Update from Miami

Hi, guys! Yes, it’s been a while and I’m sorry for that, but as you can imagine, due to my cross-country move, I’ve been super busy! I moved to Miami (from LA) about 2 weeks ago and I’ve been settling in and buying everything to furnish my apartment. I didn’t bring anything from LA besides my clothes, shoes, and purses so I’m starting all new (which I love!). I have the basics down and am now going to start the decorating portion of it. Once I’m done, I will share some pictures with you guys!

I apologize for the lack in posts, but I will now try to catch up on them. Like I mentioned, I’ve been here 2 weeks and I’m loving every minute of it. I’ve come across people that question why I left LA for Miami because apparently it doesn’t make sense to them. Thing is, it doesn’t need to make sense to anyone but myself. Not everyone has dreams that involve being in LA/Hollywood. Everyone has different dreams and goals and you do what you need to do and go where you need to go in order to make them a reality. I moved to Miami because this is where I need to be to reach my goals, and it doesn’t hurt that I love this city. There are a few differences that I’ve noticed on my day to day but they’re nice changes that I’m embracing.

Some of the changes I’ve noticed:

–They have a lot of toll roads here. I’ve been finding myself taking alternate routes to avoid them because the costs can add up. I do take them sometimes, but for the most part, I try to avoid them. I wasn’t used to this since California doesn’t really have toll roads. The only fee we pay would be the fast track to use a special lane to avoid traffic during peak hours in some freeways/expressways, but we don’t pay to use the actual road. Also, I was told that the toll roads are privately owned which means they set their fee (whatever they want it to be) and change the frequency of them. Not cool.

-Traffic, by LA standards, does not exist. Miami has traffic but it can never compare to LA traffic. I’ve been here 2 weeks and have driven in my area as well as to Downtown Miami and Miami Beach during peak hours, and believe me when I say, that is not traffic. Several persons have told me about Miami traffic and about how bad it is but apparently they don’t know LA traffic. This is nothing. I have yet to see traffic that can come close to LA’s traffic. Miami’s traffic also tends to have a cutoff time. There will be traffic during rush hour but that’s it. After a certain hour, roads are completely clear. That doesn’t happen in LA. LA has traffic at all times and days. There is no traffic here on the weekends, contrary to LA. I’ve also heard Miamians refer to a 25 minute drive as an actual drive. Seriously. They’ll say it’s a drive and when I ask how much, they say, “like 25-30 minutes”. Yea, that’s not a drive by LA standards. It sometimes takes 25 minutes just to get to the corner of your house in LA. In LA we’re used to driving distances and in traffic so these 2 weeks have been a breeze for me, thankfully.

-People eat out here a lot and also stay out late almost every night. Restaurants are jam packed at all hours even during weeknights. It’s like no one cooks here (yes, I know people here do cook, it’s just an expression) and they just go eat after work with their families, every single day. Contrary to people in LA which for the most part tend to only eat out on the weekends. People also stay out late at night, almost every night. I’ve gone to Target at 10 or 11 pm on a weekday and the store can be full of customers. Something rarely seen in LA. People in LA tend to not leave their house after a certain time because they work early the next day, especially on a Sunday. Not here. People are out and about late at night, and sometimes with kids.

-People still eat a lot at fast food restaurants. California is very health conscious so fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, etc. tend to be empty almost all the time. Not here. People still eat at these fast food restaurants a lot. Here, you can still see lines at the drive-thru of these places.

-Traffic laws aren’t really followed here. People jaywalk here a lot. People park on the handicap lane areas (which isn’t a parking space) without having a handicap placard. People don’t really pull over for emergency vehicles, and make u-turns where not allowed. On that note, you can pretty much make a u-turn anywhere here. There aren’t a lot of signs prohibiting it which is probably why people still do it even when there is a sign. My guess is that people don’t follow the traffic laws because they really aren’t enforced. Complete opposite of what happens in California. California is very strict with their traffic laws and they are enforced which is why for the most part, people follow/obey them.

-Miami feels more like a Latin American country rather than a city in the USA. It’s very similar to Puerto Rico where it feels like a Latin American country but you still have the perk of being in the USA. If you’ve ever visited Miami, you know what I mean. Spanish seems to be the primary language everywhere and English is rarely spoken in some places. People will automatically speak to you in Spanish and assume you speak it. I’ve been told by a Miami native that people can and will look at you weird if you don’t speak Spanish. Crazy thing is that a lot of those same speakers know and speak perfect English but will talk primarily in Spanish. As a big advocate for bilingualism, this is one of the things I most love about Miami. This is different from LA where Spanish is spoken a lot but for the most part everyone will speak to you in English. This of course doesn’t apply to places like East LA where Spanish speakers abound. In certain areas of LA, people can look at you weird or in a bad way if you automatically speak Spanish and not English. This is probably one of the biggest differences I’ve noticed. This is also one of the things I’ve had to get used to the most since I’m used to automatically speaking English at first even though I am completely fluent in Spanish. I have to remind myself to speak Spanish first because that’s the way it is here, for the most part. Now, by this I don’t mean English isn’t spoken or understood. It’s a completely bilingual city but the difference is that in Miami, Spanish seems to be the primary language instead of English.

These are some of the differences I’ve noticed in my 2 weeks here. Not complaining about any of them, just observing the differences. I don’t really have a complain about anything, yet. I can only assume I might find one here and there, but overall, I love Miami!!!

As for a job, some of you might be wondering what I’m up to. I have a few projects in the works and will be updating you guys as I go along. But for now, besides settling in, I’m exploring my new city. Here are a few pictures I took yesterday when I made my way to Key Biscayne. Believe it or not, as many times as I’ve visited Miami, I had never made my way there. I visited during the sunset hour so I captured some awesome pictures! Hope you like them!

Hope you enjoyed the update. Stay tuned for the next post! ¡Hasta la próxima!