What are the downsides of moving to Miami as a senior

Miami is usually known as a good place to live. It has its downsides, but it’s a generally desirable place for moving with movers Miami. However, it’s not the same situation when a young professional and senior is moving to Miami. Senior relocation is a very specific one and a little bit harder. Seniors are in a better position when looking for a new place for living as they don’t worry about job options, the school system, etc. Of course, there are other factors that you must take into consideration. Usually, a good place for seniors is somewhere warm, near the beach with a good health system. For this reason, Miami is one of the popular places for retirement. However, there are a couple of downsides to moving to Miami as a senior. You need to know what the downsides are and see if you can live with them. 

What are the most common downsides of moving to Miami as a senior? 

When you hear the name Miami, the first two things that come to mind are usually lovely weather and beaches. Also, Miami has many other advantages that make it a very popular place for living and visiting. There isn’t a person who hasn’t heard and knows something about this city. Miami is a coastal city and the seat of Miami-Dade County is located in South Florida. The city has a population of around 450 000, but the Miami metropolitan area has almost 7 million residents. Additionally, about 25 million tourists visit Miami each year. It’s safe to say that Miami is a very popular place and residential movers Miami are moving people to Miami constantly. However, there are a few downsides to living here for seniors such as: 

  • Weather 
  • Cost of living 
  • A lot of bugs 
  • Traffic 
  • Lack of age diversity 
  • Hurricanes 
aerial picture of beach and buildings
Living in Miami comes with pros and cons just like in any city

Why is weather one of the downsizes? 

Usually, the weather is one of the pros of living in Miami. However, while almost 250 sunny days in a year do sound good, it’s not perfect as it seems. Miami has a tropical monsoon climate which means long and hot summers and short and warm winters. High temperatures are not the real problem here, but rather the humidity. High humidity is not just bad for your home, but also for your health. Your body will produce sweat during hot weather which will evaporate to cool your body off. However, produced sweat can’t evaporate in high humidity, leading to hyperthermia and other potentially dangerous conditions. Also, many seniors have some sort of medical problems already such as high pressure or diabetes. For this reason, it’s not advisable to spend a lot of time outside and do some of the best outdoor activities in Miami. 

How much money do you need to live in Miami comfortably? 

Miami is pretty expensive for living in. This is somehow expected from a big and popular city such as Miami. For this reason, you should first check if you can afford to move to Miami with white glove moving and storage services. A cost of living in Miami is around 18% higher than the national one. Additionally, the housing prices are about 48% higher than the national ones. The average rent is around $2,300 and the median home value is around $500 000. So, you will need to have a big budget to buy a home and live in Miami comfortably. Another big downside of living in Miami is safety issues. While Miami generally has good crime rates, some parts you should avoid. Therefore, some of the best neighborhoods in Miami for seniors are Edgewater, Coconut Grove, Bal Harbour, Surfside, etc. 

cropped person is counting money
One of the downsides of moving to Miami as a senior is the cost of living

There are a lot of bugs and pests 

While the bug problem is not specifically the only downside of living in Miami for seniors, it’s one serious problem. If you are scared of bugs and pests, Miami might not be a good place for you. Due to hot temperatures and high humidity, Miami is an ideal place for bugs to reproduce. Also, there isn’t a bug season in Miami as they are present the whole year. Additionally, don’t be surprised to see snakes in Miami. There are about 47 different species of snakes in Florida, but only four are venomous: coral snake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, dusky pigmy rattlesnake, and cottonmouth. Snakebites are not so common in Miami, but you should learn how to stay safe during snakebite season. Additionally, you can hardly find a snake in your house or coming out of your toilet.  

Traffic can be pretty bad 

There are a couple of reasons why traffic in Maimi is bad. First, public transportation is very badly organized. For this reason, you will likely need to have a car. However, older people usually have some medical problems that could prevent them from driving. Of course, you can drive a car until you are 85 years old if you are capable. But you should know that Miami traffic is pretty congested. Miami has a large population, but poor infrastructure and unhelpful traffic lights. Traffic lights either switch too fast so only a couple of cars can pass or too slowly. Also, there are always some construction projects going on, so traffic becomes even more problematic. The biggest traffic jams are in the morning and evening when people are going to work and homes. Of course, there are parts of Miami where traffic is actually good. 

one of the downsides of moving to Miami as a senior is traffic
Traffic in Miami could be better

Healthcare could be a problem 

Florida ranks at 42nd place among all states in the USA for its bad health care system. Also, based on some calculations, only about 50% of adults in Florida have health insurance. Many people are not pleased with hospital organization and care. As health care is especially important for seniors, this might be one of the major downsides of moving to Miami as a senior. However, while health care in Florida is not the best, the situation is a little better in Miami. But you will still need to invest in good health insurance. Aside from these couple of cons, Miami is still a very popular place for retirement.