While initially going out to South Beach to daygame, in the recent month I started to spend more time in Brickell. Now one of the hotspots of Brickell itself is the Brickell City Center which is this massive four story mall that is super modernized. Before I say anything else, I will confess that I have not spent as much time in Brickell and my opinion might even be subject to change. However, I can only go by what I have experienced so far.
A little bit about Brickell.
So you can obviously read about it but for those who want a definition from a local, Brickell is practically the Manhattan of Miami. The wealthiest young people and most well-off locals tend to live there if they do not live in South Beach. Brickell is Miami’s “happening” area even though it does not have the hottest night clubs, those are normally in South Beach. From what most will say, this is where the best looking people in Miami will generally be.
Yet, as many reasons as we may have to dislike Manhattan.
My readers know all too much about my miserable 2021 in Manhattan which caused me to leave NYC as a whole. While I had my differences with Manhattan, the truth is that it had a soul to it. Manhattan had an energy to it on a day to day no matter where you went that very few areas of the world could rival. So whenever some area calls itself the Manhattan of anything, it has some big shoes to fill.
So let’s talk about Brickell’s vibe.
You feel it as soon as you arrive at the Brickell City Center, a very modernized mall that looks exceptionally appealing on the outside. Then you step inside and notice how confining it starts to feel. I feel like Brickell reminds me a lot of Dubai, so much beautiful architecture but when you truly step into it, well this post can comment on it. Dystopian, that is the vibe I feel like describes Brickell so well from my experience.
Brickell embodies that same sort of a vibe when you compare it to the tourist vibe of Miami Beach. The typical Miami atmosphere is not there and you start see a dystopian view as soon as you step inside of the city center. So many artificial clothing stores and even though it is clean, it seems so depressing and quiet. You might go up to the 3rd floor to see people take photos but its typical Instagram influencer types that hog up the whole space.
Just the mall itself feels so suffocating and you feel confined in it all. Food is overpriced compared to your average mall and the security seems to always be on high alert. The mall itself is surrounded by your run of the mill restaurants, including a Burger King near it of all brands.
But there is hope and I admit I could be doing it wrong.
Once you step outside of the Brickell City Center itself, you feel like you can easily take a breath. The sunlight hits down at you and the dystopian vibe slowly starts to go away. If you are bold, maybe you go to the local Whole Foods or Publix which is sure to be crawling with beautiful women but you must exercise caution. When you compare the Brickell City Center to the rest of the area, you feel as if this is where Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine would live.
Maybe I am wrong and haven’t had enough experience but so far, the vibe of Brickell is quite dystopian compared to any other major area of a big US city I have been to.
