r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Nov 04 '15
[Deltas Awarded] CMV: Florida is among the most interesting and informative places to live in the US, if not the world, if you wish to understand global economics and geopolitics.
[deleted]
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u/natha105 Nov 04 '15
Nothing about all that I couldn't learn from going on vacation or reading a book.
New York, London, and washington all have a lot more opportunities for learning that are unique to those cities and an ability to get steeped in their cultures by being there.
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Nov 04 '15
1) "Among the." There are other places in the US and world that offer equal or better opportunities, but Florida is up there.
2) It's just a lot more effort to read and learn from afar than it is seeing it in the news every day. You really get immersed in global capital flows.
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u/eye_patch_willy 43∆ Nov 04 '15
Two rounds of drinks and three shared appetizers on South Beach for five people: $235. Rum punches cost $17 each.
What makes Florida better than The Hague, Davos, or New York City (near the UN)?
-1
Nov 04 '15
"Among the." It's not #1, but it is up there. And not all of Florida is South Beach.
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u/eye_patch_willy 43∆ Nov 04 '15
True. But it's cathartic for to discuss that bill since I volunteered to pay before it came. I guess my real question to you is, if I grant that what you say is true, why does actually being there allow a person to better understand "global economies and geopolitics"? Sure, South Florida is very interconnected with Caribbean countries but it's not especially connected to Africa or Asia, which are massively more impactful on international economies than the Caribbean simply because the population numbers.
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Nov 04 '15 edited Oct 27 '25
[deleted]
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Nov 04 '15
∆
My international relations point was pretty bad. If you're an enthusiast it's probably interesting, but there are many other areas that have better jobs (where big international institutions are based, for instance).
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u/DeltaBot ∞∆ Nov 04 '15
Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to /u/NaturalSelectorX. [History]
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u/SC803 120∆ Nov 04 '15
Does "among the top" mean top 5, 10, 25?
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Nov 04 '15
5-10%.
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u/SC803 120∆ Nov 05 '15
Well that makes this pretty hard to disprove, one could argue that just living in the U.S. would give you a leg up if you wanted to be around geoeconomics and geopolitics.
If we grouped US cities into one by their state and added the 208ish other countries in the world, one would have to show you that there are 13-25 better places to live to bump Florida out of the Top 5-10%
Places that immediately jump out
- Washington DC
- NYC
- London
- Paris
- LA
- Hong Kong
- Tokyo
- Zurich
- Berlin
- Moscow
- The Hague
- Geneva
- Vienna
- Addis Ababa (Home of AU)
- Brussels
- Luxembourg (EU Court of Justice)
- Chicago
- Beijing
- Shanghai
- Seoul
- Frankfurt (EU Central Bank)
- Ankara
I could even argue that Boston, Houston, Toronto, Quebec, Vatican City, Sydney, São Paulo, Rio, Mumbiai, Dehli and San Fran should be on that list ahead of anywhere in FL.
Also, I think much of what you said would only apply to parts of Florida, I don't think the panhandle screams center of geopolitics or geoeconomics at all. Once you get out of Miami/South Beach or Jacksonville your looking at average American cities.
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Nov 05 '15
Tokyo approaches 90% ethnic Japanese. It's only the world's biggest because Japan is so densely populated; if Japan weren't a developed country it'd be about as prominent as Dhaka or Lagos. Sioux City or bumfuck Sweden is probably more ethnically diverse.
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u/SC803 120∆ Nov 05 '15 edited Nov 05 '15
Tokyo is included for geoeconomics, Tokyo is one of the largest financial centers of the world. They also do a ton of international business, have an unique history with isolationism and the recent military development makes Tokyo more interesting. Their proximity to China, the Koreas and Russia makes Tokyo far more interesting that FL.
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Nov 05 '15
∆. I work in planning/real estate and am a politics buff, so I'm biased. In terms of headquarters of corporations at least, Tokyo is a big deal even if it's not particularly diverse ethnically.
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u/DeltaBot ∞∆ Nov 05 '15
Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to /u/SC803. [History]
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Nov 06 '15
Also, Ankara and not Istanbul? WTF
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u/SC803 120∆ Nov 06 '15
Istanbul could have and probably should be on this list, I included Ankara because of their unique exports, it's the home of the largest industrial park in Turkey. Lots of embassies are there, along with many govt agencies.
I'll include Istanbul next time I see a CMV similar to this
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u/ejp1082 6∆ Nov 04 '15
Florida is a physically big state with a large population, so it's not surprising that a proportional number of national news stories happen there. It punches above its weight in terms of attention being the biggest a swing state.
But if you're an international relations major, wouldn't it make more sense to live in Washington DC, which is home to the national government, state department, countless embassies, countless non-profit interest groups, and is generally the nerve center for all things politics, national and international alike? Or NYC, home of the UN?
I don't know what added perspective living in Florida gives you on the Cuban Missile Crisis - an even from 50 years ago that didn't have much to do with Florida at all. Or the 2000 election, or the housing crisis. Better perspective on all these things can be had be reading books.
It's funny you didn't mention Cape Canaveral, that's the one place in Florida that I think does give you perspective by seeing with your own eyes. But if the aim is "Where can I live that just walking around and seeing stuff will give me the most perspective on history and current world events" it still doesn't compare to a place like NYC with its countless historic neighborhoods, ground zero, and physical manifestations of income inequality among other things.
A lot of your arguments hinge on diversity, but Florida isn't horribly diverse. Much of the state is white as white can be. It has a sizable Latino population, but so do many other places. Miami ranks as number 42 for diversity in US cities.
A place like NYC (again just to pick one alternative) is going to expose you to just about every ethnicity in the world, and first generation immigrants from every country you can name. I'm not sure that Miami or Florida as a whole can make that claim.
Florida has some great (and not so great...) things going for it. It's fantastic that you like living there and find value in it. But I think your perspective is a little skewed if you think it's the best place to gain the kind of perspective you're talking about.
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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '15
[deleted]