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I've lived in Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Warsaw (Poland), and lived for short periods in San Francisco, Paris, London, Portland (Oregon), Toledo, and DC. I have visited almost every major city in the US. I do not find people here to be more or less friendly than anywhere else with a population of over 250K. Indifference and rudeness are a big-city thing. If you want to be around friendly people and live in a big city, you're going to have a hard time finding a place to live.
I agree with a previous poster in that I don't see a lot of the problems people talk about here, or at least not to the extent they make them out to be. Maybe I've just been very, very lucky?
I agree with this post 100% and I was also about to say the same thing, no not lucky; realistic, yes, maybe.
May I also add that you can either choose to be happy almost anywhere or (like the "miami-whiners" ) forever grumble about every city and its people.
Welcome to Miami, you are going to love it here, I guarantee you.
I moved here two years ago and am loving it. There is no place quite like it.
Many people on this forum have a low-density, suburban ideal of how a child should be raised. Sterile, cookie-cutter developments, big lawns, and traveling everywhere in a car (because proximity to public transportation can bring outsiders to your area, God forbid!) is what most families in this country want. However, my family didn't raise me in that environment and now that I am an adult, I would not want to raise my child in that environment either. Many "ideal" suburbs are horridly bland and soulless. That exists in South Florida too (lots of western Palm Beach County, parts of west Broward ESPECIALLY West Pembroke Pines and Miramar, some pockets of Miami-Dade), but not as much as it exists in suburban areas of Raleigh, Charlotte, and Atlanta - the "promised land" trifecta of cookie-cutter suburban areas where lots of people fleeing Florida move.
Actually, if you want to get technical, the majority of metro Miami is very much just a bunch of suburbs, just crowded suburbs. I know because I grew up in Miami, and I would consider my neighborhood a classic suburb. Even Coral Gables is a classic planned suburb, just with an architectural theme that is different from what most Americans think of when they think "suburb". Even Hialeah, South Miami, Westchester, Sweetwater, etc. etc. etc. are really all suburbs.
You have very few high-density, urban walkable neighborhoods that have well-utilized (and for that matter, efficient) public transportation in the Miami metro with the exception of Miami Beach and maybe even Coconut Grove. Very few people actually live in downtown Miami, considering what a "big city" Miami is. The people you see using public transit to and from neighborhoods like Coral Gables, Pinecrest, etc. are the hired help, not the residents themselves. (I don't count the lawyers traveling downtown on the Metrorail because the rail does not take people to and from their neighborhoods, the buses do, and you don't see too many lawyers on buses.)
Anyway, to the OP, you can do it, for sure. You will have to be ultra involved in your child's life if she has a very impressionable personality. Sometimes that is just what it boils down to: the child's personality. People will tell you to enroll her in private school, or make sure she goes to certain public schools to protect her, but sometimes money fosters demons as well, so that is not failsafe advice. My sister and I come from a very middle-class family in Miami, and I went to a "C" high school (she went to magnet schools) and we both turned out fine. But I was the type of girl who was comfortable not always fitting in, and had a strong sense of self. My parents didn't have to tell me not to do certain things, I just knew on my own. It doesn't mean that I didn't take a lot of flack for not fitting in, I just didn't have a problem with being different. Plenty of girls I knew did NOT have strong identities, even those coming from well-off families with involved parents. Those who were most impressionable, with the strongest need to fit in, were the ones who had the most problems.
I was a "good girl" in school, but still saw it all, from classmates dropping/selling acid in class, coming to school drunk and/or stoned, and shooting heroin on the weekend, to girls stripping to win money in "dance contests" at massive multi-school parties held at a "farm" at the edge of the Everglades. In all of those instances I was merely a witness, never a participant, so yeah it's possible to grow up in Miami and not be completely screwed up. You will, however, have some excellent fodder for a book by the time you go off to college!
Actually, if you want to get technical, the majority of metro Miami is very much just a bunch of suburbs, just crowded suburbs. I know because I grew up in Miami, and I would consider my neighborhood a classic suburb. Even Coral Gables is a classic planned suburb, just with an architectural theme that is different from what most Americans think of when they think "suburb". Even Hialeah, South Miami, Westchester, Sweetwater, etc. etc. etc. are really all suburbs.
You have very few high-density, urban walkable neighborhoods that have well-utilized (and for that matter, efficient) public transportation in the Miami metro with the exception of Miami Beach and maybe even Coconut Grove. Very few people actually live in downtown Miami, considering what a "big city" Miami is. The people you see using public transit to and from neighborhoods like Coral Gables, Pinecrest, etc. are the hired help, not the residents themselves. (I don't count the lawyers traveling downtown on the Metrorail because the rail does not take people to and from their neighborhoods, the buses do, and you don't see too many lawyers on buses.)
This is the number one reason I no longer live in Miami full-time. It is not urban enough for me. Miami-Dade County teaches the lesson that density doesn't necessarily equate to urbanity - it just allows greater potential for urbanity, and that you can build all the skyscrapers you want and still not have a real, pedestrian-friendly urban neighborhood. I love South Beach, I love Brickell, I love Coconut Grove, and I love Coral Gables, but they aren't connected as part of a greater urban fabric. Not being able to go to restaurants, concerts, nightlife, and shopping without a car - and not being inconvenienced while doing so - is a deal-breaker criterion that I hold. LA is very similar - it has some urban pockets, but the way in which much of the city and surrounding cities are planned are for the automobile and not the human. I could ramble on, and I'm sure that most people don't really know what I'm talking about, but once you live places that are alive at the street level, you never want to go back to living the auto-dependent suburban US model. So there you have, in a nutshell, why I no longer call Miami my full-time home. It's not a problem of culture, beauty, language, or location.... it's a problem of urban planning. With that said, I still love my three visits per year, and greatly appreciate Miami for its beautiful setting and unique flavor.
This is the number one reason I no longer live in Miami full-time. It is not urban enough for me. Miami-Dade County teaches the lesson that density doesn't necessarily equate to urbanity - it just allows greater potential for urbanity, and that you can build all the skyscrapers you want and still not have a real, pedestrian-friendly urban neighborhood. I love South Beach, I love Brickell, I love Coconut Grove, and I love Coral Gables, but they aren't connected as part of a greater urban fabric. Not being able to go to restaurants, concerts, nightlife, and shopping without a car - and not being inconvenienced while doing so - is a deal-breaker criterion that I hold. LA is very similar - it has some urban pockets, but the way in which much of the city and surrounding cities are planned are for the automobile and not the human. I could ramble on, and I'm sure that most people don't really know what I'm talking about, but once you live places that are alive at the street level, you never want to go back to living the auto-dependent suburban US model. So there you have, in a nutshell, why I no longer call Miami my full-time home. It's not a problem of culture, beauty, language, or location.... it's a problem of urban planning. With that said, I still love my three visits per year, and greatly appreciate Miami for its beautiful setting and unique flavor.
Great post crisp444. Although I love Miami, as someone who is really interested in urban planning, I have to agree with you. But on a positive note, Miami is just like every other American city in that sense (we love our cars), and the trends in Miami are towards a more urban, pedestrian model with support for more bike paths and urban stores and such.
Not to mention there's new urban neighborhoods like Midtown and old, improved neighborhoods such as Brickell, Downtown, Dadeland, Grove, Wynwood Arts District, Design District, etc. which are all moving towards a more urban, pedestrian-friendly model despite Miami's love for parking garages (but this is America after all, we're almost glued to our cars).
The light at the end of the tunnel is that in a couple of years Miami will be much more urban than before. And as it continues to grow, Miami will grow in density and urbanity, not in suburbs. The Urban Development Boundary can only be moved illegally so many times before we seriously hit the Everglades. I see a very positive future for Miami.
Great post crisp444. Although I love Miami, as someone who is really interested in urban planning, I have to agree with you. But on a positive note, Miami is just like every other American city in that sense (we love our cars), and the trends in Miami are towards a more urban, pedestrian model with support for more bike paths and urban stores and such.
Not to mention there's new urban neighborhoods like Midtown and old, improved neighborhoods such as Brickell, Downtown, Dadeland, Grove, Wynwood Arts District, Design District, etc. which are all moving towards a more urban, pedestrian-friendly model despite Miami's love for parking garages (but this is America after all, we're almost glued to our cars).
The light at the end of the tunnel is that in a couple of years Miami will be much more urban than before. And as it continues to grow, Miami will grow in density and urbanity, not in suburbs. The Urban Development Boundary can only be moved illegally so many times before we seriously hit the Everglades. I see a very positive future for Miami.
Very true. I'm a few years older than you (still in college, right?) and a few years younger than miamiblue (graduated from Killian in +/- '99, right?) and I can tell you that in my lifetime, Miami-Dade County has never looked better as a whole. Though a few areas aren't as nice as they used to be, there are more areas that have gotten better than areas that have gotten worse. From an urbanity standpoint, it is MUCH better. The Downtown Dadeland concept is great, and will be a lot better once the buildings fill up, and Midtown Miami is pretty cool too. Brickell is a bit nicer too, South Beach is markedly nicer, and Downtown is MUCH better than it used to be. Suburban "family friendly" areas like Miami Lakes, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Kendall, Aventura, Miami Springs etc. are just as nice as they ever have been.
Very true. I'm a few years older than you (still in college, right?) and a few years younger than miamiblue (graduated from Killian in +/- '99, right?) and I can tell you that in my lifetime, Miami-Dade County has never looked better as a whole. Though a few areas aren't as nice as they used to be, there are more areas that have gotten better than areas that have gotten worse. From an urbanity standpoint, it is MUCH better. The Downtown Dadeland concept is great, and will be a lot better once the buildings fill up, and Midtown Miami is pretty cool too. Brickell is a bit nicer too, South Beach is markedly nicer, and Downtown is MUCH better than it used to be. Suburban "family friendly" areas like Miami Lakes, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Kendall, Aventura, Miami Springs etc. are just as nice as they ever have been.
Well said, yeah, still in college. How'd you know lol? For example, I think the area in between Downtown and the Design District has immense potential in being a series of truly dynamic, urban neighborhoods, and by the looks of development, that's the way things are going. Why invest in another souless cookie-cutter home in Kendall when we can invest in improving historic neighborhoods that have character? There's so much in the urban core that can be improved before having to resort to building another tacky American suburb.
From an urbanity standpoint, it is MUCH better. The Downtown Dadeland concept is great, and will be a lot better once the buildings fill up, and Midtown Miami is pretty cool too. Brickell is a bit nicer too, South Beach is markedly nicer, and Downtown is MUCH better than it used to be.
Where you see 'urbanity' (rhymes with insanity ) as a good thing I just see those areas as having lousy parking. I think a better alternative for Miami would be more roads and better planing for growth. I want double-decker highways like that have in other cities where there is much congestion.
If you want a good walkable city try Tokyo. In the US though we love our cars and most of us feel very limited without them. I can't imagine going to a city in this country and not having access to a car. I would feel trapped.
OP: no, you are not crazy for wanting to move to South Florida. I disagree with anyone who says that South Florida is a bad place to raise children. I was raised there and know plenty of other people that were raised there.... and we all turned out to be well-adjusted, successful people!
Before anyone jumps on me and says "You need to live elsewhere and then you'll see how bad South Florida is," my response is this: I have lived in Madrid, Boston, New York, and for a short time in Seattle as well. I have enjoyed all of those places and think that all are just fine for raising a child. All have pros, all have cons, but all have some decent/good schools, plenty of families, and plenty of activities for children.
Many people on this forum have a low-density, suburban ideal of how a child should be raised. Sterile, cookie-cutter developments, big lawns, and traveling everywhere in a car (because proximity to public transportation can bring outsiders to your area, God forbid!) is what most families in this country want. However, my family didn't raise me in that environment and now that I am an adult, I would not want to raise my child in that environment either. Many "ideal" suburbs are horridly bland and soulless. That exists in South Florida too (lots of western Palm Beach County, parts of west Broward ESPECIALLY West Pembroke Pines and Miramar, some pockets of Miami-Dade), but not as much as it exists in suburban areas of Raleigh, Charlotte, and Atlanta - the "promised land" trifecta of cookie-cutter suburban areas where lots of people fleeing Florida move.
You sound like the type of person who would love living in Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, Surfside, or Coral Gables - places with character, culture, educated people, and plenty of families to boot. Don't let certain forumers scare you... you'll find plenty of nice places suitable to raise a family in South Florida.
Amen and Thank you! Excellent post! Raised in Brooklyn and Queens NY, live in Greensboro NC, and planning to relocate to Fort Lauderdale or Miami in the very near future myself. I'm happy the OP started this thread and am very happy to read posts like yours and others that are constructive, informative and LOGICAL.
I spent two summers there in the early 90s. If your white know this. Sooner or later a racial hate crime WILL be commited against you. It would be dangerous to bring your children there.
I've lived in the not so pleasent neighborhoods of Oakland, Richmond, SF and east LA. And I wouldn't say that about any of them. I also wouldn't have posted this if it was just adults that were asking.
A seven year old girl makes a suprisingly small lump under a blue police blanket.
R.W. on her b. day 1991 72nd and Biscayne.
Location: Lots of sun and palm trees with occasional hurricane :)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rogerbacon
OMG! What other parts of the US have you been to? I can't think of ANYWHERE I've been to, not only in the US but in the entire world where people are more rude and inconsiderate than Miami.
The original poster noticed it just in her short visits to Miami. So please, burgler09, tell us your secret. Where in Miami are you hanging out? Where are all the nice people hiding?
I hate to tell you but Miami does NOT have the rudest people, even with me living here.
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You will, however, have some excellent fodder for a book by the time you go off to college!
) as a good thing I just see those areas as having lousy parking. I think a better alternative for Miami would be more roads and better planing for growth. I want double-decker highways like that have in other cities where there is much congestion.
What other parts of the US have you been to? I can't think of ANYWHERE I've been to, not only in the US but in the entire world where people are more rude and inconsiderate than Miami.
