I'm in Miami and having a blast

[Michael_]

Just came back from a car show: COSF Saturday Night Car Show | FLA Car Shows
Well it was mediocre. If you're into "really old cars" (early 60s and older) or newer cars (2000 or newer) than it was great.
I also seen 1-2 80s and 90s models.
But NONE from the late 60s and 70s. My main field of interest.
And EVERYONE was speaking spanish.
One guy had a nice looking early 60s oldsmobile so i told him he has a nice car and that i got a 72 cutlass. Maybe i got it wrong but i felt like the guy was looking down on me after i said that.

If i would've known i would have spent the time on the beach or went to fort lauderdale, there was also a car show.

On the bright side i went to wendy's today and i really like it.
I can understand why warren buffett likes to eat there. ^^

 

[Michael_]

This is where I used to cruise in the late 60s. Looks different now I’ll bet. (Collins ave north Miami Beach)View attachment 1477768

One side of the road is empty while the other has quite a bit of traffic going on in that picture.
Was this a good or bad time (of day) to drive when the picture has been taken?

 

[MarPar]

 

[Ron H]

Drive around any big metro area and you will encounter – traffic. Used to travel for work to 38 states where our field offices were. Usually it was a flight and rent a vehicle, if the destination was more than 300 miles from me. Last time driving home from Miami, worst traffic I encountered was in Atlanta. Took three hours to get through there. Yeah, traffic sucks in Miami; but would be hard pressed to say it’s worse than some other major cities.

 

[wahya]

One side of the road is empty while the other has quite a bit of traffic going on in that picture.
Was this a good or bad time (of day) to drive when the picture has been taken?

I have no idea of what time of day this was ,or even the year. It’s hard to see the individual cars, maybe late sixties? Castaways motel used to be on the right in picture and it appears a number of cars were turning in there. Charter boats lined up docked close to the road. 163rd street causeway linked mainland at this location and there was a lot of nothing south of that high rise for a ways. When I was about 16, my cousin and I used to hotel ‘hop’ to the north of here (not seen in pic). Those were the days, growing up in the fifties and sixties, Miami used to be ‘paradise’. No desire to revisit.

 

[rumblefish360]

Just wanted to inform you guys that i'm currently on vacation in Miami.
Boy that was a trip from germany (30hrs no sleep)
Will be staying here (South Beach) for approx. 2 Weeks.

Today i already went to Gateway Classic Cars in Fort Lauderdale. (Could not resist to look at some classic cars already. )
The staff was very friendly and even let me "test sit" in a C4 corvette with the 90s interior. Now i know that i will fit perfectly in a ZR1.

My personal favorites:

http://[URL]https://www.gatewayclassiccars.com/vehicle/ftl/1598/1971-ford-mustang

[/URL]

http://[URL]https://www.gatewayclassiccars.com/vehicle/ftl/1496/1972-plymouth-road-runner

[/URL]
But notice i just walked around the cars and did not even look under the hood.

By the way,
I have a 2023 Ford Mustang GT Convertible (5.0 V8 with 450hp) as a rental car.
Decent car but i'm a bit disappointed by the acceleration.
Back in 2019 i had a Challenger SRT 392 Rental car with almost 500hp.
The mustang is no slouch but the challenger pulled WAY stronger.
Well i guess its probably the climate (hot, humid) or displacement difference (5.0 vs 6.4L) or both.
Yes i put it in Track mode.
Anyway i just wanted an american convertible so the mustang is fine. When i booked i did not even know what the GT trim is. I expected a turbo 4 banger and was pleasantly surprised when i found out its a 450hp V8.
With the horrible traffic and speed limits here in florida i can't make much use of the engine anyway...

Welcome to and enjoy the U.S.A.!
I’m on vacation as well up North (New York) and working my way back home (Melbourne Florida area) with a stop in Wilmington North Carolina (as we speak) with I have no idea where I’m going next. But I think it’ll be home as I’m on the road for more than a week now.

Have a blast, watch out for too much sunshine. It is t summer yet but it’s getting HOT in Florida now and where you are, there is no season but summer and temps rarely dip. Drink A LOT of water if your out and about.

 

[Cranky]

@Michael_ Come to SE Texas if you want to see alligators in the 'wild' lol. I used to canoe in the many bayous that feed into a nature preserve that's fairly near me and saw them every time I put in the water. Many of them were usually sunning on the banks and were usually around 5' long (1.82m) with a couple here and there that were bigger. This was mostly outside of the preserve but saw a couple within the preserve too. The bayous in this area feed into a decent size lake which is used quite heavily for recreation boating and on the weekends and that lake feeds into Galveston Bay. The lake is brackish water but from time to time, an alligator will be seen in it too.

 

[wahya]

A lot of things have changed in Key West since then lol. I’m actually here right now because of a request from my wife and this place blows. Most of the Food sucks, authentic Cuban Food sucks also though I do like that freshly ground Cuban coffee that’ll bout knock you on your ***. Once you get away from country cooking, southern cuisine and Cajun style Foods about any other place you go the Food sucks, it’s really that much better. Went to Maui this past winter and the food sucked there also but Maui made Key West or any other place in Florida I’ve been to look like a dump.

If you are still there and want to see something different than the tourist traps typical of key west. It’s more expensive than the last time I was there and I took a smaller cat there. But this place is a must see in my opinion.

 

[Michael_]

Right now i planned to walk around the beach/ocean drive but after about 5 minutes i decided to go back to my hotel room because the heat and humidity is way to strong.
I can't understand all those people walking around and lying at the beach at this time of day (4pm) and especially even earlier.
So far i never went to swim before 5pm and never walked around ocean drive / south beach before the sun went down and i will stick to this routine.

Today i was being smart and ordered wendy's through doordash.com into the hotel.
I will keep ordering 1 meal a day with doordash so i can avoid the traffic. I even think about getting my groceries delivered to.

 

[Michael_]

Well i'm back and to sum it up the headline should have been

"I'm in miami and i hate it"

Instead of

"I'm in Miami and having a blast"

Because the longer i was there the more i hated it.

Don't get me wrong,
The "place" itself is nice with palms, art deco hotels, the ocean/beach, the everglades, boat cruises at the bayside marketplace...
But that's about it on the bright side. The negative list is way longer...

Well i guess the negative list could be summed up with "overpopulated" because IMO all
the following stuff that i "hate" is more or less just a result of that:

- The Traffic is an absolut nightmare (The worst for me personally)
Drastic Examples:
1.Traffic jams at 12am midweek are more normal than a rarity
2.At rush hour the name of the game is "parking lot" on 4-5 lane roads.
Also realize you have to drive or you simply can't go to a lot of places
because distances are long and taxi rides would bankrupt you.

- There are way too many people everywhere
Drastic Example:
In a Walmart Supercenter at "rush hour" i could not even take my time to stop and look at the products
closely because so many people coming from left and right and everywhere.

- The food/restaurants (as a group) are TERRIBLE for us standards. (Even for german standards its below average)
You're also pretty limited on 24h restaurants (Not fast food)
Drastic Example: Wendy's is one of "the best restaurants i've been too in miami"
I also noticed that most restaurants are franchises in miami.
The best Restaurants/Food that i've been to (Ratings take into account if it's Fastfood, High End etc.):
- (4/5) Morton's The Steakhouse (USDA Prime Steaks) (17399 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33160) (Great On Site Parking)
- (4/5) The Lobster Shack (40 South Pointe Dr #104, Miami Beach)
- (4/5) Panda Express (5600 Blue Lagoon Dr Ste 10, Miami, FL 33126) (Great On Site Parking)
- (3/5) Tropical Chinese Restaurant (7991 Bird Rd, Miami, FL 33155) (Great On Site Parking)
- (5/5) MamaLisa Gelato (750 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139)
- (4/5) Wonderfruits (Bayside Marketplace) (401 Biscayne Blvd Level 1, Zone E, Miami, FL 33132)
- (4/5) INTIMO (840 1st St, Miami Beach, FL 33139)
- (5/5) Wendy's (1651 SW 107th Ave, Miami, FL 33165) (Great on Site Parking)
- (5/5) Hooters (8695 NW 13th Terrace Miami) (Great on Site Parking)

- The prices for everything are WAY TOO HIGH and you're expected (sometimes even forced) to give a 20% tip
Drastic Example:
I stayed at the Marriott Stanton South Beach for an average of 350$ per night. For this amount of money i got:
- A room barely large enough for an extended stay (I'm sure many would say not large enough)
- A shower that did have curtains instead of a door
- Curtains that let the sun in at the top, bottom and sides
- Walls so thin you can hear everthing going on at the floor, outside and neighbor rooms
- An AC where altering the temperture setting changes NOTHING
- A toilet that was pouring water on the floor MULTIPLE TIMES because a hose was coming loose (i fixed it myself)
- Smoke alarm was going off for no reason (I unplugged it myself)
- lavatory was outside bathroom
- Hotel was undergoing construction but luckily only noticed that 1 day
- Room phone was broken (After picking up it continued ringing and there was nobody on the phone)
On the bright side:
- Room Cleaning and Service (including valet parking) was really good
- Bed was comfy and room clean
I did extensive research of all hotels from south to north beach and as far as i can tell reading reviews
the other hotels are only going to get worse.

- People as a group aren't very friendly/sympathic or interested in talking to strangers at all (Most are tourists)
I felt it was a pretty "cold & anonymous" athmosphere. Many also seem to be there in order to "show off" only.

- Availability of taxi cabs - compared to las vegas - isn't all that great

- There is always a risk of rain which is annoying

-----

Now take into account that i went in the OFF SEASON (June).
This is the least crowded time of the year. This means it gets even (probably WAY) WORSE outside of the summer months.
I would not want to be burried in this place. IMHO that whole city is a major PILE OF ****.

To be fair the further you drive away from south beach/miami beach the better it gets.
About 30min (in for miami ideal traffic conditions) away (still in miami) i found some areas that i liked better.
Typical looking american neighbourhoods with less traffic (still too much for my liking but manageable), single family homes, stores, restaurants etc.
But even there i did not find really great food. Average to Good and cheaper but nothing that absolutely blew me away.

To be even more fair:

I hate big cities/overpopulated areas that are ALWAYS (no matter which day and time) crowded in general.
I'm sure many like it because they are actually paying a fortune in order to live there but it just stresses me out personally.
I would never be willing to pay actually more in order to live in such an area.

Now you could say so why did you go to miami?

Well because i just did not realize / wasn't aware of those issues/overpopulation.
I was watching miami vice again and again over the years and therefore expected something different.
Way less people/traffic and way better food.
IT'S NOT LIKE IN MIAMI VICE OR BAD BOYS. IT ACTUALLY SUCKS BALLS.
But i'm pretty sure in those days, 40-50 years ago, it was actually pretty good.
Since than way too many people seem to have moved there and it's also become a crowded tourist attraction.
To support my theory:
I had one taxi driver that lives there since 50 years. A nice guy very different from pretty much anyone
else i have met there and he also thinks strongly about leaving and literally said "the magic is gone".
He also said the traffic was not an issue 40-50 years ago.

Also please do not get this wrong:
I think Miami sucks, not the USA in general.
I visited Las Vegas in 2018 and i loved it.
Not exactly a small town either but i love it and had non of the issues listed above.
Especially did not complain about the traffic.
The strip is obviously crowded (especially at rush hour) but apart from that you're good.

I'm also relatively sure there are nice places in florida (outside of miami) but for me as a tourist from germany (near munich)
it just doesn't make much sense to visit florida again.
Getting there and back is a nightmare. 24hrs between sleep going there and 19hrs between sleep going back home.
For example: When going back i woke up at 7.30am miami time and when i was going back to sleep it was 8.30am german time.
(I originally made a calculation mistake when i said 30hrs between sleep going there and 25hrs between sleep going back home)
Then miami airport is also VERY crowded just like the rest of the city. (Stresses me out even more than the Traffic)
Las Vegas is a lot easier/faster to get to and to be honest i can't imagine a better vacation destination for me personally.
If i want to go to the beach again i will just drive to italy by car. A lot easier, faster & cheaper.
But while the beach is nice i found out it gets old/boring relatively quick for me personally.

-----

So absolutely nothing for me but if you like to live in a crowded place with crappy food, unbelievably high prices
and unfriendly people (to sum it up a large city) it's probably your dream.

And if you meet the following criteria it might really be worth going for you
- You live in the usa and it's a relatively short flight
- You just want to spend a Weekend to a Week
- You want Beach and Nightlife
- You don't care about the crappy food
- You don't care about the place being really crowded
- You don't care about the prices
- You do not plan on driving yourself (Most important)
Otherwise i would say stay away it's not worth it.

-----

Well there you have it. "The most honest possible" review of miami 2023.
After this (horror) trip i could need a vacation.

I'm sorry to be so negative. I was really trying hard to like it at first but the longer i had to stay there the
more i realized that i hate it and that there is just no way for me to actually like it/make it work.
Not even if i had warren buffett money would i enjoy living there.
As i said earlier, it was not all bad though.

 

[Michael_]

Also here are some of the pictures i took during my "vacation".
Looking at them i almost want to go back until i remember all the downsides mentioned above.

Album — Postimages

postimg.cc

 

[Dennis H]

We found Miami most of what Michael said. And that was 20 years ago. I love touring the USA. But it’s mostly either the boonies or far West. Had lots of the PCH to ourselves this week with the closure in Big Sur.

 

[OKDart]

Earth has 8 billion people and climbing. It’s only going to get worse. When I look at a satellite image of the US at night, it makes me never want to venture east of the Mississippi River.
This magnet was on my grandparents freezer that I got after they died.

P.S. Denver sucks too

 

[wahya]

 

[Michael_]

Also after being in miami for the very first time i can understand why some people would actually want self driving cars.
Nobody wants to drive in these kind of traffic conditions and they probably hope there would be less traffic jams
when the computers interact with each other.

Unfortunately, i think this approach is very naive.
On first glance it might looks like an "easy fix" for a complex problem but in reality i doubt we will have self driving
vehicles that work reliably any time soon. (If ever)
Its just to complex especially (as scotty kilmer repeatedly says) if you're trying to mix human drivers with computers.
And even if it works hackers could compromise your vehicle and kill you.

There are only 2 working ways to address this problem.

1.Cheap, Easy but unethical: Kill 2/3rd of the Population

2.Ethical but not Cheap or Easy:

Step 1:
Build Public Transportation/Subways so people can get everywhere they want without driving.
Well at least unless you're trying to buy a bunch of groceries or a new TV.

Step 2:
Raise the Speed Limit significantly.
Min Speed Limit 80 and max. 90mph on the Highways/Interstates and let people still go 10mph over without consequences.
I know from first hand experience it works and isn't dangerous.

Step 3:
Build even more lanes below (underground) and above the existing ones.
Use a smart system to automatically assign people on the ideal lane/road given current traffic conditions.

I know it will cost billions but it's the only ethical way that would indeed work.
Maybe you can already improve a lot by just raising the speed limit. That would be relatively cheap since
you just have to replace a couple signs.

 

[Cranky]

One side of the road is empty while the other has quite a bit of traffic going on in that picture.
Was this a good or bad time (of day) to drive when the picture has been taken?

The only time I was able to drive down the seawall in Galveston with hardly no traffic was just before a hurricane came in. Was already experiencing 40 mph breeze. The traffic in that pic you're talking about looks like it's not all that bad.

 

[Cranky]

Also after being in miami for the very first time i can understand why some people would actually want self driving cars.
Nobody wants to drive in these kind of traffic conditions and they probably hope there would be less traffic jams
when the computers interact with each other.

Unfortunately, i think this approach is very naive.
On first glance it might looks like an "easy fix" for a complex problem but in reality i doubt we will have self driving
vehicles that work reliably any time soon. (If ever)
Its just to complex especially (as scotty kilmer repeatedly says) if you're trying to mix human drivers with computers.
And even if it works hackers could compromise your vehicle and kill you.

There are only 2 working ways to address this problem.

1.Cheap, Easy but unethical: Kill 2/3rd of the Population

2.Ethical but not Cheap or Easy:

Step 1:
Build Public Transportation/Subways so people can get everywhere they want without driving.
Well at least unless you're trying to buy a bunch of groceries or a new TV.

Step 2:
Raise the Speed Limit significantly.
Min Speed Limit 80 and max. 90mph on the Highways/Interstates and let people still go 10mph over without consequences.
I know from first hand experience it works and isn't dangerous.

Step 3:
Build even more lanes below (underground) and above the existing ones.
Use a smart system to automatically assign people on the ideal lane/road given current traffic conditions.

I know it will cost billions but it's the only ethical way that would indeed work.
Maybe you can already improve a lot by just raising the speed limit. That would be relatively cheap since
you just have to replace a couple signs.

I spent some time in Germany during the early 70's and fell in love with the autobahns! Down side was when I came home, the gooberment reduced the speed limit to 55 in the name of saving fuel. After driving 100+ for a year and a half, 55 put me to sleep. Felt like I was driving 25 all the time.

 

[wahya]

Well, if you ever get back to Florida. I’ve never been there and the pictures of the place don’t look all that good, but it sounds like it’s not much different than the motel you stayed at and probably one third the price.
German American Motel

As far as the ‘suggestions’ , people already drive 90 especially in the pay lanes and hov lane. New speed signs no. Problem is, many people just don’t know how to drive. Many have no business being on the Interstate, much less in the fast lanes.

 

[Michael_]

After driving 100+ for a year and a half, 55 put me to sleep. Felt like I was driving 25 all the time.

That's a real problem. You get tired and distracted on long montone low speed drives.
That's not the case if you're driving 110mph +. At least if you're doing it in an older car.

But even in germany most people do not drive 110mph+. Most people drive between 75 and 85mph pretty much all the time.
Often you also simply can't do it because of speed limits (75mph), road construction (50mph) or simply to much traffic.
But there are unlimited sections with (especially in the night or early morning) low traffic where you can (and i do it regularly) drive as fast as you want. If your car can do 200mph than feel free to drive 200mph. You won't end up in jail unless you're getting in an accident. Then all of a sudden it turns from legal into reckless driving.

 

[f569]

If you get into an accident at 200 mph I don't think jail is the most likely place you will end up. Maybe the morgue?

If your car can do 200mph than feel free to drive 200mph. You won't end up in jail unless you're getting in an accident.

PS. I agree with your assessment of the Miami area. Also, too darn hot for me except for the winter months no matter how beautiful the state is.