{"id":89567,"date":"2025-12-19T18:40:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T18:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/89567\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T18:40:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T18:40:10","slug":"i-cant-stay-in-miami-why-young-people-are-leaving-the-magic-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/89567\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I can\u2019t stay in Miami\u2019: Why young people are leaving the Magic City"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Peter Gutierrez, 21, has lived in Cutler Bay for much of his life, but when he reached adulthood, he began to question whether Miami was where he wanted to settle down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t really a specific moment I realized I wanted to move away,\u201d Gutierrez said.\u201dIt was more of an encroaching feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

After developing a love for theater, he decided to move to New York City to pursue his passion after graduating from Florida International University next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just knew if I want to be successful in my career, I can\u2019t stay in Miami,\u201d Gutierrez said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not alone. Miami ranked the third-highest city in a national\u00a0survey<\/a>\u00a0of young people, ages 18-34, with no children who said they were \u201cvery likely\u201d or \u201clikely\u201d to leave their town, according to Gensler, a global design and architecture firm that conducted the survey.<\/p>\n

In contrast, San Diego and Boston have much smaller percentages of young people fleeing, with both cities under 30 percent. The Gensler study, conducted last year and released earlier this year, stated the cost of living, jobs, health care, crime and public transportation are among the most important factors when young people choose where to live.<\/p>\n

The survey found 51.8 percent of Miami\u2019s young residents were likely to leave, while Baltimore ranked the highest with 61.6 percent and Charlotte, North Carolina, came in second with 58.3 percent ready for greener pastures. Detroit placed just behind Miami in fourth with 51.6 percent of young people very likely or likely to leave.<\/p>\n

Dr. Edward Murray, associate director of the Metropolitan Center at FIU, said the area\u2019s economy is a key factor in the trend.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiami-Dade county is reliant on three major industry sectors \u2014 leisure and hospitality, health care and retail. They comprise about 60% of Miami Dade\u2019s employment base yet most of those jobs in those three sectors are low-wage service jobs,\u201d Murray said. \u201cThose occupations in our core industries do not provide enough for anybody to be able to afford the current rent and home prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Img<\/a>Ryan Gleicher at a \u201cMiami Hurricanes\u201d game. (Courtesy of Ryan Gleicher)<\/p>\n

Ryan Gleicher, 24, was born and raised in Westport, Connecticut, before he moved to Miami in 2019 in order to attend the University of Miami, where he double majored in broadcast journalism and public relations.<\/p>\n

After graduating, he jumpstarted his career by working as a producer for \u201cCBS Miami\u201d for two years, where he covered local news. Until he got the opportunity to work as a writer for \u201cFox News\u201d in New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I had to take it,\u201d Gleicher said. \u201cIt was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I don\u2019t regret it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

He left Miami last August and temporarily moved back to Connecticut to \u201cget his ducks in a row\u201d before moving to New York in October.<\/p>\n

While he describes the move as a \u201cdifficult decision,\u201d Gleicher says he\u2019s been thriving in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City has a lot to offer, it\u2019s where I got my big break and I\u2019m sure many other people did as well,\u201d Gleicher said. \u201cI don\u2019t think the same can be said for Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Img<\/a>Cara Gilliland on a trip to Zermatt, Switzerland (Courtesy of Cara Gilliland)<\/p>\n

Cara Gilliland, 25, was born and raised in Vero Beach before moving to Miami at 17 for six years. While she enjoyed the different cultures the city had to offer, overcrowding and high cost of living was what ultimately led her back to Vero Beach, where she now works at Citrus Elementary School as a third grade English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping up in Miami was just very expensive, and now I don\u2019t have to deal with its traffic anymore,\u201d Gilliland said. \u201cI wanted to move somewhere that was less populated so that led me back to Vero, which is a much smaller town.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her time in Miami, she worked as a waitress at \u201cForno Italiano Pizzeria\u201d and then as a receptionist at \u201cLove Nail Salon,\u201d while attending the University of Miami.<\/p>\n

After graduation, Gilliland longed to become a teacher but felt the salary ultimately wouldn\u2019t be adequate enough to sustain a comfortable, stable life in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t see how it would be worth it to stay there if you want to be smart with your money,\u201d Gilliland said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have it like our parents used to, back in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Gutierrez, the FIU student who is set to New York for theater after he graduates next year, agrees it\u2019s the Miami job market that is driving many young people away.<\/p>\n

\u201cEntry-level positions basically do not exist here, it leaves college students feeling stuck after they graduate,\u201d Gutierrez said.<\/p>\n

While specific data for Miami isn\u2019t available, the national\u00a0unemployment rate for college graduates<\/a>, ages 20-24, was 9.3 percent in August, more than double the overall during the same time period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n

Having to rely on the FIU bus system between campuses to attend his classes, which some days would be on both the Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay campuses approximately 20 miles apart,\u00a0Gutierrez also hopes that Miami will improve its public transportation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I could take the train everywhere, to school or downtown, that would be a blast,\u201d Gutierrez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do love Miami as a whole but realistically,\u201d he added, \u201cthere\u2019s so many other places out there where I could have a better life and be at peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This story<\/a> is part of a collaboration between Miami\u2019s Community Newspapers and the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media at Florida International University.<\/p>\n


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