© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

What Would You Miss If You Left Miami?

For some South Floridians, living within the boundaries of the 305 means being immersed in a mezcla of culture and an abundance of Central and South American and Caribbean cuisines. 

At least that's how one local described what she would miss about Miami if she left. Except, in her case, she moved to Georgia and then came back. 

For one weekend this past November, WLRN and HistoryMiami came together in collaboration at the Miami Book Fair to collect your stories about the Magic City in our Miami Stories recording booth. We heard all kinds of stories about life in Miami -- from being an extra in the American crime movie Scarface to standing in Miami's first and only snowfall in January 1977. 

In recorded submissions, South Floridians describe what they would miss about Miami life if they left. 

“If I left Miami, I would miss, as a Cuban-American, my cortaditos and my pastelitos. I would miss the crazy drivers in Miami and all of the misspelled words on the signs of the businesses.” - Anonymous

I think I would miss the sun, the fun and the beach.” - Darryl Williams

“I like the sunset here. Seeing the orange, the pink. In other cities you cannot really see the sky because it’s full of buildings and pollution and everything. And here it's different;  it's like a painting.” - Jen Enriquez

If I left Miami I would miss Cuban food. I love Cuban food so much.” - Ryan Pfeffer

“The people, the diverse Caribbean influences here. And I would also miss of course the beach, which is one of the reasons I'm here.” - Ceresta Smith

“The one-of-a-kind Latin culture where we're kind of accepting of all the cultures. Whereas, when I visited North Carolina, and pretty much the east coast; I think no other place has such a Hispanic diversity than Miami.” - Anthony Delgado

“I will miss being able to eat whatever I want whenever I want. We have every type of restaurant from every culture right on the same street. ‘I would miss the sunniness because I don't do snow. OK. We don't do cold weather.’” - Bianca Dorval and Maria Sincere

“Café con leches for sure. I couldn't order that anywhere else. People wouldn’t understand what I'm talking about.”- Laurean Robinson

I did leave Miami. Back in 2012, I left Miami. I moved to Georgia. And living in Georgia, the thing I missed the most was the culture, the Hispanic food, the Haitian food, the Columbian food. Being in Atlanta, being in that particular area, you only had a taste of soul food and that was it. And even the Mexican food that they claim was Mexican food didn’t really taste too Mexican.” - Esther Agledor

I couldn't stand the heat at first. It was like I wanted to jump in the shower every half hour because I found it to be so hot. But now I crave the Miami heat when I leave.” - Ceresta Smith

“Whenever I travel anywhere else in the country, it feels strange. I feel like I'm out of place. The only place that feels like this is when you get out west, some places out west.”- Dan Wynne

The ability to switch languages all the time. You know, you go from English to Spanish to, if you know Creole then even Creole. And so, code switching. I do that all the time here in Miami.” - Joshua Zuniga

“Hearing different languages left and right. Mostly Spanish, but just the mixture of people and especially the weather and the water.” - Karine Calixte

The different cultures that you see all over Miami, even though they don't speak.”- Abischal Joseph

The nice laid-back atmosphere here.” - Ambar Miniel

The beauty, the landscaping, the beautiful trees all around, the palm trees. The way it’s positioned, the ways it’s being taking care of every day. I love anything green. I'm a green man,  all right?”- Henry Sunday Bukurson

Energy and excitement. I think almost every other city, except maybe for New York, would seem boring compared to Miami.”- Michael Wohlfeiler

Some areas are very loud. I would probably have to get used to a place that's kind of slow.” - Jolie Cannava

“You go abroad and even doing business in places like New York or the Carolinas where it gets blistering cold. You’re there with a smile on your face because you know in less than eight hours you're hopping back on a plane back to Paradise. Today it's wintertime in Miami and I'm wearing flip flops and a T-shirt.”- Vernon Moxey

"If I left Miami I would miss the humidity, because the desert really dries me out.” - Anonymous

I can't even answer that cause I don't ever plan on leaving. It's my Magic City, my 305.” - Josie Gulliksen

What would you miss if you left Miami? Tweet us @WLRN.

More On This Topic