I still find it hysterical when people refer to suburbia. To THIS New Yorker, ALL of South Florida is suburban. Even the urban areas are tract homes and strip malls.
I know what you’re saying — I myself moved down here from Manhattan some 15 years ago — but South Beach is unique, and very Manhattan-like in many, many ways. (Indeed, that’s precisely why I lived there.) It’s the only place in South Florida where I know a lot of people who don’t own a car. I used to walk everywhere — to the grocery store, dry cleaners, hardware store, shoe repair, bank, drugstore, even the dentist. My move out of there two years ago was definitely a big switch. I can’t walk anywhere now, except maybe around the block.