Tourist mecca squeezes the middle

A laundry list of school supplies
And along with the excellent reputation of the schools that Kevin and Annya attend come additional costs: mandatory uniforms and a list of supplies that parents must provide for each child, ranging from hand-sanitizer to “dry” markers and erasers. “Schools in Miami-Dade County don't even provide tissue paper,” she says.

She says the payoff from her choices is clear: Kevin, who carries a GPA above 3.9, has been in gifted programs for years and already has won a $10,000 college scholarship in a history competition. Annya also is in advanced classes. “My kids are excellent kids,” Suarez says proudly. “I want to keep them good.”

If she wasn’t as careful in her selection of neighborhood and schools, Suarez believes, the children would be surrounded by kids “with their pants down around their waist and weird hairdos.” Instead, Kevin and Annya’s friends are also academic standouts from nice homes, she says. Kevin is currently in the middle of rehearsals to take part in a classmate’s quinceañera, a traditional Latino celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday.

But such activities require tough decisions. “You have to make choices like, ‘Do I not pay my lights so he can go to a fifteens party?’” And Suarez is now wondering how she will foot the bill when her own daughter turns 15.

Crystal L. Lauderdale for msnbc.com Doting mom: When Olga Suarez stopped for groceries, son Ryan, 4, got a balloon.

Like all parents, Suarez would like to reward her kids with occasional evenings out and activities, but just a visit to the bowling alley can run more than $100. “Movies are $10 per person. That’s $40 plus whatever you eat and drink. It’s $80 and you just watch the movie.”

“It’s Miami,” says Suarez. “I guess it comes with the ZIP Code. … They wanted to put it so much on the map as a tourist destination that we’re screwed.”

The family did take a three-day vacation over the summer to Sea World and Universal Studios in Orlando, but Suarez had to float most of it on credit cards.

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