My story looking for a condomiami

I went to South Beach and looked around for the best place to rent a studio. There were a lot of options. Mainly when you walk down the street there were so many hotels. Completely packed on Collins, there was something really claustrophobic about it though.

Sunset on South Beach from my drone

I headed further North in Miami.And found Sunny Isles. This was more like it.

It seemed more family oriented and slightly, less, how do I say, Latino? Don't shoot me down. Some of my best friends are Colombian. But there is something so intense and macho about South Beach which doesn't quite suit me.

I stumbled on Trump Tower and thought, no fucking way. I am not staying there. I had a look around and saw ocean front properties which must be worth millions of dollars and then to make it even better, there were tons of dining and pleasure options. I settled in on Acqualina because of it's proximity to my favorite gym. The Miami real estate agent said this was the condomiami  for younger urban professionals.

After moving in I made a few friends in the building but I was really interested in finding a co-working space instead of working at home like I did in Vietnam. There were a few options but I just settled on Starbucks and few other cafes in walking distance. It wasn't the best option as I had to bring an extra monitor for charting on the days when I was trading the fed decisions. I am a bit of a stock market nut but a few of the guys I met at the cafes were more into the miami real estate trends happening at that moment.

This is some drone footage I made when looking around South Beach with my broker.

Rates were literally free. As long as you had some money and a decent credit rating, you could buy a commercial property and sublet it for a rate higher than you could get in the bank. It seemed like the perfect chance to diversify so I called up my agent again and asked what my options were. He mentioned a condo called the Floridian which seemed quite elegant, had a very high rental occupancy but it was a bit pricier than I planned to invest. Even though I had made a bit of money, it wasn't really invested in anything long term. This was my chance!

In the end, I didn't buy anything for investment but I wanted to get something for Miami when I was here. It seemed a better deal to buy than to rent in Miami because of the favorable bank rates.

So now I am in Acqualina and thinking about getting back to Asia. My time here has been great but I miss the simplicity of Vietnam life and how delicious everything tastes. Miami is great for a few months but I need to find a balance and between Asia and South Florida, I finally feel I have made the right decision.