If you read this post’s headline and immediately thought, “GOLDEN GIRLS!,” well, bravo! We should definitely be friends in real life if we’re not already, because, well, GOLDEN GIRLS.
And if you did not, well, just watch this and let your mind completely explode in its awesomeness.
Anyhoo. Two years ago, when Ayaz and I set out from New York City on our great adventure in location independence, our first stop was Miami. Much to many folks’ chagrin, we chose South Florida as destination numero uno, rather than some super amazeballs Southeast Asian or European locale.
What we found hard to explain then, and even now, is that we simply have a soft spot for the wonder and wackiness that is Miami, Florida.
Our 2 months here left us with a bit of a crush on Magic City. Under the rather wretched Spring Break vibe of South Beach here were quirky, “old Florida” neighborhoods with an artsy vibe like Coconut Grove and Coral Gables, beaches fringed with palm trees rather than high rises on Key Biscayne, and a world of Cuban and Latin American food that needed to git in mah belly on a daily basis.
Fast forward nearly 2 years and Ayaz and I found ourselves back from winter in South America and loving summer in NYC’s Upper West Side. We decided we wanted our next stint to involve skipping the Northeast’s wretched winter (as we tend to like avoiding) and settling somewhere that felt comfortable and interesting. Somewhere we’d have friends, and be near friends and family. Or at least in visiting distance.
You guys know what happened by now, right? Miami won.
While we thought we wanted to live in one of the city’s trendy downtown or midtown neighborhoods, they lacked the soul we enjoy surrounding ourselves with. Many, like Brickell, felt like Manhattan’s financial district, which for me, just isn’t a place that feels like home.
Unexpectedly, Miami Beach’s North Beach neighborhood struck both our fancies. I absolutely love the Latin American culture that pervades here, I am psyched to speak and practice my Spanish with people from Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, Peru and beyond.
We’ve been here less than a week, but it feels so right. Of course, living adjacent to the beach reallllly doesn’t hurt.
There will be much to explore and share in the coming weeks. Stay tuned…
