Miami is going through difficult times

I have been traveling to and from Miami since 1990. It has been exactly 35 years.

I am witnessing this state of Miami for the first time.

I had bought my ticket to Miami on June 11, that is, 4 months before my departure. 

At that time, the price of a round-trip flight ticket with Turkish Airlines (THY) was 25 thousand TL. 500 Euros. 

This price was almost equivalent to the round-trip Business class price from Istanbul to Bodrum at that time.

As the dates approached, the prices at THY reached 60 thousand TL for Miami economy class. It was 500 thousand TL for Business class. 

I want to address THY from here. You cannot provide old aircraft on a 12-hour flight for a ticket price of 500 thousand TL for a round-trip in Business class. 

Our flight was full, with not a single seat left empty. There was not a single empty seat in Business class either. 

We landed in Miami after a 12-hour flight. 

It took 10 minutes from the moment we got off the plane to pass through passport control and find myself outside. 

It was the first time I had passed through so quickly. 

Miami airport had started to give its first signals for Florida.

I had also booked my hotel 4 months in advance. 170 dollars per night. 7 thousand TL.

I used to prefer yellow taxis to get to my hotel. Now, UBERs have replaced them at the airport exit. 

The taxi fare from Miami airport to my hotel in Miami Beach is 30 dollars. 1,260 TL.

The airport in Miami was empty, the roads were empty.

After a half-hour journey, I was in Miami Beach, where my hotel is located. 

As you know, everywhere in the world, they give you your room at the hotel at 15:00. They gave us our room at 10:00 in the morning. 

We should have understood from this how empty Miami was. 

The time difference between Miami and Istanbul is 7 hours. Istanbul is 7 hours ahead. 

I left my belongings in the room and went out for breakfast. 

The weather in Miami is sunny, 30 degrees. 

I went to Miami's famous cafe, News. 

In normal times, you would wait in line to sit here. News Cafe was almost empty. 

I also encountered America's new prices for the first time at News Cafe. 

As someone who writes that Turkey is expensive in terms of food and drink, I was shocked when I saw the prices in Miami. 

Food and drink prices in Miami were almost twice those of Turkey and three times those of Europe. 

They had written 9 dollars for 1 bottle of water. 380 TL. I couldn't believe it. 

A breakfast plate with eggs was 20 dollars. 850 TL. 

Previously, you would determine the tip amount yourself in America. 

Now it has changed here too. Just like in Turkey, they add the tip to the bill. 

While I was wondering if there could be a 20 percent tip here, they had already started adding a 20 percent tip to the bill in America. 

As if this were not enough, they added 7 percent country tax and 2 percent city tax to the bill. 

Your bill suddenly increases by 29 percent.

The only fee America does not charge on the bill is the cover charge. Let's not be surprised if they see that from us and start charging it soon too. 

A glass of wine that we drink for 7 Euros in Europe is 20 dollars in America. With taxes, it is almost 3 times that of Europe. 

I decided to choose seafood for dinner. 

Food prices were quite high there too. 

A plate of pasta made with seafood was 40 dollars. I'm not even mentioning the fish prices. Fish were 60 dollars, and salads were 20 dollars.

I walked from Miami Beach to Lincoln Road, its famous street. 

I couldn't believe my eyes along the way. 

Hotels that closed down, restaurants serving 3-5 people. 

Even the small shopping centers that I had visited many times before on my way had been locked up. 

For me, Miami was no different from a dead city. 

There was no trace of Lincoln Road's former state. Everywhere was empty there too. 

I spent my next day in the Miami Design District, where Miami's art and designers are located. 

The situation was the same there. 

It was as if everyone had sworn not to come to Miami. 

I wanted to have my dinner at Bal Harbour Shops, which is the most beautiful place in Miami and which I also love very much. 

First, I enjoyed walking around the shops in the place that houses all the luxury brands. 

Bal Harbour Shops is the only place that Miami's wealthy frequent. 

Its restaurants are also of very high quality. 

Carpaccio is one of the best restaurants here. 

We wanted to make a reservation, they said it was not necessary.

It is impossible to come to the door and find a seat at this restaurant. 

It is always full. I ate my meal at the best table almost as soon as I arrived. 

Once again, I understood from this that Miami had long since lost its former popularity. 

I paid a bill of 172 dollars at Carpaccio, including tip, tax, and everything. 7,500 TL. 

Okay, you will also say that you have always eaten at luxury restaurants. Of course, these prices will be there. 

Don't worry, I also drank coffee at Starbucks for you, and I ate a hamburger menu at Five Guys. 

The price of a small filter coffee at Starbucks is 6 dollars. 250 TL. It is 110 TL in Istanbul. 

At Five Guys, a hamburger menu is 22 dollars. 1,000 TL. In Istanbul, you can eat a hamburger menu at Nusr’et for 1,000 TL. It also includes İmam Çağdaş's carrot slice baklava. 

Let me say without forgetting, prices were around this level at McDonald's too. 

What didn't change in price in Miami, or rather changed depending on the time you went, were the taxi prices. 

Even though the price of gasoline in America has doubled, taxi prices have remained almost the same. The only thing that hasn't changed in 35 years is taxi prices.

One of the things that caught my attention the most in Miami was the construction sector. Everywhere was almost full of residence constructions. 

The first question that came to my mind was who was buying these. 

Because for 7 years, the price of no residence had increased in dollar terms. The price of a 1+1 residence was around 500 thousand dollars. It was bringing in approximately 2,000 dollars in rent net. 

Is it logical to make such an investment? Do your own math and decide. 

America is not a country that tries to keep up with innovations like Turkey. 

It is the same in 2025 as it was in the 1990s. 

I only saw a few hotels in Miami Beach that had gone into renovation. Everything else continued to serve in the same state. 

While there are 133 shopping malls in Istanbul, there are only 2 shopping malls in Miami. One is Aventura Mall, where luxury brands are located, and the other is Dolphin Mall, where outlet products are sold. 

What caught my attention in Miami, which I had also witnessed in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. 

Stores are now closing their shops due to high costs and selling online. We also see many stores in the city center as closed. 

Everyone is shopping from their phone while sitting at home. The products they buy are at the door of their home or workplace in the morning. 

There is no room for the middle class in Miami anymore. 

The world's wealthy now prefer Florida. 

Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon and the world's richest businessman with a fortune of 226.8 billion dollars, lives in Miami. 

We had been complaining about the high cost of living in Turkey for 2 years. Now, the economic crisis experienced in the world has started to show its effect on them too. 

Only we started experiencing this crisis early. 

Now America is experiencing it, and it is at Europe's doorstep too.