What happened to South Beach? (Miami, Miami Beach: neighborhoods, restaurants, price)

[mesa1974]

I was on vacation down here last week and it has changed a lot. The restaurants are cheap and all the chic/unique boutiques are gone. I remember the days when South Beach was for the upscale crowd. South Beach is so ghetto now... Creepy homeless people walking around the beach...

I also noticed how certain neighborhoods have changed for the worse.

[Loops778]

OP, are you exotical? LOL

[LCSDays]

Did not know any of this.

Then again, not exactly the type of thing they would promote or advertise.

Unless someone comes on here and challenges you, I guess I will stay away. Does not sound like you had much fun.

[doggiebus]

Some of the high end stuff has moved to the new spot to be the Design District.

[FlyMIA]

Every large cit has homeless people and homeless people want to hang out where there are a lot of poeple walking around. Homeless people means very little amount heavy walked areas. There are lots of homeless people in the nice tourist areas in DC, LA, NYC and Chicago too. They go there because the people are there.

Anyway it depends where you want to go. Washington Ave. Especially South of 14 street or so does get a bit ghetto I guess you can say. But Washington Ave never really was an expensive place. Ocean Dr has always been somewhat of a tourist trap, nothing really great to see besides for the buildings and the beach. The food there is not good and over priced.

Did you walk down Lincoln Road? That is much much nicer. Lots of stores open till 12-1am, tons of places to eat and drink and not as much as a tourist trap.
The nicer clubs are also more north now like Club Liv or Wall. At night the crowd has changed a bit but the neighborhoods of Miami Beach have only been improving. It is a very safe city and I honestly can't think of one neighborhood in Miami which has made a turn for the worse.

Also South Beach is no longer the top/only spot for nightlife More locals are hanging out in other spots like Brickell, Wynwood, Downtown South Miami and the Design Distrct.

It also depends when in the year you come and what events are going on during that weekend.

Did you got to Lincoln Road? Hispanola Way? What neighborhoods do you think have made a turn for the worse?

[hurricaneMan1992]

I think it's actually a good thing, as it means South Beach is becoming more of a more "local" mix and less "touristy" (though it is still on the touristy side). The same thing has happened to Coconut Grove since most of the upscale businesses moved on. Plus BTW those restaurants on Lincoln Road and Espanola Way and shops along historic Collins Ave. are not that cheap, unless your last name is Buffet.

[compelled to reply]

South Beach has always had a lot of homeless, and if anything there are less today than in the past. As far as upscale shops? Well, a lot of areas that were total no-go zones or mostly empty 10 years ago are now full of activity in the form of cheap tacky restaurants and shops. Washington Ave is the best example of this. A few years back, visitors were less likely to even notice that certain neighborhoods existed because they were halfway empty. Lincoln Road is a freak show, and it always has been, but the shops and restaurants along and within a few blocks of Lincoln Road are as upscale as ever. Some spots, like South of Fifth, are also more upscale than ever with countless other neighborhoods that I can say the same for. Ocean Drive is as touristy as ever, the beach still has everything from topless European models to drugged out homeless people, and Collins Ave is not much different from a few years back at all. One thing I will say is that the more upscale nightlife and club scene has definitely shifted north of 15th street with the emergence of places like the Fontainebleau and Delano, while the nightlife south has shifted from eurotrash to just plain trash.

South Beach hasn't changed so much as it has grown and evolved.

[polo89]

Agreed, SoBe is being geared more towards the locals I'd guess.

[rnc2mbfl]

After almost 12 years in South Beach, my take is that it's losing its independent stores in favor of national/international chains. Some of it's good, some of it's bad but that's all subjective. While I don't mind Apple taking over the independent "Moseley's" linens, I hated seeing Pink Palm leave for an Aldo shoe store. Thankfully Pink Palm came back to Lincoln Rd. after a few years' hiatus.
All in all, my take is that SouthBeach has more variety than it used to have but with plenty of stores and restaurants where I don't choose to overspend. There's always been the trashy part of the beach and, as others have mentioned, it's typically confined to areas south of 14th on Washington.

[FlyMIA]

Agrreed with all above. Again to the OP where in South Beach/Miami Beach did you go?