Why is the city of Miami so hot?

In Florida, Miami, known for its mild climate, parties and vacation air, is now attracting new, affluent audiences looking for a better quality of life.

Boosted by liberal measures taken by Florida during the pandemic and boosted by the will of its mayor to make it a tech capital, Miami wants to become the new incarnation of American aspirations. And it is not the celebrities, who are taking over the city, who will deny it. The singer Dua Lipa was seen on the beach of the Setai, Kim Kardashian was there for an event of her brand Skims, Victoria Beckham celebrates her birthday … The event Art Basel Miami, also saw Cardi B and Offset, Alicia Keys, Lizzo, Migos, Diplo, to name a few, giving the feeling that Miami was indeed the most cutting edge city of the moment.

*Alicia Keys performing at Art Basel Miami © Lili Kobielski*

“In ten years, Miami has become an international brand, positioning itself on the same level as Mykonos, Ibiza, the French Riviera or its Italian cousin,” says Alex Furrer, Swiss director of the Setai Miami Hotel.

The city’s status, which has been growing in recent years, comes as no surprise given the peninsula’s assets, including its tropical charm and beaches, such as South Beach. If some owners of Art Deco architectural jewels, unavoidable symbols of the destination, were looking to get rid of them, today it is the opposite. A young developer, Craig Robins, is passionate about preserving this heritage and developing a real estate empire, maintaining the idea that Miami is a chic destination, with the largest Art Deco collection in the world.

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Also, in terms of tourism, 2019 was a record year, with more than 24 million visitors. Last year, its tourism revenue even surpassed 2019, while between July 2020 and July 2021, some 220,000 Americans moved to Florida, more than anywhere else in the country.

During the covid, Florida, an ultra-republican state, was confined for only a few weeks. From then on, New Yorkers and Californians moved in.

Luxury culture

Luxury establishments are multiplying in the city and constitute today one of its other major assets. Indeed, it now has the highest concentration of high-end hotels in the country. Alex Furrer comments “Miami is now a unique destination, combining its offer of clubs, restaurants and hotels, an incredible cultural wealth.”

Since 2002, Art Basel has also taken over Miami every early December, inviting superstar artists, raking in billions of dollars in sales and offering parties like no other. American businessman, investor and philanthropist Craig Robins has been instrumental in reinforcing this artistic positioning by launching Design Miami and developing the Design District, which has become an iconic place, a unique fusion of spectacular architecture, public art, design and luxury shopping.

Quality of life

These exiles, temporary at first, turned into permanent moves with the advent of telecommuting. The “paradise of freedom” is one of the slogans of the state, which, moreover, does not levy income tax, which is no small advantage when you earn millions on Wall Street or in Silicon Valley. That’s what the mayor of Miami is banking on, and with one tweet he started a movement that doesn’t seem to be stopping. At the end of 2020, a venture capitalist from San Francisco asked: “What if we moved Silicon Valley to Miami?” Francis Suarez’ immediate response, “How can I help?”

The tweet went viral and exploded the popularity of the mayor and the city with Big Tech. Among others, Spotify, Microsoft, Apple, and TikTok set up shop in Downtown Miami and finance followed suit. As a result, the newcomers are spending billions on high-end real estate, hotels, restaurants and clubs, which are already in high demand. “Technology companies and hedge funds are getting a lot of support from the government and that obviously benefits our industry,” says Alex Furrer.

In his drive, Francis Suarez has also decided to make Miami the crypto capital of the world, putting in place the most progressive regulations in the field. “Technological disruption is moving at high speed and we need to make sure that a generation of innovation and prosperity is not wasted.” he expresses. In 2021, a project for a cryptocurrency dedicated to the city, by City coins, had been proposed by the mayor and the resolution was unanimously accepted.

Hélène Cougot

Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.