Thursday, November 11, 2010

50 Reasons To Absolutely Love Living in Miami - Miami News - Riptide 2.0

50 Reasons To Absolutely Love Living in Miami - Miami News - Riptide 2.0

50 Reasons To Absolutely Love Living in Miami

Categories: Listicles
miamiheart.jpg
Yet another reason: The fact we hopefully don't have to explain to anyone this is a FriendsWithYou Valentine Card
​We love bashing our own city. We'll instantaneously bite the head off any non-Miamians who dares talk down about our town, but sometimes it seems we take a bit too much pleasure in reserving that shit talking for ourselves. There's plenty of reason to, but sometimes we need to be reminded of why we're all pretty lucky to live here. So in the spirit of our New York compatriots who recently put together their own list, we present to you 50 reasons why we love living in Miami. No, it is not just a listing of the average temperatures in January and February. There's a hell of a lot more to love about this place.

50. Unlike other cities there's none of the snobby attitude over who is "a real Miamian." No one's actually from here, and if you've been here long enough to get at least half of this list we'll consider you one of our own.

49. That the fact everyone else now hates the Miami Heat only makes us love them more. In fact, we wouldn't have it any other way.

48. Not only is topless sunbathing legal, but it's really no big deal.

47. Most of the racist white folk moved away years ago.

46. The guy who dances to oldies coming out of his beat up boombox in his platform shoes on Lincoln Road is the hardest working man in show business; we don't care what anyone says.

45. Art Basel Miami Beach and everything connected to it is the world's most highbrow 24/7 weeklong party.

44. Winter Music Conference and everything connected to it is the world's most down-n-dirty 24/7 weeklong party.

43. Our Catholic priests are too busy knocking up strippers or fondling their girlfriends on the beach to diddle little boys.

42. We're the city that sleeps past noon.

41. Miami is cuter than an inter-uterine. (Did Bea Arthur and Betty White ever duet on a song about another city? No. No they did not.)

40. Our hipsters are mostly tolerable. The few douchey ones are just saving up to move to Williamsburg anyway.

39. Dressing for the cold means wearing a hoody with your flip flops.

38. At this point our Cuban food is more authentic than the Cuban food in Cuba.

37. Everyone thinks we're all dumb, but we've yet to meet a single person in this town who couldn't teach us at least one invaluable and ingenious lesson.

36. Not only has our local art scene emerged as one of the best in the country, but it's also probably the least stuffy and most fun art scene in the world. Ain't no party like a Second Saturday party.

35. If your career ever takes you anywhere else, whether you realize it at first or not, it's just so you can hurry up and move back to Miami to retire in style sooner.

34. Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, Pizza Rustica and Pollo Tropical beat Chipotle, Dominos, KFC or pretty much any other fast food or fast casual restaurant hands down.

33. Our clubs and bars are open later than pretty much anywhere else, and even if you don't stay out til 5 a.m., it's nice to know you won't be hassled home until you're good and ready.

32. Even if you're an hour late to something, you're not really late. It's Miami time.

31. Our Republicans are just Democrats who are too stubborn to admit it.

30. Watching local high school football games is a sneak peek into the future of the NFL.

29. We've somehow managed to trick all the tourists into thinking Ocean Drive is the best part of South Beach. That way there's less of them to spoil our fun in the rest of SoBe.

28. Everyone dances when "Lookout Weekend" and "Face Down Ass Up" come on. Everyone groans when "Welcome to Miami" or "I'm in Miami Bitch" come on. Our real anthems don't need the name of our city in them.

27. Sweat Records and Churchill's are next door to each other.

26. This city's outpouring of support following the earthquake in Haiti was pretty inspiring. We may be aloof, but we have a hell of a heart when it matters.

25. Sure, there's always going to be someone else in the club sexier than you, but there's also going to be more than a few hot messes grinding away who instantly raise your self esteem. And God bless those hot messes, they're probably having the time of their life.

24. There's a strong entrepreneurial streak here (even if it tends to sometimes manifest itself in illegal ways).

23. There's nothing quite like a Trick Daddy jam featuring Trina. There's also nothing quite like feeling we live half our lives in a video for a Trick Daddy or Trina track.

22. As long as it's legal and consensual we won't judge you for what you like to do in the bedroom. Come to think of it, we won't even judge you if you do it outside the bedroom. We will, however, judge you if you're not doing anything.

21. Gloria Estefan is a kind and benelovant queen.

20. The only reason we haven't seceded from the rest of Florida yet is we don't want to lose our instate discount at Disney World, otherwise we hate the rest of this state about as much as they hate us: so very much.

19. We may be paying the price for that skyline in downtown for a while, but look at it: It's beautiful.

18. For those of us who don't already speak it, our entire life is like a Spanish lesson. Except unlike in high school, we're sure to be taught the dirty words right away.

17. There's beautiful people here of every imaginable ethnicity, and when they get together their kids are even more beautiful.

16. The Gangster Rap-inspired video for folkster Rachel Goodrich's song "Lightbulb" makes all the sense in the world and wouldn't if it came out of anywhere else.

15. We were too busy tracking down the Latin Burger truck on Twitter to notice that we now have a Shake Shack.

14. Guayaberas are considered formal wear.

13. We can't chose which architectural style we like better: MiMo or Art Deco. Oh, that's right, we don't have to.

12. Our Real Housewives franchise has a drag queen.

11. We have all the benefits of living in the south without having to actually live in "The South."

10. In other cities billionaires appoint themselves mayors for life. Our billionaires just put up the funds to kick our mayors out of office.

9. Even when the Hurricanes suck by Hurricanes standards they're still a pretty amazing team by most college football's standards.

8. Jungle Island is home to the two biggest Ligers in the world.

7. This is disgusting, but also a little beautiful: you are probably never more than 10 feet from a spot where someone once had some sort of sex. Alley way? Someone had sex there. Bathroom? They don't call it going to the head for nothing. Restaurant? Someone got an under the table HJ for sure. Highway? The Bang Bus just rolled through.

6. We're the only city sandwiched in between two National Parks.

5. Sure we have to deal with bottle service, but if you master the art of the open bar and the drink ticket you'll never pay for booze again.

4. Scarface still comes across as more authentic than all the reality shows shot here combined.

3. The hotels are so great that when our out-of-town friends and family come to visit, they sure as hell don't want to stay at our place.

2. This whole "no state income tax" thing is pretty sweet.

1. The old joke is that "the best thing about Miami is how close it is to the United States." Truth is there are few places where the American Dream shines more brightly. People literally risk everything they have, including their lives, to escape oppressive governments and other treacherous plights to come here and make a better life for themselves and their families. Not only that, but most of them succeed. If that doesn't make you glad to live in Miami, we don't know what will.

This is just fifty. We're sure there's plenty of other reasons to live living here, and we'd love to hear them in the comments. Actually, that's another reasons we love living in Miami: No one is afraid of speaking their mind.

Comments (41)

GoodWork says:

Props to this list. Been here 10 years, pretty much all true.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 9:47AM
IheartThe MiamiNewTimes says:

Bravo!! Well done! xoxo

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 10:54AM
t says:

Will the writer of this article please learn how to spell. Or are they stubborn?

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 10:57AM
JSick says:

The fact that there is ALWAYS a pot of Cuban coffee being made in the break room at work!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 11:00AM
justin says:

#47-they still live in miami dade county in a little town we know as homestead/redlands. Or as miamians may refer it, BFE (Butt-fuck egypt).

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 11:06AM
Mike Martinez says:

Gloria Estefan is a malignant bitch! She has no talent and is the daughter of a torturer goon of a cruel dictatorship. Miami has way better women and/or guys that qualify as it's "queen".

Whoever thinks My beloved hometowns Cuban cuisine is more authentic than in Cuba has never been there. Remember, Miami is home to the "Little" Havana. The great one is more than 90 miles away.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 11:50AM
spelling bee champ says:

benelevant.... you mean benevolent?

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 12:06PM
spelling bee champ says:

benelevant....you meant benevolent?

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 12:06PM
whoa says:

hey mike, angry much??.. sounds like maybe you should move back to the "great" havana..

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 12:10PM
Cecilia says:

Okay,

1. "Stuburn" is spelled "stubborn".
2. "Benelovant" isn't even a word. Did you mean "benevolent"?

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. Do you guys need editors? I'm waving my hand here.

(Great article by the way!)

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 12:12PM
Maria says:

Amazing list. Love it!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 12:42PM
Sean O'Hanlon says:

Miami is my sanctuary. I was born here but I've lived and worked all over the US, Europe, and Latin America. Miami is THE best city in the USA and one of the best cities in the world to live, work, and play. In the "land of opportunity" Miami tends to be even more open to new opportunities than any other place partly because we are the hub between Europe and the Americas but also because we have our own "Miamitude". You won't find anything like it, or us, anywhere else.
I love the people, the mixed architecture, the music, the food... I love it all!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 12:51PM
Karen Burkett says:

What! Get out. You did not post a loving list about Miami. What happened to the "j" for "jaded" in "journalism"? I'm so glad you're getting soft. :) Love Miami and so sick and tired of hearing the bitchin' about it.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 1:25PM
Lesley Abravanel says:

Masterful spinning of negatives into positives. Well done!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 1:47PM
David says:

Kind of sad how you guys struggle so much with spelling. I've seen many top reasons to love Miami list ands this one is one fo the best. BTW no1 under 25 cares about 2 live crew.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 1:59PM
queenvikki says:

I am also a benelovant queen - cheers to the Queens of Miami Beach! Reca'nize, bitches!

I love this list, and it is exactly all of these little quirks that make Miami such a damned sublime Eden for those of us who do call it home. I am a Baltimore transplant, 23 years here, and I would never, never, never go back. Miami is for the strong ones. Sink or swim, baby.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 2:17PM
Millie Valiente says:

Mike... those are pretty strong words! Do you know Gloria personally to judge her in such a way? I do...and she's a really terrifc lady. She wouldn't be where she is if she didn't have any talent..do I sense a bit of jealousy?

On another note, Mike, it's very ignorant to say that we have "Little Havana" comparing it to the island of Cuba. Don't you know that more than 50% of the whole Miami Dade County is comprised of Cuban and/or Cuban American families? What makes a cuisine authentic? Is it the country or the people? I guess what you are trying to say is that what the Cubans cook here should not be considered authentic because we are cooking on American grounds. At this time, it would be fair to say that any Cuban in Cuba would be extremely lucky to aquire al the ingredients necessary to cook "ANY" authentic Cuban food.

Love the list!!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 2:20PM
queenvikki says:

Oh, and Mike Martinez? You need to go home, bro. You're an unwelcome depression that needs to turn back to the south.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 2:20PM
TBlock says:

Me llamo es Tracy Block. Soy de Miami. I learned that in kindergarten. :) Fun read. Thank you!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 2:23PM
Never Again says:

I was born and raised in the yayo. 50 reasons to love Miami and still the arrogance and inconsideration of it's people, and the infamous nasty drivers in the city will keep me away for good.

I will miss the Cuban food, the beach, and the women, though.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 2:28PM
Johann Lewis says:

47. The racist white folk have been replaced by racist Cuban folk... is that supposed to be a good thing or something? (Well, I guess if you're Cuban it's good)

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 3:44PM
Ashley says:

LOVED this list!! Most of it is so true!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 4:22PM
dhc says:

Truth in advertising on #47: the racist white folks have been replaced by racist Cubans...so it is mostly a wash.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 4:27PM
blah blah blah says:

people risk their lives to live here because they don't have to learn English to succeed

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:04PM
Anonymous says:

Johann Lewis: I'm Cuban and definitely not one bit racist...and by you generalizing, you're being the prejudice a-hole...

Mike Martinez: Where in the hell did you get that Gloria Estefan is the daughter of a torturer goon of a cruel dictatorship? Get your facts straight before you talk crap, you ignorant prick.

Never Again: Did you miss #26 on the list?

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:23PM
Al says:

Go live in a real city like New York and discover what a really great place is....Beware, you must speak english.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:25PM
Al says:

My parents were both Cubans and they couldn't stand Miami either. Nothing but criminals and dirtbags there.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:29PM
Al says:

The Cuban coffee and the girls are good though, I must say...Here in NYC it will take you 5 months to see 10 hot girls. In Miami I used to see 10 hot girls in about a minute.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:33PM
MIA #1 says:

Why stop at 50? I can think of 1,000,000,000 reasons why I love this place it's so freaking awesome!!!!!!!!!!!I can't walk, I mean drive around this city without constantly cumming in my pants because IT'S SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:34PM
Anonymous says:

blah blah blah: That is quite the generalization. And it's also bullshit. Any truly successful Latin person working as a leading figure in a big company, is fluent in English. You're referring to people working in lower end jobs trying to make ends meet...those people haven't quite reached success yet. And nonetheless, those are very hard working people too...and learning a language doesn't happen overnight especially when you're much older...

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:39PM
Anonymous says:

Al: Oh, because I'm sure there are no criminals in New York City...lol

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:43PM
blah blah blah says:

"And it's also bullshit.

You're referring to people working in lower end jobs trying to make ends meet.."

?

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:45PM
blah blah blah says:

Isn't it a generalization to say that I'm referring to people in lower ends jobs? I've known plenty of people who didn't speak much English who were earning plenty of money, and hey, good for them! I'm just telling it like I see it, bro.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 5:48PM
al says:

They didn't speak english but they earned good, grow houses?

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 7:03PM
Al says:

There is much more crime here than in New York City, it is a fact, just letting you uninformed people know..

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 7:06PM
HomeList says:

#2 for sure! =)

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 7:37PM
Disgusted with this article says:

I am the only person who finds this list totally offensive? As a native Miami-an and proud Cuban American, I am appalled by this list. I horrified by the racism it implies, by its shallow definitions of who we are, and by the spelling errors. I am embarrassed for the person who wrote it; clearly he thinks Miami is the Jersey Shore version poorly portrayed on MTV. I feel bad for those of you who think this is what Miami is about. Clearly, there is a lot of Miami you have yet to experience.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 8:02PM
Disgusted By This Article says:

Am I the only person who finds this list totally offensive? As a native Miami-an and proud Cuban American, I am appalled by this list. I'm horrified by the racism it implies, by its shallow definitions of who we are, and by the spelling errors. I am embarrassed for the person who wrote it; clearly he thinks Miami is the Jersey Shore version poorly portrayed on MTV. I feel bad for those of you who think this is what Miami is about. Clearly, there is a lot of Miami you have yet to experience.

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 8:08PM
Anonymous says:

I think this is your best piece to date!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 9:17PM
Anonymous says:

ohh and probably generated the most facebook shares and likes combined .... HA!

Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 11 2010 @ 9:30PM
slim says:

#47....sadly the racist white folks hae been replaced by racist so called "white" cubans!

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