How American is Miami? (Kendall, Westchester: school, DMV, living in)

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by ACast

I'm only going to answer the Sports related question because I find it (and its responses) to be the most amusing:

Miami is a TERRIBLE sports town. There is very little common knowledge here about the national sports landscape. Loyalties are very frail and very 'front-running' in nature. Of course, it's a HEAT town now because we have LeBron but as some have hinted here, prior to that -- nobody cared. The main problem is that most South Florida residents are not originally from South Florida. There are many die-hards and most do adopt the local teams but when you realize that half of the attendance at Dolphin games root for the opponent -- you get the picture.

I won't say Miami is a great sports town because it is not. And one of the biggest reasons for that is exactly what you said, so few people in Miami were born here with so many coming from across the world and the United States. That being said Miami sports fans are not nearly as bad as everyone wants to beleive they are, especially Heat fans. The Heat have had a fairly serious fan base since around 1997 when the team started being a contender. Not 2010 when everyone wants to believe. Lets remember they won an NBA Finals in 2006. Look at the attendance statistics since the year 2000 and you see besides for one year in 2002 I think Miami Heat has never been in the bottom 10 in attendance since 2000. Before Lebron was even in High School there was a good following of Heat fans and that has a lot to do with Arison the owner for making a great atmosphere at the games and Riley for providing us with good teams for most years. Of course now the Heat have sold out every single regular season game since October 2010 and every playoff game since April of 1999. As the Heat are on the verge of a 4th straight Finals and are creating a legacy IMO you will see a Heat fan base continue to grow in the city for years to come. Especially when people my age in the 20s start to be able to afford season tickets and go to games more often etc.. The people who grew up only watching Miami teams are just now becoming professionals. The sports atmosphere in this city is changing for the better.

Will it ever get to NY or Boston levels? No. And honestly that is a good thing. They take it too far and too serious. Most fans are fair weather in any city. Miami gets a bad rap in the national media, again especially with the Heat. But go to Heat games, meet real Heat fans and they are just as passionate and good as most of the other fan bases.

[StarfishKey]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

in my 38 years of living in Miami, I never encountered anyone who made such a spectacle of herself demanding services by Spanish speakers- I know she isn't alone in that sentiment, but most folks I ever saw wanting the same thing were more subtle about it, LOL

Yeah, I guess I just got lucky there. But since it was my first week as a resident, it certainly made an impression - !Bienvenidos a Miami!

Originally Posted by Travelassie

LOL, you'll likely be doing any driver's license renewals online from now on, now that you have your FL license, but in the event you have to visit a DMV office, you'll know that you'll find far fewer crowds in the offices in Key Largo, or other locations in the Keys- or even in Homestead.

I did have to go to the DMV in Key Largo, because everything had to be registered in my new address, title, etc. It was FA--AABULOUS, lol! Tiny room, 2 people in front of me. No yelling. Cubans, Floridians, and transplants all alike here, could not care less about anything but the extensive chit chat everyone was having with the people at the counter (all at the same time - very informal!) about a friend's boat! Everyone was in on the same conversation, and laughing, even staying after business was finished to keep talking and give recommendations about the best boating locations. People came from several different backgrounds but that did not matter.

I definitely moved to the right place!

Incidentally, for the OP's knowledge, the Keys is not American either! Monroe County seceded from the US in 1982, and although we are part of the States again (lol), the mentality is pretty much that we are not on the mainland, and thus NOT in the country! It is a whole different world down here. But, even Conchs do still have Thanksgiving - I mean, it involves food and a party, right?

[oronzous]

Originally Posted by StarfishKey

... the very first week I moved to Miami I was at the DMV getting my FL driver's license. ....

I went to the one in Hialeah once. I was yelled at, in Spanish, by the attendant because i was early on my appointment and therefore i should come back later.

Of course i've never returned to that place.

Elsewhere, i witnessed two different episodes of old cubans yelling "this is a dictatorship" when they were requested to wait in line because they didn't have an appointment.

[TooLoud]

Originally Posted by ACast

I'm only going to answer the Sports related question because I find it (and its responses) to be the most amusing:

Miami is a TERRIBLE sports town. There is very little common knowledge here about the national sports landscape. Loyalties are very frail and very 'front-running' in nature. Of course, it's a HEAT town now because we have LeBron but as some have hinted here, prior to that -- nobody cared. The main problem is that most South Florida residents are not originally from South Florida. There are many die-hards and most do adopt the local teams but when you realize that half of the attendance at Dolphin games root for the opponent -- you get the picture.

As far as attendance, I'm of the sentiment that the locations of our sports facilities and the lack of convenient transportation options makes it a real nuisance to attend games. I live five minutes away from the BB&T Center where the Florida Panthers play. Yes - we have a hockey team. Let's just say that there is much more traffic and people across the street at the Mall then there is at the actual arena. And as far as Baseball, the new Marlins stadium is nice but its location couldn't be more of a logistic nightmare.
Once in a while can be a fun experience, but there is so much more to do here that most people prefer to watch from the comforts of their own homes anyways. (or maybe that's just me)

A lot of transplants from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Boston, and every other country in the world. As far as Soccer, yeah just wait until the World Cup starts and you'll quickly realize that Soccer IS very popular in South Florida. It will never be embraced as a major sport in our country (unless we win the whole thing) but there is no question that the most passionate fans in the world follow that sport (and many of them live here)

You have a good point but I also believe it's because most places that are fanatical about sports are smaller towns with nothing to do, or huge cities that have a big enough amount of hardcore fans. Were not as big as Boston, Chicago or NY or small and bored enough like a lot of small towns all over the country. Were middle of the pack. I definitely won't argue that we only support our guys when they're winning but then, the whole "good fans, bad fans" thing is utterly retarded. Who cares if a place is bandwagoning? There's a lot of valid criticism Miami gets, the sports fan thing isn't, not because it's not true but because it's just dumb. People generally have better things to do in Miami than pay money to go to an arena when you know they're gonna lose.

[UrbanCrossroads]

Originally Posted by TooLoud

You have a good point but I also believe it's because most places that are fanatical about sports are smaller towns with nothing to do, or huge cities that have a big enough amount of hardcore fans. Were not as big as Boston, Chicago or NY or small and bored enough like a lot of small towns all over the country.

Not just small towns but also boring industrial cities up north with not much by way of nightlife or anything else (Ohio comes to mind). So of course the people there generally immerse themselves into the whole sports scene.

[StarfishKey]

Originally Posted by oronzous

I went to the one in Hialeah once. I was yelled at, in Spanish, by the attendant because i was early on my appointment and therefore i should come back later.

Of course i've never returned to that place.

Elsewhere, i witnessed two different episodes of old cubans yelling "this is a dictatorship" when they were requested to wait in line because they didn't have an appointment.

It would appear that if one wants to put their finger on the cultural and political pulse of a town, one should go to the DMV... lol

Now that I think of all the DMVs I've been to in multiple cities and multiple states, that has always been true! I guess it's the long waits, the waning patience, and the charging of unexpected rates of fines that bring out people's true feelings about how well their city works, and whose fault they think it is... And of course it is the great equalizer, no matter who you are, if you're on the road or on the water you'll have to go there, so you'll run into a good cross-section of the town during your wait.

When people ask about the culture of a town, I always recommend they check out the local grocery store to see the kind of food offered in every aisle- it gives you good sense of the local demographics and preferences. I guess now I'll also add checking out the DMV.

[valicky]

I've had nothing but good experiences at the DMV on SW 147th Ave and 120th St. Shocking but true. Been there 4 times and all were under an hour visits, three without appointments. None were for the actual driving test, so I don't know how that would go. I hadn't had to renew my license in person since the 80's. I always would just get a new sticker on it. My license was so old that sometimes people would ask what country it was from. It had a real picture on it, not a computer one and no holographic anything.

[MutantShoegazer]

I can confirm that they have the Pledge of Allegiance in schools here. I'm 19 and have lived here all my life.

I think people on the outside exaggerate things here...Yes, the road signs are in English, and yes, there are American flags (you actually see an insane amount of them, at least compared to how it is in other countries and how often their flags). No you don't need Spanish to get a job, but it certainly helps a lot.

[TooLoud]

Originally Posted by MutantShoegazer

I can confirm that they have the Pledge of Allegiance in schools here. I'm 19 and have lived here all my life.

I think people on the outside exaggerate things here...Yes, the road signs are in English, and yes, there are American flags (you actually see an insane amount of them, at least compared to how it is in other countries and how often their flags). No you don't need Spanish to get a job, but it certainly helps a lot.

If you're working service, you do need Spanish, at least for the majority of neighborhoods.

[ThomasMatthews]

Originally Posted by MutantShoegazer

I can confirm that they have the Pledge of Allegiance in schools here. I'm 19 and have lived here all my life.

I think people on the outside exaggerate things here...Yes, the road signs are in English, and yes, there are American flags (you actually see an insane amount of them, at least compared to how it is in other countries and how often their flags). No you don't need Spanish to get a job, but it certainly helps a lot.

It's the same thing I've been saying here since a lot of time, but in this forum there's some people who like to think that this is North Cuba or something like that...