Just moved here and wow. Smh. Why are the people like this?? (Miami: neighborhoods, college)

[BronzeDoll]

Ok, so I moved here last month and it's so different. I have a few questions that I would like to be clarified.

#1. People seem so scared and timid. If I just say a friendly "Hi" to someone, it's like they'll say hi back but then they move away from me as if I was going to rob them. Why is that?

#2. Also, why does it seem more segregated down here? I try not to see skin color because it doesn't matter to me when I speak with people (my son is mixed) but it seems like people do. I'm a very friendly professional black girl but wow! If I'm not Haitian, Haitians won't talk to me much, same goes to Jamaican, whites, etc. I'll meet some people, yet they are so not willing to be too friendly... It seems like some Spanish people, I get along with and some of the elderly, and when I say spanish, I mean domincan, or a random country in central or south america. Why? I mean, I speak English, not creole, not a lot of spanish. Do I have to apologize for being an English speaking American? I love seeing all the different cultures, it's so fascinating and exciting. But when a person like me encounters them, they treat me like some kind of different outsider. Now, I am temporarily living in Coral Springs. Maybe it's different in other places? Or the same? Is it segregated? Do many of you have diverse friends? Is it whitewashed? Is it a culture thing? Is it a preference? Is it because this was a confederate state? (lol ya I guess I went there)

#3. Also, why do I have to be bilingual in many jobs that I've tried to apply for? Why does it not seem to matter to employers that I'm a college student? What kind of people do they hire down here? What do I have to have to find a decent job? I have a job interview lined up this Monday for an office position... any tips? Should I wear heels and a skirt? haha

Now, I'm not trying to generalize the place because I haven't lived here long enough and by NO means am I trying to offend anyone. I apologize if I did or even if these questions sound ignorant. I'm REALLY trying to figure out things here so I can know how to live here and how to approach people. I'm really really trying to figure out the south Florida area and it's very very different than what I'm used to back in Connecticut... the sunshine everyday is pretty awesome though and I love that there's so many places to visit and go Plus, I don't have to worry about shoveling snow though I'll miss the mild temperatures. I think I'll like it here and every place has it's stuff, just wanted to generally ask some questions concerning the people and area. Thanks!

[spidac]

Welcome to South Florida

[BronzeDoll]

Originally Posted by spidac

Welcome to South Florida

lol Thanks for the welcome but that totally did not answer my questions

[SimplySagacious]

Originally Posted by BronzeDoll

Ok, so I moved here last month and it's so different. I have a few questions that I would like to be clarified.

#1. People seem so scared and timid. If I just say a friendly "Hi" to someone, it's like they'll say hi back but then they move away from me as if I was going to rob them. Why is that?

#2. Also, why does it seem more segregated down here? I try not to see skin color because it doesn't matter to me when I speak with people (my son is mixed) but it seems like people do. I'm a very friendly professional black girl but wow! If I'm not Haitian, Haitians won't talk to me much, same goes to Jamaican, whites, etc. I'll meet some people, yet they are so not willing to be too friendly... It seems like some Spanish people, I get along with and some of the elderly, and when I say spanish, I mean domincan, or a random country in central or south america. Why? I mean, I speak English, not creole, not a lot of spanish. Do I have to apologize for being an English speaking American? I love seeing all the different cultures, it's so fascinating and exciting. But when a person like me encounters them, they treat me like some kind of different outsider. Now, I am temporarily living in Coral Springs. Maybe it's different in other places? Or the same? Is it segregated? Do many of you have diverse friends? Is it whitewashed? Is it a culture thing? Is it a preference? Is it because this was a confederate state? (lol ya I guess I went there)

#3. Also, why do I have to be bilingual in many jobs that I've tried to apply for? Why does it not seem to matter to employers that I'm a college student? What kind of people do they hire down here? What do I have to have to find a decent job? I have a job interview lined up this Monday for an office position... any tips? Should I wear heels and a skirt? haha

Now, I'm not trying to generalize the place because I haven't lived here long enough and by NO means am I trying to offend anyone. I apologize if I did or even if these questions sound ignorant. I'm REALLY trying to figure out things here so I can know how to live here and how to approach people. I'm really really trying to figure out the south Florida area and it's very very different than what I'm used to back in Connecticut... the sunshine everyday is pretty awesome though and I love that there's so many places to visit and go Plus, I don't have to worry about shoveling snow though I'll miss the mild temperatures. I think I'll like it here and every place has it's stuff, just wanted to generally ask some questions concerning the people and area. Thanks!

Oh they probably are just trying to paint with a brush as broad as yours.

[BronzeDoll]

Originally Posted by SimplySagacious

Oh they probably are just trying to paint with a brush as broad as yours.

I've already stated I haven't lived here long so of course it may be broad but my personal experience is still definitely different than what I'm used to. Still not answering my questions

[CSD610]

Original Poster: I have no idea what your area is like as far as the people and living there however, I do have many years of work experience and I will advise you to go to the office that you have the interview for and observe for a bit just to see what the most common style of clothing is.
If it is somewhat formal or business casual you will know what you should wear to the interview and be in line with their dress code.

[enero6]

BronzeDoll:

I do not know where you live or where you moved from, but here in South Florida, we have people of many nationalities. People of Argentina have a different custom than people from Brazil. For one the language is different, such as the language of Haiti from the language of St Croix. It is not that people are unfriendly or scared, just that they do not know you and maybe do not speak the same language as you.

Keep an open mind and observe. Once you see how the people work, speak, and eat, you will get the hang of it!

[HotandHumid]

Most South Floridians have become suspicious of one another over the years because there are so many hard core street people here asking for a handout. You'll even find well-dressed looking people coming at you with a big smile and then they start with the line, "Excuse me but I just ran out of gas and can you....?"
The majority of the people I've gotten to know from the American Black population of South Florida resent many of the newcomers, both Blacks from the Caribbean and Latins from the Caribbean and South America, who come in and will work under the table for below minimum wages, putting the people whose families have been here for generations at a disadvantage in finding work if they don't speak Spanish or Creole and many American Blacks have seen their neighborhoods change almost overnight into Creole or Spanish speaking areas, just like what happened in Miami when the English speaking population became the minority with the influx of Cubans after the Revolution in Cuba.
I'm from the Midwest originally and I had to learn some things from a Cuban boyfriend about the pecking order down here. White skinned Cubans feel they are the top of the heap and all the other Latins are below them, particularly the mixed race and Black Cubans who came in after Castro released inmates from prisons and mental hospitals in Cuba and allowed them to leave Cuba to come to the U.S.
White Cubans consider people from Argentina to be close to them in status because they are primarily White and there isn't much mixed blood there. People from Venezuela and Columbia are ok as long as they look white. If you're from Central America or Mexico or Puerto Rico, I've heard Cuban friends refer to you as the Hillbillies of the Caribbean. If you're a Cuban whose family moved to a different part of the U.S. after the Revolution and you decided to move to Miami, you're considered by Miami Cubans to be an American and not Cuban like they are.
You have to remember that South Florida is the only large metropolitan place in the U.S. where immigrants outnumber the native born population so there isn't much assimilation going on because many people can live their entire lives living in communities in South Florida around people from their own country and speaking their own language so outsiders are looked upon with suspicion and you'll even find those in the Miami area who will complain if don't speak Spanish. I was at an Art Deco Festival on South Beach and was trying to get around someone by saying, "Excuse me." I was ignored so I said it again and the man turned to me and said in perfect English, "Say it in Spanish."
That attitude of expecting someone in the U.S. to speak Spanish just because they are in the Miami area doesn't exactly create balance and harmony and that's why you'll see so many people in South Florida walking around with an attitude, suspicious of others and who act like they never learned any manners as they just push and shove their way through a crowd and drive the streets and highways like everyone else should be watching out for them.

[OptimusPrime69]

South Floridians are not really friendly.
They're just not. It's true.

However, that doesn't mean there are NO friendly people. You need to join a club or organization where u can get to know people and connect with them through a shared interest. Join a church, a book club, a cycling club, beach clen-up crew, volunteer somewhere, etc.

Many south Floridians were born in south/central america and the Caribbean... ppl tend to stick with their own kind here. Haitians with the Haitians... Jamaicans with the Jamaicans... Colombians with Colombians... SFL IMO is a bit racist... and not because its the US south, but rather racism is brought from south and central america to south FL.... so ppl from these areas bring their racism with them....

US born black Americans are culturally American...therefore they're different than Jamaicans and Haitians and Dominicans... you dont have that "island flare" about u.... u dont speak another language...u dont have that shared identity of being an immigrant... u dont have a culture that is imported from "overseas" your culture is black-american culture... it's different and foreign to immigrant groups... and south FL is made up largely of immigrant groups...so they're not gonna get it. .

Being bi-lingual is the norm in south FL... for most people down here English is a 2nd language and Spanish or French creole is their first.... for ppl like u and I...it's the opposite. We're native English speakers... and have not needed to learn a 2nd language, unlike a lot of immigrants to south FL...again another thing that makes u different.

[Mr. Lee]

All I can say is that I am sorry you are having that problem and tell you to just keep plugging along and enjoy those who are friendly to you and ignore those who are not.

I believe that politics is now playing a big part in how we have all now been divided, just do not let the bad people get to you because there are plenty of good people in Florida, I meet friendly people all the time of all races.