Lifestyle 21 Things We Can Do to Make Miami a Better Place

No city is perfect. LA has traffic. Chicago has brutal winters. And Miami? Well, while it does sexy better than anywhere else, it probably has the worst behaved people on the planet. Knowing that fact is a great way to tell a local from a tourist, but it’s also a sad but universal truth. While Miami may never be utopia, if people could all do these 21 things it might make the city just a little bit nicer.

Stop driving like maniacs Let someone over if they’ve actually got the decency to use a turn signal. And maybe try driving somewhere between 45-90mph on the freeway.

Learn manners The world will not end if you let someone get out of a parking space. Extend a little common courtesy and you’ll be amazed what gets returned.

Plan 7,000 new high-rises. One new Metrorail stop. You do the math.

Stop talking about where you came from You moved here for a reason, so if the pizza is so amazing back in New York there are 40 nonstop flights a day that will gladly take you there.

Show up on time Being perpetually late is not a fun little personality quirk. It’s rude, inconsiderate, and is only compounded by your unapologetic shrug followed by, “Hey, I’m on Miami time.”

Stop building condos Seriously. Enough. No great city was ever judged by its condominiums and shopping malls.

Stop the "hollas" To put it in perspective, gents: imagine you’re walking around South Beach on Pride weekend and you can't go 5ft without a guy yelling something about your ass, if not grabbing it. Now imagine that’s every day of your life. Have some consideration.

Get an education If aliens landed on Earth and turned on Y100, Power 96, or any show involving DJ Laz, they’d correctly assume this was the dumbest city in the country.

Follow the rules Nothing speaks to Miamians’ complete disregard for laws of civility like the run-over signs telling you it’s state law to stop for pedestrians. Except maybe the "10 Items or Less" line at Publix.

Vote The worst problems this city has (overbuilding, worthless public transportation, the Marlins) are ALL due to corrupt local leadership. Right now the only people who vote are the ones who’d elect a bag of Funyuns if it denounced Castro.

Be humble You don’t need to show off everything you buy because it was mentioned in a rap song. Act like you’ve been there before. Besides, it’s not your boat, and that car is leased.

Mean what you say What is it that keeps us from admitting when we can’t do something? "Yeah, yeah, I got you bro," is Miami for "I’m completely full of s*it."

Realize nobody wants to hear your music Nobody in the history of the world has woken up, looked at the sky, and said, “Today is a perfect to go out to the beach and listen to someone else’s reggae.”

Get out of your cars We know you spend $399 a month to lease that sweet C-Class, but that doesn’t mean you need to clog up Kendall Dr when you can easily walk the half mile from your house to Publix.

Learn the art of service Just because you walked away with $300 last night -- and subsequently spent all of it -- doesn’t mean you’re too good to greet a table, refill a water glass, and know even a little bit about what’s on the menu.

Party less Service might be SLIGHTLY better if your server wasn’t out until 7am.