Miami Grows Up. A Little

[ukw]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/op...ittle-.html?hp

MIAMI — IF you had asked me what I wanted when I was 12 years old, I probably would have said, “to marry a plastic surgeon.”

You can hardly blame me: I was growing up in Miami. My life plan elegantly combined the city’s worship of bodies and money, and its indifference to how you came by either. When I left for college, I put Miami behind me, and tried to have a life of the mind. I got a graduate degree. I traveled. I even married a fellow writer, whose only real estate was a dingy one-bedroom apartment in Paris, where we lived.

But with kids came long summer pilgrimages to Miami to see family. It took a lot of effort to keep spurning the city, especially since the weather was so good. Miami had grown up a bit, and so had I. Hadn’t it developed a soul beneath its vapid, extremely pleasant, slightly menacing exterior? If I understood Miami better, could I grow to like it? Maybe I was the problem?

Like practically everyone who grew up in Miami, I knew little about its history. We were more worried about mangoes falling on our cars. It took just a bit of reading to realize that Florida had always attracted people with “an inordinate desire to get rich quickly with a minimum of physical effort,” as the economist John Kenneth Galbraith once described them.

...

In recent summers, I’ve found that Miami isn’t that city anymore. Young Latinos — no longer burdened with the myth that they’ll one day return “home” — adore their American hometown. They major in Spanish literature at Florida universities, gush about Miami’s weather, and get sentimental about stone crabs, Cuban coffee and buying avocados out of the trunks of cars.

The area’s remaining “Anglos” — now just 15 percent of the population — want their kids to learn Spanish. (Confusingly, Miami’s Latinos call these Anglos “Americans.”)

MIAMI even has a homegrown dialect. Young Latinos — regardless of whether they even know Spanish — speak English with a Spanish twang. To non-Miamians, they sound like extremely fluent immigrants. Phillip M. Carter, a linguist at Florida International University, says that when young born-and-bred Miamians visit the rest of America, or even Boca Raton, people often ask them what country they’re from.

“Miami English” is also proof that a city can be international but not cosmopolitan. People typically don’t realize they’re speaking a dialect unless they leave Miami, Mr. Carter says.

Most locals also don’t seem bothered that Miami is one of America’s most unequal cities, with lots of very poor people living close to rich ones. Miami’s have-nots are easy to ignore, since — if they’re not cleaning your house or parking your car — you just drive past them.

...

But still, compared with the Miamians, I felt practically deformed. And I struggled to have conversations that weren’t about real estate or consumption. There was a lot of pleasure in Miami, but not enough surprising interactions and ideas. Miami may one day be the city for normal-looking people with semi-intellectual aspirations and a mild social conscience. But it’s not there yet.

[brickell]

and... ? I love how writers are able to sum up a place by going on a spa holiday.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by brickell

and... ? I love how writers are able to sum up a place by going on a spa holiday.

The writer grew up in Miami and takes summer pilgrimages there to see family. Her experience is a tad more substantial than a spa holiday.

[brickell]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Her experience is a tad more substantial than a spa holiday.

If only her writing reflected that.

[chris08876]

This article is rubbish and far from the truth.

[SignalHillHiker]

I think she just wants people to know she lived in Paris.

[destroycreate]

As an apple pie white American, she probably struggled to fit in growing up in Miami without having any hispanic roots. Which would explain her negative undertone.

[brickell]

Dave Barry's subdued response
http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_...-essayist.html

The New York Times published this amazing essay by a woman named Pamela Druckerman, who used to live in Miami (she now lives in Paris) and came back to visit for a couple of weeks, then wrote about it. Here's one of the amazing paragraphs:

Most locals also don’t seem bothered that Miami is one of America’s most unequal cities, with lots of very poor people living close to rich ones. Miami’s have-nots are easy to ignore, since — if they’re not cleaning your house or parking your car — you just drive past them.

Isn't that amazing? She's here two weeks and she knows how "most locals" feel about income inequality! I've lived here almost thirty years, and I'd never claim to know that. Probably because I'm not a thinker. I'm referring to this sentence from Ms. Druckerman's essay:

And while there are some thinkers scattered around town, Miami is overrun with lawyers, jewelry designers and personal trainers, all trying to sell services to one another.

That's right: She knows who Miami's thinkers are -- all of them, apparently -- and also knows where they are! "Scattered around town."

I wish the Times had printed a map, so I could go see them.

This is from her final paragraph:

There was a lot of pleasure in Miami, but not enough surprising interactions and ideas. Miami may one day be the city for normal-looking people with semi-intellectual aspirations and a mild social conscience. But it’s not there yet.

So she's saying we have a chance! Not to be New York or Paris, of course, but some day -- if we have a few more "surprising interactions and ideas" thanks to enlightened visitors who deign to visit us -- we might develop semi-intellectual aspirations! And a "mild" social conscience!

I don't know what we would do down here without the New York Times.

Twitter response from Miami poet P. Scott Cunningham
@cunningpscott

13) We know the city has real problems that have nothing to do with adolescence and plastic surgery. Or mangoes. Mmm, mangoes….

12) You felt superior to Miami then. You’re acting superior to it now. That’s what Miamians are objecting to. Not the criticism.

11) Places you alluded to visiting: Mall. Pool. Spa. If I go to the Eiffel Tower and the Mandarin Hotel will I understand Paris?

10) Since when is sentimentality about one’s city a sign of immaturity? No one is sentimental about Paris, huh?

9) Maybe the problem is that you were looking for people with a “mild social conscience.” The Miamians I know have a major one.

8) Miami did not get more interesting “just by existing.” It’s gotten more interesting thanks to the work of people you haven’t met yet.

7) Or does “normal-looking” means “no plastic surgery?” In that case, inequality has made sure that 99% of us can't afford it.

6) To wit: who is this “normal-looking” person you’re looking for? Is she Cuban? Haitian? Overweight? College-educated?

5) The piece has true parts. Inequality is indeed a serious problem here. But the piece doesn’t communicate a serious concern about it.

4) If you struggled to find good conversation, tell us where you were looking, not how many laps you swam. Makes it hard for us to judge.

3) The structure of your lede (conditional tense, adverb) makes it feel like a fib to set up your analogy.

2) Just because you were a spoiled teenager, doesn’t mean Miami was one. False equivalence. You grew up. Not Miami.

1) “Grows up” was a bad choice for a metaphor. Cities aren’t people. It’s a poor analogy. Simplifies w/o providing clarity.

Numbered thoughts about @pameladruck’s @NYtimes piece from a “normal-looking” Miamian with “semi-intellectual aspirations”...

[brickell]

Originally Posted by chris08876

This article is rubbish and far from the truth.

To be fair there is a lot of truth to it. There is a Miami accent. We do call anglos "americans". Shopping and luxury is a weird thing here. There is a huge wealth disparity here. There is a huge building boom. But how is that different from LA or New York? What does any of this have to do with "growing up"?

This line in particular showed a weird disassociation between her own lifestyle and what Miami actually is.

Most locals also don’t seem bothered that Miami is one of America’s most unequal cities, with lots of very poor people living close to rich ones. Miami’s have-nots are easy to ignore, since — if they’re not cleaning your house or parking your car — you just drive past them.

Most locals? Does she mean local to the Delano? Most Miamians are those people cleaning your house or were once those people cleaning your house or are related to somebody cleaning your house. That's how an immigrant city works.

[Jasonhouse]

^She's complaining about the service, tourism and construction based economy.

[llamaorama]

You know you've been pwned when Dave Barry criticizes your op-ed

[Jasonhouse]

^Except that a number of his rebuttals are to shit he himself made up, not to what she actually wrote in her column.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by brickell

To be fair there is a lot of truth to it. There is a Miami accent. We do call anglos "americans". Shopping and luxury is a weird thing here. There is a huge wealth disparity here. There is a huge building boom. But how is that different from LA or New York? What does any of this have to do with "growing up"?

There is definitely truth to it... though it is full of hyperbole to try get the points across... and I think there are a few cheap shots that are not really true nor necessary. Miami has its negative traits (just like any city), but has far more good than bad in my opinion I accept it for what it is -- a very young city that initially grew as a retreat for the wealthy, and reflects that foundation to this day. For some reason, these op-eds keep coming out about Miami, and they pile on with the same criticisms as if they are expecting Miami to be some super literate and cosmopolitan city. It's not, but it is evolving into something that does resemble that.

There is a fully apparent "worship of bodies and money". Well... especially money. It can be a very superficial society. There is no denying that. And it goes right back to who founded and who continues to visit and populate the city -- the very wealthy. That's what people see and grow accustomed to seeing... so that's what they know and that's what they attempt to emulate. It's as simple as that. Flash, glitz, and glamour are what Miami wholeheartedly self promotes more than anything else.

This next one is unfortunately very true... "Like practically everyone who grew up in Miami, I knew little about its history." Beyond the lack of knowledge about Miami's history, I've never been anywhere where the locals are so frustratingly ignorant of US history and basic geography of the rest of the nation (and I'm not talking about recent immigrants or immigrants at all... they get a pass... I'm particularly thinking of 1st and even 2nd generation Miamians who were born, raised, and schooled in Miami yet are somehow oblivious to anything north of Orlando). You don't know how many times I've had to explain that Philadelphia is the city and Pennsylvania is the state that it's in... not to mention how Pittsburgh is a city in Pennsylvania and not in Philadelphia and that they are both cities in Pennsylvania... it's like a bizarre Abbott & Costello routine.

"But still, compared with the Miamians, I felt practically deformed. And I struggled to have conversations that weren’t about real estate or consumption. There was a lot of pleasure in Miami, but not enough surprising interactions and ideas." This is probably what is most true... particularly to those who have grown up there and return to visit after having left and lived elsewhere for a significant time period. She's being diplomatic by using the phrase "surprising interactions and ideas". It's pretty clear what she's saying.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by brickell

Most Miamians are those people cleaning your house or were once those people cleaning your house or are related to somebody cleaning your house. That's how an immigrant city works.

Interesting how just about everybody seems to have a cleaning lady in Miami.

[Jasonhouse]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

"But still, compared with the Miamians, I felt practically deformed. And I struggled to have conversations that weren’t about real estate or consumption. There was a lot of pleasure in Miami, but not enough surprising interactions and ideas." This is probably what is most true... particularly to those who have grown up there and return to visit after having left and lived elsewhere for a significant time period. She's being diplomatic by using the phrase "surprising interactions and ideas". It's pretty clear what she's saying.

As a 28yr resident of Florida (Tampa), that's the one that caught my attention as being most true up here in Tampa too.

I feel like much of Florida is like this... That the population which comprises the state's "most likely voters", is overflowing with poorly educated, ambitionless deadbeats who originally failed somewhere else, and come here for a "new life", because when you fail here, hey at least you still have all of those free beaches and mild winters. And there's always a job being a lackey for someone who actually applied themselves in life and made something of themselves. (which usually occurs somewhere else)

[Shawn]

Let's not turn this into a full-on Florida bash-fest, but this is something that has bothered me for quite a while: how is it that a state with 20 million people never developed an economy beyond agriculture, real estate / construction, and low-end services? I am sure there are some "Knowledge Corridors" or what have you set up somewhere, and there are certainly enough research universities to spawn some incubation centers, but generally speaking, white collar or STEM / lab jobs seem to make up such a disproportionately small amount of Floridian jobs.

You'd think with such a large elderly population, there would be a more developed geriatric healthcare devices sector, or more geriatric care specialist hospital clusters.

Even my industry (media trading) is underrepresented, given that Miami is supposed to be the Gateway to Latin America. There is a GroupM office in Miami, with all four agencies plus the holding company present, but staffing is minimal. Looks like there's an Ogilvy & Mather in Coral Gables. Saatchi & Saatchi Latin America are on Brickel near GroupM, but all the ops and planners are down in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. These are all just "showcase" offices with no actual capacity.

[599GTO]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

There is a fully apparent "worship of bodies and money". Well... especially money. It can be a very superficial society. There is no denying that. And it goes right back to who founded and who continues to visit and populate the city -- the very wealthy. That's what people see and grow accustomed to seeing... so that's what they know and that's what they attempt to emulate. It's as simple as that. Flash, glitz, and glamour are what Miami wholeheartedly self promotes more than anything else.

But Miami isn't wealthy. Miami's per capita income is lower than even the Bronx and it's not really on the map in terms of millionaires.

http://www.capgemini.com/sites/defau...ndex-1_pg1.gif

Or Billionaires

http://tinyurl.com/kenyghf

Miami is a mysterious place to me. There seems to be a major disconnect between the economy and actual wealth of Miami and the image of luxury it tries to portray. We used to own a home on Fisher Island and a lot of people lived a wealthy lifestyle but the source of their $$ always seemed dubious and fake. Seemed like a major draw for scammers from Latin America and the scammer/rejects from the Northern U.S. Miami has always been the scam capital of America and it's rather amusing how the country's major financial scammers always end up in S. Florida when released from prison.

[streetscaper]

I grew up in Miami and for the most part agree with the article. It explains part of my love/hate relationship with the place, and why I had to leave.

[cityscapes]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Let's not turn this into a full-on Florida bash-fest, but this is something that has bothered me for quite a while: how is it that a state with 20 million people never developed an economy beyond agriculture, real estate / construction, and low-end services? I am sure there are some "Knowledge Corridors" or what have you set up somewhere, and there are certainly enough research universities to spawn some incubation centers, but generally speaking, white collar or STEM / lab jobs seem to make up such a disproportionately small amount of Floridian jobs.

I'm originally from Palm Beach County and there's Scripps and Max Planck Institute in Jupiter and and a bunch of hospitals including a large VA hospital and some University of Miami Health has expanded to Palm Beach Gardens but the economy there and across the rest of the county still seems to be heavily dependent on tourism, real estate, and agriculture. Boca Raton is the only place in the county that I can think of that has a real corporate headquarters with Office Depot.

I agree with the criticisms of Florida voiced in this thread. A lot of people back home that haven't been out much always say they're so lucky to live in such a wealthy place with the best of everything and how it's paradise. I've always found all of the symbols of wealth in South Florida to be generated outside the state or country. If it's generated there it's in the form of high salaried doctors and lawyers which still technically only exist to serve the real wealth that spends the season there and people employed in the the sea of service industry jobs they generate along with the tourism sector. If anyone is very rich and local their wealth was always suspicious. There's a reason people call it a sunny place for shady people.

I always found most of the locals to be beach bums or trailer trash, random migrants, retirees, and the people mentioned above. That's not a particularly interesting mix and as an educated person I find it really difficult to have a non surface level conversation with the average Floridian. To be honest most people are not even smart enough to carry a conversation about real estate or consumption. Even though it sustains a fairly large population I feel like there are no jobs for me there despite having a masters degree from one of the best universities in the world, not that I'd ever want to move back there.

It also has a very strange culture where even the kids I knew who had good upbringings got sucked into drinking or drugs at a really early age and never pulled out of it. Even though I went to private school and knew a vast majority of the middle to upper middle class people my age in the county I can only think of a handful who are doing anything productive with their lives now that we are nearly 6 years away from having graduated high school, which in my opinion is plenty of time to get your sh*t together.

There's also not really that much to do there which might explain why so many people have to numb their minds with drugs and alcohol. Everything is geared towards the rich or tourists and there's not many other places to go aside from the beach or the mall. Both of the decent malls in our area have stores like Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Gucci, LV, Burberry, Prada etc. which makes them impractical for normal people. Even if you're rich once you've bought what you want that season there's not much else to do. At least they have good people watching because people in Florida are insane. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people pushing their Chihuahuas around in a stroller after buying them a new collar from Tiffany & Co.

Downtown West Palm Beach and Delray Beach are mildly interesting and somewhat walkable with good bars and restaurants. I can't stand anything in Broward County and wish it would fall into the sea but south of that mess Miami (now that it is starting to feel safer to walk around) is fun to visit but I'd still never consider living there. The traffic is terrible and if you're not South American you feel very excluded from the social scene. I'm half English half Mediterranean so I look like I could be a rich Argentinean or Brazilian so I get spoken to in Spanish a lot and while I'll admit I should have learned Spanish while living there, once I politely tell someone I don't speak Spanish and they continue speaking to me in Spanish it gets annoying especially when it happens every time I'm there.
That being said I keep going back when I'm in Florida because it's one of the few places you actually see any vibrancy and life along with some young people here and there.

Most of all what I can't get past with Florida is the weather. I don't get what paradise people are talking about but I'd take Chicago at -11 over Miami at 85. It is so unbearably hot and humid for the majority of the year I don't understand why anyone endures it. To make things worse at rains constantly. Sometimes it's so heavy that you can't see 10 feet in front of you. Then five minutes later as if someone had abruptly turned off some magical sky faucet, it stops. Then everyone gets to enjoy the steam room effect as all that rainwater gets evaporated by the now glaring sun.

The wealth gap is also mind blowing. After moving to the Pacific Northwest which is actually much wealthier than South Florida I had a friend from Seattle visit and she was stunned by how all the waterfront mansions were always adjacent to slum looking houses in bad neighborhoods. I encourage anyone that reads this to look at Overtown in Miami or Belle Glade / Clewiston on street view and compare it to Soweto in South Africa. The housing quality in South Africa almost looks better.

Everyone I know that has moved to South Florida for work from a normal part of America feels totally alienated and usually ends up leaving. Especially younger people, because there's nothing there that really caters to millenials except in Orlando, which as attracted a lot of 20 somethings from South Florida. All my friends that got out and got an education now have jobs in NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC or Texas. I'd actually be interested in doing research into finding out if there's a brain drain of educated South Floridans into other parts of the US after college because from my experience there's nothing to draw people back. It's a good thing there's enough people in the US and abroad that are into that part of Florida to keep it growing.

[dave8721]

lol, I can't believe this article was actually posted on here. When it came up over the weekend there were some funny local articles poking fun at how hilariously uninformed it was (Dave Barry had a good one), I remember thinking half joking to myself that M II A II R II K would post it on SSP since any article that has the slightest negative tone to it with regards to Miami always gets posted in here (usually in bold/caps with a "the world is coming to an end tone") but I guess someone beat him to it.