Thinking about moving to Hollywood? Between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood offers a classic beach Broadwalk and a walkable downtown, often at better value than its neighbors. This local guide covers the honest basics — cost of living, the best areas, getting around, and what locals wish they’d known — so you can plan your move with confidence.

Cost of living in Hollywood

Hollywood is frequently better value than Miami Beach and much of the region, while keeping beach access. The beach costs most; downtown and inland areas offer value. No state income tax helps.

Best areas in Hollywood

Hollywood Beach for steps-from-the-sand living; downtown/Young Circle for walkable, artsy urban life; and Hollywood Lakes and Emerald Hills for leafy family homes. See our full guide to the best areas to live in Hollywood for more detail.

Getting around Hollywood

Car-oriented like the rest of South Florida, though the beach and downtown have walkable stretches; a car is generally needed for commuting to Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

What to know before moving to Hollywood

Hot, humid summers and hurricane season apply; check flood zones and insurance. The Broadwalk-and-beach lifestyle at (often) better value than neighbors is the appeal.

Things to do once you arrive

Get a head start with our guide to the best things to do in Hollywood.

What Hollywood locals wish they’d known

The honest, current advice — which areas are worth it, the real commute, where to find community — comes from people who already made the move. On Neighborhood Nurturers’ Hollywood community, real Hollywood neighbors answer newcomers’ questions candidly. Join your Hollywood neighbors free before you move →

Fitting it into a day in Hollywood

Newcomers get up to speed fastest by learning the neighborhoods and where locals actually go. What sets Hollywood apart is how close everything sits together. Start near the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, work in one of the spots from this guide, and you are minutes from ArtsPark at Young Circle if you want to keep going. Locals often round out settling in with a detour to North Beach Park or a quieter stop at the historic downtown. Because the distances are short, you can improvise as you go rather than lock the whole day down in advance.

The honest case for and against

For: no state income tax; a genuinely walkable beach promenade 2.5 miles long; an outdoor life that runs all year; free live music five nights a week; real mangrove wilderness ten minutes inland; and – the big one – prices meaningfully below Fort Lauderdale and Miami for the same coastline. The cost-of-living index here is 120 against Fort Lauderdale’s 130-132, and average rent is about $2,267 against roughly $2,816.

Against: property insurance is expensive and rising; summer is genuinely hard, with heat, humidity and near-daily afternoon thunderstorms from June to October; hurricane season is an annual planning exercise, not a theoretical risk; the two neighbourhood high schools are middling on test scores; job density is lower here than in the cities either side, so many residents commute; and outside downtown and the beach you will need a car. Anyone selling you Hollywood without mentioning insurance and August is not being straight with you.

What it costs to live here

Median home price around $487,500 to $500,000, with condos averaging roughly $305,000 and single-family homes around $550,000, and homes taking about 95 days to sell – a slower market that favours buyers. Average rent is $2,267: roughly studio $1,678 · one-bed $1,923 · two-bed $2,533 · three-bed $3,236.

★ The single most important piece of advice on this page: get an actual insurance quote on the specific address before committing to a purchase price. Florida property insurance is among the most expensive in the country, windstorm and flood are why, and the figure swings enormously between two houses on the same street depending on elevation, flood zone, roof age and construction. If you are buying a condo – and much of Hollywood Beach is condo stock – also demand the association’s financials and any pending special assessments. Full detail in our cost of living guide.

Where to land

For anyone unsure, rent for a year before buying and use that year to learn which neighbourhoods you actually like in August rather than January.

Downtown Hollywood around Young Circle is the walkable urban choice with the newest rental stock. Hollywood Beach puts you on the Broadwalk, mostly in older condo buildings – check pet rules and association fees early. Hollywood Lakes is the historic, tree-canopied, most sought-after residential area. Boulevard Heights, Driftwood and Emerald Hills are the inland value options with more space. Our neighbourhoods guide goes area by area.

⚠️ Check the municipal boundary before you sign. Dania Beach, Hallandale Beach, Pembroke Pines, Davie and Aventura are separate cities with their own taxes and services, and a “Hollywood” mailing address does not put you inside the City of Hollywood.

The climate adjustment nobody prepares you for

The seasons are inverted. Winter is the good season – dry, mild, sociable, and when the outdoor calendar runs. Summer is the indoor season. If you are moving from a temperate climate, expect your instincts about when to be outside to be exactly backwards for the first year.

Afternoon thunderstorms from June to October are routine, not events – fast, often severe, usually clearing within the hour. Locals plan outdoor activity for the morning.

Hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November. Prepare in May, not reactively in September: know your evacuation zone, keep supplies, understand your insurance deductibles, and make a plan that includes pets, because not every shelter accepts them.

Hot surfaces burn dogs’ paws from April onward – see our dog-friendly guide, which also covers the dog beach between Pershing and Custer Streets.

Getting around, and the commute question

Hollywood’s geography is its selling point: roughly 30 minutes to both Miami and Fort Lauderdale in normal traffic, with Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport very close and rail connecting the region. Downtown and the beach strip are walkable; everywhere else is a car place, and Florida car insurance is expensive – budget for both.

Be realistic about commuting. Job density here is lower than in the cities either side, so many residents drive out daily, and Interstate 95 in high season is nobody’s idea of a good time. The people happiest here work locally, work remotely, or have consciously traded commute time for a bigger home and a beach five minutes away.

Your first month

Register your vehicle and get a Florida licence within the required window. Set up property or renter’s, flood and auto insurance – and do not assume flood is included, because it usually is not. Register with a doctor and a vet before you need one. Learn your evacuation zone. Find your assigned schools by exact address and check the choice and magnet application deadlines, which are early and unforgiving – see our schools guide.

Then do the good part: walk the Broadwalk end to end, get to Yellow Green on a weekend, catch a free Bandshell show, and introduce yourself to the Hollywood neighbors – every question above has a better answer from someone who moved here two years ago than from any guide.

Who Hollywood actually suits

After all the numbers, the useful question is whether this is your kind of place. Hollywood suits people who want the coast without the performance of it – who would rather walk a promenade at seven in the morning than queue for a club at midnight, and who see paying less than Fort Lauderdale for the same ocean as a straightforwardly good trade. It suits remote workers and anyone whose job is genuinely local, retirees who want walkability and warmth without Miami prices, and families willing to work the school-choice system rather than rely on the neighbourhood default. It suits dog owners unusually well, given a dog beach open seven days a week.

It suits you less if nightlife is the point of living in South Florida, if you need a dense professional job market on your doorstep, or if you cannot tolerate four months of serious heat each year. None of that makes it a lesser city – it makes it a specific one, and the people who thrive here are the ones who chose it deliberately rather than treating it as the cheaper version of somewhere else.

More Hollywood guides

Hollywood rewards people who dig a little deeper. These related guides map the same neighborhoods from different starting points: Best neighborhoods in Hollywood, Cost of living in Hollywood, Things to do in Hollywood — enough to plan a whole day or two.

Get a local’s take

Guides are a starting point; the current, on-the-ground details come from people who live in Hollywood. Hours shift, favorites change, and residents always know what is genuinely worth it now. Ask Hollywood neighbors directly or join your town community free to hear from real locals.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hollywood expensive to live in?

Housing has risen across South Florida, with the beach and waterfront costing most; inland and suburban areas offer more value. Florida’s lack of a state income tax helps offset costs.

Do you need a car in Hollywood?

Generally yes — South Florida is car-oriented with limited transit, though some walkable pockets exist.

What should I know before moving to Hollywood?

Expect hot, humid summers and a hurricane season (June–November); check flood zones and insurance costs; and budget for a car — balanced by beaches, sunshine and no state income tax.