Moved from Minneapolis to Miami. Finally leaving Miserable Miami. Denver Here I Come! (living, move)

[popcorn247]

Originally Posted by ausguy96

Great post. I lived in Denver way back, ended up in Texas because of the family "anchor", currently in Miami because of the career "anchor", and finally have an opportunity to return to Denver. Any place has pros and cons. Quite frankly, in Miami as in most places you have to rise above what you don't like and look at the positives. I have met many nice Latin folks here who are nice to me, and believe me, I look like a German tourist and speak no Spanish. Nowhere in this nation can you scuba dive every weekend. The Everglades for nature lovers are simply amazing...you can literally bike among alligators. You can pop over to the Bahamas for the weekend.

I do think it's tough to live here because of the people. Very much a 3rd world mentality in that those right off the boat think being American is something from the reality shows they watched in Haiti. So flash, bling, boob-jobs, the gold rack is valued over humility, professionalism, politeness, culture...more advanced concepts.

Having traveled the nation, I have always wanted to return to Denver. Good, nice people can be a challenge to find anywhere but in my experience one does not have to dig as deep to find these people in the Midwest and West.

Good post!

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by pmichaeljones

They won't let me link to my personal blog, Here Goes Nothing: Miami, so I'll cut and paste a very poignant article I wrote about Miami.





There you have it. My thoughts, plain and simple, about Miami.

Sounds alot like southern CA [particularly flashy cars and fake body parts], but the weather's far better in san diego(: and you can still find down to earth people and different lifestyles in southern CA, unlike Miami. And frankly, spanish but not in your face spanish. which is a perfectly nice language and all, don't get me wrong....

FLA is humid, full of bugs, beaches are not as nice, and I think it's far more 3rd world than so cal, and not in the good ways(:....FLA has retirees, faux people and sorry for the term, rednecks. 3 speeds.

SO cal is more sophisticated.
And not all make shifty.
Okay, except for L.A., which is another reality. When I first met my husband, we discussed places we would never want to live: the top 3? Detroit, Miami and L.A. I'm sure there are far worse places,but as far as major US cities, they come to mind immediately. But hey, different strokes.....

FLA/MIAMI has the NYC transplants, as well. It's east coast meets 3rd world vibe.

I'm sure you will love denver, but yea, might get boring after awhile.
There is no buenos aires of the USA. BA is in argentina, silly(:
ie, people always seem to be looking for the 'NYC of the west coast' or something like that. Said place only exists in said place.

Good luck with your move!

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by ausguy96

Great post. I lived in Denver way back, ended up in Texas because of the family "anchor", currently in Miami because of the career "anchor", and finally have an opportunity to return to Denver. Any place has pros and cons. Quite frankly, in Miami as in most places you have to rise above what you don't like and look at the positives. I have met many nice Latin folks here who are nice to me, and believe me, I look like a German tourist and speak no Spanish. Nowhere in this nation can you scuba dive every weekend. The Everglades for nature lovers are simply amazing...you can literally bike among alligators. You can pop over to the Bahamas for the weekend.

I do think it's tough to live here because of the people. Very much a 3rd world mentality in that those right off the boat think being American is something from the reality shows they watched in Haiti. So flash, bling, boob-jobs, the gold rack is valued over humility, professionalism, politeness, culture...more advanced concepts.

Having traveled the nation, I have always wanted to return to Denver. Good, nice people can be a challenge to find anywhere but in my experience one does not have to dig as deep to find these people in the Midwest and West.

You can probably scuba dive in hawaii every weekend, right?

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

ie, people always seem to be looking for the 'NYC of the west coast' or something like that. Said place only exists in said place.

Of the west coast cities, San Francisco comes closest to being like NYC, but still big differences

[ausguy96]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

You can probably scuba dive in hawaii every weekend, right?

...excuse me, contiguous United States. I figured that was assumed.

[MantaRay]

I notice Denver locals are always saying Denver isn't in the mountains, and they're correct, but:

Denver is at an elevation such that to most other people in most other cities, the altitude is practically mountainous.

Denver has an up close vantage point to the mountains, which to most other people in places that don't- is for all practical purposes in the mountains.

The point is well taken not to expect to take after work walks in the mountains, but for anybody not from a mountainous area, a hike at Red Rocks Park or Green Mountain Park would suffice. And then a weekend drive to Rocky Mountain National Park is just plain easy.

Bottom line- not everybody who speaks of Denver as "in the mountains" necessarily thinks Denver is a city ON a mountain, just that it is in the immediate presence of the mountains. And that really counts just as much if you are from a place where mountains are several hours or days away.

On the thread topic specifically- visited both Miami and Denver and got the same impressions after a week in each that have been stated here. Interesting too how the city is just like the people- a lot of flashy facade that gets all the focus (Miami Beach, Intercoastal Waterway) with a lot of inner lack of beauty that comprises most of what is there (the city of Miami, ex-beach). Denver is similarly like the people, unpretentious, inviting, fun-loving, low on flash, big on substance.

[TrueDat]

Interesting topic. I lived in Miami for a few years before relocating to Dallas and it's always intriguing to read why others left South Florida.

[Tiger Beer]

Just read the thread...I'm from the Midwest, and also have a strong attraction to Miami.

Good thread, made me think about those Midwestern values of downplaying everything, modesty (not boasting), desires for simplicity, etc.

Particularly interesting since the OP connected it to Buenos Aires. I went down to South American myself for 10 months and loved it. So, I occassionally think Miami would be the closest in the U.S. to that experience. However, from everything I've read, it also seems nothing like Latin America either.

The statement about 3rd worlders who watch american tv, and try to mimic what they see on TV when they arrive in the U.S., kind of makes sense though. I could see something like that occuring.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

I went down to South American myself for 10 months and loved it. So, I occassionally think Miami would be the closest in the U.S. to that experience.

Maybe I don't know, I never went to Miami. But have you been to the Astoria section of Queens (New York)?

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Just read the thread...I'm from the Midwest, and also have a strong attraction to Miami.

Good thread, made me think about those Midwestern values of downplaying everything, modesty (not boasting), desires for simplicity, etc.

Particularly interesting since the OP connected it to Buenos Aires. I went down to South American myself for 10 months and loved it. So, I occassionally think Miami would be the closest in the U.S. to that experience. However, from everything I've read, it also seems nothing like Latin America either.

The statement about 3rd worlders who watch american tv, and try to mimic what they see on TV when they arrive in the U.S., kind of makes sense though. I could see something like that occuring.

Grew up in Milwaukee and moved to South Florida in '95.
If I lived here another 20 years, I'd never get used to the pretentiousness down here.
Best of luck OP!
I'm SO GLAD you didn't get sucked into the superficial lifestyle!