Miami review (just visited) (Palm Beach, South Beach: university, gated, living)

[MiamiNupe]

I did 4 years of college down in Miami. Your post pretty much hit it all. The only people who fully enjoy living in Miami are the people who have good jobs and can afford it. DADE County 305 pretty much is a HUGE GANG LAND. You failed to mention places like OPA LOCKA, NORTH MIAMI BEACH(kinda nice) MIAMI GARDENS, the DREADED LIBERTY CITY(you should think twice before you even drive through this town in the DAY or NIGHT..) People at my school had to think twice before evening walking down the street to the local gas station(a lot of muggings..) But every city has its good and bads... (Dade County is MOSTLY BAD). Thanks

[island mermaid]

Originally Posted by jscore

The ABSOLUTELY best thing is the weather.... Granted it was late Nov, but I absolutely loved the 75-72 evening temps. I was walking on the boardwalk on Miami Beach at night, and the warm breeze blowing on you is so damn nice.

It's very therapeutic. I just got back and I feel so much better, my health is better, and I'm all refreshed and others have noticed.

The weather is the best, without a doubt. Not to mention sun 365 days a year, the sand between your toes and not freezing your a$$ off 8 mos a year! No shoveling snow at 5am to get your car out of your driveway. No scraping ice off the windshield. I could go on and on.... you get the picture. What I don't understand is why people wait until they retire to move here? At that point you're just too damn old to enjoy it!

[THASPECIAL]

It all depends on where you live down there......and what your financial situation is on whether or not it will be safe and a great place for you and your family....unforunatly most of the people that live in "safe" areas have some money to spend

[INeedAChange]

well, I can see his point--sometimes you want to be around well-dressed people instead of ratty looking hipsters and dotcom types. But to each his own.

Personally I like the weather in SF, but tropical weather is my favorite.

Originally Posted by elfyum

Hmmm - if San Fran had our weather I'd be wanting to move! How superficial can you get? Yuck! Why don't you move to LA? Sounds like it would suit you better! Though yeah - I guess there are plenty of plastic areas around here. Glad I'm not near them!

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by MiamiNupe

I did 4 years of college down in Miami. Your post pretty much hit it all. The only people who fully enjoy living in Miami are the people who have good jobs and can afford it. DADE County 305 pretty much is a HUGE GANG LAND. You failed to mention places like OPA LOCKA, NORTH MIAMI BEACH(kinda nice) MIAMI GARDENS, the DREADED LIBERTY CITY(you should think twice before you even drive through this town in the DAY or NIGHT..) People at my school had to think twice before evening walking down the street to the local gas station(a lot of muggings..) But every city has its good and bads... (Dade County is MOSTLY BAD). Thanks

Funny, those areas exist in Broward (Pompano Beach, parts of Fort Lauderdale, Lauderhill) and Palm Beach Counties (West Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Palm Springs, Lantana, Boynton Beach, Riviera Beach, Belle Glade, etc.) as well.

The weather in South Florida is great though... not during the summer, but every other season. It's certainly better than the crappy weather in North Carolina.

[THASPECIAL]

I think that people get on to people that post "negatively" because they think those people only know about the crime in thier own cities.....I think the "negative" posters are not so stupid to think that crime can't or doesnt happen in other places but they live "there" and this is "thier" city's forum so they post about that specific city's crime issues.....but when that happens usually it becomes an arguement about comparing one place to another when the "negative" poster was only stating things about thier local area in thier local city's forum....so that is where the misunderstandings come in and the mods usually end up banning the negative poster when in actuallity the other person brings a topic of how much worse crime is in a city not related to the forum they are posting in...which should be the spark that starts the thread going off topic, but the "negative" guy is always at fault for that in these forums for a reason i cant figure out and this is usually when the topic is of crime in that area

[sunrico90]

Posted:
So I finally made the trek to the promised land (Miami), and here are some notes. As someone currently living in SF and tired of the weather, I considered to either move to Miami or NYC.


Visited 8 different locations, so his question is:


So the problem is that it's really hard to say where I would live (28 yo male, single) - I'd probably settle in South Beach somewhere so I can go over Lincoln road and hang out with friends.


Any locals, please let me know if I missed anything or add to this. I'm trying to establish a good understanding of the areas!

Can we give him answers... stay on topic...

[MiamiGringo]

It was 10 years ago and for work. At first, I was not real happy about the idea but after about 6 months, I got to like it.

My circumstances were different. I was in my 40's and coupled. That kind of ruled out South Beach but I am very happy in North Bay Village, a quieter town on an island between Miami and Miami Beach.

My opinion: move to South Beach. Anywhere else and you will find yourself car bound since most of the stuff that would interest a 28 yo single guy are on South Beach. it's also the most urban area so the culture shock will be less.

What I missed from SF were the hills, a good public transit system, true diversity (Miami is not really as diverse as it claims, it is predominant Latin), really good Chinese and Mexican food, and for me, the weather.

Some people will stone me for this but the weather in Miami really sucks six months a year from May to October. It's hot and muggy and unpleasant. You're trapped in air conditioning. The winters are nice of course.

Here's what surprised me. I like art and music and found that Miami is much better than it's reputation. It's not New York or even San Francisco but the New World Symphony is amazing, the museums have offbeat and often good exhibitions, the Miami Book Fair is the best in the country - I will stand by that assertion. The new Performing Arts Center is pretty good and I think getting better. And if you like pop music and culture, you're home.

All that's good, because frankly with the crappy summers here, it wouldn't be worth it.

If you're under 30 and single, South Beach is the way to go.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

Man those side streets in coconut grove are dead as hell and so is the area near the mayfair. What the heck happened to that place :S

Used to be very up and coming back in 2000

High prices and lack or parking chased them out. There are some streets that are as dangerous as Baghdad at night.

[eaglecall]

Originally Posted by tallrick

High prices and lack or parking chased them out. There are some streets that are as dangerous as Baghdad at night.

And that is no joke. I remember a year or 2 ago, a tourist from a northern state got lost in one of these streets during the day. He stopped to ask for directions but he was shot and killed right away to take his wallet. Fallujah at its best.