Which neighborhoods in Miami do you rarely here English? (Hialeah: spring break, live)

[ac11]

Other than that strip between Flagler and 8th St (East of the Palmetto Expressway) English is widely spoken. In the business environment, especially, english is the dominant language. You should have no problem operating your business in Miami with little spanish. In the worst case scenario (and this will be rare) you may run into someone in a predominantly hispanic neghborhood that may not know english, but a translator should be rediculously easy to find.

[cuba libre]

Originally Posted by ac11

Other than that strip between Flagler and 8th St (East of the Palmetto Expressway) English is widely spoken. In the business environment, especially, english is the dominant language. You should have no problem operating your business in Miami with little spanish. In the worst case scenario (and this will be rare) you may run into someone in a predominantly hispanic neghborhood that may not know english, but a translator should be rediculously easy to find.

That is a ridiculous paragraph. What neighborhoods aren't 'predominantly hispanic'? Welcome, 'new' member.

I went to Maroone Chevrolet last year and it just so happened that all the used car salesmen who actually spoke English (like 1 or 2) were off for the day. I can't tolerate ridiculousness like the above poster's statement.

[ac11]

All I can say is that I have lived here for almost 5 years now and I have never had any problems with language barriers. Reality is the language barrier is continuing to get smaller each year as the newer and younger generations of the foreign born population that was born in America are growing up bilingual and in many cases only knowing english.

I really find it hard to believe that you could not communicate with the Maroonee Staff in english. I know for a fact though that most if not all business require english to be known before being hired. Maroonee should have been no different.

[Marlin331]

You need a nice big abrazo, cuba libre. English is spoken by the great majority of the population in Miami-Dade County, and many of the "Hispanic" young people grow up barely bilingual - they choose English. I agree with ac11, English is widely spoken throughout Miami-Dade, and if in a store/restaurant someone's English is poor there's usually someone within reach who speaks English. A predominately "Hispanic" neighborhood usually does not equate to "I no speaki English"

[cuba libre]

Originally Posted by ac11

All I can say is that I have lived here for almost 5 years now and I have never had any problems with language barriers. Reality is the language barrier is continuing to get smaller each year as the newer and younger generations of the foreign born population that was born in America are growing up bilingual and in many cases only knowing english.

They are coming faster than ever. And those who don't conform to the Hispanic monoculture in Miami are leaving at a high rate. That makes the newcomers who don't speak English stand out that much more.

Originally Posted by ac11

I really find it hard to believe that you could not communicate with the Maroonee Staff in english. I know for a fact though that most if not all business require english to be known before being hired. Maroonee should have been no different.

You don't know what you are talking about. This is Miami. There is no enforcement of 'English Laws'. That notion is totally absurd, it's like you are in fantasy land. Not one salesman on duty the day I went to Maroone knew English. So they put me with this one guy who spoke broken English. I ended up getting frustrated and left.

[ac11]

[quote=cuba libre;8529020]They are coming faster than ever. And those who don't conform to the Hispanic monoculture in Miami are leaving at a high rate. That makes the newcomers who don't speak English stand out that much more.


- There is no data that shows how fast those "who dont conform to the Hispanic Monoculture in Miami" leave Miami.
To be honest that is a Pretty ridiculous comment. I have many friends in Miami that are foreign born from Cuba and Venezuela and all are 100% fluent in english. We all talk in english. among themselves they have begun to evolve in speaking spanglish while their kids all speak English only. They dont hate me or look down on me because I speak only english. After all they are proud to be American Citizens and love everything about this country.

- As to your Maroone Comment, I can only say that you are quite the unlucky person or just exagerating a little to much. As a person graduating from Grad School right now and looking for jobs, I have spoken with multiple company recruiters and job placement advisers. All from Miami and each and every single one of them agrees on the following:
- Spanish is a big plus throughout the US BUT without English getting a job is going to be EXTREMELY difficult. On the other hand, knowing english and not spanish is never looked down upon.
I feel that its common sense that you need to know english. With the competetiveness of the job market now a days, business recieve applications from multiple individuals. If one of them does not know spanish and there is a bunch that do know english and spanish (or just english), I guarantee you that the person not knowing english WILL NOT get the job.

[cuba libre]

[quote=ac11;8529349]

Originally Posted by cuba libre

They are coming faster than ever. And those who don't conform to the Hispanic monoculture in Miami are leaving at a high rate. That makes the newcomers who don't speak English stand out that much more.


- There is no data that shows how fast those "who dont conform to the Hispanic Monoculture in Miami" leave Miami.
To be honest that is a Pretty ridiculous comment. I have many friends in Miami that are foreign born from Cuba and Venezuela and all are 100% fluent in english. We all talk in english. among themselves they have begun to evolve in speaking spanglish while their kids all speak English only. They dont hate me or look down on me because I speak only english. After all they are proud to be American Citizens and love everything about this country.

- As to your Maroone Comment, I can only say that you are quite the unlucky person or just exagerating a little to much. As a person graduating from Grad School right now and looking for jobs, I have spoken with multiple company recruiters and job placement advisers. All from Miami and each and every single one of them agrees on the following:
- Spanish is a big plus throughout the US BUT without English getting a job is going to be EXTREMELY difficult. On the other hand, knowing english and not spanish is never looked down upon.
I feel that its common sense that you need to know english. With the competetiveness of the job market now a days, business recieve applications from multiple individuals. If one of them does not know spanish and there is a bunch that do know english and spanish (or just english), I guarantee you that the person not knowing english WILL NOT get the job.

49 out of 50 job applicants in Miami are not graduate level students. Therefore, you speak for an important yet small segment of Miamians who incur problems when applying for a job due to their lack of Spanish skills and/or heritage. This problem is most profound in the service industry.

I appreciate your friends who speak English. There are always sects or pockets of peers who speak English and are in their 20's. It is just hard to hear them in the howl of Spanish that you hear around town. Keep your head up, you may not know it but we are on the same side, and probably have more in common than you think.

[kevinkagy]

Maybe it's because I hang around mostly teenagers and 20-year olds, but I never encounter language barriers either. Usually if not always, people in the service industry speak English, even though they may approach you in Spanish first. The only time I've encountered someone who didn't speak English ever, was at a Wal-Mart in Hialeah, where this older man didn't speak English, but everyone else was either bilingual or spoke English only.

I think it depends on where in Miami you live. Most places are English only or bilingual. Some places like Westchester, Little Havana or Hialeah, you're going to hear a lot of Spanish, but even then, I find that many of them are bilingual too, it's just they'll approach you in Spanish first if they think you look Hispanic. I've never been approached in Spanish in other places like Aventura, South Miami, Gables, Grove, South Beach, etc. It really depends on the neighborhoods and how many first-generation Hispanics live there.

[MiamiRob]

Originally Posted by Slimmy Slim

I'm a human being. Forgive me for making a mistake. Separately, the point I am trying to get across is that I'm going to be running a cleaning business where as I'll have to speak to decision makers of schools, churches, restaurants, and office buildings, but I'm only a beginner at Spanish. Will this help me, hurt me, or not make any difference?

Please advise,
Slim

Slim you should have no problems dealing with the decision makers of schools,churches,restuarants & office buiildings since the vast majority of these positions are usually held by people who are English or bi lingual speakers. I sugesst if you want this Spanish only business get a proposal in that language. Some people on this forum exagerate the language problem in Miami.

[Leovigildo]

Slimmy

If your business will be in a Spanish speaking area, just put "Dry Cleaner - Tintoreria".
Hire some bilingual Cuban girl that talks a lot (Hispanics talk a lot in Dry Cleaners) and choose the name of some non-existing Dry Cleaner in ancient Havana (Chantres). As you see in the pic, they used the word Dry Cleaner. You can also hire Anglo people.

Kind of kidding.