Any Truth to "paranoia" on Lauderdale Forum? (Miami: best cities, car insurance)

[elchevere]

Been trying to do my research on Florida forums as I seriously consider/prepare to make a move to Brickell.

After visiting the FLL forum--my goodness, such doom and gloom. There's a post from a guy who said he moved to Brickell and has had a hard time making friends. Then others chimed in on how people in SoFla keep to themselves and their own ethnic/language groups, it's a car culture like LA instead of people being out and about, and they, too, have had problems.

I'm a fairly outgoing person, young and in shape 50 something, I do have my strong opinions but certainly welcome an eclectic international vibe, and generally don't have a problem running into people--nor have I on my recent 3 visits within the past 4 months (though they have only been for 4-5 days at a time). Even though I will be isolated from others during most of the day since I work out of a home office I find it hard to believe I would have that hard a time meeting people with a 'circuit' that consisted of morning coffee at Starbucks at Mary Brickell Village, joining Sports Club/LA, hitting sports bars, and making regular stops at hot spots in Brickell (Zuma, Il Gabbiano, Area 50) SoBe (1826, Prime Steakhouse, Smith & Wollensky, Juvia, Baoli, etc),Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, and festivals plus ballgames.

The other complaint that seems to make more sense was that the money you save with no state income tax will be eaten up (probably partially, not entirely) by higher property taxes and higher car insurance (per the posters, SoFla has the highest auto insurance rates in the country?) I realize HOA's for high rises are high, but they are on par with high rise HOA's in San Diego (elevators and maintenance) seem to be a huge expense

Appreciate any insight on above comments with respect to Miami and am hoping you can at least make me feel more comfortable. I'm thinking of moving from San Diego more for people issues of my own and am hoping some of you from the optimists club can reassure my thought process and validate my decision to come to FL.

Thanks

[cityKing]

My recommendation to you is go to meetup.com and find groups that suit your interests.

[Wild Style]

South Florida is not a very friendly place. They aren't rude or mean, just not outgoing. As cityKing suggest, you may want to try meetup.com

[unquiltom]

This was posted here before, but I don't know by who. To me, this hits the nail on the head as to life in Miami. If you can deal with this kind of stuff, then you'll be fine living here.

I am writing this as a warning to those who are thinking of moving to Miami, but are naive as to the problems of this city. Miami appeals to some, but a lot of people are unhappy here. Therefore, I would like to make the following points, to at least help people avoid making a potentially huge mistake:

- Do not move to Miami if you want a relatively quiet life.

- Do not move to Miami if you have children, but cannot afford to send them to private school (unless you're Hispanic).

- Do not move to Miami if you are bothered by lack of respect, manners and common sense from others.

- Do not move to Miami if reckless, drunk and aggressive driving bothers you.

- Do not move to Miami if you seek more out of your free time than just clubbing, bar hopping and the beach.

- Do not move to Miami if you want to live in a truly diverse big city, where there are a plethora of different scenes.

- Do not move to Miami if you have a short fuse and are easily irritated by other people's BS.

- Do not move to Miami if you are looking for a place to make genuine, cool friends who aren't just out to take advantage of you.

- Do not move to Miami if you worked your butt off getting a degree and are looking for a decent job, because who you know is more important than what you know here.

- Do not move to Miami if you are different from 99% of the population, who are nothing but clones.

- Do not move to Miami if you are a compassionate person who puts other people's feelings ahead of your own.

- Do not move to Miami if you want to live in a place with a sense of community.

- Do not move to Miami if you are keen on cycling (see drunk, reckless and aggressive drivers).

- Do not move to Miami if you want at least semi-decent politicians who aren't self-serving and who won't favor their particular ethnicity (i.e. Cuban).

- Do not move to Miami if you "don't care about looks".

In other words, if you are a party animal who could care less, move to Miami....you'll have a blast. You won't mind that many people here are sociopathic a**holes.

[taii1234]

Ugh, tired of all these dark and gloomy people on this forum.

Miami is a great city to live, lots of things to do other than clubbing and going to the beach. Yes, there are some superficial people here, but not everyone is like that. Since you are an out going person, you will do fine meeting people here and enjoying life. And no one is going to deny your friendship because they prefer to keep to themselves if you are a great person, thats just dumb.

And you know what? Lets say that you absolutely HATE Miami. Then live in either Broward County or West Palm Beach. These counties are are considered to make up the larger South Florida area along with Miami-Dade county. Broward County is more chilled and laid back compared to Miami, and West Palm Beach is more up scaled than the other two counties.

[ladyalicemore]

I don't live in Miami, but I do think it may be hard for you to meet people if you work from home. Not impossible, but maybe harder. Florida people consider their homes to be biospheres. They cocoon. Your best bet for meeting people is the health club you choose, but sometimes everyone at the health club is a blockhead.

If you take a course in something at a local cc or college, you may well find kindred spirits. I am a teacher and the most interesting people I meet are those taking courses, and in S. FL they are all ages, and all great.

[manny118]

Originally Posted by elchevere

'circuit' that consisted of morning coffee at Starbucks at Mary Brickell Village, joining Sports Club/LA, hitting sports bars, and making regular stops at hot spots in Brickell (Zuma, Il Gabbiano, Area 50) SoBe (1826, Prime Steakhouse, Smith & Wollensky, Juvia, Baoli, etc),Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, and festivals plus ballgames.

Thanks

If that's your circuit be sure to bring a lot of cash. Most of those establishment are some of the priciest in Miami. The women who frequent those places will have money or be looking for men with money.

[robertobaggio]

Originally Posted by unquiltom

This was posted here before, but I don't know by who. To me, this hits the nail on the head as to life in Miami. If you can deal with this kind of stuff, then you'll be fine living here.

Lies lies lies

[miami_zed]

Its love it or hate it for both non-locals and locals. You can't go by those checklist guides. You just have to consider why you want to move here and try it. If you don't like it, then move somewhere else.

[midnightfapper]

i've lived/traveled all over the planet, and miami is the easily one of the best cities in the entire world. i love this place with every ounce of my existence, from the very bottom of my heart. it's paradise (this is coming from someone who usually gets sick of a place within six months).

i think that a lot of people who "hate" miami have never lived abroad and that most americans don't know how to deal with culture shock. it completely catches them off guard. they feel out of place in a city that speaks spanish more than english. that has a tremendously different culture/vibe than the rest of america, mostly caribbean/latin american with a good amount of european influence. it's a really cosmopolitan place like nowhere else in this country. also, i noticed many of them are uncomfortable being a minority. most are probably racist as well. the speed of life is much more relaxed here as well, that seems to get them really worked up, lmfao!

so they sit around here and make up little excuses, lists, reasons, etc. why miami is a "bad" place. the problem is with everyone else, not them (in their minds). the fact is, they never acclimated to life. it probably doesn't help that we have a ridiculously high concentration of wealthy people here, so if they don't come here with a ton of $$$ they might feel inferior/left out/etc.

i'll tell you right now, 99.9% of that is pure nonsense.

it's ridiculously easy to make friends here, people are very nice, you get used to the weather in a few months, traffic isn't bad (especially compared to places like los angeles), crime isn't rampant like people make it out to be, etc. they just over-dramatize everything as an excuse.

really? you're going to leave a city because you perceive other drivers as being "too aggressive"?

i remember coming here straight from texas, where everyone drove like 5-10 miles under the limit on the highway. here, go 5-10 miles over the limit on 95 and cars will just fly by you. after a few months you get adjusted and traffic becomes normal.

they cry about how things were done "back home" and try to change miami to suit their version of reality. that's a losing battle to say the least, lmfao! when in rome...