What's so bad about Miami? (Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach: middle-class, high crime, homes)

[CHICAGOLAND92]

On this forum, you mostly hear complaints about Miami (crime, traffic, etc).

So what's really so bad about Miami? Almost 6 million in the metro area, so there has to be something good about it! Or is Miami like Detroit's metro area(no one really comes into the city except for sporting events, downtown, etc)?

[striker]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

On this forum, you mostly hear complaints about Miami (crime, traffic, etc).

So what's really so bad about Miami? Almost 6 million in the metro area, so there has to be something good about it! Or is Miami like Detroit's metro area(no one really comes into the city except for sporting events, downtown, etc)?

Miami is awsome. It's just that most WASPs despise Foreigners and Miami is full of it.

[CiXeL]

hmm, i never had any problem with the hundreds of nationalities i encountered living in los angeles.

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

On this forum, you mostly hear complaints about Miami (crime, traffic, etc).

So what's really so bad about Miami? Almost 6 million in the metro area, so there has to be something good about it! Or is Miami like Detroit's metro area(no one really comes into the city except for sporting events, downtown, etc)?

The crime is horrible. I would fear for my life there. In fact im plenty afraid in my own city. With a crime index of 900, I have good reason to be afraid. The weather sucks. I am hot and sweaty, I really wished I lived in the northeast where the weather is so much better and cooler You guys are very lucky! (most of the time except when you get a freak blizzard) and Miami is very overpriced. Most people living there live in poverty.

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by striker

The crime is much better than in lots of big cities in the North, and certainly of LA and Oakland.

The weather sucks up north! I don't see many Floridians moving up north seasonally to enjoy the weather. LOL

Miami is great, just not for the average burgers-eater ignorant WASP.

Well I cant name too many cities worse than Miami. Atlanta comes to mind. But you shouldnt be living in any high crime city to begin with and Miami is dangerous enough! I want to move north permanently, the weather is better up north. I am really suffering now, its a hot 80 degrees indoors and thats with my window open! While you guys are enjoying the begining of spring with pleasent temperatures of like 50 outside(70 inside)

[Need_affordable_home]

Wrong. Houston is much safer than Miami, even Dallas is. Please check the crime index and compare.

50 degree weather(outdoors) is perfect. I like it nice and cool!

south FL is miserable, id rather be almost anywhere, even Oil city than south FL!

[unixpilot]

Originally Posted by striker

God, only an idiot could crave 50's degrees weather.


By the way: L.A., Oakland, St. Louis, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Cleveland, Washington DC, Baltimore, Cincinnati. All more dangerous than Miami. And certainly much less attractive as cities to live in.

Actually LA has less crime than Miami according to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_..._by_Crime_Rate

Also several of those cities you listed are 2-3 times larger than Miami's population (380k) I'm sure if you lumped all of Metro-Dade County's crime stats together, Miami would be MUCH higher on the list.

And for the record, 50 degree weather puts hair on your chest! But normally Italians don't have to worry about this

[chisoxfan]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

So what's really so bad about Miami? Almost 6 million in the metro area, so there has to be something good about it! Or is Miami like Detroit's metro area(no one really comes into the city except for sporting events, downtown, etc)?

Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach is a major metro area with the same urban issues that affect New York, L.A., Chicago, etc. The growth rate over the past 25 years has been dizzying and there have been a lot of growing pains. Longtime residents are upset by this (and not without justification) because the South Florida they once knew no longer exists and has become congested and more dangerous. Newcomers who have not done their due diligence are disillusioned because it's a big city with big-city problems, not the picture-postcard lifestyle they expected.

But I also disagree with those who try to paint South Florida as a hellhole with living conditions that more closely resemble Darfur or the Gaza Strip than the rest of the United States. As I stated on another thread earlier today, many talented, hard-working, intelligent, good-hearted people love it here and wouldn't think of leaving. They're simply not as vocal as those who don't like it.

I will say that it's a challenge to make it here if you are moving in as a teacher, police officer, firefighter or anything else that pays a middle-class salary. The cost of homes has outpaced salaries and the property tax system (at least for now) penalizes home buyers. I'm also not sure I'd want to live here if we had kids because the schools are not the best.

You also must be willing to accept diversity and rapid change. The area has reinvented itself several times since I moved here 20 years ago; I'm sure it will continue to do so.

If you are interested in moving to Miami or anywhere else in South Florida (Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach have a different atmosphere than Miami), I recommend you visit as much of the area as you can. Talk to people, get a feel for the place. Do your homework. Only then will you have an idea if South Florida is for you.

[unixpilot]

Just found this too on:

Moderator cut: link not allowed

Based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports Program, Miami ranks as the second most dangerous metropolitan area in the United States, based on the number of murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts that have occurred in the metropolitan area. The city proper ranks 14th.[3]

The city ranks second-to-last in people over 18 with a high school diploma, with 23% of the population not having that degree.

[striker]

Originally Posted by unixpilot

Just found this too on:

Moderator cut: link cut


Based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports Program, Miami ranks as the second most dangerous metropolitan area in the United States, based on the number of murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts that have occurred in the metropolitan area. The city proper ranks 14th.[3]

The city ranks second-to-last in people over 18 with a high school diploma, with 23% of the population not having that degree.

My point indeed. The city does not make the Top 10 list.

Also, the high school diploma thing, is nonsense. In a city where 70% of the people grew up in other countries, foreign high school diplomas are not considered. It's like saying that if I go back to Italy with my Master degree from the US, the government will consider me just as a high school diploma holder, not as a laurea degree holder since I did not attend university in Italy.