Miami - more than just a party city

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by NYer75

People who say those negative things live in South Beach, Downtown, Brickell areas, consumed with the touristy image of Miami. Meanwhile, the REST of Miami is very normal, hard working, God fearing, tax paying, law abiding citizens...but that's boring, isn't it.

Ummm I don't know about that one.

[WINTERFRONT]

It's actually the other way around

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

Ummm I don't know about that one.

Yeah, right. Hard working Miami. More like hard working urMami! Or dos Xes!

[WINTERFRONT]

Hhahahahhaha ^^^^ ><

Hardworking urmami lolz

[meiguogubaren]

Originally Posted by nicsma2002

I've seen many people come on this forum and say that Miami is only about the party scene. That shallow club scene is a big part of Miami, no doubt. But I live in Miami and am so far removed from that I don't even see it. Here's my Miami reality, just to give you an example of another Miami niche that's out there:

I hang out with people whose scene it is to live low-key and minimally, and to not stand out. We also try to make as little ecological impact on the Earth as possible. We reduce, reuse, recycle in every way. We sometimes shop at thrift stores, use Freecycle, and use Earth-friendly cleaning products. We drive ecologically efficient used vehicles. We don't play the "keeping up with the Joneses" game. We don't care if others think we're uncool. We know we're cool!

We are parents with traditional, conservative social upbringing styles. We try to teach our children to be ethical, concientous, civil, and to live mindful lives. They're taught that their actions have consequences. We are very involved in their education. They participate in soccer, flag football, t-ball, and little league baseball. We're there at every game, trying our best to keep out of the game.

We feel vested in our community through our places of employment, our children's schools, and our places of worship. Many of us take on leadership roles in these places.

Our entertainment includes film and theatre; in particular, shows at the Adrienne Arsht Center, though not limited to that venue. Also local sporting events - Marlins, Dolphins, Heat, Panthers, college games, etc. We attend art exhibits at the many museums in Miami (yes! we have museums!). We take our children with us to try to pass these interests on another generation. We also read, participate in book clubs, attend the Int'l Book Fair every year, and host and attend themed dinner parties. We travel when we can to broaden our view of the world.

We try to support mom & pop businesses when possible.

Outdoor recreational activities we do are kayaking, biking, camping, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, trips to the Everglades, letterboxing, and none of us own a boat - an unnecessary luxury.

We volunteer with the Red Cross, Special Olympics, animal rescues, and several other organization in South Florida.

We are members of Woman's Clubs, Optimist Clubs, Lion's Clubs, Rotary Clubs, etc.

We are Hispanic (mostly Cuban-American, but also Venezuelan, Colombian, Chilean, Uruguayan), anglo, black, white, African, European, Asian, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, agnostic, and atheist. Our ages range from 20's to 60's. We all get along.

We all have advanced degrees and speak more than one language - even the anglos!

I bring all this up because everytime I hear someone on here say something about the only scene in Miami is the club/party scene and everyone is so shallow, I can't reconcile this with my daily life in Miami and I wonder how did I end up in what I consider to be this great little niche in this "god-forsaken shallow party world."

Well, I think the answer is that this is not (just) a god-forsaken shallow party world; you just have to get away from the clubs and look elsewhere.

Go volunteer at some organizations; join some of those clubs I mentioned, or others; go attend a place of worship and get involved with their social groups; get involved in the ecological world of South Florida, there is so much there, like the Everglades and coral reefs; learn about the Miccosukees and the Seminoles; learn about the local history of this place, also so much there - try to attend one of Paul George's walking tours or a Miami Memorabilia meeting with Seth Bramson. Those guys will show you a Miami you never knew was there, and it's right under your nose.

This is just the tip of the iceberg; there's a lot more to Miami than just the shallow, egocentric club scene. I've been here since 1971 and this is the Miami I know. Just another perspective.

Yours is truly a kind that's dying out, and one that I would call the "Americanized" Miamians. I don't doubt that there are people like you around, (which I'm very grateful for) but unfortunately, many of your children, and including many of you are leaving Miami because of the same things people complain about here. I feel that the new waves of immigrants and migrants coming in will never see this place as their home, therefore they will not care about it as we do... new Cubans and Nicas will just see it as an extension of their country and culture, Brazilians and Venezuelans will see it as a nice get away from their homelands, and northerners will continue to see it as a party city filled with drama and excitement. It's not just about the club scene, but also the education of people and the contribution to the city/country.

[xenxes]

Originally Posted by meiguogubaren

Yours is truly a kind that's dying out, and one that I would call the "Americanized" Miamians. I don't doubt that there are people like you around, (which I'm very grateful for) but unfortunately, many of your children, and including many of you are leaving Miami because of the same things people complain about here. I feel that the new waves of immigrants and migrants coming in will never see this place as their home, therefore they will not care about it as we do... new Cubans and Nicas will just see it as an extension of their country and culture, Brazilians and Venezuelans will see it as a nice get away from their homelands, and northerners will continue to see it as a party city filled with drama and excitement. It's not just about the club scene, but also the education of people and the contribution to the city/country.

Can't really complain, since the influx of cash brought in by these new wave of tourist-migrants are what keeps this city floating.

[tankhead]

Originally Posted by xenxes

Can't really complain, since the influx of cash brought in by these new wave of tourist-migrants are what keeps this city floating.

I wouldn't say that the influx of cash brought in by these new waves of tourist-migrants are what's keeping this city afloat. The math just doesn't add up. What it is doing is inflating the costs of living for everyone, especially housing costs. This, in turn, is helping to drive educated professionals and recent college grads away from Miami (Exactly the kinds of highly skilled people we need to attract industries with high paying salaries like biotech, tech companies, etc.). Here's the math:

Increased demand for housing + more cash than the average locals (thus, outbidding them) = higher housing costs

Increased demand for everything else + cash = higher costs of everything else for everyone else

Higher costs of living + low pay + sucky mass transit = Educated professionals and recent college grads leave Miami = Brain drain

Brain drain = Companies with high paying jobs don't come here as much

Brain drain + Companies with high paying jobs not coming here as much = no diversification of the economy

Miami - high paying jobs - diversification of the economy = 3rd world

Isn't it a coincidence that Miami has exactly the same kinds of industries as 3rd world countries: construction, real estate, tourism, etc.?