Overall

I moved to Miami 5 years ago so now there are about 10 of us who don't speak spanish here. The old joke I heard before moving here went something like this... "Oh yes, I visited Miami. It was a beautiful place, with lots to do, great weather and very close to the U.S." Knowing spanish is a big plus but many of the people speak english fine and I usually don't run into problems. Miami to me is exciting because of its uniqueness. Yes, there are the common strip malls, starbucks, etc you find in the rest of the country. But there are also some very unique cities that are trying to do everything to stay away from that look. These include Coral Gables, Coconut Grove (currently trying to keep a Home Depot from coming), Key Biscayne (my favorite) and, of course, South Beach. There is also a well-funded attempt to clean up the area around Brickell (downtown) and the Miami River. Give it a few years to see what happens. My biggest complaint about Miami is the traffic. I live 20 miles from work and find that biking is actually easier and less stressful. A few of the times I was forced to drive, I had one or two times the drive took the same hour and a half that the bike ride would have taken me. There have been a few attempts to bring in mass-transit, but it doesn't appear to be working. During the hours of 6-11am and 3-7pm expect to spend a lot of time on the freeways and the apt-named Useless-1 (US-1). Crime is also a big problem. Although I haven't been a victim yet, I also don't stray from the lower crime areas. Here are a list of things to do. But beware that I typically don't like crowds so my tastes may not be like yours: 1) The Keys 2) The Everglades 3) Fairchild Tropical Garden - South Miami. Take the Old Cutler Rd south. A very pretty drive. 4) Coco-walk in Coconut Grove (although a lot of people, it isn't shoulder to shoulder) 5) Miracle Mile (Coral Gables), a lot of very good restaurants 6) South Beach - A lot of people but the Art-Deco architecture can't be missed 7) Crandon Park - Key Biscayne. Go on a weekday and you will have the most beautiful beach without anyone around. 8) Coral Castle - Some insane guy built his entire house by hand out of dead coral. 9) Trattoria Luna - 9477 S. Dixie Highway. By far the best Italian restaurant my wife and I have ever eaten. Pricey and sometimes hard to get reservations but well well worth it.

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6 June 2005 | A Yahoo! User

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