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- Alabamamania
I live in a town called Margate, not far from Omnis, in Southern Florida. It's a lower-middle class neighborhood made up of two types of families: Young families in thier first home who aren't rich (we have some of the lowest home prices in the area), and retirees who can't afford oceanside condominiums. Crime is fairly low in my immediate area, mostly comprised of petty crimes like vandalism and what I call "I-don't-give-a-****-ism" that generally pervades a number of the the poorest class of South Floridians. Home prices are high compared to the rest of nation (although compared to Southern California and New York, it's a bargain); but a high-priced home is no guarantee of a safe neighborhood.
The metropolitan area largely stretches north-south, since it's bordered by the Everglades to the west (a marshy natural preserve that you couldn't live in even if you tried), and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. This means that land is scarce, expensive, and of course, everyone lives right on top of each other. Twenty years ago, there were openfields here and there, but evry inch is developed. From a civil engineering standpoint, It's amazing...like Sim City. On the other hand, traffic is everywhere, there's no fun places to drive, and the populace in the area is characterised as being very uptight and overstressed by many out-of-towners.
Nearby is Ft. Lauderdale (about 15 miles away), a city that plays second fiddle to Miami, about 45 miles away. Few people speak English there, the traffic is terrible, and there only very poor and extremely rich people living there. So I only go there for museums and sporting events. Miami Beach, also known as "South Beach" is the most overhyped place in the state. It's nothing but bars and clubs, a few overprices boutiques, and hotels (the classic Art Deco style designs have almost all been razed recently) it doesn't matter much to me, because I outgrew that party-all-night lifestyle 10 years ago. But if you're a fan of the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, then it's worth the visit during the daytime to see the comparsion between the game and real-life.
It's hot here; it rains nearly every day in the summer, making it hot and humid. I stay indoors as much as possible in the summer.
The metropolitan area largely stretches north-south, since it's bordered by the Everglades to the west (a marshy natural preserve that you couldn't live in even if you tried), and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. This means that land is scarce, expensive, and of course, everyone lives right on top of each other. Twenty years ago, there were openfields here and there, but evry inch is developed. From a civil engineering standpoint, It's amazing...like Sim City. On the other hand, traffic is everywhere, there's no fun places to drive, and the populace in the area is characterised as being very uptight and overstressed by many out-of-towners.
Nearby is Ft. Lauderdale (about 15 miles away), a city that plays second fiddle to Miami, about 45 miles away. Few people speak English there, the traffic is terrible, and there only very poor and extremely rich people living there. So I only go there for museums and sporting events. Miami Beach, also known as "South Beach" is the most overhyped place in the state. It's nothing but bars and clubs, a few overprices boutiques, and hotels (the classic Art Deco style designs have almost all been razed recently) it doesn't matter much to me, because I outgrew that party-all-night lifestyle 10 years ago. But if you're a fan of the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, then it's worth the visit during the daytime to see the comparsion between the game and real-life.
It's hot here; it rains nearly every day in the summer, making it hot and humid. I stay indoors as much as possible in the summer.
