Miami

2 Florida cities rank among the worst for a staycation. Here’s why.


Miami has enviable weather, spectacular beaches and vibrant nightlife, yet it ranks, along with Hialeah, among the worst cities in the U.S. for local tourism, according to a report by personal finance website WalletHub.

With rising inflation and the need to cut back on spending this summer, 82% of Americans are considering staycationing and taking advantage of what their cities have to offer.

For Miami and Hialeah residents, they might be better off taking a trip.

Miami ranked 49th and Hialeah 178th among the 182 cities analyzed, using 41 metrics ranging from affordability to the variety of activities available.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said that Miami, despite having a wide variety of restaurants, nightlife options, festivals and access to water activities, is hampered by its high costs.

It ranks 159th in restaurant meal prices and 169th in massage costs. It also has the lowest park area per capita among the cities analyzed, he explained.

Hialeah, the study shows, suffers from a lack of entertainment. It ranks among the last in nightlife, festivals, museums and culinary diversity. Although it has some sports facilities, like golf courses and tennis/basketball courts, its limited availability of leisure activities places it at the bottom of the overall ranking, Lupo reported.

The contrast with other cities is striking: New York City leads the way in park availability by population density; Honolulu leads in tennis courts and Orlando leads in ice cream parlors.

In Florida, the highest-ranked cities for staycations are Orlando, in second place, and Tampa, in seventh place.

Orlando ranks high for staycationing thanks to its wide variety of activities. With a large number of amusement parks, water parks, nightlife, festivals, zoos and arcades per capita, it’s easy to fill a week with different activities every day.

Orlando is also a great place to eat out, with a wide variety of affordable restaurants and plenty of ice cream shops to enjoy during the hot summer.

Tampa scored 34 for recreational activities, 13 for food and 20 for relaxation activities.

Cincinnati topped the list as the best city for a staycation, according to the WalletHub report. The city has plenty of parks, pools and baseball fields to keep people entertained and active, plus affordable restaurants, beer gardens and ice cream shops.



Source link