This Florida city is among the 10 best for post-pandemic life. It’s not Miami
With more Americans leaning on remote working in pursuit of quality of life, Florida is squarely on the radar. But Miami isn’t center of the target.
A new ranking puts Tampa on the list of top 10 most desirable cities post-pandemic. The list was created by New York Realtor Stefani Berkin for Today.com, the website for NBC’s “Today Show.”
“Home buyers think less and less about proximity to their workplace when looking for a home,” real estate expert Berkin, president of R New York, told the publication. Critical factors include affordability, population density, diversity, local schools, health care, the environment and recreational activities, she said.
According to Pew Research, 1 in 5 American adults (about 22%) say they changed residence due to the pandemic or know someone who did.
“While houses were once a place for family gatherings, recreation time, and sleep, now they are nurseries, gyms, offices and even classrooms,” Berkin said. “They realize they need their homes to function in new ways and that their homes can be anywhere they want.”
Tampa, which is ranked 10th on the list of best cities, seems to have all the right ingredients, according to “Today” — including weather, taxes and value.
The median home price in Tampa is $281,097, according to real estate website Zillow — well below the Miami median of $389,138 noted by the site. Zillow’s estimate blends single-family and condo values in the middle price tier.
“Today” ranked these as the top 10 cities for post-pandemic life:
1. Atlanta
2. Austin, Texas
3. Boulder, Colo.
4. Charleston, S.C.
5. Des Moines, Iowa
6. Nashville, Tenn.
7. Phoenix
8. Portland, Ore.
9. Raleigh, N.C.
10. Tampa
