the best in the country.

One of the best assets of the Miami schools is there are many options in each neighborhood, so parents can have the certainty their children will not have to cross the city to get top-quality education. Besides, children will be very close to their homes, guaranteeing a safe atmosphere for them and their families, since they will not be far from home.

Regarding continuing education opportunities, Miami also offers great options such as Florida International University, University of Miami, Miami Dade College, and several other colleges and universities with a great standard and status among other universities in the country, making it an interesting option for people pursuing a college degree.