Free Two Places I Have Lived Essay Example

There are a lot of beautiful places in the world, and I was born and raised in one of the most exciting ones. The city where almost every American wants to go - Miami. For a lot of people this city is a dream place - it is a symbol of holidays, cocktail parties and beautiful beaches, no wonder it is called the Sunshine State. All the tourists are dying from a very hot weather during the day, wearing shorts and printed T-shirts, but at night everything changes. The streets are always crowded with insomniacs and party lovers, so you can always have fun on Washington Avenue or Lincoln Drive even if it is already 4 am, there are dozens of women in tight dresses and such high heels, that they cannot even walk properly and men, who usually wear bright clothes - you will certainly notice their new acid color Nikes or a popular hat with Miami Heat label on it.
The weather changes as fast as people's outfits. It can be too hot during the day and the hair gets totally wet from an enormous humidity, but the next second you are almost swimming in the street due to all the tropical rains.
Miami has a lot of cultural backgrounds - there are a lot of people from South and Central America, sometimes if you want to buy a sandwich in a small Cuban store you will have to speak Spanish since a lot of immigrants simply refuse to learn English. But Miami is one of the best places in America where you can get a delicious Colombian coffee, some Mexican tacos or big bacon burgers in Cuban places, like Los Perros. Also, it has such a great architecture and I always liked Art Deco district for its small, colorful building, which look so modern and classic at the same time. Ocean Drive makes tourists remember Scarface and the famous gangster Al Pacino. But actually if you live in South Beach, you never notice or spend time there because of the amount of tourists.
The city is really green and you can find a lot of coconuts or mangoes just lying on the street. It is situated near Atlantic ocean, so I got to see beautiful dolphins, when I lived there. I remember the gorgeous sunsets, especially the view at the downtown from South Beach. To my mind, you can forget about everything bad happened to you in this city after that one sunset, which slowly becomes a violet night.
The beaches are the most popular places to visit in Miami. But to be honest they are not that good as they seem - the beaches are murky, extremely crowded and they don't look that appealing because of people's trash. So the beach is closed at midnight in order to clean all the mess from the day left by thousands of people.
Growing up in Miami I had to learn how to toughen up as a kid. Because it is not a place, where you just get anything you want. You always need to struggle in order to survive and resist from all the troubles coming in a way. So this city made me stronger than I ever thought I would be.
After I've lived in Miami for 21 years, I got too tired of this lifestyle. It is not only the city of big opportunities, but also of the great disappointments. So I decided to get away from this non-stop party lifestyle and move somewhere more quiet. Valrico is a small city in Florida, not far from Miami - only 5 hours drive. However, it looks a lot different. You can actually hear your thoughts in this city, not only some hip-hop songs or basketball fans shouting because of Miami Heat vs. Spurs.
This city has less population than Miami, and its cultural background is not that broad. It looks subtle and peaceful.
There are not so many significant places in Valrico, but there a lot of small and nice things you can do there. First of all, unlike in Miami you can enjoy a lazy weekend on the beach, since they are always crystal clear and clean. It feels far more relaxing when you can have some private time without the noises from the crowd. The city does not on the Atlantic coast; it is more on the Pacific side.
I like the fact that there are a lot of farms and farm animals there, you can always buy some fresh vegetables and fruit and see some animals, which make you feel closer to the nature.
I think a lot of people who live in big cities start feeling exhausted and some kind of trapped in their apartments and crowded streets, and all you want is to stop partying all the time, because everything you do is just picking a new club to hang out and it gets pointless.
The decision to move to Valrico was the best one I've ever made. It is such a wonderful and comfy place to live in, that I've never regretted to coming here.
I will always settle for a laidback lifestyle. I am not sure that I will live in Valrico for a while - who knows what life brings to me, maybe something more exciting is coming on the way. However, for now I feel wonderful, living my calm life, far from insane Miami's lifestyle, that I've always disliked.
I have learned a lot living in both cities and I am grateful for such an amazing experience, and I will always view these places like my home, where I had all these wonderful memories which can never be forgotten.