It’s official: Florida is now the third most populous state in the union, surpassing New York. This isn’t a surprise; the state has been forecast to reach this milestone dating back a couple years.
But look beyond the raw population numbers and it’s clear that the Sunshine State is humming on all cylinders, with Miami and South Florida fueling much of the growth.
Job numbers are at their strongest levels since the Great Recession; tourist activity is at an all-time high; hotels are capturing the highest room rates of any major city in the country; the housing market is quickly nearing stability; real estate firms looking to pour tens of billions of dollars into the local economy are clamoring for real estate; and some of the world’s savviest business people are looking at the Magic City as more than a vacation spot.
Private equity guru Barry Sternlicht put it this way in a recent interview with Bloomberg News: “I see Miami as the Singapore of the U.S.”
It’s easy to chalk the growth up a rebounding economy, but we think Florida’s global brand has a lot to do with the state’s population growth and expanding economy.
Let’s face it: Florida is sexy. People want to live here. Companies want to do business here. And investors from around the world want to own a piece of the action.
When Miami Vice debuted in 1984, the world’s perception of Florida was shaped by the neon lights of South Beach, fashion-forward wardrobes, bikini-clad models and flashy cars (it’s only fitting that the original Ferrari Testarossa used in the show is now up for auction; asking price: a cool $1.75 million).
All the while, local residents knew very well that this Made-for-TV image of Miami was far from realistic. Fast forward 30 years and it seems that the cosmopolitan city portrayed in Miami Vice was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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