I’ve made the determination lately that I need to spend more time on my business. The business is doing ok but I’d like to see it grow more. So, I’ve been doing more things around that and, as a part of the effort, I made the determination to go to a software conference in Miami. Sarah and I both went and attended just about every session that was available. If we do these things, we go at it full-tilt. Session after session. Overall it was a very well executed conference and we learned a lot. Please keep in mind I was there for only 3 days and my comments are not meant to be general in nature.
Miami is a very interesting place. The cultural mix there is just wild. We went for a walk on Sunday (before the conference) and ended up at the Hard Rock to have a mojito (in order to get out of the sun which is fierce). We were sitting at the bar next to a couple who ordered in French (or maybe creol) and another dude who ordered in spanish. It just wasn’t an issue. People didn’t roll their eyes or look sideways at one another – it just happened. I’ve got to say, it was refreshing. If Manassas is around in 20 years and we’re succesful, we will probably look something like that.
Transportation in Miami is simply crazy. You can’t build a road longer than a couple of blocks without building at least one bridge (and it might be a draw bridge). They have at least two different train mass-transit systems. One of them is like a train on wheels – it runs on it’s own path but it isn’t rail-based so it’s cheaper to build. Not having snow in winter has some advantages. Drivers in Miami are no more or less crazy than drivers here. The huge difference between here and there is that the drivers there respect pedestrians and bicyclists. Sarah and I were walking down the sidewalk, watching cyclists wiz by – riding in the road – and I just couldn’t believe how comfortable they were. And not just the crazy road bike types with eyes fixed forward going 25 mph. I mean even a young women riding with a basket on the front of her cruiser bike. The road we were walking along was roughly comparable to 234 with a volume of traffic like you would see on a weekday. There was no bike path yet most of the cyclists seem unconcerned. It was amazing and inspiring – there’s hope! Sadly here in NoVa, that’s a ways off. If you try to cycle down 234, please make arrangements before hand because you are going to die.(Ironically, after this experience, I was nearly killed in the parking garage at Dulles upon my return).
As with most of these conferences, they go on all day and then have a pretty unique night time lineup. After the first day of the conference, they bussed everyone over to a club in South Beach. It was a nice place but Clubs ain’t exactly our thing so we bailed on that and went to a Cuban restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was on a pedestrian mall so all of the tables were outside. This allowed ample opportunity to watch the goings-on.
In South Beach, bikes and people are treated as peers on the road. Sitting outside Cuba 1957 eating dinner, we watched bikes and cars mixing without incident. As the evening went on, the volume of traffic was just staggering – like what you would see on 234 on a nice Saturday afternoon. Yet the cyclists moved right along. Yes, some of the cycling maniacs ran red lights but so did cars – yet it wasn’t an excuse to kill someone. I can well imagine the carnage if you put 30-50 cyclists on 234 on a nice Saturday afternoon. There would be dead cyclists and fist-fights between the two crowds. It’s appalling to think that – but it is true.
Now, not all is sweetness and light in Miami. There are problems there. Dave Barry has famously said that the City should let the Mob take over City government so it can be “run by competent criminals.” There are dangerous areas of Miami that you are advised to not even drive through. Certainly they have cyclists and pedestrians killed by cars. After all, cars didn’t get to the top of the food chain by not massacring pedestrians and cyclists in huge numbers! I’m sure they have some other divides but I think there’s as much right in Miami than wrong – at least from an outsiders view. At the very least, there’s something to admire.
May 26, 2011 at 9:59 am
Do you really want Manassas to aspire to be Miami? Race riots, large numbers of illegals and poor. South beach is out of control at night and makes the sex shop here look like a Church. Sure it can be a nice place to visit but should never be used as a measuring stick for what Cities should be like.
May 26, 2011 at 10:15 am
What I was trying to get at was specifically the cultural mix and the bike stuff. Miami is a city of 5.5 million and there are certainly aspects of it that I’m not wild about but the cultural mix works reasonably well (now anyways) to my casual observation and that’s mainly what I was referring to. All large cities have populations of poor people but they also have rich people. In a free society people are free to live where they can afford to regardless if that’s a park bench or a million-dollar house.
I think the same is true of New York, Chicago and San Francisco – there are certainly things about those cities I’d like to see here but there are also things I’m less wild about.
May 26, 2011 at 11:09 am
Andy
Ok thanks for the clarification. Id rather have what is left of our small town charm then anything a large City has to offer. Of course that does not mean we can’t have bike trails 😉
May 26, 2011 at 11:11 am
lol…agreed. I would have a very difficult time actually living in a place that busy.
May 26, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Andy, it probably was Creole since Miami has a decent sized Haitian population although it is primarily Cuban. In general, though, you have to remember that Miami is a large center for both international finance and tourism. It is not at all surprising that people wouldn’t react to multiple languages in a hotel/restaurant/bar, etc. However, don’t be misled by that into thinking that Miami is a wonderful melting pot. There is not a lot of mixing of cultures in Miami as they tend to stay within their own communities. Miami is something like 60 percent Hispanic with most of that being Cuban, and I believe even African Americans outnumber Caucasians in the city. In effect, the caucasians in Miami reacted to its diversity by white flight, either in highly exclusive conclaves in the richest parts of town or by escaping to the suburbs.
As to the biking comments, I’m not a biker so I don’t know what it’s like from that end, but I can tell you that Miami drivers notoriously ignore traffic lights and regulations. I would refuse to drive there. Nobody’s safe.
In general, though, it really isn’t fair to compare Miami to Manassas. What you really should have done is go 30 miles out into the suburbs and compare THAT to Manassas. I can almost guarantee that from there, Manassas would look like a beacon of racial and cultural tolerance in comparison. I come from Florida, so these are my people. There are many wonderful people with wonderful traits, and I love them dearly. But I have never seen racism here in VA on the scale that I encountered in FL as a child (and still do when I visit family). The difference there is that the minorities in Miami are the majority, and it’s large enough that the different cultures don’t really have to mix much, except where they want to.
May 26, 2011 at 12:46 pm
P:
I believe you’re seeing a lot more in my post than I intended. I never claimed to do some sort of wide ranging survey…:) I was there 3 days. Please read my first reply to COM. Maybe I should edit that post some…:)
May 26, 2011 at 1:29 pm
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/25/2236506/dade-election-a-spectator-sport.html
Ok, we aren’t big on embezzlements and the small group of dedicated voters
in every election may be older Republicans, but they aren’t Hispanic.
Otherwise, this hits too close to home.
(Also think we can skip local versions of Liberty City and South Beach)
May 26, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Hi Andy, I thought I was responding directly to your post to COM. The point I was trying to make is that race relations in Miami don’t work any better than they do here. The main difference is that you were experiencing the diversity of Miami as a tourist rather than as a resident. If you were a tourist in Manassas, I doubt in three days you would encounter the kinds of problems that we encounter here as residents. I’ve never lived in Miami because I don’t like cities. But I have lived in Florida, and I would never want to go back there. With all of its problems, I would choose Manassas hands down over any place in the Sunshine State (and I go there a lot and love visiting).
And you know I have to give you a hard time. It’s part of our friendship contract. 😉
May 26, 2011 at 1:55 pm
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/13/1633644/dave-barry-exposes-miami.html
Andy, Suggest Sarah and you read this before you all move to Miami.
Manassas is better.
May 26, 2011 at 1:58 pm
For crying out loud! I found two things I like about the city. I never claimed it was the promised land….ease up off my back!
May 26, 2011 at 1:59 pm
I tend to agree with Patty. I too have lived in Florida though on the West coast and still visit family. Miami is nowhere near what the rest of the State is. Even Tampa with a large Cuban influence can’t compare. Miami is just too loud and bright.
May 26, 2011 at 3:14 pm
I like to think, if Manassas is around in 20 years, we might just be a small beacon of slower life surrounded by a monster of a metro mess.
May 26, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Poor Andy. The lack of tone on the net strikes again.
May 26, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Raymond, Im right with you on that last comment.
May 26, 2011 at 5:27 pm
COM, isn’t that the truth? If we were sitting around having this conversation face to face (and armed with adult beverages) our man Andy would see how light hearted we were actually trying to be.
I feel bad. I did not mean to make you feel ganged up on Andy. But I was surprised to hear you say these things about Miami of all places. I’ve lived in 5 different states in my lifetime, and of those 5, FL was the one where I encountered the worst race relations (even over MS and TN). VA has been by far the best.
I think I understand where you are coming from. You had a chance to get away and have some fun with your lovely bride, and even though you were there for work, it was still not the same as the daily grind. I think that’s why you saw things in such a positive light. In Miami, you weren’t as burdened by the realities of work and council and all of your responsibilties and were able to enjoy it without the baggage.
I’m glad you enjoyed Miami, and I hope it showed you what a positive thing it is for you and Sarah to travel more often. It really does wonders to get away from it all sometimes and be rejuvenated.
May 26, 2011 at 5:58 pm
I surrender. I hate Miami. I hate everywhere on the planet except Manassas.
May 27, 2011 at 11:28 am
Now you are talking right 😉
May 27, 2011 at 1:09 pm
I like your observations of Miami from a cyclist/tourist point of view.
Can’t wait to see what kind of online journaling tourists do after visiting the city this summer.
How’s your garden?
June 2, 2011 at 7:38 pm
I was recently in Miami for a vacation with family. I was struck by several things. First, the place is jumping every night of the week. We couldnt get a table before 10pm for dinner in the Lincoln road SoBe area. Every restaurant was packed every night. I saw more exotic cars rolling around than I have ever seen. Wealth like you can’t imagine. I saw no evidence of any recession. Racked my brains to try to figure out where all this money was coming from.