Is Miami really America's most unfriendly City? (Miami Beach, South Beach: nicest, area)

[Huasho]

Miami for some insane REASON gets bad publicity for nothing !!! Miami is GREAT the rest is all bull crap !!!!

[germanoricua]

Originally Posted by go-getta-J

However, the local people in Miami are pretty friendly overall. They are bit on the reserved side at first, but open up fairly quick if you come in with an easy-going and non-threatening attitude; i.e. not trying to pick them up or scam them. You'll make lots of social inroads here if you show an appreciation for the Latin culture (language/food/dance).

Every time we go to Miami, we find that there are many aggressive drivers (I do not mean in the sense of "fast" but in the sense of belligerant). Yes, we find driving in Miami stressful at times (and we have driven in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Puerto Rico...other places with crazy drivers).

But apart from that we find people in Miami friendly for the most part. That is especially true when we go out dancing in Miami. Then we go to small Cuban places where the older generation goes (with salsa, guajira, son, boleros). And although nobody knows us there, people receive us like family and are very nice and very sweet to us. Since we speak Spanish, we have no problem with the Cuban population - nor with anybody else - in Miami.

[elchevere]

You would be amazed what I read on City Data:

1. We are all uneducated, McDonalds fast food workers or Uber drivers who only speak Spanish.
2. Miami is not an urban city and Brickell is not a residential area nor walkable.
3. Summers are intolerable and the US government has designated SoFla “The Forbidden Zone” an uninhabitable place in honor of Planet of the Apes.
4. We all make below average wages and those wealthy areas of Fisher Island, Star Island, South of Fifth, Cocoplum, etc are all fake—nothing more than sets created for movies that are part of a Hollywood plot.

OK, I exaggerated a little in some, not all, cases above—but not by much.

Originally Posted by Huasho

Miami for some insane REASON gets bad publicity for nothing !!! Miami is GREAT the rest is all bull crap !!!!

[Bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by hjoseph7

I lived in NYC, worked in Chicago and Minnesota. I visited Pennsylvania. My last few years have been spent in Virginia around the Washington DC area. My parents decided to retire in Florida, South Florida at that so i visit there often. By far I would say the Miami area is the most unfriendly and rude pace i have ever lived. In other areas I visited, people might not like you but at least they try to be somewhat friendly. Not in Miami ! Asking somebody for directions is a little tricky, better keep it short to avoid any problems. The people hardly smile despite the great weather and seem to be indifferent most of the time. They complain about the snow-birds, they nag about the tourist, the complain loudly about the refugees. if you are a tourist best for you to stay in the tourist areas. The Cubans who are the largest ethnic group is blatantly trying to take over the entire region. They look down on other migrants even though most of them came by boat. The word hospitality is not in their vocabulary. Every night there is a drive-by shooting. And they are not only shooting the losers but successful people trying to make a living honestly. After a year I could not take it and moved out its a nice place to visit though.

Those evil Cubans ! By the way they have only taken over Miami not the entire region !

[CHESTER MANIFOLD]

Originally Posted by Bobdreamz

Those evil Cubans ! By the way they have only taken over Miami not the entire region !

Yes, who wants crackero davie and trashy broeard?

[HotandHumid]

Originally Posted by BNBR

Is Miami the worst? I don't think so. I think NYC is far worse than Miami. Generally speaking, Miami is full of tourists and I think they are usually in a good mood and somewhat friendly. Nothing like Texas, but not THAT bad.

Actually, even years ago Miami had a bad reputation for friendliness. Dave Barry and Tropic Magazine in the Miami Herald ran a slogan contest and the winner was whoever best finished the phrase, "You know you're from Miami when.....

The winning slogan was, "You know you're from Miami when you got to NYC and can't get over how friendly everyone is."

[HotandHumid]

I think the issue with a lot of people in Miami is that everyone thinks that everyone else should be speaking their language and they go around angry that they don't.

One time I was on Ocean Drive trying to get around someone at an Art Deco Weekend market table and I said excuse me in English to someone and they ignored me so I figured as is usually the case when someone doesn't acknowledge you speaking to them that they just didn't speak English.

I walked around them and they turned to me and said that I needed to be speaking Spanish since I was in Miami, even though technically I was on South Beach, so I replied that although I was in Miami Beach, I'm still in America so I'm going to speak the language that the majority of Americans speak, English.

I think the refusal of some to speak English out in public in the Miami area is really a deterrent to creating a common language of discourse in Miami and without a common language, there's no sense of community so a lot of people treat others like interlopers and not as part of a community.

[KingofWisdom]

The people saying "No," have probably never been in a situation where they're in a workplace full of Hispanics that hate American culture and don't want to speak English. The reality of the situation is: (1) None of the Miami Hispanics want to speak English, even if they are fluent in English, and (2) it's easier to get a job as a non-English speaker than as a non-Spanish speaker (which leads to even more hostility). I'm half Cuban and half Indian, but the Miami Hispanics make it no secret when they hate your guts. They talk badly about you right in front of you in Spanish and you're not allowed to retaliate. At least most other xenophobic cultures wait until you leave before they talk smack about you. I've had Hispanic people ask me if I speak Spanish, I respond "No," and they have this shocked expression of disbelief on their face because they can read my name tag and see that my name is Daniel (as if that's a Hispanic name). I've also seen people get legitimately mad at me for not being able to speak Spanish. People get madder still when they realize you were born in South Florida and never learned Spanish, as if everyone can just learn Spanish through osmosis.

Miami is a completely different place if you only speak English, and once I leave Miami, I am never coming back.

[bmw335xi]

I find people in Miami friendly overall, but drivers are the worst.

[angelscorpio]

It is unfriendly of course and mostly because everybody thinks they are superior than his neighbor, and have this nonsense pride attitude; yet most are blue collar jobs. The "professionals" are low paid jobs also but their attitude is also trying so hard to be snob. After living for more than 15 years in this city I can assure you this is due to an impacting socialcultural phenomen caused mostly by political international unresolved issues. Miami suffers the echoes of LatinoAmerican socio economical impact at a high scale due it is an immigrant city in its majority. The ones who initiated the trend obviously are the Cubans and their recalcitrant Fidel Castro communism topic in every corner to the vomit. These people are basically refugees that took pride of growing its community thanks to certain Government condescending help; yet it's not working anymore due to abusing the system. However, they dominated the place for time enough to permeate the environment with their "covert hostility culture" against other cultures different than them and are highly known to be a self service community. Every new-mover tends to copy same trend with their same nationality group. This added to the low salaries, high cost of living, a demon traffic, a horrible commute makes of Miami the most horrible city of the United States.

So with this in mind, I simply just don't get how people hold doors to other people; yet they have this air rage in their faces all the time. Ppl act like if they knew u all your life on jobs, want to heart to heart talk to you, kiss on cheeks thing, celebrate birthdays with cakes; yet they give you the cold shoulder if they see you on the street. The gossip and double standard is unbearable on jobs. People are so unprofessional, and refuse to talk in English, or if they talk have that Spanish heavy accent English. So fake and back stabbing ppl in this city.



People are so unreliable in general speaking that you have to double check credentials, reviews online before to make business with people here. You always ended up stolen, or given another different thing that you ask (they are deaf). Ppl really don't care nor listen to the other, most ppl care is make their money.



Only the richs are the only ones that stand up against this trend, but they also live in their la-la overvalued houses land. This city still drags the remains of what it went in the 80s in it seems still refuses to change. It's a city of contrasts in where the middle class and the poor every are succumbing time and becoming even poorer than a mouse church every time and on. Nothing new to add to this stew.