A Cuban woman residing in Brandon, Florida, a suburb just east of Tampa, sparked a lively discussion among the Cuban exile community after posting a candid video on TikTok criticizing the urban aesthetics of her new surroundings.
Using the handle @alietty_livestyle, the content creator opens the video with a blunt declaration: "This place is hideous. I'm living in Brandon, which is Tampa. Well, it's not Tampa, but Tampa is nearby, and it's even uglier."
She shares that her move from Miami to Brandon was motivated by financial reasons: the rent was more affordable, allowing her to transition from an apartment to a house without "losing a lung, like in Miami," as she puts it.
However, she admits that the move came at an aesthetic cost. "I made the grave mistake of coming here, a quieter city where rent was cheaper. But it's ugly," she confesses.
Her criticism doesn't stop at Brandon. She extends her assessment to the entire Tampa area, unfavorably comparing its downtown to Miami's: "Tampa's downtown is just three buildings compared to Miami's, it's nothing."
She goes further: "Even Miami is ugly. Don't talk to me about Brickell or the beautiful neighborhoods of Miami Beach. The rest is ugly."
According to her, cities like New York, Boston, or Chicago deserve aesthetic appreciation, but they represent merely "10% of the urban landscape of this country." The remainder, she believes, is a vast and visually unappealing expanse.
The only exception she grants are the beaches: "Fine, white sand, the beaches, the natural beauty," though she concludes that "what's man-made, is ugly."
Anticipating criticism from those who might suggest she leave if she's unhappy, she employs a rhetorical strategy familiar among Cuban emigrants: "The airports are open. Yes, I'll leave whenever I feel like it, if I want to or for whatever reason, but we must acknowledge that it's ugly."
This tendency to express daily frustrations with blunt honesty, without implying regret over emigrating, is common among the Cuban community on TikTok. In recent years, the internal migration of Cubans from Miami to more affordable cities like Tampa, Cape Coral, or locations outside Florida has been a documented trend, driven primarily by the high cost of rent in South Florida.
Another Cuban had shared her experience moving from Miami to Tampa, offering advice on renting and budgeting, while a third recounted the reverse journey: leaving Tampa to return to Miami, only to face "outrageously expensive" rents that were impossible to manage alone.
Brandon is a residential suburb largely developed after 1970, characterized by strip malls, generic single-family homes, and limited pedestrian activity. Tampa, however, surpassed Miami as the best city in Florida in 2021 according to the consultancy Resonance, noted for its low crime rate and the development of the Riverwalk, although the video creator seems to have missed these attributes in her daily experience.
In the video description, the Cuban succinctly captures the tension she feels: "Sometimes I feel like I'm living on autopilot here. Yes, there are opportunities... but there are also places that don't move me. And while many people love this life, for me... it feels gray."
Understanding Cuban Migration Patterns in Florida
Why did the Cuban woman move from Miami to Brandon?
She moved from Miami to Brandon primarily due to economic reasons, as the rent was more affordable, allowing her to upgrade from an apartment to a house without significant financial strain.
What are the aesthetic criticisms mentioned in the video?
The video criticizes the urban aesthetics of Brandon and Tampa, describing them as unattractive compared to cities like Miami, New York, Boston, and Chicago. The creator mentions that aside from natural landscapes like beaches, man-made environments are visually unappealing.
How is the Cuban community expressing their experiences on social media?
Many Cubans in the diaspora use platforms like TikTok to openly share their daily frustrations and experiences, often doing so with candid honesty without implying regret over their decision to emigrate.