The Best Of Florida Music, Arts, Culture: Fill & Download for Free

Miami is a very interesting place. It has an immensely high level of diversity, so my interpretation of it is completely subjective. I will explain the positives and the negatives of my experience.One main characteristic that caused me the distress was the sprawled out nature of the city. Miami has a reputation for its crazy drivers, and it is absolutely true. Rush hour lasts from about 7-11 in the morning and 4-9 in the evening. The public transportation is not up to the mega-city standards, and getting from one section of the city to the other can take a very long time. The Metrobus is not very consistent and the Metrorail only goes North-South, and it is not very long, relative to the city. The only decent one in my opinion is the Metromover, which only operates in the Downtown area.Also, I never grew up speaking spanish, so there were a lot of areas in the city where I just did not fit in. The majority of the population is Latin and much of the culture of the city revolves around that. When I went to school, there was much emphasis on reading books by Latin authors and a general celebration of diversity and minorities. Two examples were "When I was a Puerto Rican" and "Romiette and Julio." Both books were whatever.There are also many extremely high-income areas which are down the street from some very run-down ghettos. One second your looking at a million dollar mansion on Old Cutler Road, the next second your looking at a crack house with boarded up windows on Douglas Road. There are ALOT of homeless in the city.The city overall gives a very high stress, high pace vibe. It is not a cheap place to live, and I often struggled to experience what it offered because of how much money was in my pocket. There is a lot of superficialness to the city and lots of rude people. People can really seem arrogant and ignorant, and overall really shallow.Nevertheless, Miami is a very special place. It is a huge metropolis, with dozens of interesting areas and neighborhoods. I lived in Cutler Bay, which was a small, incorporated town, north of Homestead. I could drive out west, into the redlands, and buy fresh fruit on the side of the road. Or I could drive north and head into Coconut Grove and eat at a restaurant outside. You can go to South Beach, or you can go to Key Biscayne. There are very many places to go within the city, very many options. It is possible to have many adventures in the city. After 20 years, there are still many areas I regret not exploring more.Also, once I really just embraced the Latin culture, I came to love it. Latin cafes offer great meals, and its usually really cheap. Everyone there drinks café con leches or coladas.The city also has absolutely great music. I was personally inclined to the jazz music there. There is a very strong scene going on there, between the music schools, like UM, FIU, and MDC. So many bars and restaurants all over the city will have jazz combos playing every night of the week. It also has an incredible jazz radio station, WDNA. The latin influence is very apparent here too. its very dynamic.There is also the well-known club scene. Electronic music and dance is really popular, and there is a lot going on with that. ULTRA music festival is held there every year, and its a pretty big deal.There is always a place for the rockers too. Churchill's pub has been there since the 70's and is a rite of passage to all the bands in the city. It is a pretty grungy, punk bar, and it is where all the hippies and artists flock to.In addition there are just numerous little venues and bars throughout the city with live music, from Fox's Lounge in South Miami to Tobacco Road downtown to The Stage in the design district. Lots of music everywhere and there is something for everyone.In general too, the city offers some incredibly beautiful scenes to the eyes. The architecture is very diverse and modern. The flora is tropical and unique in the United States. In the winter time, the sky is always clear blue and the air is clean and fresh. Just driving down the street in some areas is quite nice. The city is a really colorful and diverse place.Miami is a beautiful city and truly unique in the country. Sometimes I even think of it as like its own independent city state. The best advice I can give to anyone looking to move there, is to LEARN SPANISH. Otherwise, enjoy its beautiful scenery and weather, its lively music and arts culture, and take the time to explore it and enjoy it deeply.Cheers.

The pros are year round nice weather, the sun is shining 93% of the time. The beaches are beautiful. It’s a relatively small town of like 70,000 respectively. It is a culturally vibrant community, with many of the arts represented well. Theater, music, art galleries and lots of unique curio shops. The crime rate is relatively low so your very safe in Sarasota. It’s very quaint, with a neat international flare. Great restaurants and water side pubs etc. Overall home prices are about the same as say Denver.. unless you want beach front or to live on one of the keys, it gets very expensive if that is your choice. Siesta key beach has been voted best beach in the nation a time or two.The cons are it is very seasonal so traffic gets very congested in the winter months as we have international travelers here due to the great weather and beaches. It is hot and very humid in the summertime. You get used to it but it can be suffocating outside. Everyplace is air conditioned because of this. Some may be offended by this but it’s a fact that needs contended with, we do have a fair amount homeless people due to the weather etc. I think that is beginn8ng to be a more national problem not just a Sarasota problem though. Pay scales in Florida are not real high, due your research on your field of employment first. However you have no state income tax and consumption taxes like food etc are very low.I sure hope this helps..I love the Sarasota area, it’s beautiful, lush and teaming with wildlife. You will here peopl3 squawking about bugs but if you keep your house clean and all I have never had a problem in 29 years here.thanksAndy

Obviously depends on your interests. I’m going to cover music, art, events, restaurants, bars, and general demographics. If you’re looking for more niche things then that is another comment.No matter what: GET OUT OF TEMPLE TERRACE.I didn’t realize what Tampa had to offer for most of my time as a student because I stuck around campus. Don’t make my mistake. The Tampa Bay region has a lot to offer. Get a lyft, go explore!Ybor - Probably my favorite place in Tampa because you never know what you’re going to get. During the day it is a great spot for food, coffee, shopping, co working, scoping out cool local companies, and rooster watching. At night it is a guaranteed party for people of all interests, races, classes, genders, and sexual orientation. You can find every music genre imaginable at the music venues there. IMO, Ybor feels like the most raw representation of Tampa Bay culture at large. My recommendation is follow the social media pages of The Ritz, Crowbar, Orpheum, New World Brewery, The Bunker, The Bricks, The Improv, Rock Brothers, Cuban Club, and the Ybor City Jazz House. If you do that, you will never have trouble finding great live music on the weekends. The best restaurants are Stone Soup Company, James Joyce, and Big Als BBQ. Go to The Columbia for dinner if you’re feeling fancy.South Howard aka SoHo - The younger upper middle class strip of bars, restaurants, shops, and more. Home to some INCREDIBLE food. Fair price recommendations are Daily Eats and Ciccio’s. 5 star recommendations are Epicurean Hotel and Bern’s. What is SoHo like at night? Have you been to a Greek Life Party? Do you want to know what it is like? Go to SoHo. SoHo on a Friday night is a playground for well-off college students and post grads. The people are beautiful. The cars are beautiful. The bars and restaurants are all packed. Most everyone is hammered and probably trying to meet someone new.Hyde Park Village - The ritziest of all the Tampa commercial areas. Older rich people eat delicious food, buy designer yoga pants, and stay away from the riff raff.Seminole Heights - Pretty much a strip of Nebraska, Florida, and Tampa roads with some local classics and emerging businesses. Slowly all the hipster folks looking for an affordable place are moving in to the historic houses here. Check out the Tempus Projects art gallery. Eat at Ichicoro Ramen for the best damn ramen you’ll ever have. Check out Mermaid Tavern and Ella’s Folk Art Cafe for live music and tasty grub. Go to Rooster and the Till or Fodder and Shine for a farm to table top notch date night.Tampa Heights - This is where I live. Right outside of downtown and Ybor. Mostly residential and slowly being gentrified. There are a few spots to mention: Foundation Coffee for the best place to sit down and do some work, Lee’s Grocery for my favorite pizza in Tampa, and Cafe Hey for your vegan and vegetarian needs. That’s it, head downtown.Downtown Tampa - Go like “Curtis Hixon Park” on Facebook and then come back to this comment. I’ll wait. Okay now that you know about the event hub downtown, you can check out the art museum, photography museum, and Riverwalk. Downtown Tampa is mostly a business district but there are some solid bars and restaurants. Flybar for the rooftop downtown experience. The Hub for the dingy dive experience. Yeoman’s for some top tier sweet potato fries. Eddy and Sam’s for pizza.Channelside - Wait like 3 years for Jeff Vinik’s initiatives to kick in then go back to Channelside. Right now the only thing of real interest is Amalie Arena.St. Pete - One bullet point is not enough to describe St. Pete in all it’s glory, but I’m going to do it anyway. St. Pete’s main attractions have a less diverse population of people than you will find in Tampa. Everything you want in St. Pete is lined up on 1st Ave N, Central Ave, and 1st Ave South. Park for free and walk. By the water is fancy, pricey, and older. The further away from the water you get the more cool and young you get. Dali museum. Fine art museum. Murals EVERYWHERE. Art galleries. Green bench brewing. Bicycle Brewing. First Friday for a real SoHo like experience! Restaurants of all kinds! Kilwins Ice Cream. The Bends. State Theater. Jannus Live. Vinoy Park - the Curtis Hixon of St. Pete (or vice versa). Red Mesa. Vegan and veggie options galore. Haslam’s books. The list goes on. Just go there for yourself.My USF pics - Okay, there is some decent spots by USF. Mojo’s Books and Records, Armada Games, Boba House, Dunderbak’s, California Taco, Sake House, and Koizi to name a few. But when it comes to weekend activities, you’re pretty much relegated to house parties, pools, and student organizations.