Downtown Living in Miami
📍DWNTWN /MIAMI
Words
(written in 2016)
Brickell was my comfort zone. Everything I needed was just a short walk or drive away. I rarely ventured past the Rickenbacker Causeway and almost never left the world of high-rises. I felt protected by these beautiful monsters of concrete and glass — who, at night, come to life.
But one day, I decided to end my long love affair with the Financial District. I stepped out of the bubble I was so tangled up in and started exploring the outskirts.
My routine had always been set: weekly drop-offs at Brickell Cleaners, Monday nights at Publix, manis at Wax Mee, and my religious OBBA dinners. As traffic in Brickell kept getting worse, I tried forcing myself to walk places with little success. There was always something to blame: the heat, the heels, the rain, the time (let’s be honest, Miami runs on Latin time — late).
The furthest I usually got was Downtown. And while some may see Brickell and Downtown as one and the same, to me, they’ve always been two very different worlds.
Sadly, public transportation in Miami is... barely a suggestion.
Fast-forward to now, and Brickell, Downtown, Wynwood, Midtown, and the Design District all feel connected. But moving between them still requires a steering wheel.
The Miami Downtown Development Authority released a master plan for 2025. (You can look it up.)
But what I didn’t expect was that the MetroMover would become my best friend. These days, I hop on it to get into Brickell, I can’t deal with that traffic anymore.
I feel the pulse of the city when there’s something happening at Bayfront Park: the Miami Marathon, Ultra, Heat games, concerts, or the soon-to-come Fourth of July spectacle. And don’t get me started on the free yoga. Bayfront attracts 12 million people a year, and that number keeps climbing.
From my window, I get front-row seats to giant concert ads lighting up the American Airlines Arena, private weekly shows of cruise ships arriving and departing, the freight trains hauling containers in and out of the Port of Miami. Add in the 24/7 nightlife and endless restaurants, and this neighborhood never sleeps.
I take the Venetian Causeway and I’m in Sunset Harbour. Works like a charm when I’m craving the tuna pizza from Pubbelly Sushi or need a GreenMonkey yoga fix. A jog or bike ride across the bridge also makes for a killer workout.
Wynwood’s close enough that I skip I-95 completely. Just a few shortcuts through the back roads (especially when Biscayne is backed up from a Heat game), and I’m there. $5 Uber ride. No stress.
New spots keep popping up, and sometimes I get this New York vibe, but without losing the tropical charm.
Downtown made me fall in love with Miami all over again. But it’s bigger than that. We’re all feeling the shift. The city is evolving fast. We’re living through a transformation, and this? This is just the beginning.
