Miami Springs, Florida

A bedroom community in Miami-Dade County, Miami Springs is located just north of Miami International Airport and just south of Hialeah. Oh, and there's a small nibble out of the southwest corner -- Virginia Gardens.

When the Miami Springs area was first seen by Yankees, it was part of the Everglades. Henry Flagler built a hunting lodge way out there. Now it's not even close to the ever-growing boundaries of metropolitan South Florida.

Many airport employees live in Miami Springs. When Eastern Airlines folded, everyone knew someone who had lost their job.

I grew up in Miami Springs, living there for 18 years, and miss it dearly. It still seems weird to not hear airplanes flying overhead at all hours.

Also, Miami Springs was founded in 1926 by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, a pioneer in the early days of aviation and a rival of the Wright Brothers. Curtiss also purchased the land for the cities of Hialeah (home to the third largest Cuban population outside of Cuba) which is just north of Miami Springs, and Opa-Locka (originally designed with an arabian theme in mind (city hall is shaped like a mosque and one of the main streets is called Ali Baba Avenue)) which is north of Hialeah. Considering that Miami Springs is the only city just north of the world's 14th busiest airport (MIA) you'd be surprised at how underdeveloped it is. There isn't a single McDonald's in the entire city (not that I'm complaining) and though there is a Burger King it's way out at the southern fringes--practically part of the airport. Curtiss, who for some reason had a theme-city fetish meant Miami Springs to be a sleepy residential town and for the most part it has remained so even now. The only landmarks worth mentioning are the Circle (AKA Curtiss Parkway) the Curtiss Mansion, and the Country Club/Golf Course.