Miami is a rapidly growing, multiethnic, cosmopolitan community. It offers a wide variety offilms, concerts, opera, ballet, and theatrical performances, and several fine museums. The area is a sports mecca, home to professional teams from the NFL, NBA, and NHL and has national-caliber college teams in football and baseball.

Because of the city's subtropical location, the climate is mild year round. Nearby parks, ocean beaches, tropical gardens, and wildlife sanctuaries offer abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation. The Florida Keys, coral reefs for snorkeling and diving, and the Everglades and Biscayne National Parks are all within an hour's drive of Miami. An additional benefit of the subtropical climate is that numerous scientific symposia and medical society meetings are held in the area.