Tough Times In A High Rise

For FIU students, living in the City of Miami is a hassle. After interviewing two college roommates that reside in the Terrazas River Park Village in Miami City, their issues are apparently intertwined. From garbage disposal, to parking and traffic; life can be difficult in the City of Miami.

For Jim Cloud, a 5^th year student pursuing an Engineering degree, easy transportation would be considered best. Unfortunately for him, he has to depart from his apartment up to an hour before class so that he can make it through traffic and find an adequate parking spot when he gets to campus. Besides his troubles with getting to FIU on time, he has much larger issues within his living quarters. Cloud, 23, from Peoria, Illinois, moved to Miami to get a degree, enjoy life, and experience something other than snow for winter, has not had everything work according to plan. When asked about how life in the City of Miami has been for him, Cloud said, “The view is beautiful, but the rent is high, the traffic is bad, the maintenance service here is not up to par and ordering delivery can be a nightmare.” When asked about how maintenance service is lacking, Cloud reiterated that, “Yeah, if I have a leak in the wall or my oven won’t work, I call up the front desk, they sweet talk me and no one shows up for a day or two. I have to physically go down to the lobby to get something done. And when it comes to repairs, these guys always spot patch issues and never finish their work, and then expect a fat tip because they showed up. The maintenance people in the dorms at FIU were much better and for once, I miss living in the dorms”.

Aside from the maintenance issue, the food delivery situation can be a nightmare. Cloud’s roommate, Nicolas Jones, 19, a soccer player at FIU, had much harsher things to say, “When we moved in, everything was great, service was superb, everyone was friendly, but man things have changed. When it comes to ordering food, were lucky if the delivery guy finds our place, we have to guide them to our building all the time and it usually takes up to an hour once everything is said and done. The maintenance service can be horrendous and the only way I was able to get my carpet cleaned when we moved in was by purchasing a bottle of rum for the workers. When we need something done, we give gifts to the maintenance guys so that they will help us out. I know it sounds like a scam, but life can be much easier when sharing a drink.“

In terms of how tough parking and traffic can be, the residents at Terrazas have private parking spots, but guests have to go through a valet service that charges unfair rates of up to 5 dollars for one hour, and fifteen dollars per day. Not only that, but you have to go to two different offices to pay the bill to get your car back from the valet service. Once they get out of their complex, depending on what time it is, traffic can be considered hell. They have to make sure what time they go to run an errand or make it to class, otherwise the pursuit to their destination can go terribly wrong. Although the situation can be considered tough, they love their 15^th floor man cave where they throw parties, enjoy the view, and live their college dream lives.