Miami Nice? Not even close. It’s the least neighborly city in America in new survey
Ringo Starr sang, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” But he never lived in Miami.
Mister Rogers sang, “I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you.” He never lived in Miami either.
If Ringo and Fred did live in Miami, they probably would not have a lot of friends and neighbors to sing about. And that’s according to Miamians themselves, who were honest in a national survey when asked about the lack of kindness in their city.
Miami is hot, right? But it’s downright chilly when it comes to interpersonal relations, says a semi-annual survey that measures volunteering and civic life in the United States, conducted by AmeriCorps and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The two federal agencies collected data from the country’s 12 largest metropolitan areas to rank cities in two categories: Informal helping and formal volunteering through an organization.
Miami ranked last, or least helpful, overall. It wasn’t close. Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, finished first.
Only 35.5 percent of Miamians are in the friendly habit of informally helping or doing favors for others, such as assisting someone across the street, holding open a door, fixing a flat tire, shoveling a driveway, giving directions, watching each other’s children, feeding neighbors’ pets, running an errand, checking on isolated seniors or lending a cup of sugar.
As any native accustomed to Miamians cutting in line or cutting drivers off on I-95 will tell you, “They didn’t name the show Miami Nice.”
Boston was the most unselfish place with 57.9 percent of Bostonians giving a helping hand; Philadelphia was second at 57.8 percent and Chicago was third at 54.6 percent. For all you New Yorkers who moved to Miami, the Big Apple placed eighth at 43.6 percent. Nationally, about 51 percent of Americans are helpful out of a sense of kindness, not obligation.
In formal volunteering with an organization, Riverside, Calif., placed last with just 9 percent of residents supporting food banks, or tutoring students, or cleaning up trash, or registering voters, or feeding the homeless, or coaching Special Olympians, or raising money for cancer research. Miami was second from last at 14 percent.
The cities with the most active volunteering culture Philadelphia (28.7), Washington, D.C. (27.9), and Chicago (27.6). Boston and Phoenix were tied at 25.4 percent. Nationally, an estimated 23.2 percent of Americans volunteer with organizations.
In four other measures of civic engagement, Miami ranked at or near the bottom. Miami has a firm grip on last place for “Doing Favors For Your Neighbors.” Miami was third from last in “Membership in an Organization” and second from last in “Donating to a Charity or Group.”
Florida did not make the top 10 in state rankings of informal helping. Montana, Nebraska and Maine took the top three spots.
The Sunshine State wasn’t in the top 10 for formal volunteering. Utah, Wyoming and Minnesota were the top three states.
Why are so many Miamians considered unfriendly, inconsiderate and uncharitable in study after study of cities’ civic health, both national and international?
Sociologists and the people who deal with the daily stress of Miami dynamics have given thought to how such a sunny place can be so hostile. They point to a number of factors:
Miami’s rich diversity also can make for difficult communication. It s a city of transplants, immigrants, snowbirds and tourists who speak different languages and come from different places.
Let’s not leave out road rage, which extracts a heavy toll on every miserable commute, raising blood pressure and resentment toward the incompetent and rude drivers going the wrong way on the exit ramp or shooting bullets through the windshield.
Miami also is a young city, so locals are not debating the histories of the Heat and Marlins like our northern neighbors bond over the Celtics and Cubs — although Miamians do bond when hurricanes hit. Unchecked growth and new waves of new people make it difficult to connect.
And then there is the fact that it is also a city infamous for drawing more than its fair share of grifters and drifters, and that adds to the cloud of distrust and suspicion.
One cliched suggestion: Next time you see your neighbor on the sidewalk, try a smile. It’s a universal language.
