Miami is the wild west !! (Doral, Miami Springs: felony, luxury, living in)

[ginger1112]

I have a question, any advice for someone relocating ? I am considering the Miami area

[straight shooter]

^^^ Don't relocate unless you already have a job lined up.

[Coconut1]

Originally Posted by straight shooter

Don't criticize North and Central Florida, South Florida is far from perfect. In fact we probably have more issues down here than they have up there. Examples: public corruption, dirty politicians, crime, drugs, gangs, grow houses on every block, insurance fraud, rudeness in public and aggressive drivers just to name a few.

I didn't ever say South Florida is perfect, but the state has unequal representation in that South Florida is not given enough clout considering it's population.

[straight shooter]

Coconut, now I understand and yes I think you are right about the unequal representation.

[karl_hemingway]

Originally Posted by ginger1112

I have a question, any advice for someone relocating ? I am considering the Miami area

Wear a kevlar vest.

[perry335654]

You guys have never been to Atlanta or Kennesaw, Georgia where I-285 resembles the Daytona 500 or its mandatory to carry a gun in a particular Atlanta suburb.

Gun Ownership - It's The Law In Kennesaw

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by karl_hemingway

Miami is a crazy place. Anyone coming from New York will see some shocking things. A couple of examples:

1) I was surprised that during the 4th of July fireworks display in south beach that anyone can shoot up their own fireworks. During and after the show, there was a non-stop display of Miamians shooting up bottle rockets and even some big starbursts in the sky! I saw a 10 year old kid shielding his face as he was lighting up a roman candle right next to one going off.

2) I rarely ever see anyone pulled over for speeding, but I do see lots of people going ridiculously fast (over 100mph) on the way home at 2am. I guess the cops are busy tending to the accidents and broken down cars which seem to be everywhere! Plus most lights turn to flashing reds after midnight, which lots of cars just blow through without even slowing.

3) Apparently, almost anyone can get a concealed carry pistol if they want to! It's perfectly legal to keep a gun in your car! That means if you decide to change lanes and the guy behind decides that 3 car lengths wasn't enough, he can just whip out his pistol and put a couple of rounds into you!!

I am from NYC too. Are you from NYC originally? Only reason I ask is, it wasn't uncommon growing up for people to hop in their car, drive to North Carolina and get the crazy fireworks. Bring them back to NYC and sell them around the way, out of their car to kids. We used to have firecracker fights around our way. We aren't going to get into what that entails, but lets just say, I have had some pretty nasty fireworks go off in my hand before I could throw it lol

As for the driving, yeah the driving can be ridiculous out there, but it can also be ridiculous in NYC. I think maybe you only take transit back home? I remember once I saw a cab driver, drive in TWO lanes at once and did this for a good while. I guess he didn't realize he was in Brooklyn, so someone kindly told him to "get the eff out of my line". My point is, that's everywhere man. Friend of mine was on a motorcycle in Brooklyn, someone jump in front of him out of no where and he laid the bike down. He didn't have a jacket on so he skinned off ALL the skin on his back. The car naturally tried to take off, but a second friend chased the dude down and got the plate for the cops.

As for the gun thing, yeah that can be a little crazy. But rarely have I seen someone pull out on someone else. I plan to get my permit and gun this year actually. Just in case I need to "stand my ground". I will not hesitate to rinse my gun out in someones face. Heartless? Maybe, but we live in a cold world these days.

[unquiltom]

As a new Miami resident, I really haven't seen the things the OP mentioned. What I have seen is a lot of Miami drivers are very "cut throat" drivers. I mean, I've seen people cut off school busses full of children to save 15 seconds of drive time. It's all about "me first" on the roads. One practice that really gets me angry is when there's an exit lane and instead of getting in the exit lane and waiting their turn to exit, many drivers will get in the next lane to the exit lane and then attempt to cut in at the last second. This forces the drivers behind them to all hit the brakes and it's a chain reaction down the line from there. I've even seen these people come to a complete stop in an interstate lane to wait for that opportunity to cut into the exit lane. In California, where I previously lived, this never happened, and if it did, the police would ticket the offenders for impeding traffic. Here in Miami, I've seen police cars make the same cut in move.
Another problem that causes more traffic problems is the "timing" of the stop lights. This has to be the stupidest idea that has ever been forced opon a motoring public. In California, the lights are triggered by cars passing over a sensor. The lights wouldn't change unless there was a car there that needed to pass through an intersection. In a left turn lane, the sensors would keep the turn arrow green until it sensed there were no more cars needing to turn. Here in Miami, most turn arrows last no more than 10 seconds. doesn't matter if there's 2 cars turning or 20, you've got 10 seconds to make your turn or you're waiting for the next cycle. Okay, I'm done venting for now. Other than the traffic, I'm enjoying living here.

[Felix C]

Originally Posted by karl_hemingway

Miami is a crazy place. Anyone coming from New York will see some shocking things. A couple of examples:

1) I was surprised that during the 4th of July fireworks display in south beach that anyone can shoot up their own fireworks. During and after the show, there was a non-stop display of Miamians shooting up bottle rockets and even some big starbursts in the sky! I saw a 10 year old kid shielding his face as he was lighting up a roman candle right next to one going off.

2) I rarely ever see anyone pulled over for speeding, but I do see lots of people going ridiculously fast (over 100mph) on the way home at 2am. I guess the cops are busy tending to the accidents and broken down cars which seem to be everywhere! Plus most lights turn to flashing reds after midnight, which lots of cars just blow through without even slowing.

3) Apparently, almost anyone can get a concealed carry pistol if they want to! It's perfectly legal to keep a gun in your car! That means if you decide to change lanes and the guy behind decides that 3 car lengths wasn't enough, he can just whip out his pistol and put a couple of rounds into you!!

I think you must be trolling or have been living without computer or television for the previous 40 years.

[Chelito23]

Fireworks and bad drivers? That's child's play in Miami. I agree with the sentiment underyling of the OP...and he or she is correct...but trust me, wild drivers immitating the Fast and the Furious and people setting off their own fireworks shows are literally some of Miami's tamer issues. I thought he or she would address people shooting guns into the air INSTEAD of fireworks or a "street vendor" selling jewelry under a trench coat and singing "Guantanamera" amongst the gridlock (Flagler and 87th Ave) lol.

I will never cease to be amazed when people say they don't see these things (seemingly wild behavior against laws, social norms and many times putting oneself and others in danger-yet ignored by Police). After being on CD for several years, I really think these self-proclaimed unaware people are genuine in their ignorance on these issues, but my only possible explanation is that people live in a bubble where anything that portrays Miami negatively doesn't exist and is in stealth mode for them. Some people are just wound up very tight and I don't know if it's because people feel a need to defend Miami and by extension Latin culture and immigration or if it's just a rebelious spirit one has and therefore needs to validate their choice to live/relocate here and moreso to justify liking it....but suffice it to say, someone without this kind of baggage or issues, who moves or visits Miami, WILL in fact notice these unique Miami extremes. And btw, if people like or love Miami for what it is, chaotic and wild, more power to them, just don't deny this makes it more exotic or cool to you! These traits certainly add flavor, spice and variety to life here...something that some people dread and others cite as reasons for moving away and why they feel grateful when they get to a "boring" or run of the mill city elsewhere.

To me, when people say "Miami is just like any other city," it's the equivelent of saying "abstinance is just another $ex position." No, it's not and no, it's not.