I Love Miami!!!!! (Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Palmetto: neighborhood, private schools, living)
MiamiMiami-Dade County
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The OP made me laugh out loud!! I don't know if it is bait by making such obvious distortions or just flamming...but let's assume for a minute this poster is legit.
After reading the post, I thought, they left out the part where all of the locals got together in a big circle and held hands under a rainbow and sang "We are the Children" by Micheal Jackson. That post may be accurate for a whopping 5% of Miami Dade County...but that is not the reality for the rest of us. I have always said that the people who love Miami are realtors, speculators, investors, tourists, the rich or the newbies who have lived here for less than 2 years. The seasoned residents have more perspective and aren't fooled by palm trees and the carefree children that live in the exclusive enclaves on Key Biscayne or in the Gables/Pinecrest.
I can't imagine anyone seriously thinking they have the "accurate" view of Miami after visiting for a week when we have lived here for decades. Visiting is not the same as living. Example: I just visited Cuba and it also had great architecture, nice, friendly people offering to help and guide me to places and to carry things for me. Total strangers invited me to their homes to cook meals for me and show me around. I guess this is how life in Cuba must be for the natives too!! I should move there because during my week there I heard how much the locals love their wonderful government.
Do you get it now?
Just because you had a nice VACATION does not mean that living here is the same. Plan a trip here in August, make a trek to Wal Mart, see what happens if you have emergency car trouble and how efficient random mechanics are, get an oil change, try to return a product to a store, try to schedule an appointment with a dentist or doctor (no ER this time), make the commute from Pinecrest to downtown on US 1 at rush hour, go for a walk at night at that time of year....and then you will have at least had a taste of reality.
If you can afford the Miami Superstar lifestyle that is great. But you should realize that your vacation is not the reality for the majority of residents and to read a post like yours is misleading for most. People think they can come here and live carefree and work at Target and just get by like they could in St. Louis or wherever and they can't.
Recently it also seems that Florida also serves as a magnet for sick people who prey on children. Numerous high profile crimes against children have ocurred here. I guess even the sickos like palm trees. Most responsible parents here do not let their child walk alone due to lack of sidewalks, numerous hit and runs of pedestrains and many attacks and abductions that have sadly happened here. Exceptions to this are very rare.
Other cities have larger middle class areas that are family friendly. Miami is great for singles...but to raise a family here as you would in a middle class area in another city is much more expensive, especially if you want to maintain the same standard of living.
I agree to say that somebody visiting for a week wouldn't get a true sense of Miami , but somebody for 2-3 years gets a good idea of what they like and dont like about the place. You are really pushing it by thinking you can live a nice happy life living in a different city and working at target. I dont understand how everyone on here comes and complains about the stupid decisions they make and blame it on the city. 95% of the people who complain here are just people who aren't going to make it in any city.
"when your car breaks down" .. what you think most mechanics are going to be legit? This isn't a Miami problem, you think because you lived in Miami so long you have some sort of great aspect others do not.. when in reality you just have nothing to compare it to. You have just as narrow of a mind as someone who visited miami for a week.
To clarify things, we did not come to Miami to "vacation", though we certainly enjoyed ourselves! We purposefully came to check out the areas we thought we might be interested in living. This is why we did not stay in South Beach, but chose a small hotel in Coconut Grove that was in close proximity to the areas we were thinking of living. We will be returning for another week in either June or July and again in September. Right now, the consensus seems to be Pinecrest for our family. I do have a question though. We found a couple of homes on the internet in Gables By The Sea that we like. The address says it is in Coral Gables, yet the homes are zoned for Palmetto Schools. Is this correct?
I agree to say that somebody visiting for a week wouldn't get a true sense of Miami , but somebody for 2-3 years gets a good idea of what they like and dont like about the place. You are really pushing it by thinking you can live a nice happy life living in a different city and working at target. I dont understand how everyone on here comes and complains about the stupid decisions they make and blame it on the city. 95% of the people who complain here are just people who aren't going to make it in any city.
"when your car breaks down" .. what you think most mechanics are going to be legit? This isn't a Miami problem, you think because you lived in Miami so long you have some sort of great aspect others do not.. when in reality you just have nothing to compare it to. You have just as narrow of a mind as someone who visited miami for a week.
I never said people who live here for 2 or 3 years don't have an accurate perspective. I said that is when the newbies stop ranting and raving about how wonderful it is (precisely because by then they know what it's about).
I never said you could live a nice life in other cities working at Target, but we get posters who work in these kind of stores in other places and get by and they think they can move here and do the same work and get by as well and that just isn't true. A minimum wage salary here is totally impossible for someone new to this area. It may be doable in other cities but not here.
Let's see, when my car broke down driving to Pennsylvania one summer in Jacksonville I walked to a gas station, the attendent lent me a phone book and I randomly called the first mechanic I found and they towed and fixed my car problems in two hours. I was back on the road after lunch. Something tells me if that happens to a toruist on I-95 in Miami they won't have quite the same experience. I also had a problem with my car's stereo in Dallas and I took it to some local place I found as I was driving arounf and they said the wires had a problem and it would be expensive to fix right then and there or they could reroute some wires (bypass something) and it would at least work but the cigarrete lighter wouldn't. They did it right there on the spot in 20 minutes. Wow, in Miami I don't think I would have been told or offered that cheap alternative. I doubt tourists would either. And trust me, I have had car problems here also so I can "compare." Nothing is ever that fast, cheap or efficient here. It just doesn't work that way and that is something peole have to accept. Not all cities are so overpopulated that business can afford to offer poor customer service. So why trash every other city just because that kind of stuff happens here? No where is perfect, but other places are more balanced...
So, I am narrow minded because I am from here and have life long experience? And because I believe myself and other locals know more than a tourist who has been here for a week? Oh, OK.....
Sorry, but you just sound like you are trying to contradict what I am saying because you don't want it to be true. Not every place has to suck just because Miami is dysfunctional. It is NOT like this everywhere. There are many other cities with a stronger sense of community, lower crime, friendlier people, lower costs of living, efficient public transportation, better expressways, etc. Why is that so controversial and upsetting to read for some people? No one on here said Miami is the Calcutta of the USA, but to read these posts that sound like a tourist brochure are misleading at best and it is not fair to discredit first hand information from locals, offered to people who have visited Miami and want to live here.
To clarify things, we did not come to Miami to "vacation", though we certainly enjoyed ourselves! We purposefully came to check out the areas we thought we might be interested in living. This is why we did not stay in South Beach, but chose a small hotel in Coconut Grove that was in close proximity to the areas we were thinking of living. We will be returning for another week in either June or July and again in September. Right now, the consensus seems to be Pinecrest for our family. I do have a question though. We found a couple of homes on the internet in Gables By The Sea that we like. The address says it is in Coral Gables, yet the homes are zoned for Palmetto Schools. Is this correct?
The school districts in Florida are county wide, so "Palmetto" Schools are part of Miami Dade County Public Schools. Palmetto might be the local school, but you could easily live in the Gables and attend school in Pincecrest. It all depends on the actual school's bounderies. Palmetto Sr. High seems to be the High School for people in that area, east of US 1. It is a very good public high school.
I never said people who live here for 2 or 3 years don't have an accurate perspective. I said that is when the newbies stop ranting and raving about how wonderful it is (precisely because by then they know what it's about).
I never said you could live a nice life in other cities working at Target, but we get posters who work in these kind of stores in other places and get by and they think they can move here and do the same work and get by as well and that just isn't true. A minimum wage salary here is totally impossible for someone new to this area. It may be doable in other cities but not here.
Let's see, when my car broke down driving to Pennsylvania one summer in Jacksonville I walked to a gas station, the attendent lent me a phone book and I randomly called the first mechanic I found and they towed and fixed my car problems in two hours. I was back on the road after lunch. Something tells me if that happens to a toruist on I-95 in Miami they won't have quite the same experience. I also had a problem with my car's stereo in Dallas and I took it to some local place I found as I was driving arounf and they said the wires had a problem and it would be expensive to fix right then and there or they could reroute some wires (bypass something) and it would at least work but the cigarrete lighter wouldn't. They did it right there on the spot in 20 minutes. Wow, in Miami I don't think I would have been told or offered that cheap alternative. I doubt tourists would either. And trust me, I have had car problems here also so I can "compare." Nothing is ever that fast, cheap or efficient here. It just doesn't work that way and that is something peole have to accept. Not all cities are so overpopulated that business can afford to offer poor customer service. So why trash every other city just because that kind of stuff happens here? No where is perfect, but other places are more balanced...
So, I am narrow minded because I am from here and have life long experience? And because I believe myself and other locals know more than a tourist who has been here for a week? Oh, OK.....
Sorry, but you just sound like you are trying to contradict what I am saying because you don't want it to be true. Not every place has to suck just because Miami is dysfunctional. It is NOT like this everywhere. There are many other cities with a stronger sense of community, lower crime, friendlier people, lower costs of living, efficient public transportation, better expressways, etc. Why is that so controversial and upsetting to read for some people? No one on here said Miami is the Calcutta of the USA, but to read these posts that sound like a tourist brochure are misleading at best and it is not fair to discredit first hand information from locals, offered to people who have visited Miami and want to live here.
I agree with a lot of what you say here, but it is as annoying to read the people who complain about how horrible miami is as the people who rant and rave about how wonderful it is with no experience here.
Miami isn't for everyone, but I find it very odd when someone rants and raves about how horrible Miami is with traffic and rude people and then goes and talks about how they want to move to Chicago.
Many people on here who say they have so much experience in Miami haven't lived in the cities they speak so highly of, so its a bit contradictory when they talk about how much better the other city is and then call the people who love miami stupid tourists.
Gables by the Sea is zoned for Palmetto schools - yes. The Gables west of US1 are those zoned for Gables schools and Pinecrest of course has different zoning. South Miami also has some nice pockets with good schools - im thinking of the area near UM and the area off Ludlam and 826.
I agree with a lot of what you say here, but it is as annoying to read the people who complain about how horrible miami is as the people who rant and rave about how wonderful it is with no experience here.
Miami isn't for everyone, but I find it very odd when someone rants and raves about how horrible Miami is with traffic and rude people and then goes and talks about how they want to move to Chicago.
Many people on here who say they have so much experience in Miami haven't lived in the cities they speak so highly of, so its a bit contradictory when they talk about how much better the other city is and then call the people who love miami stupid tourists.
I think I know what you are saying....I am just trying to present a balance compared to the OP who gave the airbrushed version. I base my posts on my experiences, I love Miami, but I don't turn a blind eye to its problems. I focus on what I like and try to improve what I don't on a small scale. And what I can't change I just accept. It is a tradeoff as anywhere. I definantly think other places are much worse and so do a lot of people as well.
Los Angeles has some very nice areas, but don't get me started on the traffic. I lived there two years and actually sat completely still in traffic jams on interstates for more than 45 minutes. I just turned my engine off and sat on the hood of my car. This was typical on a weekend. There were no accidents or anything else clogging it up. Just cars. So when I say Miami traffic isn't any worse than any other city, I mean it.
Memphis is a city I've lived that I consider h*ll on earth. The crime there is not limited to the bad areas. It's everywhere, even in the nice areas. And when I say crime, I'm talking gang rapes, murders, and assaults. That's the main reason we moved to the Nashville area.
I have friends who live in NYC with kids and they wouldn't consider living anywhere else. I wouldn't want to live there if you paid me.
It all depends on what you're looking for in a city. I want to live in a place that's warm year round (I was born and raised in Richmond, VA and lived in Memphis ---- nothing can be hotter than summers in those two cities, 98 degrees and 98% humidity). I want to live by the water and close to a beach. I want my children to be safe, so I will not be one of those parents whose children are walking to school by themselves. I'll probably walk them there with my German Shepherd by my side. I do not expect Miami to be paradise, but it's pretty darn close to what I want from a city.
To clarify things, we did not come to Miami to "vacation", though we certainly enjoyed ourselves! We purposefully came to check out the areas we thought we might be interested in living. This is why we did not stay in South Beach, but chose a small hotel in Coconut Grove that was in close proximity to the areas we were thinking of living. We will be returning for another week in either June or July and again in September. Right now, the consensus seems to be Pinecrest for our family. I do have a question though. We found a couple of homes on the internet in Gables By The Sea that we like. The address says it is in Coral Gables, yet the homes are zoned for Palmetto Schools. Is this correct?
Many people here are so caught up with their generalizations that as soon as they saw your screen name, they just thought you had never been out of TN.
You can use the following link to find out what school is assigned to a particular address, just click on the links for "Boundaries for", and a new page will open that will let you insert the address on the left hand side of the screen:
Not every place has to suck just because Miami is dysfunctional. It is NOT like this everywhere. There are many other cities with a stronger sense of community, lower crime, friendlier people, lower costs of living, efficient public transportation, better expressways, etc...No one on here said Miami is the Calcutta of the USA, but to read these posts that sound like a tourist brochure are misleading at best and it is not fair to discredit first hand information from locals, offered to people who have visited Miami and want to live here.
THIS. A thousand times, this.
Chelito is right, it takes a few years for the reality that is Miami to sink in. That is not to say you won't still love it after this happens, but you will begin to see Miami's limitations, which are initially hidden by the newness of it all. I saw Miami top to bottom from the inside of a police car (front seat, not back seat ) and it burned me out and now I'm a student. When I'm done with school I'm going back where I came from; I had my fun. Some will say I'm a wuss, can't handle it, but 10 years is long enough, thanks. There will come a point where the shine wears off and you'll get the full understanding of what Miami is--good AND bad. And TNmama, if you're familliar with LA traffic, you won't be boggled when you're at a standstill on the Palmetto Expressway at 3 in the morning with no accident, no construction, just a mystery traffic jam with no cause. Good luck.
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) and it burned me out and now I'm a student. When I'm done with school I'm going back where I came from; I had my fun. Some will say I'm a wuss, can't handle it, but 10 years is long enough, thanks. There will come a point where the shine wears off and you'll get the full understanding of what Miami is--good AND bad. And TNmama, if you're familliar with LA traffic, you won't be boggled when you're at a standstill on the Palmetto Expressway at 3 in the morning with no accident, no construction, just a mystery traffic jam with no cause. Good luck.
