It's hard to live in Miami, high costs and low salaries - WSJ Article

[Eugene80]

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/miam...?mod=wknd_pos1

The city has been growing quickly and jobs are plentiful. But prices, especially the cost of housing, have risen so fast that workers can’t keep up.


The 2.7% unemployment rate in the Miami metro area is among the lowest in the country. But inflation was higher than in any other major metro area in April, and housing costs have doubled in just six years. Wages have been rising—but not enough to keep up with prices.


To civic leaders and corporate executives, it is an article of faith that new businesses and low unemployment are something to be celebrated. But when the millionaires arrive, prices go up—and a lot of people can’t make it work.

Here's one highly upvoted comment by a Miami resident:

I moved from the Midwest to South Florida in 2016 about an hour north of Miami. Like anywhere else there are good things and bad things about the state. But my experience was that while there were jobs, they did not compensate even close to what the pay would be for the same job up north and that benefits were terrible. And then there’s the traffic everywhere you go. The traffic on I-95 was a complete god-awful nightmare. I stopped even trying to drive south on 95 after 3pm.
After a year of that I bailed and moved farther upstate north of Jupitar. Things were quieter and more affordable—at least for a while.
Then Covid hit and the New Yorkers started arriving teaming with enormous amounts of wealth and cash. They have now taken over nearly every single coastal city in the state, overwhelming all of them with major traffic and housing problems. And with their endless supply of money they have driven home sales/ rental prices to quadruple. Housing/rental prices have now soared to the brink of absolute insanity.
Another ticking time bomb is that insurance companies continue to flee creating skyrocketing high homeowners’ insurance. I finally came back to the Midwest where housing and living is incredibly affordable. Yea, winters are inconvenient but if I want some sun and sand I can always hop on a plane and fly to the Caribbean for a vacation.
The whole situation in Florida is untenable, and this bubble is going to burst. It’s not a matter of if, only a matter of when.

and another:

I have lived in Miami most of my life, I also have a relatively good life here with a good income for a small family of 3, however I see the city straining everywhere; entire families living in 1-2 bedroom apartments, most of the jobs posted pay less than $15 an hour, even with college degrees pay still remains quite low, meanwhile the city is bursting at the seams with incredibly rich expats from South America, Asia and the Middle East, quite a bit of this money was hardly made by honest means (i.e corruption, nepotism etc) I see the solid middle class, like nurses and police officers being pushed out of the city completely, Miami is truly becoming a city where the middle class is almost extinct; there is the rich minority and the masses of poor people who cater to their every whim. I am planning to move to a smaller town in FL , this Miami is not the Miami I grew up with.

[CXT2000]

I've been saying this for years lol, you need 2-3 jobs just to make it by here. I know people who make $150K and are still struggling. The city focuses too much on rich folks from NYC and LatAm and not the 90% of people who face the day to day reality.

A city is not supposed to be a playground for the rich, yet Miami is trying so hard to be a Dubai-esque city (replace slave workers with illegal migrants). Miami has lost a lot of its character since covid.

The other thing I've said so many times here was that most jobs created were low wage jobs, I got so much **** for that... yet

A study by Miami Homes For All, a nonprofit agency that advocates for housing affordability, found that most of the fastest-growing occupations in Miami-Dade County are low-paying jobs, including medical assistants and home health aides, cooks and waitstaff, housekeepers, and warehouse and delivery staff.

Two-thirds of the roughly 37,000 jobs being created between 2022 and 2030 have an hourly wage of $19 or less.*

I was right once again...

[MiamiLIFE]

Originally Posted by Eugene80

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/miam...?mod=wknd_pos1




Here's one highly upvoted comment by a Miami resident:


and another:

The best part of this article was the person who said they had a 45 minute commute. LOL! My commute when I was up north was 1.5 hours one way. Very typical of a NY/NJ/CT commute. Once I moved to Jersey City I got my commute to under an hour and thought I was in heaven. Today my commute is 13 minutes to Wynwood. It's almost too short. I barely can't to listen to a complete song.

Also, noteworthy were the people interviewed for the article saying they would never leave Miami in spite of the costs. Love that!

[elchevere]

Year round, warm weather, oceanfront cosmopolitan cities in the US are few and far between; hence, desirable and very expensive. Miami, LA, and—if you scratch off cosmopolitan—San Diego. Likewise, other desirable cities—NYC, SF, Boston command premium prices.

I’m sure there are plenty of teachers, like the one in this article, who would love to live in a prime area of Manhattan but cannot afford it either and have 40 minute commutes be it from Yonkers, The Bronx, etc.

Maybe I’m a great money manager and should offer my services…I have been retired for 5 years now, living off my pension (NOT 6 figures) nor collecting Social Security yet not only have I not tapped into any of my savings but I have a $350K higher net worth today than I did on the day I stopped working (no, I’m not including any home equity—which is not liquid nor an asset until sold)

If you want to live in coastal Miami (Aventura, not Hialeah per the one interviewed in WSJ) choose your career path wisely or marry well. I’d love to live in a brownstone across from Central Park, an oceanfront condo in Monaco, or in Continuum on SoBe but that’s not within my means nor am I entitled to live there whether I was born there. Reminds me of kids from college who got a C and blamed the professor for an unfair test and/or were hoping for a graded curve. Life doesn’t work that way.

Yes, it is hard to live in coastal Miami on a low salary. No Shiite. It’s also hard to play center in the NBA at 6 feet. I’d love to stay at Cavo Tagoo in Mykonos at a reasonable rate but I’m not a gorgeous Brazilian Instagram model who stays for free and am not spending $1800/night…get the picture?

[Eugene80]

Also

Miami has become insanely expensive, while good jobs are relatively scarce...


South Florida has traditionally paid poorly, and the long-running joke is that a part of one's compensation package is in "sun" revenue. But sun doesn't pay the rent, mortgage or car payments. Many jobs in South Florida are tourist-based, which are mostly low wage endeavors. And educationally, Miami lags behind other, major US cities. Miami is also a destination point for mass immigration from South American countries, a group that is handicapped initially due to their poor English language skills.

[elchevere]

Originally Posted by Eugene80

Also

Sounds like some might need Indeed.com. Indeed you do.

Then again there are cheaper alternatives like Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago, etc etc. Nobody is forcing anyone to move or stay here nor are people on low salaries entitled to live in more expensive coastal and/or nicer sections of Miami—just as a pre Med who got a C- in Organic Chemistry and a low MCAT score might consider an alternative career path rather than feeling entitled to gain admittance to a Med School.

[achtung baby]

Originally Posted by MiamiLIFE

The best part of this article was the person who said they had a 45 minute commute. LOL! My commute when I was up north was 1.5 hours one way. Very typical of a NY/NJ/CT commute. Once I moved to Jersey City I got my commute to under an hour and thought I was in heaven. Today my commute is 13 minutes to Wynwood. It's almost too short. I barely can't to listen to a complete song.

Also, noteworthy were the people interviewed for the article saying they would never leave Miami in spite of the costs. Love that!

My husband’s daily commute used to be at least an hour one way from South Pasadena CA (just 8 miles outside DTLA) to Hollywood on Sunset, sometimes 2 hrs (one way) with rain. (as people in L.A seemed to freak out driving in the rain.) Now he’s working from home and he couldn’t be happier.

Coastal cities seem to have become more and more polarized and with greater wealth inequality. I can’t pretend I can relate to people in the article but I do feel for them. Life is not fair and I’m extremely grateful. I’ve been doing a lot of low key philanthropy as both my parents were/are philanthropists, they brought us up to always help others however you can but its no denying there are a lot of poverty/underclass in many coastal cities, Miami included. Cities like Miami and Los Angeles do attract a lot of people who may not be otherwise gainfully employed but are drawn to the “glamour” “fun” “beach babe” facade, when real life can get really dull and tough if you’re not cut out for the “go getter” mentality nor are you in a financial position to afford the “lifestyle”.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by MiamiLIFE

The best part of this article was the person who said they had a 45 minute commute. LOL! My commute when I was up north was 1.5 hours one way. Very typical of a NY/NJ/CT commute. Once I moved to Jersey City I got my commute to under an hour and thought I was in heaven. Today my commute is 13 minutes to Wynwood. It's almost too short. I barely can't to listen to a complete song.

Also, noteworthy were the people interviewed for the article saying they would never leave Miami in spite of the costs. Love that!

To be fair, I'd MUCH rather sit on the LIRR or NJT train for an hour than to be driving Miami roads for 30 minutes.

[elchevere]

I just got access to the full article…I know the guy mentioned in the article paying $7500/month (44th floor at Flatiron)—knew him from my gym in San Diego…small world

https://apple.news/AY1yIQr1PRFiT7gRLCqkWuw

[City Guy997S]

Miami you probably have a car, NYC you probably don't
NYC knows its expensive to live there, Miami is just catching up.

Both cities are full of thousandaires that are "fake it until you make it" types.