Miami Questions.

[Kwijiboe]

Dear BG'ers,

I may be going to the Law School at University of Miami. I remember seeing a "Spring Break in Miami" thread, and it got a lot of responses. (Possibly because people were trolling Senoska) Anyway, I want to know how it is to live there; the weather, the entertainment, the people, the good and the bad.

Also, if anyone has gone to University of Miami--I would like to hear from you about their campus. I may be visiting in the next two weeks, however, I wanted to know how it would be to live there year round. Thanks guys.

[Headspace]

It's humid.

[Aerides]

It's out by Tamiami, so not downtown, but a nice enough campus i guess. haven't been there in years though.

As far as weather, in the next 30 days, and in general for the school year, you won't get an impression of the real heat/humidity at all. You'll think "oh this isn't so bad, bit muggy" - this is still our dry-ish time.

Jul4 - Sep - 95degrees/95%humid, everyday. Now, for Miami highs are like 85/60 and that's not even a taste of how it gets.

[Airenn]

Great beaches, lots of fun things to do, but yes hot. Very hot.

And then stormy when hurricane season hits.

Fuckin beaches are beautiful though. The sand is awesome. (I lived in Jax and the beaches were shitty)

[Kwijiboe]

I'm from AZ, so I know hot.. but I know humidity is a completely different kind of hot.

[Ohemgee]

My cousin is in his second year at UM Law, and I know a first year there as well. He lives about 15 minutes (in traffic) away from the campus (off of Kendall next to Baptist Hospital). His house is almost next door to me and its a good 45min away from his apartment and home, so he comes up every weekend to do laundry and what not.

As far as living down here, expenses (aside from living) for a law student is really negligible. Learn to cook to save on money because Miami has a higher tax rate (7 or 8% comapred to Browards 6%!). Theres A LOT of places to eat around UM.

The weather is what you'd expect from South Florida, hot, humid from now until October. Hurricane season is from June 1st to November? 1st. It can get cold at times, but its really nothing. Seeing how you're from Arizona, the humidity WILL be a bitch to you.

The natives suck. Not to be racist or anything (as if that means anything anymore), but old Cubans are fucking terrible at everything, driving, customers, and overall being humans. People in south florida reserve their right to completely drive their stolen Camry down your throat because they fucking suck at driving it normally. The UM student body are nicer people, albeit everyone parties and wants to have a good time, but they're a lot nicer than the locals. Everyone has UM pride, but they're not arrogant pricks about it (UF).

Entertainment wise, theres Key West about 2 hours south if you're gay. Coconut Grove is the place to be on the weekends, bar hop, go to a club, get Herpes, etc. A few movie theaters around, I think they're a bit farther away from the campus. UM Football and Basketball are always great to go to. On-campus activities aren't bad either, good way to pick up a girl, or guy, if you're gay.

I've been to every Florida campus, and a few out of state campuses, and I haven't found another like UM. They work hard to keep it looking the way it does, and it shows. UM is a great school to go to. As far as how hard the first year will be, its up to you not to get distracted, because Miami is a distracting place.

[Kwijiboe]

Not gay. But thanks for that complete answer!

What does your cousin think of the law school building/courses?

[Despain]

I hope you love Hispanic women. Cause I do. And that's what I love about Miami.

[Necronus]

I'm from AZ, so I know hot.. but I know humidity is a completely different kind of hot.

Heh, you remind me of my cousins from AZ. They'd often complain of 90 degree heat waves in Pennsylvania in the summer saying that 100+ degree AZ heat sucked less.

[Kwijiboe]

Well, I guess it's because Arizonans are always in their A/C Cars/Homes.. haha.

[Ohemgee]

There's a lot of gays down here.

He likes it. He went to UM undergrad, so I guess he's jaded of the appearances of the buildings, its a lot nicer inside in the classrooms as well. The library is really nice, and quiet.

[Kwijiboe]

Gary Coleman sig delivers again.

[Pendas]

I go to UM so I'll give you the rundown.

Shit's HOT, be prepared to spend most of your time in T-Shirts and shorts because 90% of the campus is outdoors with no shade around. Even when it rains, it becomes humid. The campus is a completely different world than the rest of Miami, it's not very Hispanic by any means since we have about a 70% transfer count from white people around the country. A lot of the girls are stuck up (especially Sorority Girls) and most guys are just boring as hell. It's not the kind of campus you can just sit down and have a conversation with people you don't know, since a lot of people generally keep to themselves.

The Night life on Thursdays is where the fun is (avoid taking early Friday classes). There's a shuttle that takes you to the Grove, a little area near downtown where everyone drinks and parties (so get yourself a fake I.D.) This is where most hook-ups take place, since a good majority of people who go there are just prepping to go back to the dorms and get laid. There's also South Beach, which is more Club / Dancing but you also suffer from the traditional club BS such as trying to get in and stricter ID Verification. House Parties are usually boring (by my standards anyway, but I'm a club/dancing kind of guy) people just sit around a Keg, Beer Pong, play some music in the back and talk in groups. So, there's something for everyone, depends on what you enjoy. There's always something going on, campus activity, house party, Grove, South Beach (there's a reason we were No.1 Party School Last Year) so you will never be bored.

If you have anymore specific questions just PM me, I can show you around campus when you come down too.

[Kwijiboe]

I'm going to Law School, I'm def. over the party scene and am over 21, lol. Thanks for the advice though.

[Pendas]

Ah, most people who come to Miami are first year freshman who do so for the night life. Academic wise, you're going to work your ass off. Professors here don't play and I've heard from many students that UM is pretty demanding academically in comparison to other schools.

[Denchi]

I grew up in humidity but have lived in AZ for like 6 years. I can vouch that 100 degree dry heat is about 85 humid heat. You just get way more sweaty/sticky and it's harder to look cool haha. Also bugs.

I'd love to move to Miami. Tempe gets what, 364 days of sunshine a year? It made me fucking sick (hence the move to Flagstaff). I think you'll really enjoy the thunderstorms and the rain, it should be a cool change of pace.

[archibaldcrane]

I went to UM for grad school. The city is extremely segregated racially/economically, worse than anywhere I've ever been (worse than Milwaukee even). It's kinda depressing.

Coral Gables campus is pretty gorgeous. The weather is terrible. The undergraduate student body is mostly dumb east coast kids who couldn't get into anywhere better and are on a 4-year vacation on their rich parents' dime - there's no other reason (aside from maybe broadcast journalism or oceanography) to spend that kind of private school dough on such a mediocre education. Greek life is thriving. Non-Greek house parties aren't common as far as I could tell from a grad student perspective.

Students care about Hurricane Football til they lose a game, then they stop caring. It's embarrassing.

You may get your car stolen from in front of your house, and find it stripped of airbags, CD player and power window control panel a month later. Other than this, rent is cheap in Little Havana, and it didn't feel particularly dangerous or anything.

Learn to enjoy Palmetto bugs. Or at least that's what they call cockroaches down there. They live in your house, no matter how clean you keep it. This cannot be prevented.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. I went there from '02-'04.