Reasons why I didn't like Miami and went back to NYC (Jacksonville: pay, average)

[StreetLegal]

Originally Posted by Lusiphur

Thread is long dead, but I just wanted to correct you real quick here: New York is still the most popular tourist city in the US y such a long margin that is not even worth talking about the runners up. NYC gets about 15.9 million tourists per year. The second most popular tourist city in the US? LA, with a tiny 4.8 million. NYC is the fifth most popular tourist city in the world. LA is number 20. Miami doesn't make the list. This is for international tourism, by the way, and doesn't count non-foreign travel. These numbers are also from 2013/2014. Suffice it to say, most international tourists don't get "a sparkle in their eye" when thinking about Miami.
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Yes, NYC gets the most foreign visitors among U.S. cities. But if you include both foreign and domestic travel than Orlando beat NYC in 2014. I am not a theme park fan but apparently a lot of people are.

Orlando the top U.S. destination in 2014, N.Y.C second - UPI.com

Also, surveys I have seen rank Miami No. 2 in the U.S. for total visitation by foreign travelers.

20 Most Popular U.S. Cities Among International Travelers in 2013 – Skift

Originally Posted by Lusiphur

Finally, to answer your question about why many New Yorkers stay despite constantly complaining, there are two main reasons:

And if we have done artisans, it's only because we know that the vast majority of people would break in half after their first week in NYC, and the experience of making it there makes us feel like the guys who stormed Normandy beach on D-Day and lived to tell about it.

I've read a lot of ridiculous statements on C-D but this one is near the top of the heap. That is some hyperbole, even for a New Yorker....

[Lusiphur]

Originally Posted by StreetLegal

Yes, NYC gets the most foreign visitors among U.S. cities. But if you include both foreign and domestic travel than Orlando beat NYC in 2014. I am not a theme park fan but apparently a lot of people are.

Orlando the top U.S. destination in 2014, N.Y.C second - UPI.com

Also, surveys I have seen rank Miami No. 2 in the U.S. for total visitation by foreign travelers.

20 Most Popular U.S. Cities Among International Travelers in 2013 – Skift





I've read a lot of ridiculous statements on C-D but this one is near the top of the heap. That is some hyperbole, even for a New Yorker....

Oh, yeah, total hyperbole. I'm not saying it's a valid comparison, but it does feel that way sometimes. You have to understand, NYC is one of the most difficult cities to live in in the world. There is a constant pattern, and anyone who lives in NYC knows it: most people who move there leave after a year. Some make it to two. A tiny tiny percentage manage to stay longer than 5, and if you make it to 10, you're basically a life-long New Yorker. No other city in the US forces people to make compromises like NYC does. Think about rent or mortgages - if you took your Miami apartment, and found an identical place in NYC (similar space, similar neighborhood, similar finishes, etc.) you would be paying between 2.5 and 3 times the rent. It's a make or break experience, and anyone who's lived in NYC for any amount of time knows that most people can't handle it, because we constantly see them moving in and then moving right back out. So you get a survivors' high if you DO make it.

Honestly, we New Yorkers (never former-New Yorkers, just like the president stays "Mr. President" even after leaving office) don't really hate your city. We don't even dislike it that much. In fact, we probably like a lot it has to offer. It's just not New York, and it never will be, and it's hard not to draw comparisons. We're not being disrespectful, just nostalgic. And a little arrogant. Well, sometimes more than a little, but it's not mean-spirited.

Either way, I'm looking forward to living in Miami. Though I am sort of confused why there's so little on this forum about North Beach. Tons about mainland Miami, a good bit about South Beach. Nothing about North Beach. What's up with that?

[StreetLegal]

Originally Posted by Lusiphur

Oh, yeah, total hyperbole. I'm not saying it's a valid comparison, but it does feel that way sometimes. You have to understand, NYC is one of the most difficult cities to live in in the world. . So you get a survivors' high if you DO make it.

NYC is not one of the most difficult cities in the world to live. Try San Pedro Sula, Honduras or Caracas, Venezuela. You wouldn't last a day in either place.

Originally Posted by Lusiphur

Honestly, we New Yorkers (never former-New Yorkers, just like the president stays "Mr. President" even after leaving office) don't really hate your city. We don't even dislike it that much. In fact, we probably like a lot it has to offer. It's just not New York, and it never will be, and it's hard not to draw comparisons. We're not being disrespectful, just nostalgic. And a little arrogant. Well, sometimes more than a little, but it's not mean-spirited.

I don't even live in Miami. I was born in NYC but grew up in Los Angeles. Nobody cares about these Big Apple comparisons...

[elchevere]

There is now 40 pages on this topic and considering lots of people from NY eventually make it to Miami (or Florida) there is a lot of interest and relevancy to the comparisons v NY.

The OP hit the nail on the head when he admitted he might have enjoyed his Miami stay more had he lived, instead, in SoBe or Brickell (even more relevant since his initial post). Same relevance for people moving from NYC to CA--far more likely to adjust if they move to SF or Santa Monica than OC, West Covina, Corona, or Walnut Creek. Same thing will apply to a person moving from Indiana or Idaho to NYC--there's going to be a culture shock.

The lines are becoming less blurred between NYC and Miami as Miami (downtown/Brickell, etc) turns into more of a subtropical Manhattan). Like NYC, I have also noticed that Miamians will complain about their city's shortcomings (in the case of Miami summers, traffic, cost of living, etc) but get over it and move on as opposed to some states where, if you are not a cheerleader 100% of the time, you get an infantile "if you don't like it here, why don't you leave" response. Where NYC transplants will adjust to Miami than many from other areas of this country, is adapting more easily to the international make up of the city.

The biggest thing I miss about NY is the people...if you have been waiting on line at a Starbucks for 10 minutes and the person in front of you only starts to think about what they want to order when they get to the cashier, that person will hear about if from the people behind him. If you are driving 45MPH in the left hand lane on the highway and refuse to move over you are going to be hearing a horn from the car behind you. If you act out of place or do something discourteous, you have 4 safety nets that will "correct you"--your parents, friends, peers, or strangers. I lump these two examples into the common sense and common courtesy category. Often, NY'ers get the reputation of being rude but more often I find those calling others out as rude as being oblivious to common courtesy and common sense in the first place. Now, there are some situations where common courtesy goes out the window (such as trying to catch a subway at 5:30PM during the week).

Florida and Miami will not be a good fit for some/many NY'ers just as upstate (rural) NY may not be a good fit for a Manhattanite...there are few cities in the world with the energy level and 24 hours of activity like NYC so a person from the NYC metro area needs to choose carefully what sections of their new city will come closest to providing them the experiences that come closest to filling some, but not all, of the things they miss about NY while adapting to other things that attracted them to their new city.

[StreetLegal]

^^^Good, well balanced post Elchevere. Don't agree w/ you on the second to last paragraph but the rest of it is good info.

[MiamiInvestor]

I think one thing most people overlook in the NYC / Miami comparison is that there are 2 sides to NYC living: the endless possibility and exciting lifestyle (6 figure income required) and the "I'm barely surviving off ramen, but hey, at least I can say I live near Manhattan" lifestyle ($30K-$60K income).

Sure, NYC has amazing nightlife, restaurants, Madison Square Garden, Broadway, Tribeca Film Festival, and countless world class events. However, after the sky high rents, high taxes, and astronomical day-to-day expenses, you aren't left with ANY money to experience said benefits.

You can make the same argument with Miami, however, with a $50-$60K salary, you can live (almost) like a king.

tl;dr: You need to make $$$$ to take advantage of everything that NYC has to offer. If you aren't making 6 figures, then you are mostly paying for the name and bragging rights.

[elchevere]

Yes...and, realistically, you need to make $200-250K as a single person living in Manhattan (assumes 2-3 vacations to get away, Hamptons summer rental share, and being able to save towards your 401K)....and that's minimum IMHO.

[Coconut1]

Originally Posted by elchevere

I have also noticed that Miamians will complain about their city's shortcomings (in the case of Miami summers, traffic, cost of living, etc) but get over it and move on as opposed to some states where, if you are not a cheerleader 100% of the time, you get an infantile "if you don't like it here, why don't you leave" response.

YES!

[Bobdreamz]

Ask some people in Miami what city do they identify with and it isn't Orlando or Tampa or Jacksonville or Atlanta or Houston. It's New York City or some Caribbean city.

Bronx? Where you at!

Queens? Where you at!

Brooklyn? Where you at!

San Juan? Where you at!

Port of Prince? Where you at!

Santo Domingo? Where you at!

Caracas? Where you at!

Kingston? Where you at!

[coolieandre]

Originally Posted by bobdreamz

ask some people in miami what city do they identify with and it isn't orlando or tampa or jacksonville or atlanta or houston. It's new york city or some caribbean city.

Bronx? Where you at!

Queens? Where you at!

Brooklyn? Where you at!

San juan? Where you at!

Port of prince? Where you at!

Santo domingo? Where you at!

Caracas? Where you at!

Kingston? Where you at!

love this!