Field Notes: Miami

January 11th, 2022

Today is my sixth day in Miami Beach. So far, so good. I will be here for the month.

This is the first warm January I have ever experienced in the U.S. I could get used to this. In fact, this is the best weather — in any city, in any month — that I have ever experienced in the U.S. (Second place: New York fall, third place: Washington D.C. spring.)

Miami Beach is quite walkable. This week, I have gone on multiple walks of at least three hours. Twice, to the bottom of the island, near the marina. And once up to the north shore, around 75th St. You can cover ground quickly here!

I see electric scooters everywhere. On every walk, I see 5-10 of them. I am excited to get one myself.

Miami Beach uses light in architecture and interior design better than any city I’ve ever been to. The classic Art Deco buildings look ok during the day but incredible during the night. It feels like walking through a dreamland. The same holds true for the Art Deco interiors that I’ve seen.

There are a few patches of no-mans-land that remind me of the luxury developments in Baltimore’s inner harbor. South of fifth (“SoFi”, the internet tells me?) has nice buildings but nothing else is there. It’s entirely residential, and functionally unwalkable. Unless you plan on eating at Smith and Wollensky every day, you will need a car to run basic errands. Which is a shame, given how walkable the rest of Miami Beach is. The same is true north of 41st St and south of ~70th St (Surfside). There are plenty of residential buildings there but little else. The only sidewalk runs next to a road that I could only describe as a small highway.

Many (most?) buildings in Miami Beach lack gasoline lines. This is a funny contrast coming from New York, where buildings lack central HVAC, solid walls, dishwashers, and laundry machines, ... yet have gas lines. But it makes sense as the buildings here don’t require heat in the winter. Instead of ovens, many places have electric cooktops — with no ovens at all.

The stereotype about rented supercars is indeed true. I see them rolling down Collins Ave about as often as I saw rats scurrying down the streets of New York (1-2 times daily, anecdotally). There’s something funny at work here. You would think the appeal of a luxury car is to show others you own it. But the onlookers know it’s rented, and the driver knows it rented… and the driver must know that the onlookers know it’s rented. So... what gives? Is one of my assumptions wrong? Or are they all correct, and the drivers really do just love how the car drives?

I have been to the beach before work every day this week. For one, I cannot overstate how luxurious that feels. I spend the same amount of pre-work time outside as I always do. But now it is on a nice beach, and in the Atlantic Ocean, as opposed to, say, a New York street littered with broken glass and animal/human feces. Now I only need to dodge the sharp shells as I walk.

Miami Beach is surprisingly clean. I haven’t seen much garbage laying around. I haven’t seen any rodents. Very few homeless people. No overflowing trash cans.