Chicago to Miami - gah!?

[cixcell]

nyc, i could've told you before you moved that you would be disappointed. for you, this is a great place to visit but coming with new york expectations i could've assured you ahead of time that there wasnt enough here for you. if you arent totally into latin culture, outdoorsy, or intending to spend the rest of your days on the beach, there isnt much.

that being said. there is interesting cuisine here. dont forget to check out the asian culture festival at the fruit and spice park Asian Culture Festival 2010
and bring a cooler. the food is fantastic. you will have green papaya salad made by laotians which is fiercely hot but delicious.

there is a spectacular argentinian place in doral called patagonia (previously la estancia)
with fantastic dulce de leche pastries, empanadas and skirt steak sandwiches.

get a fairchild gardens membership and visit the mango festival, ramble and orchid festival. also see the redland orchid festival at the fruit and spice park.

check out the coral gables farmers market.
Coral Gables Farmers Market - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94556645@N00/sets/72157603837214812/with/2236778417/ - broken link)


when the jade buddha was here last year they had a thai festival in a really old lichen covered lychee grove at the thai buddhist temple out in the redlands. it was fantastic.
Jade Buddha for Universal Peace at Wat Buddharangsi Thai Buddhist Temple - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94556645@N00/sets/72157623833520384/ - broken link)
monks creating a mandala http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY2so6S5Mtw

at the asian culture festival you can get turkish coffee and Bangladeshi food. where can you find bangladeshi food ANYWHERE? the guy who makes it is a UM professor I believe.

there is cool stuff here you just have to dig deeper for it because they really haven't discovered the art of advertising here.


fruit carving at the asian culture festival


Bangladeshifood at the asian culture festival

[gymbuff]

Originally Posted by Marina1686

Tell us a bit more about you... (e.g. What do you do for a living, what budget are you seeking, what kind of lifestyle you want, what do you exepct, etc, etc, etc...) and we can help you out more...

If you're high middle class to filthy rich, no kids and single, you'll like it except if you're an intellectual type of person. If you're middle class to dirt poor, you won't like this place. If you're stick to public transportation, nice neighbors, exceptional customer service and normal drivers, forget it, not for you. Get used to the fact that the majority of the people speak Spanish and Spanglish, and probably you'll have to take a big check cut and the same or higher cost of living than Chicago's.

Why are you and others assuming that only the filthy rich enjoy Miami? Quite frankly, I think the filthy rich would live somewhere other than Miami. In fact, they might live in 2 or 3 places!
Having said that, I have two friends who are quite poor, one of whom is an aluminum can recycler,and he loves Miami. I have another friend who is a security guard who makes NO MONEY, lives in a GOD-awful building behind Jackson hospital, and she absolutely loves Miami.

[cixcell]

gymbuff: there are wealthy in miami who live in gated communities within gated communities and never have to meet the average miamian. i've met some of these people and they think staying at ocean reef is visiting the keys.
are these poor people you speak of from the US or foreign countries? for many people from the main major cities around the country miami can be a step down because their expectations are much higher.

[Hialeah_Rules]

Gym, I think many posters don't have a lot of human interaction outside this board. I don't know many people who are unhappy living here. Imagine being unhappy and coming to this board and reading all these negativity. It's easier to blame Miami than to make changes in your life.

[cixcell]

I can't really agree with that. I know ALOT of people at least in homestead/ the redlands who are very unhappy/bitter/jaded/hardened but even then there are still reasons why they live there. hobbies they pursue, the beaches/weather or their family lives here so they refuse to move and just put up with the problems but that doesnt mean they dont b*tch about it.

I am not going to deny there isnt lots of negative things in miami. there are ALOT of disadvantages if you come from one of the major cities in the country. it is a big step down for those people and this board reflects that fact. if you don't have a really good reason to be down here perhaps you shouldn't be. they either have to indulge in whatever might interest them here or they will eventually leave on their own. we dont need to tell them to leave, they will do it voluntarily, eventually if they REALLY hate it here.

[gymbuff]

Originally Posted by cixcell

gymbuff: there are wealthy in miami who live in gated communities within gated communities and never have to meet the average miamian. i've met some of these people and they think staying at ocean reef is visiting the keys.
are these poor people you speak of from the US or foreign countries? for many people from the main major cities around the country miami can be a step down because their expectations are much higher.

They are both from elsewhere but have been in Miami for decades. In fact the security guard went to Atlanta to stay with a friend and begged me to come get her.
I also know a few lifelong Chicagoans who love it here and would not go back. I also know of at least one Bostonian, yes Bostonian, who tells me that when he visits Boston, he is DYING to come back. I told him about this forum and he said he would actually rank on Boston if he were a member LOL.

[gymbuff]

Originally Posted by cixcell

nyc, i could've told you before you moved that you would be disappointed. for you, this is a great place to visit but coming with new york expectations i could've assured you ahead of time that there wasnt enough here for you. if you arent totally into latin culture, outdoorsy, or intending to spend the rest of your days on the beach, there isnt much.

that being said. there is interesting cuisine here. dont forget to check out the asian culture festival at the fruit and spice park Asian Culture Festival 2010
and bring a cooler. the food is fantastic. you will have green papaya salad made by laotians which is fiercely hot but delicious.

there is a spectacular argentinian place in doral called patagonia (previously la estancia)
with fantastic dulce de leche pastries, empanadas and skirt steak sandwiches.

get a fairchild gardens membership and visit the mango festival, ramble and orchid festival. also see the redland orchid festival at the fruit and spice park.

check out the coral gables farmers market.
Coral Gables Farmers Market - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94556645@N00/sets/72157603837214812/with/2236778417/ - broken link)


when the jade buddha was here last year they had a thai festival in a really old lichen covered lychee grove at the thai buddhist temple out in the redlands. it was fantastic.
Jade Buddha for Universal Peace at Wat Buddharangsi Thai Buddhist Temple - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94556645@N00/sets/72157623833520384/ - broken link)
monks creating a mandala
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY2so6S5Mtw

at the asian culture festival you can get turkish coffee and Bangladeshi food. where can you find bangladeshi food ANYWHERE? the guy who makes it is a UM professor I believe.

there is cool stuff here you just have to dig deeper for it because they really haven't discovered the art of advertising here.


fruit carving at the asian culture festival


Bangladeshifood at the asian culture festival

What's on the plate... looks delicious. Was it spicy?

[cixcell]

yes it was all spicy and REALLY delicious. the potato looking thing was like a potato on the inside but with a light crispy skin. theres a fried piece of eggplant there too. i dont remember everything that was there but i'm definitely going to hit up his booth again this year. he only makes the food once a year because naturally he couldnt support a full time restaurant in miami. alot of the people who make the food there dont have store fronts but from from all over the state. after talking to some other people we know who had previously brought coolers to the festival we started doing it ourselves and stocked our fridge full of awesome thai desserts of all different kinds, coconut sticky rice in bamboo, etc.

[Marina1686]

Originally Posted by gymbuff

Why are you and others assuming that only the filthy rich enjoy Miami? Quite frankly, I think the filthy rich would live somewhere other than Miami. In fact, they might live in 2 or 3 places!
Having said that, I have two friends who are quite poor, one of whom is an aluminum can recycler,and he loves Miami. I have another friend who is a security guard who makes NO MONEY, lives in a GOD-awful building behind Jackson hospital, and she absolutely loves Miami.

Me neither, I would live in Manhattan or San Francisco