Another day, another dubious distinction for Miami. One minute, Time Out City Index respondents are voting Miami as the country’s best city for nightlife, and the next, they’re ticking off the box marked ‘overrated’ next to our name. That’s right, according to the thousands of people surveyed for this year’s global ranking, Miami is the world’s third most overrated city. Talk about whiplash.
Every year, Time Out polls city-dwellers across the globe about where they live, what they’re doing for fun and how they’re currently feeling about life in their respective hometowns. 27,000 of you answered 2021’s call, getting real about things like the state of restaurants and nightlife, community efforts and people’s friendliness in your city. All of the data collected informed this year’s list of the best cities in the world, which ranked San Francisco at the very top of great places to live. As for us, we didn’t even crack the top 20. Sigh.
We did receive high marks for our nightlife and diversity: 78-percent of respondents called Miami a diverse city. Oh, and 72-percent of you also said Miami was fun! In fact, we’re the second-most fun city in the world. So then, why did 16-percent of the folks polled say Miami is overrated? We feel attacked. But, on the flip side, we’re also in good company.
Miami is just behind Los Angeles and Bangkok, the second and first most overrated cities in the world, respectively. Angelenos also voted their city as the most expensive in North America while Bangkokians said their city was polluted and devoid of greenspaces—placing them dead last as number 37th on the overall list. All of this is to say, maybe earning the distinction of being overrated isn’t so bad? Our general outlook on Miami is pretty positive, and if we’re being honest, saying we’re overrated is likely a veiled attempt at reclaiming our spaces.
Our nightlife makes us attractive to tourists, which have pretty much overrun our city in the last year. It’s what happens when you’re among the first vacation destinations in America to reopen to travelers. The fact has been challenging for locals, who’ve had to bear the brunt of curfews and shutdown, plus increased traffic and skyrocketing real estate prices. There's a better way to get back at tourists. Rather than play down what makes us great, why not go out there and enjoy it? We think you’ll be singing a different tune once you’ve gone for a dip in a Miami beach or danced till dawn at a club. After all, we live where everyone vacations—and that should count for something.
Check out Time Out's full ranking of the best cities in the world for more interesting takeaways from this year's poll.