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Miami

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Some Great Ways to Discover Florida.

Here are Some Great Ways to Discover Florida.

# 1. Fun and Adventure

With over 34 million visitors each year, Orlando is the undisputed theme park capital of the world. But if you are after more fun and adventure after visiting the theme parks at Disneyworld, Universal Orlando Resort and Seaworld, you should try the sensational Busch Gardens in Tampa, the world famous Daytona International Speedway and exploring the Everglades national park.

Don’t Miss Florida’s largest and fastest roller coaster…

Prepare for the thrill of your life on Sheikra, Florida’s tallest roller coaster and the world’s tallest dive coaster. 70mph of pure adrenaline-pumping excitement. Travel 200 feet up and then plunge to the depths of an underground tunnel, with water!

Don’t Miss Bush Gardens Zoo…

With over 2600 animals, the zoo at Busch Gardens is one of America’s top zoos

# 2. Culture

Look beyond the more obvious tourist attractions and you will be surprised at what you find.
There is an abundance of architecture, museums, forts, art galleries.

Don’t Miss Historic Wrecks…

Pensacola has fascinating wrecks to explore. This includes the 500-foot World War 1 battleship USS Massachusetts, the Russian freighter San Pablo and an A-7 Corsair aircraft that fell off the deck of the USS Lexington.

Don’t Miss Art Deco Buildings…

photo credit: http://miamiandbeaches.com

Take a stroll down Ocean Drive, Miami, and enjoy South Beach’s Art deco buildings. Painted pink, lavender and turquoise, they line the palm-fringed walkway.

Don’t Miss a Driving Tour…

If you have a car whilst visiting Miami, do yourself a favour, and take a driving tour of Coral gables. Coral Gables Driving Tour isn’t just one of the country’s richest neighbourhoods, it’s a separate city within Greater Miami. Known as ‘The City Beautiful’ for good reason, its elegant homes line winding avenues shaded by banyans and live oaks. This driving tour winds its way along the lush peaceful lanes and is both relaxing and cultural.

Along the tour are these beautiful sights:

1. The Granada Entrance – a replica of the gate to Granada in Spain.
2. The Country Club Prado Entrance – complete with ornamental pillars.
3. Alhambra water Tower – built in 1925.
4. Coral Way – lined by live oaks and Spanish-style houses.
5. Venetian Pool – a beautiful public swimming pool.
6. Coral Gables Congregational Church – built in Spanish Baroque style.
7. Biltmore Hotel – one of the most stunning hotels in the country, beautifully restored to its 1920s century grandeur.
8. The Lowe Art Museum – contains European and Native American Art.
9. French City Village – one of several international villages built to add variety to the city.
10. Dutch South African Village.
11. French Country Village.
12. Chinese Village.
13. French Normandy Village.
14. Coral Gables City Hall
15. Miracle Mile – the district’s most important shopping street.

Other Bits of Culture:

– Hemingway’s House in Key West, where the novelist lived from 1931-1940.

– Little Havana in Miami – 3.5 square miles of Cuban culture and life.

– The Ringling Museum of Art and Ringling Museum (Sarasota).

– Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island – a charming Victorian resort.

– Salvador Dali Museum, St Petersburg.

Cities of Florida Florida Miami Travel

Why People Flock to Miami

The City of Miami, and Miami Beach as well, has always been enshrined in the American psyche as the “nation’s playground”, for its year-round tropical climate, elegant waterfront homes and condos, lively nightlife, world-famous beaches and its vibrant ethnic diversity.

With its Hispanic essence and live-and-let-live attitude and lifestyle, this area is considered as the most “foreign” city in the US. The area boasts of a psychedelic mixture of architecture and nationalities, fashion and food. On South Beach, at the southern end of Miami Beach, the senior citizens and baby boomers that used to come in droves here have been replaced by the young and trendy; stylish Coral Gables now booms with the posh offices of multinational corporate giants.

Topless sunbathing is also tolerated on certain designated areas of the beach. The TV show Miami Vice helped make the area immensely popular. Miami Beach, particularly Ocean Drive of what is now the Art Deco District, was also featured prominently in the Al Pacino movie Scarface.

photo credit: http://www.miaminewtimes.com

South Beach is a major late-night haunt, where revelers eat breakfast at lunchtime, and can choose from a wide array of restaurants and cafes serving continental, European, South American and Asian cuisines. One of the beaches’ best food haunts is 11th Street Diner, which is open 24 hours a day and Nemo, along 100 Collins Avenue, for its eclectic cooking focusing on seafood, and outstanding desserts. Visitors could also go for a relaxing swim in the sea or in a pool at any of the over-the-top hotels on South Beach, like at the Marlin hotel, or in the extravagant Venetian Pool in Coral Gables. Most visitors would say that it’s a public pool that looks like a Hollywood film set.

A major player in the pop-music world, Miami in general, and South Beach in particular, loves to party. The best clubs are on Washington Avenue, South Beach. Clubs like Crobar, The Mansion, Opium Garden and Shadow Lounge, and a lot more, are filled up on weekend nights, while on nearby Ocean Drive, one could hear live bands clutter the outdoors.

Miami, as well as Miami Beach, may not be like Los Angeles or New York, cities where movies are constantly being shot around every corner. However, Miami has certainly has its fair share of filming. The movie Scarface, which is considered a cult classic, is a tale about Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, who comes to Florida as a Cuban refugee. After becoming a gangster, as a result of the 1980s cocaine boom, he rises to the top of Miami’s organized crime world, only to fall back down.

Most of you would still remember the equally zany film, There’s Something About Mary. One of the funniest movies to ever hit the screen, this film starred Cameron Diaz as Mary, a girl whom men were willing to go to great lengths to impress. Among the Hollywood blockbusters shot on location in Miami Beach and its environs are the Al Pacino football thriller Any Given Sunday, as well as the Martin Lawrence and Will Smith action-flick Bad Boyz.

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Care Options In Florida

In the state of Florida, almost one quarter of the residents are over the age of 60. Quality long-term care is very important for many of these older Floridians. The Florida Agency of Health Care Administration (AHCA) regulates Health Care Facilities throughout the state and also administers Florida’s Medicaid program.

Below are a few of the long term care facilities regulated through AHCA:

Assisted Living Facilities: Provides housing, meals and some personal services for residents. Residents have to meet certain functional criteria and must be ambulatory and able to perform daily living activities like eating and able to care for basic bodily functions. Bed ridden residents are not accepted. Medicaid will pay for such a facility if both the resident and facility are eligible.

Adult Day Care: These are less than 24 hour care facilities. They offer therapeutic programs impaired adults. These centers offer many activities such as exercise, education, health screening and behavior modification. These centers also serve as a reprieve to the primary caregivers. These programs may be covered by Medicaid.

Adult Family – Care Homes: These family-type living arrangements provide a private home for up to 5 aged or disabled people (not related). The owner lives with the residents. The residents must not be bed ridden and are subject to other criteria as described in Florida law. Adult family care homes are for residents that do not require more care than can be provided by the owners. In some cases Medicaid will pay if both the resident and the AFCH are eligible.

Hospice: Hospice is a program that coordinates professional services including nutritional counseling, pastoral services, social work, and many other services for the terminally ill. These services can be provided at the hospital, hospice facility or the patient’s residence.

Medicare or Medicaid will pay for these services if the patient is eligible.

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Film School Within Florida

Florida, it seems, could never get over-saturated with life. With all those spring break vacationers, amusement parks over at Orlando, and film festivals; it isn’t out of place that the few finest film schools in the United States are found in Florida. After all, where should the best institution take root than in the star and wealth imbibed Florida.

Florida State Film School is undoubtedly the best film school in Florida. This film school in Florida is one of the very few institutions recognized and distinguished by the Directors Guild in America, for its contributions to the American culture through the science of motion pictures and television.

This film school in Florida, known formally as Florida State College of Motion Picture, Television, and Recording Arts (but also known simply as The Film School) is a department of The Florida State University, a public research university sitting in the capital of Florida. The Film School is known to be very competitively selective; only 30 undergraduates are accepted from applicants of 1,500 for the BFA. 30 graduates are to be accepted for the MFA, 24 for the production program and 6 for the writing program.

This film school in Florida had enjoyed thorough success throughout the past years, with notable alumni examples of Jonathan King of I, Robot, Finding Forrester, and Dreamgirls, Ron Freidman of Brother Bear and Chicken Little and Greg Marcks of 11:14. That is because the faculty of this film school in Florida is equally star studded: Chip Chalmers of 7th Heaven, Miami Vice and Beverly Hills 90210, Academy Award visual effects winner Stuart Robertson, Academy Award sound mixer Richard Portman and Victor Nunez, noted for directing a number of successful indie films.

One of the best features of The Film School is the school’s taking care of all student’s production costs, making students more likely to produce quality films without budget constraints.

The Ringling School of Art and Design is another fine choice for film school in Florida, especially if you want more technology in arts. Better known for teaching the visual arts in computer animation and several other graphic and interactive communication, as well as Game Art & Design, the Ringling School of Art and Design becomes a superb first step to those heading towards animation and technical in the film making industry.

University of Central Florida is the largest university in the state, and one of the best all over United States. This film school in Florida is included in the Best 361 Colleges compiled by the Princeton Review. Their film program teaches well on techniques and creativity, making use of UCF’s broad range of film and studio equipment, instilling preparedness to their students.

Cities of Florida Miami

Finding Hospitality Management Careers In Miami

If you want to find a really good hospitality management career position, then Miami is the place to go. There are a number of reasons why Miami is considered to be a hotspot for this kind of career positions. Other than that, there are also various institutions that you can find in Miami that offers courses and training programs in relation to this kind of career.

Why Go For Miami?

Miami is considered to be a vacation paradise. It is a place where hundreds of hotels and motels alike stand side by side facing the beautiful waters. Every year, millions of people flock to Miami to experience its colourful nightlife, pristine beaches and exquisite accommodation services. What does this mean for someone who wants to pursue hospitality career?—more job opportunities of course!

Go Gastronomic

Other than the numerous hotels and motels you can apply in, there are also a lot of bars and restaurants that you could find a job position in. Miami has a rich mix of cuisines from all over the world. It doesn’t mater whatever kind of cooking you may specialize in; whether it is American, Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, Jamaican, French or whatever kind of food, one thing’s for sure; you can find numerous restaurants in Miami that caters your specialty! Thus, you have more choices of where to apply!

Casinos

Along with hotels and restaurants, there are also a lot of casinos in Miami. It doesn’t matter what district you are in, for sure there’s a casino out there.

Clubs

Miami is also known for its very lively nightlife. It is home to numerous clubs that accommodate Miami’s party people. If you want a bartending position, then going to this place would be your best bet. However, competition can be tight since the best in the field also have Miami as a target.

Big Tippers And Baby Boomers

Miami is also known to have a lot of big tippers roaming around. Since it is a vacation hotspot, a lot of people from all over the world come here, particularly the rich ones. Baby boomers or those rich people in retirement are also considered to be as Miami patrons. Hence, tipping in Miami would be very lucrative if you would pursue a hospitality career in this place.

Where To Find Positions?

There are various sources where you can find job openings in Miami. One would be the Internet. You can try searching online and for sure you could find job openings in various areas. There are also specialized Web sites where they only post advertisements for employers in the Miami area that have openings.

Local Papers

The news paper is also one good source. However, it would be best to look in local papers in Miami. In this way there is a much higher probability that you can find an opening within the area.

Company Web Sites

Company Web sites are also great. Although you may not see their ads up on the front page of their site, most companies usually have links toward another page in which they place their job openings. Try to know the different establishments in Miami and look up their Web sites on the Internet. As you browse through their page, try to be watchful for small printed links leading to their hiring page.

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The Florida Keys

When people ask about the top sights to see in the south Florida area including Fort Lauder-dale and Miami, I always advise them to try and make some time to go down to the Florida Keys. The Florida Keys are the string of islands just south of the Florida mainland and runs 120 miles from end to end. Fort Lauder-dale and Miami are fun but for a relaxing change of pace, the Florida Keys is the place to be. For snorkelers and scuba divers going to south Florida, I would consider Florida Keys a must. The waters around Key Largo are a protected marine park with a very healthy fish life and offer the best diving in the US. Key Largo is the first town as you enter the Keys after crossing the bridge from the mainland. It can be reached from Miami in an hour and from Fort Lauder-dale in an hour and 45 minutes. Once the bridge from the mainland is crossed, the change in pace is noticed immediately. There is much less traffic and people just seem more relaxed in the Florida Keys compared to the mainland.

Key Largo is the main scuba diving town with many dive shops. There is even an underwater hotel with two guestrooms for adventurous types. This was a former marine research unit that was converted to the hotel. Islamorada and Marathon located more west are also top scuba dive locations. For those who are not into diving, there are numerous shops with colorful local arts and crafts. One collection of shops has a giant statue of a spiny lobster out in front. For more fun, there are two dolphin centers, one in Key Largo and another near Marathon where visitors can interact with captive dolphins. Dolphin programs should actually be booked well in advance since they are extremely popular.

There are sign markers along the main US number 1 highway that mark each mile along the 120 mile route. Most addresses in the Florida Keys along the main highway will actually refer to which mile marker they are located near. It’s a very efficient way to navigate. It takes about 3 hours to drive from Key Largo to the far end at Key West but more than likely, visitors would want to stop off at numerous locations along the way for shopping, photo opportunities or just admiring the scenery. The scenery gets better as one heads out more west, especially near the bridges that connect the islands. A common sight to see are locals fishing off the bridges and numerous pelicans standing on the posts like permanent fixtures. One of the most spectacular sights is the seven mile bridge which is the world’s longest segmented bridge.

The Florida Keys are not really known for its beaches with the exception of Bahia Honda Park which is even further west in the lower keys. The snorkeling in this area, especially Looe Key, is among the top sites in North America. The city of Key West at the far end of the Florida Keys is the largest community in the islands and a stay here for a night or two is well worth it. The downtown area full of restaurants, bars, boutiques and shops is a funky, fun place to be. There are hotels along the water as well as numerous B&Bs inland. We stayed at the Quality Inn near the entrance of the city and had no problem getting downtown since there is a very convenient bus system that runs throughout Key West. We chose to leave our car at the hotel and use the buses because parking can be limited in the downtown area. A very neat way to tour the city is to rent scooters which are very common in the streets here. With the scooters, we criss-crossed the city and saw the wonderful colonial houses in the residential streets including Ernest Hemmingway’s house.

The seafood is predictably very fresh in restaurants everywhere in the Florida Keys. Some local specialties not to be missed are conch, local spiny lobster and a few varieties of the local fish including snapper and grouper. Of course, one must try the real, authentic key lime pie that originated in the area. Each restaurant has a slightly different recipe but in general, the authentic key lime pie here is not as sweet as the commercial brands sometimes found in the rest of North America.

Hotel accommodations suit every budget in the Florida Keys from simple motels to top notch resorts. The last town back in the US mainland is Florida City and it has some very affordable hotel accommodations with well known chains such as Comfort Inn, Hampton Inn and Best Western. This is another option for some travelers, especially those who are scuba diving in Key Largo as Florida City is only about 20 minutes away if hotels in Key Largo are fully booked or at high season rates.

The Florida Keys has a way of enticing visitors back during return visits to south Florida. Its slower pace helps balance things out against the crowded and crazier styles of Fort Lauder-dale and Miami. I have been to the Keys three times and will definitely return there again.

Cities of Florida Miami

Miami, Florida

Moving to a new city can be quite tasking, especially if you have practically become used to your present city. Also, looking at the various factors to consider before you make the decision to relocate to a new place, it can be overwhelming. Such factors to consider include the cost of living in the new city, housing, transport, food and restaurant, security, availability of standard schools and their proximity to your home, tourist attraction sites, and so on. These factors are very important and must be carefully considered before deciding to move to new place.

Are you thinking of moving to Florida, the United States? Miami is definitely the city you should move to. Whether you are a professional, a student, or a job-seeker, Miami is absolutely perfect. Miami – Known as the “magic city” due to its rapid all-round growth, is ranked America’s richest city and the seventh in the world in terms of purchasing power. Miami, a major port city known as the “Cruise Capital of the World” is the busiest port in the world.

In 2010, Forbes magazine rated Miami as the cleanest city in the world, based on several factors such as clean air, clean drinking water, clean streets, and citywide recycling program.

When relocating to a new place, knowing the average cost implications such as housing, transport, utilities and food is a good place to start. Rents in Miami vary from one part of the city to another. Rent in highbrow areas such as Brickell, Coconut Grove, and South Beach can be as high as $2,600, whereas, Liberty City and Overtown have rent as low as $1,000 or less. On the average, Miami is one of America’s cities with very low rent.

In terms of taxes, Miami residents only pay federal income taxes; they don’t pay any local or state taxes. Food and transport costs in Miami (though slightly above the national average), are still affordable, as there are several job opportunities in the city. As of August 2015, a loaf of bread costs $2.27, a gallon of milk costs $3.46, and a pound of chicken breasts is $4.20.

Miami is home to some of the best Caribbean and Latin American cuisine known in Florida as the “Floribbean” cuisine. The average price of food for one day in Miami is about $32; one of the lowest in the country.

There are plenty of job opportunities in the city as Miami is home to some of the world’s multinational companies. As of 2010, Miami is rated an “Alpha minus World city.” Several companies and organizations have their headquarters in Miami, e.g. Akerman Senterfitt, Alienware, Arquitectonica, Arrow Air, Brightstar Corporation, Burger King, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Corporation, Carnival Cruise Lines, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, Espírito Santo Financial Group, Fizber.com, Greenberg Traurig, Inktel Direct, Interval International, Lennar, Navarro Discount Pharmacies, Norwegian Cruise Lines and many others.

Miami’s pleasant winter climate makes it a desired haven for many tourists. The city houses some of America’s popular beaches such as the Miami Beach and the South Beach. It also plays host to other tourist sites like the Jungle Island, Zoo Miami, American Airline Arena, Little Havana and Calle Ocho (popular for its distinctive cultural flavor), Miami Seaquarium, and several other interesting sites.

No doubt, based on these eye-popping descriptions, anyone planning to relocate to Florida will consider staying in the Gateway to the Americas, Miami.