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Just some background on myself: I'm a Midwestern Miami transplant.
I've been in Miami for about 16 months now. I moved here from Minneapolis (my college town) to get out of the winter, live near the ocean and try something new. I grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
That said, my question for you all:
Why is perceived status so important in Miami and the surrounding cities?
If you've lived here for over a month, you start to realize that BMWs, Mercedes and Porsches are like the Honda Civics of the north. You see them EVERYWHERE. However, it's also pretty easy to figure out that not everyone can afford them. I've heard about some of the ridiculous loans people take out to buy these luxury cars, and it blows my mind. A Coral Gables friend of mine has something like a 14% interest car loan!!!
Beyond the cars, you have the watches. I've never lived in a place where the size and brand of your watch was so important. I know a guy, a server, who has an $8,000 watch. WTF! Why???
Why is it that people in the majority of the US (think Minneapolis, Chicago, Ohio, Seattle, Virginia, Tulsa, Austin, Denver, Portland, etc) are more content wearing $150 watches and driving reasonably priced cars, that they can afford to pay off, than the people of South Florida?
My friends and I have pondered the idea.
A couple say it's because of the Cuban population and the fact that so many of them (or their parents) had NOTHING when they came here, that they now want to show off how they've succeed in the USA, so they finance a car they can barely afford and wear a watch the size of a hubcap.
Others say it's because of the foreign wealth that uses Miami and Broward as their playground. Regular citizens have gotten so used to seeing billionaire Russians and Venezuelans cruising around Biscayne and eating in Midtown that they've embodied that similar lifestyle, even though they can't afford it.
The rest of us are just plain confused. Some grew up or lived in NYC, where they witnessed similar spending habits, but the rest of us are Midwesterners, and we grew up in a place where your possessions did not determine who you were. The richest guy in my city, a millionaire, drove a Chevy Tahoe...without rims!
So my question for all of you locals and transplants, why is appearing wealthy and having a high "perceived status" so important in Miami when it isn't that important in many other parts of the USA.
Thanks!
Last edited by pmichaeljones; 05-03-2012 at 10:50 PM..
it's 'important' anywhere where 'status' is (shallowly) measured by, and tied to, one's outward appearance, not just here. you just happen to be seeing it 'here', but it's not only a So. Fla "thing". Miami is just one of several places with a big outward appearance of "the glamorous life", with a big mythology to the outside world .... wealth, easy living, 'beautiful people', fancy cars, designer clothes and jewelry, etc.
But it's the same in many places where tourism is the main draw, and where advertising creates a big front of the glitzy-glamorous lifestyle, displays of designer stuff & ostentatious wealth. It's part of a whole mythology created by advertising - you don't get that in so many regular American cities and towns because they're not tourism areas, no hyped-up advertising is done to 'draw' the public to come there. And even in places where there is tourism, it's advertised from a totally different angle - i mean, tourism advertising for, say, Branson Missouri, plays up the country music & downhome lifestyle, and maybe riverboats and relaxation. in Colorado, it's the outdoor life.... skiing and hiking and camping. But here, all that 'glamour' is what's specifically played up in the advertising - so that's what the rest of the world sees; and it's what makes them want to vacation here, to 'feel' rich-and-famous and glamorous for a week. And in general, people forget (or don't want to acknowledge) that they've been sucked in and manipulated by the advertising -it's a front, a manufactured phony representation of a lifestyle that very few actually live.... but which many people living here also aspire to - especially those who may have moved here just for that perceived lifestyle. Therefore they feel they MUST have those things; their outward appearance HAS to 'show' that they too, have that 'status' lifestyle - even if they really don't. (like the waiter with a thousand dollar watch)
but in any case it's not unique to here - there's many places in the world like this - Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Aspen, Waikiki ... are just a few other places with similar dynamics.
Just some background on myself: I'm a Midwestern Miami transplant.
I've been in Miami for about 16 months now. I moved here from Minneapolis (my college town) to get out of the winter, live near the ocean and try something new. I grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
That said, my question for you all:
Why is perceived status so important in Miami and the surrounding cities?
If you've lived here for over a month, you start to realize that BMWs, Mercedes and Porsches are like the Honda Civics of the north. You see them EVERYWHERE. However, it's also pretty easy to figure out that not everyone can afford them. I've heard about some of the ridiculous loans people take out to buy these luxury cars, and it blows my mind. A Coral Gables friend of mine has something like a 14% interest car loan!!!
Beyond the cars, you have the watches. I've never lived in a place where the size and brand of your watch was so important. I know a guy, a server, who has an $8,000 watch. WTF! Why???
Why is it that people in the majority of the US (think Minneapolis, Chicago, Ohio, Seattle, Virginia, Tulsa, Austin, Denver, Portland, etc) are more content wearing $150 watches and driving reasonably priced cars, that they can afford to pay off, than the people of South Florida?
My friends and I have pondered the idea.
A couple say it's because of the Cuban population and the fact that so many of them (or their parents) had NOTHING when they came here, that they now want to show off how they've succeed in the USA, so they finance a car they can barely afford and wear a watch the size of a hubcap.
Others say it's because of the foreign wealth that uses Miami and Broward as their playground. Regular citizens have gotten so used to seeing billionaire Russians and Venezuelans cruising around Biscayne and eating in Midtown that they've embodied that similar lifestyle, even though they can't afford it.
The rest of us are just plain confused. Some grew up or lived in NYC, where they witnessed similar spending habits, but the rest of us are Midwesterners, and we grew up in a place where your possessions did not determine who you were. The richest guy in my city, a millionaire, drove a Chevy Tahoe...without rims!
So my question for all of you locals and transplants, why is appearing wealthy and having a high "perceived status" so important in Miami when it isn't that important in many other parts of the USA.
Thanks!
The boldfaced part is just plain fallacious. You just have not traveled enough.
My question for you and your friends to ponder is how someone can be so stupid to make such sweeping conclusions?
Hi Felix,
I'm sorry if I offended you with that line that you bold faced. I don't, however, appreciate the personal insult. I've lived 5 years in Minneapolis, 20 in Green Bay, 1.5 in Miami and 1.5 in Buenos Aires. I've visited 35 of the 50 states. I can safely say I'm better traveled than most of the people my age.
I would not consider it a sweeping conclusion though. Had I just been a tourist making this statement, it would be a sweeping generalization. However, I've spent over a year working from West Palm Beach to the Grove, and I've seen the same drive to appear wealthy in every city down the coast. I've seen 16 year olds driving Porsches and 50 year old "wealthy looking" men have 3 cards get declined at one dinner.
You have to admit that Miami is one of the most status-obsessed places in the US. It's right up there with LA and Vegas, but I wasn't criticizing the city, I was asking, why?
I'd like to thank Catt6 for a well-thought out, void of emotion, answer. That is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to know why people think the values here are so much different than the rest of the US, and he/she gave a great answer.
I feel it has to go beyond the advertising though. Obviously South Beach is hyped up to be sin city of the south, but what about places like Kendall. They still drive fancy cars and have the same need to show off their money, but no one outside of South Florida has even heard of Kendall. Why is "Keeping up with the Joneses" so important?
A popular story in Minneapolis is that the owner of Minnesota Twins baseball team, his wife, drove a Porsche 911 for one summer in the city. She sold it that fall and was quoted as saying, "It's just too pretentious to drive a car like that in Minnesota." She wanted to avoid appearing wealthy.
Can you image anyone down here saying something like that? "My Maserati is too flashy. I should really just buy a Toyota in cash and pay it off in full." Never
Last edited by pmichaeljones; 05-04-2012 at 10:45 AM..
It's a regional thing. Depends on whether you consider it a wart or an embellishment. I'm sure there has to be Minnesotan vagrancies worthy of ponderance by South Floridians.
It's a regional thing. Depends on whether you consider it a wart or an embellishment. I'm sure there has to be Minnesotan vagrancies worthy of ponderance by South Floridians.
My friend from the Gables makes fun of me for being too nice. Whenever we're shore fishing and someone walks by and starts asking questions, he always asks after they leave, "Bro, why do you have to make conversation with everyone?" It's as if being a nice person and taking 5 minutes of my time to answer someone's question is a bad thing.
Hi Felix,
I'm sorry if I offended you with that line that you bold faced. I don't, however, appreciate the personal insult. I've lived 5 years in Minneapolis, 20 in Green Bay, 1.5 in Miami and 1.5 in Buenos Aires. I've visited 35 of the 50 states. I can safely say I'm better traveled than most of the people my age.
I would not consider it a sweeping conclusion though. Had I just been a tourist making this statement, it would be a sweeping generalization. However, I've spent over a year working from West Palm Beach to the Grove, and I've seen the same drive to appear wealthy in every city down the coast. I've seen 16 year olds driving Porsches and 50 year old "wealthy looking" men have 3 cards get declined at one dinner.
You have to admit that Miami is one of the most status-obsessed places in the US. It's right up there with LA and Vegas, but I wasn't criticizing the city, I was asking, why?
I'd like to thank Catt6 for a well-thought out, void of emotion, answer. That is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to know why people think the values here are so much different than the rest of the US, and he/she gave a great answer.
I feel it has to go beyond the advertising though. Obviously South Beach is hyped up to be sin city of the south, but what about places like Kendall. They still drive fancy cars and have the same need to show off their money, but no one outside of South Florida has even heard of Kendall. Why is "Keeping up with the Joneses" so important?
A popular story in Minneapolis is that the owner of Minnesota Twins baseball team, his wife, drove a Porsche 911 for one summer in the city. She sold it that fall and was quoted as saying, "It's just too pretentious to drive a car like that in Minnesota." She wanted to avoid appearing wealthy.
Can you image anyone down here saying something like that? "My Maserati is too flashy. I should really just buy a Toyota in cash and pay it off in full." Never
Veiled insult on your part. Like someone else calling this city a cesspool. I live here which means I am part of the cesspool? You insult the person when you insult the city they live in without qualifications.
Deeply indebted young people is not a Miami fixture as can be noted by reviewing the extend of debt by age group. Not uniquely to SE Florida.
I disagree it is status obsessed. Depends where you are and what circles you move in. Same as any other major metro region with considerable international flair and a reputation as party towns. You do not get that in podunk MN or Green Bay.
Who cares what someone in MN says if you are comment in about Miami? That is relevant? Again back to my post about sweeping conclusions. You see only upper end exuberance and consumption. It is as any other where the majority work-home-relax-work cycle. No different than back on your farm in GB.
Catto may be right and so may I as well. You came with a poorly considered opinion and were either supported or castigated depending on how your question was viewed. You got your answer.
Last edited by Felix C; 05-04-2012 at 11:40 AM..
Reason: incorrect farm identifier
Same as any other major metro region with considerable international flair.
That's what I was looking for. Now we're getting down to the nuts and bolts of my original question. Is having an international flair/vibe one of the biggest determiners in deciding if a city has a culture of status?
You make a valid point that Wausau is pretty ho hum. Unless you're into paper mills that is. Madison citizens, to the rest of small town Wisconsin, are pretty exuberant creatures.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felix C
No different than back on your hog farm in GB.
Again? I thought we were past the insults by now.
PS- We don't raise hogs silly, we raise dairy cattle!
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