Billboards promoting Miami in San Francisco and New York City might be the strangest of the efforts to promote the new Miami as a center of technology and business. What started with a Tweet by Mayor Francis Suarez has evolved into a full fledge grass roots movement led by venture capitalists, real estate businesses, real estate firms, and local civic non-profits. The 2021 Florida Economic Boom is driving growth through the states regions, led by South Florida, but the growth is uneven as Miami and Palm Beach dominate the efforts.

Billboard Promoting Miami 2.0 Hits New York City

The Florida economic boom is a mixture of energy, shamelessness, and a bit of trolling other cities. The decentralized nature of the efforts has led to some of the most outrageous, and entertaining, efforts. A high end Miami Real Estate firm decided to promote #MoveToMiami and their firm with a Times Square Billboard. Forbes couldn’t get over the chutzpah, a the advertising effort went viral on social media. As the #HowCanIHelp effort grows, Mayor Suarez (@FranisSuarez) is the city’s leading cheerleader, online and offline.

Remote Work and Low Taxes Put South Florida on the Map

All of South Florida is poised to be the next tech hub driving innovation, benefiting from a business-friendly environment, low taxes, and proximity to New York, Latin America, and even Europe. Miami’s international regional prowess gives it a unique edge to recruit firms to either open offices, relocate headquarters, or even move entire companies. With the ability to hire talent from around the globe, the phrase “Live in the cloud, work in the sun” promotes the lifestyle. The emerging economic prowess of South Florida’s regions is putting South Florida into a technology role it hasn’t seen since the 1980s, which is driving a Florida economic boom.

Florida Economic Boom driven by Remote Work

Florida’s education system still lags the California systems, but now boasts a substantial number of research universities. Florida’s aggressive efforts is giving it a fantastic opportunity to benefit from the COVID-19 induced disruption, as Florida opened for business and California and New York did now. With several high profile San Francisco Venture Capitalists relocating, Miami is attracting serious Silicon Valley talent, creating a positive feedback loop for growth.

Fort Lauderdale is Lagging Palm Beach and Miami

Fort Lauderdale’s development efforts are lagging their neighbors. A mixture of business and political challenges is hurting Broward County’s efforts. Miami’s charismatic mayor and Miami-Dade’s strong mayoral system has given Miami the ability to lead the Florida economic boom. Boca Raton and West Palm Beach have benefited from Palm Beach County’s lower density and earlier reopening, capitalizing on the historical technology role the area has played. The IBM PC was developed in Boca Raton, a fact highlighted by Mayor Scott Singer when promoting his city.

Fort Lauderdale has rebuilt itself since the Spring Break days, but the county’s more confused leadership has resulted in it trailing its neighbors. During the COVID-19 crisis, a split between the eastern tourist centric cities and western suburbs led to a hodgepodge of confusing regulations and mixed messaging. Indeed Broward County was promoting a curfew at the end of 2020, and effort that fell apart when Fort Lauderdale Dean Trantalis called it draconian and refused to enforce it.

Broward Vice Mayor Michael Udine is promoting the efforts of Broward County and Nova Southeastern University to build the South Florida Innovation Center. With an upcoming launch, this promises to create opportunities for technology and innovation in Broward County. Although Nova is located in Davie, with I-595 serving as the main traffic corridor, this effort promises to anchor growth in the county.

Florida Economic Boom is Accelerating

The growth is real and accelerating. The Florida Economic Boom kicked off by COVID-19, aggressive reopening by Governor Ron DeSantis and endless promotion by Mayors Suarez and Singer is driving a massive economic boom. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro is the leading city for migration of software and IT Workers. The traditional power houses of San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Boston fill out the bottom, while Miami is followed by Houston and Dallas as Texas’s centers of growth. The impact of COVID-19 restrictions is obvious, as Texas tech leader Austin is actually losing technology workers while cross-state rivals gain them.

All of Florida’s regions are benefiting from these efforts. Orlando is growing and diversifying from hospitality, and Tampa is growing as well. However, none of the regions can touch the Miami-led growth of South Florida. We are excited for what the future holds.