| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
|
 Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 2:02 am Post subject: Miami |
 |
|
Who has been there.. I'm finally going to make it there this December.. but not entirely sure the layout of the city. I'll probably explore by car.. maybe the subway they have (or is that mostly for commuters?).. whichever way I can.
What should I be seeing? Whats the Little Havana and Little Haiti like? Heard somewhere Miami has a 'Little Tokyo'.. but can't find any references to it online.. must be small if it exists.
How about the beaches and other areas.. South Beach is a must.. anywhere else? Art Deco district is predominately South Beach from what I understand?
How is the setup of the city? What areas are the most walkable? Where are most of the new condos going up at? Places to avoid..? How is the downtown? How are the outlying areas? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 5:11 am Post subject: Re: Miami |
|
|
| Tiger Beer wrote: |
Who has been there.. I'm finally going to make it there this December.. but not entirely sure the layout of the city. I'll probably explore by car.. maybe the subway they have (or is that mostly for commuters?).. whichever way I can.
What should I be seeing? Whats the Little Havana and Little Haiti like? Heard somewhere Miami has a 'Little Tokyo'.. but can't find any references to it online.. must be small if it exists.
How about the beaches and other areas.. South Beach is a must.. anywhere else? Art Deco district is predominately South Beach from what I understand?
How is the setup of the city? What areas are the most walkable? Where are most of the new condos going up at? Places to avoid..? How is the downtown? How are the outlying areas? |
I lived there for 6 miserable months in 2001-2002. First of all you got money? you'll need plenty Miami is one of the most expensive cities i've ever been too and that includes Japan
You'll need a car, no real public transit except for a skytrain that runs from downtown to out near Coral Gables. Coral Gables is nice, UofM has some of the nicest looking women I've ever seen
DON'T FLY INTO MIA!!!!!! Go to Ft. Lauderdale, much cheaper and about an hour from MIA the MIA airport is in the middle of one of the worst neighborhoods around, rental agencies are off property, its scary at night.
Traffic makes Seoul look bearable, I'm not kidding, from Kendall to Key Biscayne its a 1 hour ride min. Going N-S is OK you have the Turnpike and I-95, E-W is absolutely god-awful there is no decent way to E-W except I-75/Alligator Alley and that runs way north
SoBe: everybody wants to be there, traffic is awful and trying to find a place to park. Also the resturants are overpriced.
Little Havana is OK, Little Haiti is downright dangerous. The beaches are OK, You get really spoiled by some of the nice beaches you get in the Phillippines and Thailand so you may be disappointed. The park on Key Biscayne and Cape Florida is pretty good.
Brush up on your Spanish, as its the first language there, people will talk to you there in Spanish before they try English, again I am not kidding
People by and large are some of the rudest people I've ever run across especially if you are not one of "them" (i.e. Cuban, Gay, Haitian, Columbian)
Some upsides: The food, again very expensive but the Cuban food is terrific, also see if you can get some hand rolled cigars made. Haitian food is OK, also I've heard the stone crabs when in season are fantastic though I'm not into seafood.
Go to the Everglades, spend some time there before it gets paved over. Its an incredible site, hire an airboat to get into some of the areas off Alligator Alley and the Tamiami Trail (US 41) areas. Find a guide from one of the native tribes there (Misoukee I think) they are poor people and need the money
Go to the Keys, beautiful places, US 1 is one of the most scenic highways in America. Marathon and Islamorada are great places to stop. You might run into Jimmy Johnson or the ghost of Ted Williams in those places Key West is a wild place to see. Though it is very expensive, moreso than Miami. Sunset on Mallory Square is a sight to behold
Read some of Carl Hiaasen's stuff, pretty funny but a lot of it is dead on
anything else PM me I'm sure I forgot something |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 3:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
There are better places to visit in Florida.
I suffered through three bad spring breaks there.
Wear sunblock all of the time. Worst sunburn I've ever had was in Miami. Many there who know English REFUSE to use it, and in many areas the signs are ALL in Spanish.
There are literally HUNDREDS of strip clubs all over the place. You won't believe how many are there- especially if you drive up to Ft Lauderdale. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 12:52 am Post subject: |
|
|
| wylies99 wrote: |
| There are better places to visit in Florida. |
Where are the better places?
Well, I bought one ticket.. basically to Ft.Lauderdale.. where I plan to rent a car for a day (costs me $100/day to rent a car in December!!).. then I'm flying down to Santo Domingo and coming back for another few days in Miami.
Is Miami better with or without a car? Seems like it might be easier to just get a place in South Beach and save the cost of a rental car.. use the subway and just explore by walking - my preferred way anyways. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 4:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
You need a car in Miami.
Get away from the Atlantic Ocean side, first of all.
Better places? Try SW Fla- Ft Myers is GREAT |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:10 am Post subject: |
|
|
| wylies99 wrote: |
You need a car in Miami.
Get away from the Atlantic Ocean side, first of all.
Better places? Try SW Fla- Ft Myers is GREAT |
Are the beaches/ocean just a lot better over there? How so? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 5:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
Warmer water and a better class (mainly old) of people.
Plus, Miami can be a DANGEROUS city- especially for tourists. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
FloridaTEFL
Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Location: Florida
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
Fort Myers is Great. Stay on Sanibel Island if you can. Very nice.
Also, I lived in Miami for several years. Most people who go do so for South Beach. The art deco houses and buildings are amazing. The beaches are nice too. But, yes, you will need a car if you go because the train pretty much just goes north/south and won't really take you anywhere you want to go.
There is a definite preference for Spanish in Miami, but as a tourist on South Beach it won't be a problem. But even if you go into other parts of Miami most people can speak english. If you do go, stick mostly to South Beach as there are many unsafe areas in other parts of the city.
And check out Key West too. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| that's one area of FL i'd be interested in going to: the keys. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 3:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I've been to the Keys and I loved them. Yeah Key West is heavily touristed can be a pain, the other towns Key Largo, Marathon, Islamorada are neat little towns and great places to chill
Regarding the SW coast, I prefer it to the east. I usually go to Sarasota every winter, beaches are nicer pace is a little less hectic
Do go to the Everglades, that is a must see before it gets paved over |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Pligganease
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Location: The deep south...
|
| Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| hogwonguy1979 wrote: |
I've been to the Keys and I loved them. Yeah Key West is heavily touristed can be a pain, the other towns Key Largo, Marathon, Islamorada are neat little towns and great places to chill
Regarding the SW coast, I prefer it to the east. I usually go to Sarasota every winter, beaches are nicer pace is a little less hectic
Do go to the Everglades, that is a must see before it gets paved over |
Ditto. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ramones
Joined: 23 Oct 2006
Location: In Hell in my own mind...
|
| Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I went snorkeling in Key Largo last week.
Miami has some good points. When I was a kid it was much nicer.
Think about Key West for 4 or 5 days. Expensive but worth it.
Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach are no longer the tourist attractions they were once.
Now it's just lots of homes and strip malls...
The Keys and maybe Sanibel Island are good place to visit for a quality vacation.
And yes, you need a car. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:33 am Post subject: |
|
|
I'll be flying into Miami twice. Using it as a base to fly in and out of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) as well.
Rental cars are US$100/day during December in Southern Florida.. oh well.. 4 days in Miami.. 4 days in Santo Domingo. Definetely going with the rental car so I can see all of Southern Florida though.
Everything is coming together. Be there in about three weeks from now. I'll have to post what impressions later.
If I can, I'll drive the Keys.. as well as the Everglades.. up one coast to through Fort Myers and up to Tampa.. across through Orlando and down the other coast back to Miami. Should be good. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 3:14 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Just IMAGINE living in Ft Myers. I have three aunts who live there- the place is AMAZING. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
|
| Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 6:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Ft. Myers was REAL nice. That entire side of Florida (from what I saw) was real nice. Nice sandy beaches everywhere.
Sarasota had a real good feel as well. Nice condensed feel.. whoever were the urban planners of that city did a real good job!
Naples was alright.. way too upscale. There was one expensive condo area that looked like something right out of Italy. Very interesting. Seems like I also recall a large number of Italian eateries around as well.
Tampa.. well Clearwater in particular was also real nice. I was quite surprised with Tampa Bay area having a stronger southern feel to it than I thought. Seemed to even have mossy trees and that I often associate with the south.. as well as southern style housing architecture with the porches and pillars. Very different than I expected. My cousin moved there a few years ago, so had a good time there. Even Ybor had a southern feel with the balconies and such - a bit New Orleans-ish.. interesting.
Miami was real different. Very condo-ish all up the way up to Ft Lauderdale and beyond perhaps? Very Latin, very Carribbean, and very Jewish as well. Floribbian cuisine and Cuban cuisine. Had a nice feel to the city. Didn't feel uncomfortable there, but Homestead had a real edge to it I noticed. Felt fine in Miami. Quite a few salsa radio stations as well as Haitian and Jamaician. Housing styles were more reminiscient of a slice of Latin America mix with California-style. I liked it.
Had a good time.. but both Tampa and Miami turned out to be very driving-oriented cities. Takes awhile to get places. Beaches everywhere in Florida were real nice.
Anyways, had a real good time.. and it was a trip that was well overdue. A real interesting place. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
