Non-Hispanic whites in Miami-- are they able to integrate well within this Latin city? (Miami Beach: low income, insurance)

[soulsea]

Tribalism, whether religious, ethnic, racial, or otherwise, will be the downfall of civilization. It is the very foundation upon which the term 'divide and conquer' is built. Ultimately, there always has been and always will be one tribe ... unless this is realized, there's no happy ending to this movie.

[WINTERFRONT]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

I wonder if there's ever been a case of a non-hispanic white family, having kids.....and those kids because they were raised in Miami...spoke Spanish...or adopted the Latin culture.

Anyonw know of this ever happening?

most unlikely

[boxus]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

I wonder if there's ever been a case of a non-hispanic white family, having kids.....and those kids because they were raised in Miami...spoke Spanish...or adopted the Latin culture.

Anyonw know of this ever happening?

I doubt it or it would be an exception. Many kids of Spanish speakers know Spanish because it is their household language, but many of these know how to speak it but not write or read it; this is the same for all immigrant groups. This is just from my experience from people I work with and college.

But this does not mean they cannot learn Spanish; many people throughout the world have learned another language just because the people they are around, or even their neighbor, spoke it. If they have an interest in it, it would be easy to do some independent studying and learn how to write/read. I even learned a lost of sign language just because as a kid, my friend had a sister who was deaf, and I just happen to pick up a lot (though have forgotten a lot of it now).

As for culture, that is always heavily influenced by the parents. If anything, you can say Miami culture, thus continue to contribute and define the culture of the city. But this is no different than any other city and its people.

[Sugah Ray]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

I wonder if there's ever been a case of a non-hispanic white family, having kids.....and those kids because they were raised in Miami...spoke Spanish...or adopted the Latin culture.

Anyonw know of this ever happening?

Yes there are some white and black non hispanic parents who hire spanish nannies and put their kids in spanish classes or bilingual schools. It happens in Texas and California too. Some driven kids even learn spanish on their own and by taking spanish lessons in school. I've known plenty of kids like that.

[himain]

Yes but it will be hard to find a job. Almost everything is required Spanish except waiting tables..

[WINTERFRONT]

Originally Posted by himain

Yes but it will be hard to find a job. Almost everything is required Spanish except waiting tables..

That's interesting. One would think that waiting tables is one of the few jobs that don't require English.

[ray1945]

Originally Posted by boxus

Just stop it everyone, please.

I do not know why everyone makes some big deal over Miami and its Latino/Hispanic population; people act like they are moving to Mars or something.

I would understand this reaction if moving to a place that was really different, like India; but Miami is western, has western ideals, is American, and there is no culture shock like people think there is. it has the same stuff as every other place in the US, same rules, culture, customs; the Latino/Hispanic culture is not a deviation from western culture.

From my own experience; I have lived in Miami since 2010 and I have had zero issues here. The Spanish language thing is overblown; the Hispanic "look" is overblown in regards to how a non-Hispanic will be seen as; and the whole Miami scene being regarded as some special and foreign area within the US is overblown.

A person can have issues anywhere, even from their own racial/ethnic/culture group. I had more issues living in Tennessee because of the religious/Protestant based culture than anywhere else, where what church you go to (if you even go) defines someone's association with you (or lack of).

You can get along very nicely without speaking Spanish UNTIL you need someone to do home repairs, or a repairman for your telephone, cable, or satellite TV. It's very hard to find someone fluent in English. Can't tell you the number of times a very earnest DirecTV service person with limited English skills has tried to explain my satellite set up to me or my husband. And, yes, I do request someone who speaks English - down here 'speaks English' is very loosely defined.

I've lived in the greater Miami area for 60+ years - this is home, so I just go with the flow.

[TooLoud]

Non-Hispanics Whites can integrate pretty well if they are younger (due to younger people usually speaking English and being more integrated into American culture) but I think they will always feel a little bit like an outsider simply due to the fact that they're eventually gonna run into situations where they don't understand the language and certain cultural references.

But overall it can be pretty easy,especially if you grew up here

[Naboconsudor]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

I wonder if there's ever been a case of a non-hispanic white family, having kids.....and those kids because they were raised in Miami...spoke Spanish...or adopted the Latin culture.

Anyonw know of this ever happening?

I met a lot in the SW a lot of years ago, back in those days Americans lived scattered around SW. I met kids that spoke perfect Cuban. There were also a lot in Hialeah, back in the time when the place was inhabited by rural Cubans and humble and nice Americans...that was 40 years ago. Also AA's, I knew a bus driver that spoke more than passable Spanish. Many others immersed themselves in the culture without learning the language because "mixed marriages".

[nesssag]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

I wonder if there's ever been a case of a non-hispanic white family, having kids.....and those kids because they were raised in Miami...spoke Spanish...or adopted the Latin culture.

Anyonw know of this ever happening?

We are a non-hispanic white family who do not speak Spanish. I actually tried to learn and failed miserably.(failed at Hebrew, too despite being Bat Mitzva'd, and French, too.) I only graduated college because they accepted sign language as foreign language for the requirement. I have found there have been times that not knowing Spanish has been an issue, but overall not really a huge problem. I've been here since I was 6.

My son goes to Sunset Elementary and is in the Spanish program. He has 2 and a half hours of Spanish a day. It is very likely, should things continue as they are, he will be bi-lingual. He has a big interest in it, has since he was 2 and started picking up words from Dora.

It may not be the norm, but it does happen.