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Which do you prefer for the upcoming decade? Compare at both an urban and metro level. Criteria:
Economy
Urbanity
Skyline
Colleges and universities
Infrastructure (road conditions, public transit, bridges, water/energy sustainability and supply, etc.)
Tourism
"High culture" (theater, museums, opera, etc.)
Housing (supply, quality, affordability, variety, etc.)
Cost of living
Neighborhoods
Diversity
Distinction of local culture
Nightlife
Cuisine
Suburbs
Climate
Scenery and outdoor recreation
Geographic position (proximity/accessibility to opportunities and recreation outside of metro)
Which do you prefer for the upcoming decade? Compare at both an urban and metro level.
Okay, I just cast a homer vote in this poll, but I think I can back it up with some honest assessments.
Here goes:
Economy: Tossup. Miami being the capital of the Caribbean and the US gateway to Latin America, it has stronger international ties IMO than Philadelphia does, but Philly has a stronger base in manufacturing, education and medicine.
Urbanity: Philadelphia, hands down. And that's even after factoring in both Brickell and Miami Beach.
Skyline: Philadelphia. I think Miami has more residential towers, but I don't think it's as well composed overall.
Colleges and universities: Philadelphia. More of them, and more top-flight ones to boot.
Infrastructure (road conditions, public transit, bridges, water/energy sustainability and supply, etc.): Philadelphia. Florida's roads are in better shape than Pennsylvania's, and Miami's public transit service is better than outsiders might know. But Philly's transit system is more extensive, and I think the Philadelphia region is in better shape water-supply-wise and faces less of a threat from sea level rise. It's also in pretty good shape energy-wise and stands to get better as solar and wind resources are developed. (Of course, sunny Miami will have Philly beat on solar power.)
Tourism: Miami, at least for now. Beaches and sunshine trump history for most people.
"High culture" (theater, museums, opera, etc.): Philadelphia, though Miami has an outstanding performing arts center.
Housing (supply, quality, affordability, variety, etc.): Tossup. Miami's lower-income neighborhoods don't look as bombed-out as Philadelphia's do, but I think (but do not know) that housing overall is less affordable there.
Cost of living: Tossup. Lower taxes in Florida, but many basic items and services cost more.
Neighborhoods: Philadelphia. More architectural and geographical variety.
Diversity: Miami. Philadelphia has made great strides, but Miami remains way more polyglot.
Distinction of local culture: Miami, thanks in large part to its close ties to the Caribbean and Latin America.
Nightlife: Miami. They know how to party in South Beach.
Cuisine: Tossup. Miami has many outstanding restaurants, but many of them are imports. Philadelphia's culinary scene is largely homegrown, and has been improved by the immigrants who have added needed seasoning to the blend.
Suburbs: Philadelphia. So many great walkable Main Streets. If there's a community in the Miami 'burbs that has one of these, please tell me about it.
Climate: Most Americans are winterphobes, it seems, and they'll give the nod to Miami. But Miami summers are even more hot and humid than Philadelphia summers are, and I don't mind winter. Philadelphia for me.
Scenery and outdoor recreation: Tossup. The scenery around Philadelphia IMO is more interesting than what's around Miami, but if you're into water sports, Miami has Philly beat. (OTOH, there's nowhere anywhere near Miami where you can go hiking on mountain trails, and in Philadelphia, you can actually approximate the experience within the city limits.)
Geographic position (proximity/accessibility to opportunities and recreation outside of metro): Philadelphia. Miami may be on the beach, but some of the country's best beaches are within an hour of Center City, and you can get to mountains in about the same amount of time. And the Northeast remains the most densely populated and economically diverse region of the country.
So that's 9 categories for Philadelphia, 4 for Miami, and 5 tossups. Overall: Philadelphia.
The Miami metro has had almost 5 times the population growth of the Philadelphia metro since 2010. I wouldn't be surprised if that number was even higher in the past couple of years.
Miami metro and beaches for me. If I can afford it in retirement...... so far no. A Golden Boy as a "Golden Girls". No attached-housing choice for me anywhere. I "" H A T E "" winters though. So biased living in the North.
Economy - Tie
Urbanity - Philly
Skyline - Philly
Colleges and universities - Philly
Infrastructure (road conditions, public transit, bridges, water/energy sustainability and supply, etc.) - Philly
Tourism - Miami
"High culture" (theater, museums, opera, etc.) - Philly
Housing (supply, quality, affordability, variety, etc.) - Philly
Cost of living - Philly
Neighborhoods - Philly
Diversity - NA
Distinction of local culture - Miami
Nightlife - Either
Cuisine - Miami
Suburbs - Philly
Climate - Miami
Scenery and outdoor recreation - Miami
Geographic position (proximity/accessibility to opportunities and recreation outside of metro) - Philly
Overall - Philly
I lived in central FL (which I loved) for a year about 10 years ago and visited south FL several times. Never liked the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. There just seemed to be turmoil, unfriendliness, and uneasiness among many residents. It's also pretty expensive now. I'm personally a fan of Florida, just not south Florida. Philadelphia is one of my favorite American cities/metros and it's still relatively affordable. People don't need to get too excited about states that have "no income tax". Trust me, it's a bait-n-switch. They make up those taxes in other taxes and fees.
Okay, I just cast a homer vote in this poll, but I think I can back it up with some honest assessments.
Here goes:
Economy: Tossup. Miami being the capital of the Caribbean and the US gateway to Latin America, it has stronger international ties IMO than Philadelphia does, but Philly has a stronger base in manufacturing, education and medicine.
Urbanity: Philadelphia, hands down. And that's even after factoring in both Brickell and Miami Beach.
Skyline: Philadelphia. I think Miami has more residential towers, but I don't think it's as well composed overall.
Colleges and universities: Philadelphia. More of them, and more top-flight ones to boot.
Infrastructure (road conditions, public transit, bridges, water/energy sustainability and supply, etc.): Philadelphia. Florida's roads are in better shape than Pennsylvania's, and Miami's public transit service is better than outsiders might know. But Philly's transit system is more extensive, and I think the Philadelphia region is in better shape water-supply-wise and faces less of a threat from sea level rise. It's also in pretty good shape energy-wise and stands to get better as solar and wind resources are developed. (Of course, sunny Miami will have Philly beat on solar power.)
Tourism: Miami, at least for now. Beaches and sunshine trump history for most people.
"High culture" (theater, museums, opera, etc.): Philadelphia, though Miami has an outstanding performing arts center.
Housing (supply, quality, affordability, variety, etc.): Tossup. Miami's lower-income neighborhoods don't look as bombed-out as Philadelphia's do, but I think (but do not know) that housing overall is less affordable there.
Cost of living: Tossup. Lower taxes in Florida, but many basic items and services cost more.
Neighborhoods: Philadelphia. More architectural and geographical variety.
Diversity: Miami. Philadelphia has made great strides, but Miami remains way more polyglot.
Distinction of local culture: Miami, thanks in large part to its close ties to the Caribbean and Latin America.
Nightlife: Miami. They know how to party in South Beach.
Cuisine: Tossup. Miami has many outstanding restaurants, but many of them are imports. Philadelphia's culinary scene is largely homegrown, and has been improved by the immigrants who have added needed seasoning to the blend.
Suburbs: Philadelphia. So many great walkable Main Streets. If there's a community in the Miami 'burbs that has one of these, please tell me about it.
Climate: Most Americans are winterphobes, it seems, and they'll give the nod to Miami. But Miami summers are even more hot and humid than Philadelphia summers are, and I don't mind winter. Philadelphia for me.
Scenery and outdoor recreation: Tossup. The scenery around Philadelphia IMO is more interesting than what's around Miami, but if you're into water sports, Miami has Philly beat. (OTOH, there's nowhere anywhere near Miami where you can go hiking on mountain trails, and in Philadelphia, you can actually approximate the experience within the city limits.)
Geographic position (proximity/accessibility to opportunities and recreation outside of metro): Philadelphia. Miami may be on the beach, but some of the country's best beaches are within an hour of Center City, and you can get to mountains in about the same amount of time. And the Northeast remains the most densely populated and economically diverse region of the country.
So that's 9 categories for Philadelphia, 4 for Miami, and 5 tossups. Overall: Philadelphia.
This pretty much sums it up for me, though with a difference in me putting cuisine towards Philadelphia and a lot of that rides on East Asian / Southeast Asian cuisine which is probably at least a good third of what I usually end up eating. I really like Miami and stayed in various parts of it for a while, but I found that aside from a few high-end places, the East / Southeast Asian options there to be limited and sometimes not to my liking.
Economy: Philadelphia. Miami is growing, but so many low paying, watered down jobs from Caribbean & Latin American countries, while housing costs and rent are extremely high.
Urbanity: Philadelphia
Skyline: I prefer Philadelphia. Miami is too much glass and those modern blue towers get old.
Colleges and universities: Philadelphia no question.
Infrastructure (road conditions, public transit, bridges, water/energy sustainability and supply, etc.): Philadelphia
Tourism: Miami
"High culture" (theater, museums, opera, etc.): Philadelphia
Housing (supply, quality, affordability, variety, etc.): Philadelphia
Cost of living: Philadelphia
Neighborhoods: Philadelphia
Diversity: Philadelphia
Distinction of local culture: Philadelphia
Nightlife: Miami
Cuisine: Miami
Suburbs: Philadelphia
Climate: Miami
Scenery and outdoor recreation: Miami
Geographic position (proximity/accessibility to opportunities and recreation outside of metro): Philadelphia
Philly wins, no question.
Miami quality of life is low if you con't make a ton of money. Rent and housing are high, while salaries and pay are low. Miami incredible for vacations and a getaway, but living there is not too incredible for an average person--little public transportation, hot & humid all year, tough to break into a lot of industries for jobs, if you are not bi-lingual. Crime is a concern, and the metro of Miami does not have much land for the city to expand in the future. Also, low lying coastal areas prone to flooding in bad weather.
Status:
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Location: Harrisburg, PA
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I think Philadelphia is on the verge of turning itself around in a big way with this economy. I think the Pennsylvania side of Philadelphia metro will definitely see the most improvement due to lower COL than NJ and DE. Some of the legacy and post-WW2 housing stock in Philadelphia city and surrounding areas like Upper Darby really need some updating/rehab for health and safety reasons. That is true for many of PA's legacy cities. The Philadelphia metro already has strong commuting links with the Lehigh Valley and Lancaster and Reading, as well as daily Amtrak service to/from Harrisburg. If only we had truly high speed rail (250 mph) with necessary infrastructure and safety.
Miami will also likely perform well in the 2020's. But, Southern Florida in general is getting more crowded and the cost of living seems higher than Philadelphia and rising faster. Like anywhere though, you can always find good deals with elbow grease and trade-off. Miami has only slightly more international connections than Philadelphia, especially with the Carribean and Central/South America. But Philadelphia is unrivaled by Miami with its urban form and character.
I will admit I am Pennsylvania-biased in my vote, but I would really like to see Philadelphia achieve all that it can. That goes for Pennsylvania too. Philadelphia city is currently slightly underperforming given its unrivaled economic, historical, geographic advantages. So much potential.
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No attached-housing choice for me anywhere. 
I "" H A T E "" winters though. So biased living in the North. 
