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When I was in China, more than half of the people there knew what Boston was. Mostly from Harvard, MIT and increasingly (And Shockingly Enough)... the New England Patriots. Theyre popular for what NFL is over there. Id place it in 4th or 5th for China specifically just to the shear Harvad/BU/MIT/Northeastern/BC/Tufts recognition.
I didn't say Miami "deserves" to be above DC, I said that I feel that it is. I used to live in DC and I don't see it that way. And DC may be the literal capital, but I'd bet there's millions of people around the world who think the capital is NYC, or at least see it symbolically that way. The White House obviously helps DC's cause, but so does Miami having its location. According to Bloomberg, Russian women are coming to Miami just to have babies. I don't see that with DC. There's also 68 million Instagram photos with #Miami, vs 24 million for #DC. Also when naming US states, Florida is typically one of the few that foreigners can actually name and even point on a map. Virginia/Maryland/DC not so much so.
DC may have more well known tourist artifacts with the White House and Washington Monument, but Miami has more well known culture, both literally and in pop culture. When you see DC in movies it's usually being destroyed by aliens or a wave, while Miami is typically the plot. Imo Miami is still thought of more on an everyday basis. I don't think it "deserves", I think it is.
The word “Washington” makes its way into news headlines every single day in all corners of the world because it’s where the decisions of the most powerful country in the world are made.
Miami certainly is a cultural mecca for the mundo hispanohablante, other parts of the Caribbean, Brazil, and parts of Europe including Russia, but it’s really not on the radar anywhere else.
The word “Washington” makes its way into news headlines every single day in all corners of the world because it’s where the decisions of the most powerful country in the world are made.
Miami certainly is a cultural mecca for the mundo hispanohablante, other parts of the Caribbean, Brazil, and parts of Europe including Russia, but it’s really not on the radar anywhere else.
Yes Trump helps, but he and the government is still seen as a symbol of the US moreso than a symbol of DC. Americans say "Washington is crazy", non-Americans say "America is crazy." And just because you're sitting in Malaysia watching a news clip of Trump, Obama, or someone else at the podium, that doesn't mean your mind is automatically going to go "oh he's in Washington."
There's no real way to measure this other than numbers, which Miami beats out DC. Also it shouldn't matter where Miami is most popular in the world and isnt, all those places you named are a part of the globe. Latin America is 642 million people, Russia is another 146 million, and Europe is sizable. Asia is where Miami takes the beating, I think DC is clearly more familiar to a lot of Asia. You can make the same argument about DC.
I'm sticking with my opinion. There's no clear way to measure this. Besides, I think Chicago is the real underrated one in this. I have no allegiance to Miami - DC is where I actually lived, but I'm personally not going to put it above Miami, but yall can.
I didn't say Miami "deserves" to be above DC, I said that I feel that it is. I used to live in DC and I don't see it that way. And DC may be the literal capital, but I'd bet there's millions of people around the world who think the capital is NYC, or at least see it symbolically that way. The White House obviously helps DC's cause, but so does Miami having its location. According to Bloomberg, Russian women are coming to Miami just to have babies. I don't see that with DC. There's also 68 million Instagram photos with #Miami, vs 24 million for #DC. Also when naming US states, Florida is typically one of the few that foreigners can actually name and even point on a map. Virginia/Maryland/DC not so much so.
DC may have more well known tourist artifacts with the White House and Washington Monument, but Miami has more well known culture, both literally and in pop culture. When you see DC in movies it's usually being destroyed by aliens or a wave, while Miami is typically the plot. Imo Miami is still thought of more on an everyday basis. I don't think it "deserves", I think it is.
Interesting, #Chicago has 48 million and #Sanfrancisco 28 million. Not sure if that is really a useful stat, but it is interesting.
If going by just how famous/infamous/well known internationally, as opposed to a place to visit as a tourist, I wouldn’t be surprised if Washington D.C. actually eclipsed Los Angeles for the #2 spot. The US projects a lot of power globally, and much of it stems from Washington...
I’d hazard a guess that around the world, Hollywood = movies.
I couldn't imagine DC being more well known than LA around the globe. Maybe the name its self, since it's the capitol of the nation. But I feel like the power of pop cultural exports would put LA firmly ahead of DC at number 2. I think ppl probably know Hollywood as a brand and LA as a city and the various suburbs that make up the county, due to the popularity of each burb due to musical, and pop cultural exports more than DC. Think Compton, Venice Beach, Bel Air, Beverly Hills.
That’s an interesting take, although I hadn’t thought Miami has been a thing since the 80s.
Miami's probably more popular now than it was in the 80's. Miami's 1980's popularity was so American based and regional. Spring Break, etc. Even with Scarface and Miami vice, I feel like those movies and shows and that era had a bigger influence on Americans views on Miami, moreso than a global view on Miami. Miami wasn't much of a global brand at that time. But nowadays with all the festivals, mass immigration, art basel, fashion, real estate that attracts foreign investors and foreign tenants, Miami's more globally popular than it's ever been.
It’s not really about what city deserves to be most well known, it’s about what is. I would actually say DC is in the same tier as NY and LA in terms of name recognition, SIMPLY because it is the capital of the nation and the White House is about as iconic of a place as it gets.
Exactly.
I think people are coming at this thread as a “what’s the most popular vacation destination”.
I regularly, regularly hear in Brazil “A Casa Branca” daily. I have a lot of friends and family around South America and Europe. Our politics are talked about as much as their local politics. And they most certainly refer to our politics as Washington or Casa Branca. Yes. They have family in Miami. Visit often. Disney is life/ but they sure as hell know that “Washington” made an agreement with Brazil that Americans no longer need visas for Brazil but they need visas for the US.
Miami is definitely more popular for Hispanic/Lusophone peoples than DC.
San Francisco is definitely more popular for Asians and probably people in general than DC.
LA is definitely a place dream of visiting.
Miami is definitely the capital of Latin America. Even over New York.
That said. Washington is just as well known/ it’s just they don’t care to visit or live there like Florida or New York, etc.
DC being more globally recognized doesn’t take away how popular - for reasons such as just being a great city, being an ethnic hub, etc - other cities are... miami isn’t less or more known because Pakistanis know Washington....
In America, people call Mitch McConnell “Moscow Mitch”. You can believe many leaders are referred to as Washington’s Dog
I think people are coming at this thread as a “what’s the most popular vacation destination.”
I came into the thread thinking “whats the 3rd most known abroad?” People vacation in all of these cities.
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