A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors found that millennials, currently ages 18-34, prefer walking to destinations over driving. America’s young adults want to live in neighborhoods brimming with local business and eateries – and all within walking distance of course!

Flickr Creative Commons: La Citta Vita

The benefits of being able to walk to the grocery store, to work, or even just to the pharmacy are endless. This lifestyle trend saves millennials money in gas, which also means less fuel emissions. Additionally, saving many businesses within walking distance of residential homes encourages a more open and friendly community. Rather than going straight from their home to the car and off to the grocery store, residents are spending more time outside, making contact with their neighbors, and seeing other local retailers on the way. These benefits have recent graduates and young families flocking to cities where a walk-everywhere lifestyle is possible.

Flickr Creative Commons: zenjazzygeek

With this new trend on the rise, here are Redfin’s top five most walkable cities! They are scored out of 100 points.

New York: 87.6
San Francisco: 83.9
Boston: 79.5
Philadelphia: 76.5
Miami: 75.6

New York and San Francisco are no surprise – the two cities were built for pedestrians. The streets are lined with shops and restaurants, and packed full of people. Boston is not shocking either considering it was the first city to establish a subway system which relieved residents from the burden of driving.

Now for Miami and Philadelphia. When we think of Miami, skyscrapers and concrete come into mind – not a closely knit community dense with small, local businesses. If you spend more time in Miami, you realize that it is made up of many neighborhoods, all with their own walking culture. The same goes for Philadelphia; the urban city is sectioned into thirty neighborhoods, each with its own personality.

Weather also has to be taken into consideration. Would you want to walk around New York City in the middle of winter? Maybe not. Miami however, has warm weather year round. For this reason, it could be argued that Miami is more walkable because of its constant sunshine.

Would you move to one of these cities? Have you lived anywhere exceptionally ‘walkable?’ Let us know!