How life in Miami is the view of a local. How much is life in Miami

Miami is one of the most famous places in the United States of America. This is a place in which two extremes are clearly expressed: wealth, luxury and poverty, poverty. It is said that in the 16th century, on the site of modern Miami, the Spaniards discovered a settlement of the Tequest Indians. The word Miami is translated as sweet water.

The city itself was founded by a woman who, after the death of her husband, went south to seek better life and for forty American dollars she bought an estate where oranges grew all year round and was always warm, and named it Miami. The name of the founder is Julia Duton.

Twenty years ago American state Florida was an undeveloped region of the United States. The situation has changed dramatically today. Miami went financial and entertainment center... Foreigners started buying real estate here. Many were interested in the possibility of buying living space on credit for thirty years at a low interest rate of 4-8% per annum. A mild climate, loyal American laws that make it easy to buy real estate, a warm ocean and, most importantly, relatively inexpensive real estate in Miami attracts Russian show business stars here.

Among the Russian-speaking population, the areas of Bel Harber, Sunny Isles Beach and Aventura

Bel Harber

Miami's most prestigious neighborhood. Quiet residential area with no crime, no hustle and bustle of the entertainment industry, no casinos, no hotels. Millionaires and celebrities live here. There are many retired whites who want to live a calm, measured life. There are many working specialists. Early in the morning they leave by cars for their companies and return in the evening. Luxurious apartments. Comfortable beaches. Luxury boutiques and shops.

sunny city

Sunny Isles Beach is known as the Russian neighborhood in Miami. It is a small, elite, maritime city located on a plain. Nature has generously endowed the inhabitants with a wonderful, mild climate. The beaches with golden sand invite those wishing to swim in the warm azure waters of the ocean, because the warm current of the Gulf Stream passes just 24 km from the coast. The climate is tropical monsoon. Nobody has ever seen snow here. In winter, the temperature is above zero, winds blow from the ocean, but they are so warm that they cannot reduce the temperature below + 10 degrees. Winters are warm and short, while summers are long and hot.

Skyscrapers with luxurious apartments, apartments with a view of the ocean, business centers, shops, sports grounds, swimming pools, restaurants attract a lot of people for permanent residence. Although vacant land is very expensive here, there are many parks with beautiful trees. Every year they come here to live and work more and more and more tourists... Many people call Sunny Isles Beach the Russian district in Miami, there are many Russian-speaking residents.

The city is simply saturated with order, friendliness and cleanliness. Here you can see a 42-storey skyscraper, in which there is one fashionable apartment on each floor with a beautiful panoramic view. Many Russian celebrities have bought real estate here. The attention of the richest guests of Miami is attracted by the hotel + residential complex Acqualina (Acqualina) with its majestic architecture and diversity expensive cars facing the entrance.

Aventura - Russian district in Miami

The William Lehman Causeway bridge connects Sunny Isles with another Russian district in Miami Aventura (registered only in 1995), where there is great shopping and a lot of ultra-modern buildings. Apartments in them correspond to the latest achievements of modern technology. As an example, you can look at the still unfinished building with a height of 195 meters. The computer located in the house can recognize the owner of the apartment who is approaching the apartment and open the front door for him.

And how do you like that! Your car will be lifted by special robots on a freight elevator and placed in a special garage compartment on the floor where the apartment is located. In 2006, the Trump Royale and Trump International Resort hotels were built, which are very popular with Russians. Here Russian speech is everywhere. Shops and cafes, restaurants, sale of newspapers and books in Russian, concerts of Russian artists who came from Russia. This place is called Russian Plaza. Russian business is flourishing here. You can see a lot of pregnant women, the fashion for safe childbirth in Miami has gone.

The Aventura area has become popular for dining, shopping and entertainment. Location between two main airports and two popular seaports attracts a lot of tourists here. For those who dream of coming to Miami and staying here forever, buying real estate over time, Aventura is a great place. Those who wish to stay here for a long time are offered luxury homes for sale. Their prices are high, but life in Aventura is full of comfort and pleasure.

There are three different options: minimally comfortable, very comfortable, and super economical. $ 4300, $ 12,225 and $ 2500, respectively

Since everyone has a different understanding of comfort, I will write based on the basic conditions, and add caviar and the maid from the Philippines yourself.

So, let's compare the minimum comfortable and very comfortable check:

Flat rent with one bedroom, studio kitchen and two bathrooms - $ 1500 per a good option not in a new building and close to the ocean. $ 5000 will cost an apartment on the first line in Trump or another excellent complex, approximately on the 40th floor and overlooking the ocean. The same amount will cost a house in good location but not luxury class.

Average check in a supermarket type Walmart or wholesale Costco(analogue of Metro or Auchan) - from $ 150 (this is about five days). Or for $ 400 we buy organic Whole foods or Fresh market.

Auto(insurance and gas) - $ 300 for a five-year Lexus or $ 600 for a new one Cadillac.

Phone and Internet - $ 140.

Eating outside the home- $ 200 in the nearest cafes and cookery such as "Matryoshka" or "Kalinka" (yes, these are the names of Russian stores in our SunnyAilovka). In good establishments, you can dine twice a week for $ 1000.

Chemistry, laundry - $ 50 (in the States, washing machines are on the floor and are paid mainly by cards - if this is not a new building).

Electricity, water - $ 80.

Get out to unwind- $ 300 (minimum comfortable) or from $ 800 (comfortable).

Subscription to the hall- $ 50 or $ 500 (classes with a trainer - $ 20-30 per hour) - this is without sports nutrition.

Trips- from $ 500. This is the cost of a trip to California or New York one time (tickets, average hotel and inexpensive museums). Or $ 1000 with visits to Disneylands and better hotels.

Medical insurance- $ 800. You can, of course, not take it, but it can be more expensive to undergo treatment yourself.

Various additional costs will pull another 400 dollars (or 1000 with a comfortable option): gifts, a new iPhone in September, lingerie for the wife from the store Victoria "s Secret, shopping, as well as flights to parents in the USA and back to Kiev.

I, of course, did not take into account various life hacks, but I did not count force majeure either.

In total, with the minimum comfortable option for two, it comes out about $ 4300 per month. For this money, you live in a good place, in a normal apartment with furniture, drive a good five-year-old summer car (buy another $ 12,000-17,000), dine in inexpensive cafes or cookery twice a week, 2-3 times a month - a movie or concert, barbecue trips. At the same time, you do not get sick and teeth, like a young horse, the car does not break down, the wife does not ask for a fur coat. You park correctly, and you do not have to pick up a car for $ 200 when you are not there. Wife on New Year you give Apple Watch.

A good option costs about $ 12 thousand (also for two). In this case, you also live in a one-bedroom apartment, but it is cool, on the first line, that is, 50 meters from the ocean or in a house with a pool in good area, but far from luxury class. Eat organic food from high-end grocery stores, drive a five-liter Cadillac (without the cost of buying it), have dinner in a good place twice a week, and work out with a coach twice a week. Travel brighter, buy day passes in Universal studio... You fly to the Caribbean or Hawaii once a year, and 2-3 times more - to Chicago, New York, San Francisco or Vegas, where you do not save on comfort, rent a good car, drink normal whiskey. Sometimes you rent a yacht with a captain to sail along the canals of Miami. Once a year you lose $ 3000 in Vegas, but after that your wife doesn't shop for six months, at least.

You always have a new iPhone, and your wife also has a different color. You can ostentatiously cheer in front of your acquaintances - you can afford it with insurance. And go to the dentist every three months, feel free to eat toffee, because a good dentist put you a filling. In March, go to

It would not be an exaggeration to say that American Miami is one of the most popular foreign cities in Russia. This popularity, however, is expressed not so much in the number of tourists from Russia visiting this large world resort, but in the attractiveness and prestige of Miami for the Russian audience.

There are many reasons for this. Despite its geographic distance from Russia, Miami is probably the most "Russian" city in the United States after New York. This is primarily due to the fact that many energetic and enterprising emigrants from the USSR who came to the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s began to seek their fortune in the thriving city of Miami at that time. And many here were lucky, which caused an influx of even more Russian-speaking migrants.

Here it is necessary to briefly dwell on the recent history of the city of Miami. Actually, this city has only recent history, after all, the title of the city of Miami was received quite recently - at the very end of the 19th century. At the time, it had less than 2,000 inhabitants. In the future, Miami grew and developed at an average pace and by the middle of the century had become one of the many Florida resort towns. Everything changed after the Cuban revolution, when a stream of emigrants from this island poured into the city. Due to its territorial proximity to Cuba, it was Miami that became the home of most of the educated and financially successful Cubans who were forced to flee the Castro regime. All this breathed new life into the city and it began to grow and develop at an unprecedented pace.

The large Russian-speaking community of Miami later became the reason for interest in the city from the already new, post-Soviet emigrants from Russia and other countries the former USSR... Numerous Russian television and music stars who bought apartments here and often moved here to permanent place residence. In addition, the image of Miami as a city for the rich and famous was supported by American cinema, in particular the famous detective television series.

V last years the influx of Russians to Miami grew every year. Whole areas here are considered "Russian", which is due to the predominance of residents who speak this language. For example, Sunny Isles, located on the very shore of the ocean in the northern part of Miami, is semi-officially (at least at the Wikipedia level) called "little Moscow." During the global financial crisis, when real estate in Sunny Isles became even more accessible, the number of Russians in this coastal town has only increased.

So what attracts Russians to Miami?

First of all, of course, the climate, nature and beaches. Summer in Miami continues all year round without any exaggeration. It is never cold here and almost never cool. For example, in 2014, relatively cold by local standards, the lowest recorded temperature was 5 degrees Celsius (at night in January). Wherein average annual temperature for the same period was 25 degrees. Summer in Miami is quite hot and locals consider the period from late autumn to mid-spring to be a "season". Dignity local beaches and nature does not need special recommendations. I will only note that due to the absence of large industrial enterprises and the sound policy of local authorities in the field of ecology, the living world of Miami is very rich and diverse. Miami is one of the greenest cities in the United States, right in the city limits you can see a variety of animals, including iguanas and sea cows.

Contrary to popular belief about Miami as a city that lives exclusively on tourism, there is a very developed economy in which almost everyone can find their place. Miami is one of the largest financial centers in the United States, with offices of hundreds of international companies. The Port of Miami is one of the largest transport hubs in the country.

What are the negative aspects of life in Miami?

Miami is a fairly expensive city by American standards, although if you compare it with major Russian cities, the difference will not be too noticeable. As with most other major American cities, real estate is the main source of spending for Miami residents. In recent years, prices for apartments and houses in Miami have grown significantly, although they are still inferior to those, say, in Moscow. However, rental prices here are quite high - renting an apartment in Miami for less than $ 1200-1500 a month is quite difficult, and rent a house in Miami will cost even more. Especially if you want to live close to the ocean or in a prestigious area.

Another important item of expenditure for Miami residents, as elsewhere in the United States, is medicine. It should be noted that there are a number of large medical institutions in Miami, including the best ophthalmological center in the United States. Miami is also home to many educational institutions, including private schools and universities.

In general, for those who can afford it, Miami can be an excellent choice. Here you can enjoy all the advantages of life in the USA and all this in the subtropics on the coast Atlantic Ocean being surrounded by a large number of people speaking the same language as you.

I will say right away: if you are on the lower rungs of the social ladder, it is better not to go to Miami. The relatively inexpensive real estate compared to some other American metropolitan areas is offset by the difficulty of finding a job and lower salaries. Unskilled and unskilled jobs are much more difficult to find here than in New York and Los Angeles. In addition, many vacancies in the field hospitality, catering and delivery require additional knowledge of the Spanish language.

There is a stereotype that Miami is perfect place if you want to enjoy the summer heat at any time of the year. Indeed: low interest rates on mortgages and reasonable prices for real estate make it possible to become the owner of an apartment overlooking the ocean (costing from $ 500 thousand and more). However, if you are only attracted to tropical climate and the hot sun, it will be much more profitable to buy an apartment or house not in the metropolitan area of ​​Miami - Fort Lauderdale - West Palm Beach, and in quieter places in Florida - such as the Tampa Bay Area (Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater) or Orlando. Perceiving Miami only as a holiday destination, you should also consider that by the standards of this state, the value of real estate here is much higher than in a number of other resort cities.

Disadvantages of Miami:

• High crime rate (83.9 on a 100-point scale - violent crimes, which is double average level in the USA - 41.4). For property crimes, Miami is also in the lead - 61.6 on a 100-point scale (the average for the United States is 43.5).
• Very hot summers with high humidity and therefore high electricity bills for the air conditioner.
• The cost of living is 18.7% higher than the US as a whole.
• High cost of home insurance compared to other states (associated with the risk of tropical hurricanes).
• Too many people come from Latin America(with not the highest level of education among many of them).
• More high level unemployment than the national average.
• Low quality schooling compared to a number of other states. There are few good schools, but many bad ones.

The benefits of living in Miami:

• Warm winter. average temperature January + 19.6 ° C.
• Relatively inexpensive property.
• Warm ocean and the most best beach in the USA - South Beach.
• Good transport connection, including the absence of characteristic for many others large cities traffic jams and the presence of one of major airports in the country.
• Stormy night life... A large number of nightclubs, restaurants, concerts of pop stars.
• Developed infrastructure for owners of boats and yachts in the form of dozens of different yacht clubs and berths. If you love boat fishing or boat trips, Miami and Fort Lauderdale are the best cities for this.

Hi everyone, Miami, Florida. Today it finally took shape good weather... Not even today, but now, because it had been raining since morning until lunchtime. A couple of days ago we had a tornado that turned over cars on the roads. Now, it seems, everything has calmed down, and you can walk a little in the park, shoot a video.

What am I going to shoot a video about today? It will be about what Russian emigrants do in Miami, how they earn their living. I have compiled a selection of five unusual activities. They are unusual for our countries and, probably, for other states, because there is no such flow of immigrants, tourists, but for Miami it is very common and popular. So what are Russian emigrants doing?

1. Rent of apartments. I'm not talking about lease agreements for apartments that realtors are engaged in, there are long-term agreements, and everyone will not be able to conclude them, because you need a legal status, and deposits, and employment, and so on. I will talk about those lease agreements that private traders deal with, and these are agreements for short periods. How it works? A person rents an apartment for a long time and re-leases it for a short time. This is done here as a private matter, that is, a person simply leaves on vacation, and so that the apartment does not stand in vain, so as not to pay rent, he rents it out for a month or two, while he is gone, for a short period. They also do this on a professional basis, and this is their main income. I have a guy I know who rents five or six apartments in South Beach and rents them out for short periods. For the money it comes out decently and you don't have to work. Pricing is very approximate. When I arrived in Miami, for the first month I rented an apartment from a guy who does this. This apartment itself cost him 800 dollars a month, he rented it to me for 1200. These are the prices of 2014, now, of course, there are no such prices, but to roughly understand, he threw 50% on top. We add 50% to the price of the long term, it turns out that for which you can rent an apartment for a short time. When it comes to daily rent then there will be even more. Because I know that a one-room apartment for daily rent in my area will cost about 70-80 dollars. It turns out not 50%, but 100% more than the cost of a contract for a year. Such people like me, who have arrived here and want to look around, walk around, decide in which area they want to live, are actively used here. This is used by tourists who come for a couple of months, for whom it makes no sense to rent an apartment for a long time.

What else is doing here? I will not call it a commercial activity, because they rent apartments for an order of magnitude more than they really need. That is, if a married couple essentially needs a single room (1 bedroom), they rent 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom in order to retake one or two extra rooms to someone. These rooms are re-leased both for short and long terms, and it turns out that it is cheaper for them to pay for their housing. I know a couple of such cases when a person rented out rooms like this, and he had almost nothing left to pay extra for his housing. It turned out that he lived practically free of charge in rented apartment... It is in great demand here. And the rooms here are rented, of course, by illegal immigrants. Who will give them an apartment? No documents. Also, rooms are rented by those who have just arrived, until they first look after something for themselves at work, when they do not know in which area they will find a job. In general, rooms are in demand here.

2. Car rental. This is in great demand in Miami. It is lease for short periods, I am not talking about this lease that I have. There are terms that are calculated in terms, there are weeks, months. Who uses this service? Everything. Tourists come and what's the point of buying a car if you can rent it? A person arrives at all, and while he is looking at what car he wants to buy, while he is looking at how he wants to take it, it is more convenient for him to rent it for the first time. I know a guy I know who takes a Ford Mustang once a week just for one day to go for a drive and walk on his day off. It seems to cost $ 80 a day. People whose cars are being repaired are also rented. That is, not all service stations provide a replacement car in this short time, they are also convenient to rent.

Who is renting a car? Everyone surrenders it. A person goes on vacation, does not want to pay for a loan, leasing, and he leases his car. A person who just somehow got a cheap lease agreement, he retakes it, and with this money he takes some other car. His car costs him zero. Also dealers, small organizations. It takes one day to open a car rental company here. Opening a dealer license is also no headache. And then you can work, renting out your cars. So sometimes at work I come across such contracts from small dealers. In our countries, such agreements would not work. There is a scribbled line, there is a mistake in the name, a mistake in the last name, everything is crossed out, it is written correctly on top with a pencil, in total there is an error, no VIN number is spelled out, even the registration numbers on the car are not spelled out, just the brand, model, year of manufacture. And that's all. Naturally, there are no seals here. As on the knee, the contract is drawn up, filled in, so it will go. And it works, they allow such cars to drive, no one finds fault, as long as it is written that insurance is included.

If a private trader wants to rent his car, but does not want to open a company, he does not want to bother with clients, registration, this private trader can contact a small dealer, a large one, probably, will not take it, gives him his car, and the dealer hands it over. Thus, all the routine and paperwork lies with the dealer, and the dealer takes 20% of the lease. I do not know if this is a fixed amount, but I have come across such that the dealer took 20%, and the client gave 80% of this proceeds.

You can rent a car both the most budgetary and the most expensive. From the budget, what first caught my eye and what is in good demand is the Toyota Prius. They are quite old, they are economical, people are happy that they are hybrids. People say they fill up and forget to refuel for two weeks. I found a Toyota Prius in the ad for 550 dollars a month, 200-something a week. I've already seen two or three clients in a rented Toyota Prius. Of the cars, I found a 2012 Toyota Rav4 more expensive, for which they want $ 1200 a month. It turns out that the car is four years old, and it doesn't matter what high price for rent. Found an Infinity Q5 for 1400 a month. I could also have my Lexus. If I pay about $ 450 a month for it, plus 130 insurance a month, and it turns out about $ 600, then I could rent it for about 1200. That is, in fact, it is twice bigger than that the amount that I really pay for the car. But I, of course, do not rent my Lexus, but I mean it for a rainy day. You never know how life will turn out. I'll go for a walk.

3. Matchmaking. Marriage with an American is considered the second most popular method of legalization, after political asylum. There are people who are engaged in bringing a couple - a person with an American passport who wants to earn money, with a person without legal status, who is ready to pay money for this legal status. A couple of days ago I was lucky enough to take part in this event. It was funny how it happened. An acquaintance sent an offer to his friends in contacts that he was inviting to the club. Naturally, when they send this, it means that they pay for the entrance, organize the table, drinks. My friend and I decided to go to the club. It turned out that he was doing this, because he had just played two weddings, and he needed to hold some kind of party, he invited a photographer. Photographed to thereby prove that the wedding was real and we all gathered there to congratulate the newlyweds and celebrate their wedding. Naturally, we did not know these newlyweds, all four, because there were two weddings, but they arrange this and then show the photos to the consul in order to confirm that the wedding was real, for love, not for money.