Ask HN: Is Miami a legit tech/startup city or was that just a meme? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Is Miami a legit tech/startup city or was that just a meme?

#31

Post by theGnuMe » Fri, May 12, 2023, 4:50 PM UTC

confoundcofound wrote: post #4

I'd like to hear some perspectives on this too. Just recently came back from yet another trip to Miami and in my opinion it puts most other US metropolitan cities to shame. Miami's sprawling development, balance of urban density and natural open spaces, network of enclaves / hubs of activity, relative cleanliness, paved roads, coastal access, and obviously weather, have all made me seriously consider it for my next m…

I dunno.. LA and Miami feature basically the same construction styles since they've developed and expanded around the same time. Miami reminds me of West LA + Santa Monica just more humid. The rest of the area is giant suburbia. The downtown area did feel less busy and more walkable however. There was no massive homeless presence though which I think is because of heavy police enforcement?

Re: Ask HN: Is Miami a legit tech/startup city or was that just a meme?

#32

Post by melugi » Fri, May 12, 2023, 4:51 PM UTC

confoundcofound wrote: post #12

testfrequency wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was trying to be a “tech/crypto” hub, but really it was just hedge funds and wealthy investors getting tired of mask mandates in their home states and “moving their businesses” to Miami - compounded by Elon talking with city officials on Twitter. I think Miami is a poorly managed, over policed, and a very segregated city - with a heavy focus on leisure and entertainment for tourism. In the same vain, I’d actually…

Can you shed light on Miami's poor management?

[dead]

Re: Ask HN: Is Miami a legit tech/startup city or was that just a meme?

#33

Post by moomoo11 » Sat, May 13, 2023, 5:07 AM UTC

kar5pt wrote: post #10

alphaomegacode wrote: post #5

You can get objective criteria. As someone who lived there until literally months ago for much of my adulthood, there are definitely serious issues for a tech/startup city. The education system isn't highly rated overall so you'll have to choose carefully if you have kids. Similar if you're depending on a pool of local tech talent. There was some social media stuff about it being a tech city but that was based on the…

"The education system isn't highly rated overall so you'll have to choose carefully if you have kids." This is an understatement. Virtually everyone I knew in Florida who had kids sent them to private school. These weren't rich people (they weren't in tech). Anyone who was remotely middle class would find a way to scrap the funds together because the public schools were so horrendous.

Why are the schools so bad?

Re: Ask HN: Is Miami a legit tech/startup city or was that just a meme?

#34

Post by askafriend » Sat, May 13, 2023, 8:02 PM UTC

moomoo11 wrote: post #33

kar5pt wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The education system isn't highly rated overall so you'll have to choose carefully if you have kids." This is an understatement. Virtually everyone I knew in Florida who had kids sent them to private school. These weren't rich people (they weren't in tech). Anyone who was remotely middle class would find a way to scrap the funds together because the public schools were so horrendous.

Why are the schools so bad?

Look at Florida's voterbase and demographics

Re: Ask HN: Is Miami a legit tech/startup city or was that just a meme?

#35

Post by htss2013 » Sat, May 13, 2023, 10:46 PM UTC

asdadsdad wrote: post #22

I think Miami has a lot of foundational issues that will prevent it from ever becoming a serious tech city: - the Spanish language is more prevalent than English and there might be even some prejudice against people who don't speak Spanish; - it's primarily a vacation and retirement place where people go to have fun, drink, and engage in shady business (florida man) - it doesn't have good universities - the primary o…

You're saying there is general prejudice against non Spanish speakers in Miami? I could understand this in certain industries that heavily interface with Spanish speakers, but just in general? Really?!

Re: Ask HN: Is Miami a legit tech/startup city or was that just a meme?

#36

Post by kar5pt » Tue, May 16, 2023, 8:38 PM UTC

moomoo11 wrote: post #33

kar5pt wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The education system isn't highly rated overall so you'll have to choose carefully if you have kids." This is an understatement. Virtually everyone I knew in Florida who had kids sent them to private school. These weren't rich people (they weren't in tech). Anyone who was remotely middle class would find a way to scrap the funds together because the public schools were so horrendous.

Why are the schools so bad?

They pay their teachers significantly less than other states. Especially after you factor in the cost of living (FL is not nearly as affordable as people in NY/CA think it is).

According to these sources, they're 4th lowest in teacher salaries despite being 36th lowest in COL: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/teacher-pay... https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/opportunity...

This results in public schools taking whatever they can get teacher-wise. Where I grew up (NJ) being a public school teacher was a respectable career that people would actually go to college and study for. It's not like that in FL. A lot of teachers are just people who couldn't find a job elsewhere and need to pay the bills.