Miami Beach Spring Break problems -- Curfew & Causeways closed

[princesscinderella]

I’m not sure I understand what you mean by “low rent”.

Well last year a guy was arrested living it up on south beach with 5 or six stolen credit cards and had previous warrants out for his arrest. Also last year girl fell out of her car onto the highway sitting out on the rim of the passenger window saying “bye” to Miami on the way to the airport. To me “low rent” has nothing to do with $ but with a type of people who make idiotic choices.

 

[Alicefan]

I'm in Myrtle Beach and I noticed that it seemed way busier than a typical Spring break. We've become a hot spot for crime so I'm surprised that I haven't heard about any shootings yet. All of that happens about 10 miles from me thankfully. I'm more in the Inlet where the marsh walk restaurants are and the yuppies hang. You don't go to Myrtle anymore if you're from here. It's way too dangerous.

 

[Orion Nebula]

I don't see any problems here in the mid-west... lol

 

[JimMIA]

I don’t know the Miami area well enough, but it kind of makes me glad we won’t be in Miami in a couple weeks like we were supposed to before boarding our Disney cruise.

You would have been fine, because you would probably have stayed in a nice hotel in downtown. If you went to the beach, it would have been in the daytime and you would have avoided the crazy zone just because it was so busy. Shuttle or Uber to the port the next day, and enjoy your cruise.

PortMiami is the busiest cruise port in the world, and people don't have problems there.

 

[JimMIA]

Last night, we had a fatal shooting in South Beach. There is very little information available, other than the victim was a male.

Piecing together the minimal information, it sounds like he was shot in the main area where police have been having problems and someone tried to drive him for help. They ended up at Miami Beach Fire Rescue HQ where paramedics were unable to save him.

 

[cabanafrau]

No comparison. Much worse. But in those years, the hotels were charging much higher rates. Now flights are cheap, hotels are cheap...and it's COLD up Nawth!No, but big time raucous partying attracts a variety of folks, including some real problem people.It's a mix -- mostly tourists, but some locals. The vast majority of the crime on South Beach is tourist/tourist. Somebody gets "disrespected" and the next thing you know, you've got a problem.That's what the mayor, and many citizens of Miami Beach are worried about. Most people don't realize it, but probably 85% of Miami Beach is quiet residential neighborhoods.

That is horrifying. Do you think that's a shift in the types of people traveling to party mid-pandemic or part of a larger trend in what spring break is like down there?

My college kid isn't doing anything for spring break. Her restaurant called her back to work two weeks ago, when indoor dining reopened, so we cancelled our plans... which weren't exactly "girls gone wild" anyway (we were planning a hiking trip to Sedona). But she has no interest in party-type spring breaks; last year, she was on a service trip in Appalachia for the break when all the shutdowns started.

I had seen reports a while back that Las Vegas was having a rash of violence right on the strip during weekends, with shootings and stabbings occurring every weekend. I had seen some discussion on a travel planning site from regular visitors who were determined to head back, but were designing their trips very deliberately to stay in a resort where they would remain either for the entirety of their visit, or at least by nightfall, specifically to avoid risk.

My daughter's college skipped spring break this year, instead giving out extra, random days off one at a time in the middle of different weeks to keep kids in place. I wish they hadn't elected to give quite as many and would let them end the semester early. So much isolation in the heart of winter was really tough.

 

[aprilchem]

I'm wondering who the spring breakers are this year? I'm a college professor and I don't know of any institutions of higher education that are doing spring break this year. We've changed our break into 5 days off strategically placed in the middle of the week so students won't leave the campus. Other institutions cancelled entirely.

Our public schools, though, are having a traditional week-long spring break, in addition to giving the kids a bunch of "learn from home" days during the semester. I wonder if these are high school kids partying like this? Surely not...

 

[kdonnel]

I'm wondering who the spring breakers are this year?

My daughter's college had a traditional spring break a week ago. So there are still some colleges taking traditional breaks.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I'm wondering who the spring breakers are this year? I'm a college professor and I don't know of any institutions of higher education that are doing spring break this year. We've changed our break into 5 days off strategically placed in the middle of the week so students won't leave the campus. Other institutions cancelled entirely.

Our public schools, though, are having a traditional week-long spring break, in addition to giving the kids a bunch of "learn from home" days during the semester. I wonder if these are high school kids partying like this? Surely not...

Probably colleges that have a strong social component.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm wondering who the spring breakers are this year? I'm a college professor and I don't know of any institutions of higher education that are doing spring break this year. We've changed our break into 5 days off strategically placed in the middle of the week so students won't leave the campus. Other institutions cancelled entirely.

Our public schools, though, are having a traditional week-long spring break, in addition to giving the kids a bunch of "learn from home" days during the semester. I wonder if these are high school kids partying like this? Surely not...

My daughter's large state school will be home in 10 days for a traditional week long spring break.

 

[Stratman50th]

Things are quiet here in Polk County.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

My daughter is at a state university in Ohio and they cancelled spring break this year. Instead they have two days mid-week during the semester which are "reading days" and they are ending the semester early. Our local K-12 school district does still have spring break this year (it's next week).

 

[CdnCarrie]

Have a problem?

No one spring breaks here - wintery city on the prairies so no we have no problems with spring breakers.

Our province has spring break in 2 weeks. With the border closed/mandatory quarantining most people with be staycationing. Bet the zoo will be busy! Not much else open.

Our colleges had study break in February.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm wondering who the spring breakers are this year? I'm a college professor and I don't know of any institutions of higher education that are doing spring break this year. We've changed our break into 5 days off strategically placed in the middle of the week so students won't leave the campus. Other institutions cancelled entirely.

Our public schools, though, are having a traditional week-long spring break, in addition to giving the kids a bunch of "learn from home" days during the semester. I wonder if these are high school kids partying like this? Surely not...

I suspect that this year the majority are not full-time students at all unless they are local or attending a school that is virtual. I think it's more likely that they are young 20-somethings that really just wanted the atmosphere. I think South Beach attracts more of that kind of crowd most of the time anyway.

 

[cabanafrau]

Probably colleges that have a strong social component.

Schools here have been doing a lot to discourage the normal social atmosphere, in a major way.

Oldest daughter drove through her former university town last month and was thrown for a loop by the emptiness. When she was in university she lived there year round because she had a job in a lab with year round responsibilities, so she was used to seeing the town extensively in "slow mode". She drove through the main street of the city and said there was essentially no traffic, none. Most businesses were dark and she saw less than a handful of pedestrians. She decided to check out the area where all the fraternity and sorority houses are out of curiosity. Crickets. She thinks they weren't allowed to open the houses as residential living this year. Lack of international travel has probably impacted the overall situations as well.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm wondering who the spring breakers are this year? I'm a college professor and I don't know of any institutions of higher education that are doing spring break this year. We've changed our break into 5 days off strategically placed in the middle of the week so students won't leave the campus. Other institutions cancelled entirely.

Probably colleges that have a strong social component.

And those that haven't brought students back to campus, which means they don't have any reason to worry about students traveling and bringing the virus back after the break. DD's uni has been full remote all year. In the fall term, they cancelled break in favor of the 5 random mid-week days off. But the feedback they got from both students and professors was pretty negative about that approach, and since almost no one is on campus (just student-athletes and those who lack stable housing at home), they kept the traditional break for spring term.

 

[Minnesota!]

I don't see any problems here in the mid-west... lol

This.

Well, outside of mounds of snow, riots, and lack of sun...

OP - I hope things settle down for you. I was kind of amazed at the sheer number of families from my kids schools who traveled over spring break last week. Majority went to AZ, but a few hit FL, TX, etc.

We got an email home last night that alluded to some families not being truthful about their travel (telling their kids to say they did NOT go anywhere). My younger son's school had notified everyone WELL in advance (before Christmas!) that if you traveled, you would have to keep your kids in distance learning for 2 weeks. Apparently a lot of parents assumed that did NOT mean them

Even if you don't agree with the restrictions, you knew they were in place. The selfishness shouldn't blow me away, and yet it does.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Opening the welcome mat for college students (and non college students alike) to come down and get wasted? What could possibly go wrong?

Things are quiet here in Polk County.

I cannot possibly imagine why. I mean what college kid wouldn't want to forego Disney and Universal, forget the beach, and spend their spring break in the home of phosphogypsum mounds, I can still remember that mixer with the tri delts in the phosphate museum. Good times. Good times.

 

[Orion Nebula]

This.

Well, outside of mounds of snow, riots, and lack of sun...

OP - I hope things settle down for you. I was kind of amazed at the sheer number of families from my kids schools who traveled over spring break last week. Majority went to AZ, but a few hit FL, TX, etc.

We got an email home last night that alluded to some families not being truthful about their travel (telling their kids to say they did NOT go anywhere). My younger son's school had notified everyone WELL in advance (before Christmas!) that if you traveled, you would have to keep your kids in distance learning for 2 weeks. Apparently a lot of parents assumed that did NOT mean them

Even if you don't agree with the restrictions, you knew they were in place. The selfishness shouldn't blow me away, and yet it does.

That is pretty messed up... my sons in distanced learning so we obviously didn't give that any thought. I can see parents doing it though, some would send their kids to school with the plague if they could get away with it.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I'm here in Delray Beach, definitely busy but no issues. My kids want to go to the beach but we have had man o wars for weeks so we have not been in the water.
Wanted to go to Disney but every day is full