As Kali Uchis says in her track, “Miami,” “How you pay off all them bills?” The question posed feels more relevant than ever. From bumper-to-bumper traffic in Brickell to ridiculously overpriced coffees in Miami Beach, the once homey Miami has morphed into something overly hyped, driven by an illusion that does not quite match reality.
When I first moved to Miami six years ago, living here felt like an absolute dream. After watching “Austin & Ally” in their Miami Beach music store, seeing palm trees and the ocean everyday did not sound like such a bad idea. But as soon as I arrived, my family and I constantly found ourselves on a 40-minute car ride to the beach from where we lived, and the reality I thought I would have soon became a distant dream.
Miami can feel like ‘the life’ for those who live in its heart and have the funds for it, but as someone living farther out, the constant back-and-forth quickly becomes exhausting and repetitive. I often find myself staying home, as everything fun feels too far away. Having the city at one’s doorstep, the possibility to walk to the nearest bagel shop around the corner is a luxury many people take for granted. Living in the suburbs, in my eyes, makes it hard to appreciate Miami, since I am not experiencing the real ‘city life’ I yearn for. Instead, the Miami I see feels like an idealized version of the city, which falls short of the experience that drew me here in the first place.
Over the past few years, I have found myself at Miami Beach or Brickell almost every weekend, and now I have run out of things to do. Miami seems like a place with bustling crowds and exciting events all the time, but activities soon run dry. After having visited all the Miami hotspots, every overpriced restaurant, and every possible museum, the city’s allure starts to fade. The beaches in Miami might be gorgeous, and having a beach less than an hour away seems like the ideal situation, but the reality is that the appeal of these destinations starts to dim once they become part of the routine. What once seemed like a vibrant paradise quickly turned into a tedious experience, leaving me questioning if the hype was ever worth the reality. The auto-fill Google search “Things to do in Miami” automatically comes up as soon as I type “Things” into my search bar. At this point, even my phone is tired of it.
My real issue with Miami goes beyond the repetitiveness of the city. At its core, Miami often reveals a superficial side that masks its true essence. The Miami seen on television and social media gives people a false image of what the city is truly like. TikTok brand trips, spring break havoc and busloads of tourists walking around — flooding the city in the same spots — creates an illusion of constant luxury and excitement. When I think of Miami, what comes to mind are expensive brands, luxury cars, high-end hotels and a general atmosphere of people trying to show off — almost reminiscent of Los Angeles, except Miami is on the east coast. People in loud, flashy convertible cars blasting Spanish music or women walking around with Chanel shopping bags is almost the only thing I see when I go to Miami Beach or Brickell.
The Miami I once envisioned was not the Miami I experienced. Even if the experience of living in the city is reachable, the persistent pursuit of materialism by its residents will always be in the spotlight; its shallow appeal often overshadows what was once a potentially exciting experience. As someone who lives on the outskirts of Miami, the unconventional aspects of Miami shape my view of the city. Constantly going from home to school to a hangout at the mall on the weekend starts to become monotonous and uninspiring, making me view the city in a bad light, no matter where I am. Living on this side of Miami makes me yearn for new experiences and a change of scenery.
