Miamians are nice and friendly?! (Hialeah, Weston: house, living in, shop)

[diddiyo]

So, we had an intern (who was from Germany) working at our company for the last six months. Before he went back to Germany last week he went on vacation to California for a few days (San Fran, then driving down the 101 to LA).

He told me he was surprised about the differences between those two cities and Miami, especially the people. He said he was missing the smile that people usually have on their faces down here in Miami, be it the cashier at the store or just random people on the street.

Right away I had to think of this Board where everybody is always complaining about how rude and unfriendly people in Miami are. So, who's right and who's wrong here?! I don't know.

You tell me!

[DCkid]

It just shows one bad experience can overshadow the big picture. There's good people and theres bad people everywhere you go.

[kevinkagy]

Good to hear, thanks!

[itlchick]

Originally Posted by diddiyo

So, we had an intern (who was from Germany) working at our company for the last six months. Before he went back to Germany last week he went on vacation to California for a few days (San Fran, then driving down the 101 to LA).

He told me he was surprised about the differences between those two cities and Miami, especially the people. He said he was missing the smile that people usually have on their faces down here in Miami, be it the cashier at the store or just random people on the street.

Right away I had to think of this Board where everybody is always complaining about how rude and unfriendly people in Miami are. So, who's right and who's wrong here?! I don't know.

You tell me!

Maybe he meant Miami, Ohio?

[hbrulay]

My wife and I and our 4 year-old toddler live in SF. We just spent 10 days in Miami. I agree wholeheartedly with Diddiyo. Our experience was that people from Miami are for the most part, happier and friendlier. Also, people in Miami are much more family oriented and very "Kids friendly". Something you rarely find in SF.

[kevinkagy]

I think Miami is very kid-friendly with tons of families. Most people in Miami are raising families, so I never understand when some people say it's not kid-friendly, it makes no sense.

[miamiblue]

Originally Posted by diddiyo

So, we had an intern (who was from Germany) working at our company for the last six months. Before he went back to Germany last week he went on vacation to California for a few days (San Fran, then driving down the 101 to LA).

He told me he was surprised about the differences between those two cities and Miami, especially the people. He said he was missing the smile that people usually have on their faces down here in Miami, be it the cashier at the store or just random people on the street.

Right away I had to think of this Board where everybody is always complaining about how rude and unfriendly people in Miami are. So, who's right and who's wrong here?! I don't know.

You tell me!

This is such a subjective topic that there is no "who's right and who's wrong" to it.

I grew up in Miami and lived there for a total of about 26 years. Of course I had both good and bad experiences, but the average of my experiences is going to definitely outweigh the experiences of someone here for any length of time less than that. The same is true for anyone who has lived in Miami longer than I did, such as my parents and others on this forum.

Sorry, but visitors are always going to have a different perspective. In my experience, it took several of my friends 2-3 years before the "Wow, I'm living in Miami!" charm wore off, at which point they realized that living in Miami is just like living anywhere else. Once the newness and excitement of being somewhere unfamiliar gives way to the mundane day to day stuff, you start to notice things that you didn't at first, both the good and the bad, the things that annoy you to no end and the things that bring you peace.

It's kind of like me saying that I've been to DC many times because I have family there and people have always been so nice to me, so that must mean that the people in DC are super nice and friendly. It's such a limited view of the city because of the limited amount of time I've been there and the circumstances under which I was there, that I cannot make a definitive statement like that. All I can say is that, from the experience that I had, I encountered friendly people.

I'm sure the German intern had lots of good experiences in Miami. After all, he might have been experiencing the tourist factor - short length of stay, and he is German, after all (I had a German roommate in Miami and everyone was fascinated by her German-ness, just like people were also fascinated by my Turkish roommate for being different as well). Miamians are definitely in tuned to tourists - I think we have a tourist radar of sorts. And of course we want tourists to enjoy visiting Miami, because that is what the area's economy is reliant upon.

[PBCboy]

People in South Florida are generally not as nice as people are in other parts of the country.

[TannerMan]

I really dont get the "Miami is so rude" chanting that happens here, for me people seem cheerful, happy, and just nice. yes Ive experienced the rude but over all its not nearly as bad as alot here seem to experience. I will say this, I was on my way to a friends house party Saturday in Weston, I stopped by at the Publix on Weston road and it fit the description alot of you give here about the stares and the people seemed rude, but the actual workers in the store were great just the people shopping in the store reminded me of everything the people here say when describing the rude people, Ive never experienced that anywhere else except the Home Depot on 49th street in Hialeah, other than that people have been great but wouldnt say its a weston thing or weston is a rude place, I was at the town center last week and it was great including the people, and same thing with Hialeah, I have since gone to the Home Depot on Okeechobee road and people were great and the Loews on 16th ave.
I've just never said how friendly Miami was because it seemed impossible to comprehend for most people here.

[Chelito23]

I honestly do not understand the whole "miami is friendly or not so bad" thing. It seems like a flat out lie, or people are just saying that who don't live here, or they are baiting the other posters...but I have seen it a lot, so I just chalk it up to people living in a bubble. But Tanner, I am shocked that you had to go to Weston to find this...I mean, Westland Mall, Super WalMart, all inyour own backyard are breeding grounds for the complaints here. I think the other poster was right, after the newness and tropical foliage wears off, the true colors show. But, it sounds nice while the honeymoon phase lasts, so you may as well milk it for as long as you can!