ghetto near orange bowl? (Miami, Kendall: day care, neighborhood, to buy)

[great rate]

i was reading a bio about gloria estefan and this is what it said: Gloria and her mother lived in a Cuban ghetto near the Orange Bowl in Miami. where is this ghetto?

[TannerMan]

Little Havana?!?! I wouldn't really call it a ghetto though.

[doom1001]

It's an upscale ghetto.

Not as dangerous as a real ghetto,it's basically a lower-lower middle class neighborhood with a lot of immigrants.

[crisp444]

Technically, "ghetto" means an area where exclusively one group of people lives; around the Orange Bowl used to be almost exclusively Cuban but nowadays it has a lot of Central Americans and others that live there. It's not ghetto in the sense of crime-infested, though; it's just a working class neighborhood.

[kevinkagy]

Little Havana I assume but it is not the ghetto at all. It's just a normal working class neighborhood. Little Havana is quite charming actually, it has a lot of character.

[Marlin Darlin']

Originally Posted by doom1001

It's an upscale ghetto.

Not as dangerous as a real ghetto,it's basically a lower-lower middle class neighborhood with a lot of immigrants.

Well put... I would not classify Little Havana as a 'ghetto' because it has the necessary apparatus or and local institutions in place for those living there to "work, achieve, or rise above the monotony" of living in a poorer immigrant area. Key things that exist in Little Havana that do not exist in Miami "Ghettos"...-Abundance of Day Care centers (Jose Marti is a big one in Little Havana)-Location next to downtown and Brickell areas...commerce and opportunity is near.-The abundance of local businesses; Little havana is a little economic powerhouse with its restaurants, shops and stores.-English centers - for those who want to advance their careers. -Relative safety; 8th street is partolled by very competent City of Miami cops who know how to handle local situations.

[maverick5575]

its more of a barrio.

[CrazyJay]

I grew up less than a mile from the orange bowl (North river drive near 17th AVE) Some of the surrounding areas are kind of crappy. However, it really isn't as bad as it looks on the face of it.

I have a lot of friends that grew up in much nicer areas in south Miami, and Kendall. They consider where i grew up "the ghetto" as well. It's all relative in my opinion. That area isn't as bad as it looks. However, i think it can qualify as the 'hood'. As a kid, i did wake up to gun fire outside in the middle of the night a few times.

I don't live in Miami anymore. i left when i graduated from high school (Miami high- AKA "La Habana high"). Any sting rays out there?!?!

The neighborhood directly east of the Orange bowl is worse than where i grew up. On many occasions i've been offered to buy drugs from 12 year old kids on bikes...

[J2MFP]

I wouldnt say as a whole it's ghetto, your right about it looking worse than it is, but east little havana from like 10th ave down towards downtown does get ghett my friend live on 5th ave & it looks and is ghetto but if your from there it aint no biggie it's just people from outta town who gotta be worried cause ther usally the targets for robberys an ****.

[Awsi Dooger]

I love that area, at least as a visitor. It gave the Orange Bowl character, a rowdy atmosphere. I'd walk around the stadium before a game to get a flavor of the area. Other than east of the stadium, which is seedy as someone else indicated, I think the area is generally overstated as problematic.

Dolphin Stadium is like playing a game in a warehouse. Blah. I still can't believe Joe Robbie agreed to those blueprints in that irrelevant area. It's a great stadium to bet on the road team, that's about it.