Surviving South Beach.

Walking the beat of South Beach is great. The Ferry Building is diverse and fun, and AT&T park is so memorable and proud I can't help but visit every time I go to South Beach. The streets in between are full of corporations and great eateries. The underground music scene is still thriving in South Beach, so I'm excited to go to some of the clubs there to meet more interesting people. It all sounds great, right?

Wrong. I have no idea how to meet residents. Every time I visit South Beach I meet people who work there, reside near by, or are tourists. South beach is filled with major businesses including the Twitter offices and Wikipedia. Many young corporate types I've met do not work at these corporations. So who does?! I have tried cafes, restaurants, and parks. Most people are walking through the area or on lunch breaks (the latter are particularly unenthusiastic to talk to me).

I did have some luck visiting South Park (my favorite) and met a young family there. Other than that, most people just work there.

The China Basin is a little better, which is still part of South Beach, although completely different than the area on the other side of the Fourth Street Bridge. More residents are walking the streets of China Basin on their way to and from the city, as the China Basin has little markets or restaurants. I especially hope to come in contact with those who live on the houseboats, particularly how they feel about all the construction going on in their area. "Ahoy!" hasn't gotten me very far.

I believe some of the major problems in meeting residents of the area are the lack of schools and churches in South Beach. Such meeting places are essential to bringing the community together. Also, I have visited South Beach mostly in the afternoon, so I plan to go in the morning, too, hoping to catch some residents going to and from breakfast.D emographics suggest that there are far more young and single professionals living in South Beach, therefore I guess there's not a pressing need for schools, but everyone eats.

If there are 3,000 people residing in South Beach, I guess I need to step up my game, because I have yet to meet over ten.