TEXAS TO SOUTH FLORIDA
Moving from Austin
to Miami
Austin and Miami have absorbed similar waves of the same people over the last five years, which makes this move a particular kind of decision. Usually it is either a second move after Austin did not deliver what was promised, or a genuine preference for water and international character over hills and live music. Both are reasonable. Here is the substance.
Income tax: no change
Texas and Florida both levy no personal income tax. Moving between them changes nothing on that line, and anyone selling you this as a tax move has not done the arithmetic.
The financial case rests on property tax, where Florida has a real advantage, and on cost of living, where the comparison is closer than it was three years ago.
I am a real estate agent, not a tax advisor or attorney. Everything here is general information and figures change. Confirm your own position with a CPA before making a move based on tax.
Property tax: the real difference
Travis County effective property tax rates are high, which is how Texas funds itself without an income tax. Austin homeowners have also watched assessments climb aggressively through the boom.
Florida’s statewide effective rate is around 0.86%, with Miami-Dade higher but still favorable. The Homestead Exemption removes $51,411 of assessed value for 2026.
The structural difference is the cap: Texas allows homestead assessments to rise 10% a year, Florida caps them at 3% or CPI, whichever is lower. If you lived through Austin’s assessment increases, you will appreciate what a 3% ceiling means over a decade.
Watch for CS/HJR 1F on the November 3, 2026 Florida ballot, which would lift the homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 with 60% approval.
Where you live now, and where you would live here
The most useful question I get asked is not about price. It is “what is the Miami version of my neighborhood.” Here is my honest answer for Austin.
Established, canopied, near water, and slightly separate from the city. The most natural fit for an Austin buyer and the one I recommend looking at first.
Pinecrest or Ponce-Davis
Larger lots, strong schools, privacy, a short drive from the center.
Wynwood or Little River
Formerly overlooked, now not. Wynwood is further along the curve; Little River is closer to where East Austin was in 2015.
South Miami or the Roads
Smaller-scale, historic, walkable, and tightly held.
Coral Gables waterfront or Sunset Islands
Direct water access. Different water, considerably higher price, and no dock permitting headaches of the sort Austin has.
What your money actually buys
Closer than it used to be, and that surprises people.
Austin’s run from 2020 to 2022 pushed prices to a point where the Miami comparison is no longer lopsided. A Tarrytown or Westlake budget is genuinely competitive in Coconut Grove or Pinecrest, which was not true five years ago.
Where Miami still costs more: anything with direct ocean or bay frontage. Where Miami costs less: newer high-end condo stock, where Austin’s inventory is thinner and the amenity programs are not comparable.
The thing to price properly is older condo buildings. Since the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida tightened structural reserve requirements and buildings over thirty years old are facing significant special assessments. The milestone inspection and reserve study need reading before you offer.
The parts that are genuinely worse
No hills, no greenbelt. Austin’s terrain, Barton Springs, and the greenbelt have no Miami equivalent. Miami is flat and the outdoor life is oriented to water instead. Some people never make that trade comfortably.
Humidity. Austin summers are brutal but dry by comparison. July through September here is wetter and longer.
Hurricane season and insurance. June through November, with premiums far above Texas inland levels.
Live music. Miami’s music culture is real but it is club and Latin-driven, not the venue-and-songwriter ecosystem Austin has. If that was central to your life in Austin, understand what you are giving up.
Traffic. Both cities have it. Miami’s is worse and the causeway geography means there is often no alternate route.
The practical details
Flights
AUS to MIA runs about two and a half hours with several daily nonstops on American. Easy enough to keep Austin ties.
Time zone
One hour ahead. Negligible.
Driver’s license
Required within 30 days of establishing Florida residency.
Homestead filing
File with the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser by March 1 following occupancy. Texas homestead does not transfer.
Remote work
If you moved to Austin for remote work and are moving again, check whether your employer has a state-registration policy. Some companies that support Texas do not support Florida, and it is worth confirming before you sign anything.
Explore these neighborhoods
Current listings, building detail, and what each area is actually like.
About Jack
Jack Mintz is a real estate agent with Compass, based at 1212 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. He grew up in Park City, Utah, played Division I lacrosse at the University of Vermont, and worked in the ski industry before moving to Miami, so the relocation conversation is one he has been through himself.
He works across Miami Beach, Brickell, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Bal Harbour, and Edgewater, with a particular focus on clients arriving from out of state.
If it is not on the market
A lot of relocation buyers arrive with a specific building or a specific block in mind and find nothing listed. That is not the end of the search. I contact owners directly on behalf of buyers to find out whether anything is available quietly. Here is how the off-market search works.
Thinking about the move?
I work with relocation clients constantly and most of what I do early on is answer questions, not show property. Happy to talk before you have decided anything.