It doesn't take long for Miami to make one hell of an impression on people. Just ask the tourists, the college kids who stick around after graduation and the snowbirds who winter here year after year after year. Walk the streets of Little Havana, swim in the ocean in South Beach or bar-hop in Brickell and you’ll understand why this city is hard to shake off—and why locals are so proud to live here (#305tilIdie, right?). Once your time in Miami is up, nostalgia will hit faster than your hair can get used to a life without humidity. Here are a few more things you'll miss about life in the Magic City when you leave.
Traffic
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The bane of every Miamian’s existence is also an opportunity to catch up on phone calls, listen to the radio, lip-synch Bieber songs and do your makeup.
The dress code
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There is no such thing as too casual, but wearing five-inch heels all day is also considered entirely normal and feasible.
Cuban food
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Rice and beans at lunch, dinner, at 2am when you're drunk and stumble into Versailles...
The views
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Driving over the McArthur Causeway (on a light-traffic day), seeing downtown Miami from the rooftop at Area 31, sitting on a balcony facing Miami Beach.
Cruising
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It’s so easy to hop on a last-minute cruise when you live in Miami.
Cafecito breaks
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Coworkers who walk around passing out thimbles of the nectar of the gods (Cuban coffee) at 3pm.
The beach
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You’ll regret all the days you stayed indoors instead of going to the beach.
The dancing
Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/Jeremy
People in Miami dance. People elsewhere move their bodies if they've had enough to drink. Not the same thing.
Avocados everywhere
Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/WallyGobetz
Stealing them from your neighbors, buying them from the side of the road for $1, discovering new types in Homestead.
Bodeguitas
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Better than bodegas and cheaper than convenience stores. Bodeguitas sell produce, process utility payments, cash checks, make duplicate keys, vend lottery tickets and so, so much more.