Miami, Florida

Miami [1], known as the “Magic City,” is the southernmost city of Florida. Part of the South Florida region, it is 20 miles from Fort Lauderdale, 106 miles from Naples (Florida) and 156 miles from Key West. It was founded in 1843 by William F. English and a group of settlers and slaves that followed him to the area. The city was finally incorporated in 1896 thanks to a deal made by Julia Tuttle to extend the Florida East Coast Railroad into Miami. The population of the city itself is around 404,000 people.

Talk

Miami has the largest Latin American population outside of Latin America, with nearly 65% of its' population either from Latin America or of Latin American ancestry. Spanish is a language often used for day-to-day discourse in many places, although English is the language of preference, especially when dealing with business and government. You will find that nearly all locals speak English to a comfortable, if not fluent, level. Despite this, it is not at all uncommon to encounter a local who does not speak English, though this is usually centered among shops and restaurants in residential communities and not generally the case in large tourist areas or the downtown district. Even when encountering a local who does not speak English, you can easily find another local to help with translation if needed, since most of the population is fluently bilingual. In certain neighborhoods, such as Little Havana and Hialeah, most locals will address a person first in Spanish and then in English. "Spanglish", a mixture of English and Spanish, is a somewhat common occurrence (but less so than in the Southwest (United States of America)|American Southwest), with bilingual locals switching between English and Spanish mid-sentence and occasionally replacing a common English word for its Spanish equivalent.

Haitian Creole is another language heard primarily heard in North Miami. It is not uncommon for a person to hear a conversation in Creole when riding public transportation or sitting at a restaurant. Many signs and public announcements are in English, Spanish and Creole because of Miami’s diverse immigrant population. Unlike Spanish, Haitian Creole is generally centered among the Haitian neighborhoods in the North Miami. Most Haitians are more adapted to English than their Hispanic neighbors. Portuguese phrasebook|Portuguese and French phrasebook|French are other languages that may be encountered in Miami. These languages tend to be spoken mainly around tourist areas. Most speakers of these languages have adapted to English as well.

The simplest way to get a response in English is to use the "approach rule," where most locals will only respond in the language they were spoken to unless they are not able to speak it. This rule can be used on anyone whether or not their first language was Spanish, English or any other language.

Contact

The major area codes for Miami-Dade County are 305 and 786. The 305 area code also applies to the Florida Keys (Monroe County).

Internet

In addition to some of the places listed in Eat and Miami International Airport, several hotels have Internet access—both LAN connections and wireless—but it is not free in all hotels. Check with your hotel to see if internet access is free or for a fee.

Several cafes have wireless internet connections, but depending on the café internet access may incur a fee. Unless it’s a nation-wide chain offering free internet access like Starbucks, check with your café to inquire about whether your Internet access is charged separately from your meal.

There has been talk of free wireless to be installed all over Miami Beach and the Miami-Dade area, but nothing has been done about this yet.

• Miami-Dade Public Library System, +1 305 535-4219 (main branch number) [2] – Free wireless internet access at any of the system’s libraries.

• Kafka's Cybercafe and Bookstore, 1464 Washington Ave, +1 305 673-9669 [3] – Open daily 8AM-12AM. Internet access $6 per hour.

• D’Vine Cyber Lounge, 910 Collins Ave, +1 305 534-1414 [4] – Local area connection $5, Wi-fi $3 (without purchase of food).

Stay safe

Miami, frequently heralded in the news as a center of crime and drug smuggling, is only relatively dangerous for the passing tourist in certain areas. Overtown has the highest violent crime rate in the city and is best if avoided all together. If you are in this neighborhood, or any other high crime neighborhood, take the same precautions as you would in other high crime neighborhoods around the country. Such as minding one's business, getting to your destination quickly, and avoid wearing flashy jewelry and electronics. Remember that most common sense rules such as being aware of your surroundings at night and traveling in high-traffic areas at night apply in Miami as it does in all other urban areas around the United States.

Emergency numbers

The emergency telephone number for fire, police and rescue emergencies is 911. If you require non-emergency assistance, do not call 911. To contact police in a non-emergency situation, call +1 305 4POLICE.