Florida the next New York? (Jacksonville, Miami: sales, real estate, rent)

[goolsbyjazz]

Hey all! I saw this special report on how Miami is appealing to the high tech crowd and venture capitalist. The report also mentions how Florida, in general, is a hot spot (no pun intended) for growth. I am curious as to whether you there in Miami agree with the report? What did they get right? What did they miss?
https://youtu.be/2n7h2Y7wrYU

[bale002]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

Hey all! I saw this special report on how Miami is appealing to the high tech crowd and venture capitalist. The report also mentions how Florida, in general, is a hot spot (no pun intended) for growth. I am curious as to whether you there in Miami agree with the report? What did they get right? What did they miss?
https://youtu.be/2n7h2Y7wrYU

Let's put a few basic numbers on this.

Florida has already surpassed New York in terms of population.

Manhattan's population is around 1.6 million, City of Miami's population some 454 thousand.

Population of the five boroughs is around 8.4 million, Dade County around 2.7 million.

I would tentatively conclude in comparison that Florida has more relatively mid-sized population centers, while New York is relatively dominated by one population center.

To wit, places like Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville are also in high growth mode, perhaps even more so than Miami in percentage terms, I'm not sure. In New York, are places like Buffalo and Albany in high growth mode such as to make national news?

It might be interesting to see comparative numbers New York City/Miami on capitalization in the high tech and venture capital industries, as well as the total wealth of the people who work in those industries.

Personally, I don't have time to watch the video.

Can you set out such comparative numbers in a table?

At any rate, the only set of numbers that really counts is your own.

Do you figure that you are in a hot spot right now?

Wherever that is, that is where it's at.

Good Luck!

[elchevere]

I stopped watching the video barely a minute into it when one person claimed within the next 5 years Miami has the potential to be the largest tech hub in the United States....sure, and this 5’8 white boy will be dunking over Joel Embiid. I’m pro Miami but I’m also grounded.

[jr8999]

I am going to begin my comments with the fact that Miami has a lot to offer but it will never be a major tech hub. Like elchevere the video lost credibility when the claim within the next 5 years it would be the largest tech hub in the US. If you look at the true tech hubs in the US you will notice they are in very close proximity to "feeder" schools like MIT, Harvard, Stanford etc. I am a big fan of UofM. Members of my immediate family have received great educations from that institution but it is not on par with any of the other schools I mentioned.

I am now semi-retired but spent the last 30yrs of my career with 3 companies in the tech industry that were originally startups with very close MIT affiliations. All 3 companies and many others like it remained in close proximity to the MIT and Harvard campuses. The areas in which these companies operate are in high commercial real estate rent districts. I have been involved in the decision making process whether to move the offices of these companies further out to the suburbs for less expensive rent costs but ultimately decided not to due to the engineering talent competition factor. Bottom line is that the young talent coming out of these schools want to stay in the city near campus instead of moving out to the burbs. Tech companies constantly rely on fresh talent to keep their product relevant in the marketplace. The competition is stiff to retain this talent. I understand that after COVID there will be many more people working from home and that may contribute to more people moving and working from Miami and other similar desirables cities but not to the magnitude that would be considered a major tech hub.

In my experience over the years with everything Miami I've come to understand that it is IMO a "fake it till you make it" city. There is so much publicity and other hype around many business and real estate projects etc. Some of these ventures take hold but many do not. The publicity is never quite as pronounced when failures arise.

[manny118]

Originally Posted by jr8999

In my experience over the years with everything Miami I've come to understand that it is IMO a "fake it till you make it" city.

"Fake it till you make it" has got to be one of the best catch phrases used to summarize Miami.

I will say South Florida in general does seem to be making strides to be a major player in the financial services and asset management world. Miami/South Florida is much closer to being a powerhouse in the finance industry than tech industry.

[elchevere]

Agreed...and it should focus more on that given its established and present financial base rather than tech (other to create a more realistic goal of some presence, not some type of fantasy “major hub”)...just as Seattle, LA and Austin have become feeder hubs to Silicon Valley for geographical proximity, Miami should continue to play the same role to NYC and Chicago in finance.

Originally Posted by manny118

"Fake it till you make it" has got to be one of the best catch phrases used to summarize Miami.

I will say South Florida in general does seem to be making strides to be a major player in the financial services and asset management world. Miami/South Florida is much closer to being a powerhouse in the finance industry than tech industry.

[WrongStreet]

I agree with much of what the above posters mentioned. I don't see Miami being a tech hub at all, especially any time soon. It's more likely that Texas becomes the big tech hub in the US, cities like Austin and Dallas probably being in the forefront.

As for finance, that makes a little more sense for Miami. I can see several big finance firms re-locating here along with newer startups emerging from the Miami market. The lifestyle, culture, and international ties of Miami better reflects that of the finance sector. Also, the big schools in the area cater more to finance/business majors. Couple that with lower taxes and less regulation and it just makes a ton of sense.

The population will continue to grow in Miami, regardless of whether it becomes a hub of some sector or not. Hopefully the infrastructure can keep up.

[elchevere]

Exactly...tech guys are nerds and geeks (I was an exception)—look at how they ruined SF whereas Boston isn’t noted for its nightlife (heck, happy hours are banned in that city)...Finance guys are way cooler and more fun—think Wolf of Wall Street (ok, maybe not quite to that excess but you get the picture).

Texas (Dallas and Austin) and Seattle are already there as far as tech hubs—not just poaching and attracting tech firms to relocate there but by having developed home grown bellwether tech firms based there.

Originally Posted by WrongStreet

I agree with much of what the above posters mentioned. I don't see Miami being a tech hub at all, especially any time soon. It's more likely that Texas becomes the big tech hub in the US, cities like Austin and Dallas probably being in the forefront.

As for finance, that makes a little more sense for Miami. I can see several big finance firms re-locating here along with newer startups emerging from the Miami market. The lifestyle, culture, and international ties of Miami better reflects that of the finance sector. Also, the big schools in the area cater more to finance/business majors. Couple that with lower taxes and less regulation and it just makes a ton of sense.

The population will continue to grow in Miami, regardless of whether it becomes a hub of some sector or not. Hopefully the infrastructure can keep up.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by WrongStreet

... international ties of Miami better reflects that of the finance sector ...

Worth mentioning that for at least some 15 years now, many Swiss, other European (including Spanish, Portuguese, even Italian) Latin American (including even Ecuador) and US banks have had wealth management and trade finance sales offices in Miami.

Relatively new in the last several years is that hedge and private equity fund managers and firms have been setting up branches or even new headquarters and major banks are locating, or threatening to locate, operations here, meaning from Palm Beach down to Miami.

Also worth mentioning is that for some time Jacksonville has been a finance back-office operations hub and I'm sure the west coast from the Naples to Tampa areas has wealth management sales offices and Raymond James is headquartered in Tampa.

I know of a couple of companies headquartered in Boca Raton and Miami that are market-makers in niche wholesale capital markets.

On the other hand, keep in mind that the founders and executives of high tech companies have already elbowed their way in to finance, robotics, military contracts, and space exploration, though on that last score Florida, anyway, does have a head start.

But I think the consensus here is that Miami will probably not become a primary driver for technology research and production.

[WrongStreet]

Originally Posted by bale002

Worth mentioning that for at least some 15 years now, many Swiss, other European (including Spanish, Portuguese, even Italian) Latin American (including even Ecuador) and US banks have had wealth management and trade sales offices in Miami.

.

Yup, that's a good point. Several Latin American-based banks have had offices and operations in Miami for years. The foundation for Miami being a finance center is already there.