Hello WPB... this is MIAMI, can you read me? (West Palm Beach: fit in, transplants)

[Michael Di Meo]

So...everyone loves these comparison threads, but mine is relatively urgent. I moved to Miami in June 08 from Illinois.
I have a serious job possibility in WPB, but we have done all our interviews in Brickell.
I am going to WPB on Saturday to check it out.

I'd like to know if those of you who know both cities can compare and contrast. I am part Latino, but I have relatively light skin. I speak English, and my Spanish is tolerable. I am not so much a party person, I am mostly into healthy outdoor activities, and I am very laid back. People consider me to be somewhat intelligent and easy to look at.

Could you comment on the following issues, or any other that may be pertinent? Since I moved to Miami in June, I have not once ventured north of the border into the US. I do kinda miss it.

-Laid-backness
-Friendliness
-Parks
-Biking
-Girls and Golddiggers
-Energy-level
-Attitude
-Pretentiousness
-Open-mindedness
-International outlook

Sorry, but I am having trouble coming up with factors to evaluate, so please don't get offended by the above - so any general assessment between WPB and Miami would be appreciated. In any case it'll come down to salary, as I won't hesitate to make the move if the price is right.

As I said, I am heading up there this weekend, but visiting is different then living.

By the way, I am not enamored of the big city feel of Central Miami where I live, would prefer a more relaxed atmosphere.

[TriMT7]

West Palm Beach is very relaxed compared to Miami. The two places don't really compare.

The City of West Palm Beach itself is a LOT less pretentious than its wealthy subburbs (Jupiter, Gardens, Boca, Wellington), and of course, the grandaddy of pretention, Palm Beach Island. It's a very open minded city, liberal in its politics, lots of gold diggers, but also lots of down to earth people because the Western half of the county still has a lot of ruralness to it.

International outlook? For tourism and services, yes.... but it's not an international banking center or anything like that. Lots of Latinos of all kinds (white, black, mestizo, indigenous), so don't worry. I fyou end up working downtown, you can live IN downtown (which is like 1/20th the size and pace of Miami), or check out some of the single family neighborhoods and codos just South of downtown.

[compelled to reply]

Compared to Miami

-Laid-backness- Much better.
-Friendliness- About the same.
-Parks- Much better.
-Biking- Much better.
-Girls and Golddiggers- About the same/slightly better
-Energy-level- Much lower.
-Attitude- Fairly diverse in attitudes actually.
-Pretentiousness- Slightly worse.
-Open-mindedness- Same.
-International outlook- Worse.

[Banx]

I'm a half-latino and also from Chicago too, and I've been looking to move down to Miami. I've been to Miami a couple of times to scope out areas and my mother lives in West Palm Beach, so I've spent my fare share of weeks in that area. West Palm Beach IMO is very boring, at least for somebody my age at the age of 19, especially when comparing it to Miami or Chicago. If you're in to big city type life West Palm Beach will not be for you, and you'd be better off in Miami.

Sometimes West Palm Beach feels completely deserted, and it can kind of give it an eerie feel, especially at night. Also, the mix of people in West Palm Beach is too strange. West Palm Beach is one of the most segregated cities I've ever been to. There is barely, if any, middle class there. West Palm Beach can be divided entirely into three types of people. There's the real rich snobs, most of which are transplants, across the intercoastal, who have no respect for anybody and treat everybody like they're nothing and pretend the rest of florida is nothing but a giant swamp outside of Palm Beach island. Then there's the people who pretend to be rich and high class by hanging around and "networking" with the rick folk, but who are in debt up to the tip of their forehead and are in danger of getting evicted from their apartment in the next couple of weeks- they're usually just as bad, if not worse than the actually rich folk in Palm Beach, the lamest, saddest and phoniest of phony people you will ever meet. Or then there's the real, gutter type ghetto folks. Now don't get me wrong, I hung around with my fare share of thugs in Chicago, but the dudes out here are real grimey. As in everyone from the ghetto here looks like they had a crack problem at one point in their life. In Chicago, sure they might sleep on nothing but a mattress and sell rock too, but you can't deny they got some of the most exspensive clothing available in the market and take pride in the way they look and carry themselves when they go out in public, and they look fresh n crisp, but the ghetto in WPB is completely different from the ghetto you'd find in Illinois. None of them look like they shower, ***MOD CUT*** I mean sure ghetto folk in Chicago aren't necessarily smart, but I swear these dudes here musta dropped out in the grade school level- listening to these guys talk is like listening to Mush Mouth from Fat Albert if he was completely plastered off $4.00 wine. thing is though they love it that way. No one would go out in public lookin like these clowns in Chicago, there's no upper class black folk role models here as in say the ATL or Chicago or NYC, it's just real down n dirty in WPB.

And last but not least, theres nothin to do there, and WPB really has no city ammenities you would find in any other urban area, they don't even have chinese delivery to downtown. There's a small strip of nightlife on a street known as clematis street, but that's going to get old very fast, been there done that bought a t-shirt. There's also City Place, which is like a mall, but no store grabs my attention in the least bit. Also take in the fact that's it's almost impossible to fit in here unless you're either an uptight ***MOD CUT*** who's been driving an audi since the age of 16, or you shower in mud and pretend like you can't read, it can mak for a very boring and lonely time, even if u do go out. I did meet some straight cats who I kicked it with, but I just didn't click with people there like back up in Chicago or in other places. I say stay in Miami- from a Chicago perspective similiar to you, West Palm Beach is lame and Miami is raw. I'm still lookin to move to Miami eventually, hopefully in the fall. Right now, I just feel bad for my mother who's stuck in WPB, she's looking to get out as well, she misses the big metropolitan lifestyle.

[TriMT7]

People who say there's no "middle class" in West Palm Beach REALLY need to get out of whatever bubble they currently reside in and actually explore their city....within the ACTUAL city boundaries!


BTW, I believe Chopsticks is a downtown Chinese restaurarnt that delivers.

[Banx]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

People who say there's no "middle class" in West Palm Beach REALLY need to get out of whatever bubble they currently reside in and actually explore their city....within the ACTUAL city boundaries!


BTW, I believe Chopsticks is a downtown Chinese restaurarnt that delivers.

I'm sure there is a middle class, obviously I was kinda generilizing, but I've been around WPB and it is very hard to find just kinda of the average joe. The city's working on it with all the new apartment complexes n all, n I'm sure it's grown n will continue to grow, but compared to most other places the middle class is very small.

And is Chopsticks new? I never heard of it when I was there back in december. I remember one night I was desperately trying to find chinese (I was downtown obviously) I couldn't find anything, the only place I found was all the way down Okeechobee just off on some street.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by Banx

I'm sure there is a middle class, obviously I was kinda generilizing, but I've been around WPB and it is very hard to find just kinda of the average joe. The city's working on it with all the new apartment complexes n all, n I'm sure it's grown n will continue to grow, but compared to most other places the middle class is very small.

South of Okeechobee along Dixie Highway you will find middle class neighborhoods (and some upper class ones as well), with mom and pop owned businesses, neighborhood cafes and diners, and even things like sole owned hardware stores. A lot of people don't ever venture that way, however, because usually there's no reason to be there unless you have business there.

My friends just bought a home in a neighborhood in the "South of Southern" area. The neighbords are normal, decent folks who have introduced themselves when they move in, etc.

Originally Posted by Banx

And is Chopsticks new? I never heard of it when I was there back in december. I remember one night I was desperately trying to find chinese (I was downtown obviously) I couldn't find anything, the only place I found was all the way down Okeechobee just off on some street.

Chopsticks is over by the Darth Vader building (the big black Colonial Bank? building). It's been there for a long time. I DO think there needs to be more Chinese in the area, but you've also got Fong's Garden just south on Dixie Highway (not my favorite), and my preference, a place in the Publix Plaza East of I-95 off Southern Blvd, which is about 2 miles from downtown.
There was a place East of 95 off Belvedere Road, but it shut down the past couple of months.

If you're in the Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. area there's a place called China somethingorother in the Home Depot plaza area.

[HopToIt]

"Since I moved to Miami in June, I have not once ventured north of the border into the US."

I love it!

[BevoInPA]

I lived in Chiago for 4 years, went to graduate school and graduated to a job in Palm Beach Gardens. I really liked the job but hated the area. The "entertainment district" downtown feels trashy to me. I moved to Delray Beach and commuted 30+ miles to Palm Beach Gardens for some time and still found myself drawn to Lauderdale and Miami. I finally switched jobs and moved to Brickell and took a job 3 blocks away. I really enjoyed living there but was relocated to Atlanta. West Palm just felt overly populated by elderly and poverty. Someone earlier said that the area has no middle class. I COMPLETELY agree. My only complaint about living in SE FL was the difficulty finding other young professionals. I think I met 5 total. I knew some very, very rich trust fund kids but they can do things I can't afford. The majority, in my opinion, are very poor. Hopefully this housing crisis (will more affordable housing) will provide some relief to a very beautiful climate and interesting area.

[TriMT7]

Maybe I live in a "different" West Palm Beach than others here? Why is it I can go to a bar or restaurant after work downtown, and see groups of shirt and tie clad young people at Happy Hour, and yet people here talk about not being able to meet young professionals in WPB? Are people talking from experiences years ago?

Every year my firm does a corporate run in downtown WPB.... HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS (or more) young professional people, literally running around.

Was everyone's WPB experience centered around one particular area? Where are you going where all you meet are homeless dregs and trust fund babies?

It is a CONCEDED FACT that West Palm has a lot less "going on" than Miami. That's why many people LEAVE Miami to move North where there IS less "going on!"