The City of Miami is considered as one of the most diverse and vibrant in the Americas, in huge part because of top Florida architects cultural and linguistic ties to North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean.
It’s seen as a glamorous urban destination, which also serves as the headquarters of a lot of multinational corporations. Investors coming from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia have flocked here to buy vacation homes, start businesses, and bask in the city’s sunny, tropical climate.
The city has districts which offer a wonderful array of world-famous resorts, restaurants, hotels and luxurious condominiums, waterfront homes and estates. Hollywood celebrities have also been flocking to this cosmopolitan Florida center, and this is in large part due to the fact that it has Miami Beach nearby.
In the middle of 2000, the city of Miami started to become prime location for shooting reality television shows, with popular programs like the TLC show Miami Ink; Discovery Channel’s After Dark; Animal Planet’s Miami Animal Police; MTV’s 8th & Ocean, Room Raiders, and The Real World: Miami; Bravo’s Top Chef; VH-1’s Hogan Knows Best; Court TV’s Bounty Girls: Miami, Vice Squad Miami, and Beach Patrol Miami; and the Discovery Times Channel’s Real Miami Cops.
This urban hub is also a center for Latin television and film production. Many Spanish-language TV programs are filmed in the city’s television production studios, which are mostly situated in Hialeah and Doral. This includes gameshows,variety shows, news programs, and telenovelas.
This Florida city also served as the backdrop for several movies, which include There’s Something About Mary, Wild Things, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Bad Boys & Bad Boys II, Transporter 2, The Birdcage, The Substitute, Blow, True Lies, Reno 911!: Miami, Miami Vice and the James Bond films Goldfinger and Casino Royale.
Miami Beach has once again became a magnet for investors, and many famous personalities have chosen to set up shop, or invest in vacation homes here. New condominiums have sprouted, and condo units on Ocean Drive, which before were selling for a mere $30,000 in 1985 are now offered for $200,000 or more.
Ocean Drive is the easternmost street in South Beach, and is responsible for the South Beach aesthetic that most out-of-town visitors want to see. This area is a popular Spring Break and tourist area, which includes the famous, yet predominantly local, Pearl and Nikki Beach night spots. It is also home to several prominent restaurants, among them “News Cafe,” “Mango’s,” and the MTV-popularized “Clevelander”, and is also the site of Gianni Versace’s former ocean front mansion.
Because of its value as a great spot for people watching, where beautiful women rollerblade in bikini’s, and Hollywood personalities lounge in cafes, The district is heavily cruised, and parking is hard to find. Celebrities like Nicky Hilton have made investments here, as she recently graced the opening of the Nicky O South Beach Hotel.
Miami, along with the equally-famous Miami Beach, has been designated several times as “America’s Playground”, and its strategic location has made it more attractive for celebrities, investors, and tourists as well. The scene here best exemplifies the sunny and active lifestyle that South Florida is well-known for.
