Flying home to Miami

[Chelito23]

Approaching Miami from the north is very beautiful...and exotic looking. But, if you come from the Caribbean...where tropical islands, pastel colors and mountains are the norm, the warehouses, expressway maze and brown looking Everglades are not all that.

Yes, the red tiled rooves look nice...the skyline and ocean are awesome...but Miami is all about appearances, and I am sorry but you can't judge the city based on how it looks from a plane!!!

I too have known many people who have left for greener pastures and no one ever seems to even come back and visit...and they all seem happier and rave about their new digs.

It is normal to check out how the place you used to live is nowadays...it doesn't mean you regret leaving. I haven't left because Miami has a mix of good and bad, and some of the good, I can´t get anywhere else...but it is about priorities. And if I had kids in public school to worry about, Miami is not the environment where I would want them.

[yaya97]

I hate to say it but how happy you are depends a LOT on your job and the money factor!
Try living with little income in Boston or NYC.....

The only thing you can't buy really is weather. When you live in Montreal Canada like me and 5 months of the year are between 12 and -30.... the only thing to do is take vacation FAR South!!!!!
And I don't care what people say , the cold gets to EVERYBODY at the end of the winter....Everybody says how wonderful it is here for the 2 months summer... When fall comes you can smell those cold temperatures just around the corner
So Montreal for Miami for the same job conditions????
No hesitation.Miami.

[miamiblue]

Sorry, but you can't really compare to Miami to Montreal because of the weather differences. I mean, Montreal is practically the arctic tundra! I like my change of seasons, but I certainly prefer them in equal doses.

To the OP, thanks for the lovely post. It is nice to see someone paint a nice picture of their experience.

I moved from Miami two years ago and can say without question I will never move back, unless there is some serious social, political and economic issues that are improved upon VASTLY. No, I am not in denial, nothing is burning inside of me to return, and I only read this forum to try to offer some insight and information to others. It is my home where I was born and grew up, my parents still live in the house I grew up in, and I have a few good friends still living there. However, most of my friends have left and will never go back, because they can't have the life they want in Miami. They have gone to many different parts of the country, from CA to IA to MD to NJ to IL in order to pursue their dreams. Some were south Florida natives, others not. Everyone has different goals in their life, and most people will make the decisions and life changes necessary to achieve those goals. For them, and myself, south Florida or Miami was impeding those goals. Life is not just about the weather.

As far as seeing Miami from a plane, I haven't seen it in a year and I really didn't find it very magical at all, other than the beaches, of course. The sprawling suburbs are pretty visually unstimulating to my eye, and actually rather unattractive mainly because of the boring, flat topography and the sprawl itself. My next trip down, I will possibly be driving, so I won't get the aerial view again for probably another year. But I personally can't understand how anyone can enjoy stepping out into the everpresent wall of heat+humidity in a leather jacket and boots. To me it is suffocating. I am never comfortable in a sauna unless I am nekkid, and (unfortunately in some, but fortunately in many, cases) that just isn't socially acceptable!

There are always going to be things I miss about my hometown - but living there is not one of them. The reality comes back quite quickly as soon as I get in a car and leave the airport (or in a driving scenario, hit the Palm Beach County line coming from the north). Visiting can be fun, but for me, it is still easy to see the reality of daily life for an average resident. My short and long term goals in life will not be cultivated by living in Miami any time soon.

[yaya97]

Lets put it this way:
I would rather make 100K in Miami than 100k in Montreal
On the other hand Montreal has a bit of culture that you won't find in all US cities. It has a slight European look....
But the -40... NIGHTMARE

My ideal city????
BOSTON!!!!!