Less than 2% of Sweetwater is non-Hispanic, Westchester has thriving 8% white-Euro population. (Miami: high school, live)

[tropical87]

Its a shame the grandparents have to converse with the their grankids in English - they should be raised bilingual, because as anyone with half a brain knows bilingual people have a distinct advantage in finding work. If half of the complaining non-Spanish speakers realized it, instead of trying to fight it, they would actually have an advantage over all those "rude Spanish speaking miami immigrants" and could benefit from them.

You were sold globalism and you gobbled it up - cheaper imports,more variety of goods, cheaper flights. Now comes the rest of it. And in a global community the ability to speak another language becomes everyday more important. "But Im in the states why should I learn Spanish". People think learning it means giving the country away or having to wear mexican sombreros and eat tacos everyday. It's about improving your competitiveness. And in today's job climate anything that makes you more competitive is a god send.

[cuba libre]

Originally Posted by tropical87

Its a shame the grandparents have to converse with the their grankids in English - they should be raised bilingual, because as anyone with half a brain knows bilingual people have a distinct advantage in finding work. If half of the complaining non-Spanish speakers realized it, instead of trying to fight it, they would actually have an advantage over all those "rude Spanish speaking miami immigrants" and could benefit from them.

You were sold globalism and you gobbled it up - cheaper imports,more variety of goods, cheaper flights. Now comes the rest of it. And in a global community the ability to speak another language becomes everyday more important. "But Im in the states why should I learn Spanish". People think learning it means giving the country away or having to wear mexican sombreros and eat tacos everyday. It's about improving your competitiveness. And in today's job climate anything that makes you more competitive is a god send.

If you were talking about Chinese or Indian dialects what you are saying would be true. Spanish is irrelevent on the world scene. I liked your NAFTA tirade though! You don't NEED Spanish to get ahead getting a job unless....

1) You live in Miami
2) You work in the restaurant industry (especially fast food)
3) You work in the landscaping industry
4) You live in SW Texas, Southern Arizona/New Mexico/SoCal, etc. and want to create a "new" job title for yourself, ie Spanish translator

[Cougar Beach]

Originally Posted by tropical87

You were sold globalism and you gobbled it up

Globalism is more than cheap imports and cheap (?) air fares. I'm not sure that there really was a choice.

* * * *

My family has been living in Miami since the 50's. I can tell you that Miami has been a screwy place for years before the Cuban freedom flights began. It has a long history of government corruption.

[Thomas Jefferson]

Originally Posted by cuba libre

If you were talking about Chinese or Indian dialects what you are saying would be true. Spanish is irrelevent on the world scene. I liked your NAFTA tirade though! You don't NEED Spanish to get ahead getting a job unless....

1) You live in Miami
2) You work in the restaurant industry (especially fast food)
3) You work in the landscaping industry
4) You live in SW Texas, Southern Arizona/New Mexico/SoCal, etc. and want to create a "new" job title for yourself, ie Spanish translator

Woaaao!

Cuba Libre, I can understand your frustations with language issues, but Mannnnnnn!, spanish language is the second most spoken language in the world, and the most spoken language in the American Continent. You definetly have a strong bias against spanish language. Remember, GLOBALIZATION, some people don't like it, but it will be the future, so you should be ready to achieve a high level of competion in order to succed in the world of tomorrow, and I think knowing two or three language is a big plus. Nonetheless, Chinese language is a big plus, but ,Cuba Libre, the language is sooooooooo difficult.

[somebodymiami]

Originally Posted by tallrick

And both areas are massively overpriced. FIU is there because they got part of the old Tamiami airport to build on. The easy way to tell which area is the most hispanic is to look for the fewest trees and iron bars. It's funny how you get northeast prices for third world elegance.

nah not everything is overpriced, i live in unincorporated dade right between i would guess the westchester / little havanna area and its pretty cheap

Originally Posted by BCreass

Westchester is the pits -- seriously. Granted, you're not likely to get murdered or robbed there (maybe I'm wrong), but it's not a nice place to find yourself in. Many of the famous Miami "hit and runs" occur on stretches of road in Westchester. People there are extremely rude, hostile, loud and obnoxious. There's nothing to do, unless your idea of fun is cruising down Bird Road (SW 40th Street) in your souped-up Ford F150, listening to reggaeton and driving like a complete and utter pr--k.

Its not that bad but yes ive seen many hit and runs and many people dieing from them while driving to work/school, but its not that bad.

[tropical87]

Globalisation was forced on us basically so the companies who control the government with their outrageous funding could expand their markets while saving costs. Of course, it was dressed up and disguised as "more choice for the consumer" while conveniently forgetting that most service industry jobs would be taken from Americans and given to the third world. but who cares right?, I can buy a cd player made in Korea for half the price. woo hoo.

An applicant who speaks Spanish and English as opposed to English or Spanish only has a distinct advantage, regardles what the job is. Its always convenient to have such people on board - who knows when a potential client/call/contractor/patient whatever will need Spanish.

Other than that, learning another language does give you enormous personal satisfaction once you make progress. Regardless of the language in question.

Someone mentioned the importance of learning Chinese..before Miami, I grew up in Australia and learnt Chinese for the very reason people in Miami should learn Spanish. I was very in demand for jobs at the time, especially in banking (ha! wonder why). Now its got to the point where so many aussies speak japanese or chinese that its almost expected from employers.

The world has changed folks. Adapt and benefit, or hold on to the past and suffer.

[Bjorn_Ironside32]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

....and if you lived somewhere like Denver you'd say, "12 years living in Denver, and the only fun this to do is go skiing and clubbing..."


Do you like theater? Concerts? Miami abounds with options. Do you like camping? The keys and barrier islands of South Florida are in easy reach. Do you like to go boating? Jet skiing? What else is "fun" that you WANT to do, but CANNOT do, besides winter sports?

i go boating, but no camping, and AFTER you do all that WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO?! HUH?! WHAT ELSE??!

[Cougar Beach]

Originally Posted by JackTheRipper

i go boating, but no camping, and AFTER you do all that WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO?! HUH?! WHAT ELSE??!

What would you do if you lived elsewhere? When I lived in New Hampshire, I skied a lot (I mean a lot) in the winter. I wasn't much into hiking or mountain climbing, so there wasn't much else to do but bike in the summer, shovel snow in the winter, and get together with friends and drink and eat too much.

The exception to that is if you live in a "real" city, if you're into cultural things. It's also easier to get together with friends, since it generally doesn't involve a lot of driving. There are downsides to living in a city, but maybe it's the right place for you.

I can tell you after living through a bunch of northern winters, except when skiing, it's a lot less depressing here. (Plus I live less than a mile from the beach.)

[cuba libre]

Originally Posted by Thomas Jefferson

Woaaao!

Cuba Libre, I can understand your frustations with language issues, but Mannnnnnn!, spanish language is the second most spoken language in the world, and the most spoken language in the American Continent.

Spanish is the 4th most spoken language in the world, and most people who have high paying jobs or who own successful businesses in the American continent do not speak Spanish. There are countless more people who live under the poverty line in the American continent who speak Spanish, making it the official language of the poor in this hemisphere. With a populist, anti-free trade president in the White House now, expect the influence of Spanish North of the border to start diminishing.

Learn English in this hemisphere if you want to better your life and give your kids a chance at an American post secondary education.

[Thomas Jefferson]

Originally Posted by cuba libre

Spanish is the 4th most spoken language in the world, and most people who have high paying jobs or who own successful businesses in the American continent do not speak Spanish. There are countless more people who live under the poverty line in the American continent who speak Spanish, making it the official language of the poor in this hemisphere. With a populist, anti-free trade president in the White House now, expect the influence of Spanish North of the border to start diminishing.

Learn English in this hemisphere if you want to better your life and give your kids a chance at an American post secondary education.

Ok, whatever, but try to search in the UN archives and you will find out what language is the second most spoken in the world, I think the list is:

Chinesse Mandarin
Spanish
Portuguese
English

About the poverty in the spanish speaking countries, well, fifty years ago nobody wanted to learn chinesse. Maybe spanish is the language of the next fifty years, considered it.. Moreover, it is playing a big role in the US at this moment. By the way, How did you talk with Anna, the girl from Santa Fe?

Learn English in this hemisphere if you want to better your life and give your kids a chance at an American post secondary education.

what is this? a sarcasm, LOL. I already know english and italian as a second language, and spanish as my native language. So, take it easy, and regarding my kids, I will prepare them to succed not only in America but in the whole world, remember, GLOBALIZATION.