Wall Street South: The Migration is Real

Let me start by saying I am a die-hard New Yorker. I love everything about the place, and I credit New York City and everything it gave me for what I have been able to achieve so far in life and my career. And I am loyal.

But during the pandemic, like so many New Yorkers, I convinced my remote-schooling  13-year-old and my husband that we should “Zoom with the sun.” Work was remote, so I thought we should take the opportunity to experience new places. First, we rented a house in LA for a month, then we started vagabonding down south.

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What was meant to be a one-month rental in Palm Beach turned into four months of bopping around to different rentals in Palm Beach and West Palm. While the world up north was shut down completely, I was carefully meeting with clients outdoors and watching a migration that I thought would be temporary.

My financial clients started picking up and moving their families and their offices to South Florida. I watched housing prices soar and commercial spaces fill up in West Palm. I watched my clients one by one either move their headquarters or teams of people to the area.
I watched the press write obsessively about the migration and announce last fall  that Palm Beach was “sold out.” I started to think this might be permanent, so I decided to make a move. We would be the first firm of our competitive set to open in South Florida and really immerse ourselves in the Wall Street South network.

Two weeks ago we opened an office at 324 Royal Palm Way in Palm Beach and the resumes came pouring in. Last week I had a dinner for 14 founders in Palm Beach all eager to work together and make Wall Street South a huge success.

Prosek remains committed to New York, as we see young talent streaming into the city. In fact, we are re-upping our headquarters lease there for 10 years. We need New York. But we also need South Florida. Here are a few observations:

• Talent War and The Great Resignation – Upon announcing our Florida office we received more inbound resumes than any other time in history. Clients who I thought were happy in their jobs in the Northeast called to ask me if I would hire them in Florida. Many employees volunteered to move down. I always say I run a talent business, not a communications and marketing consultancy. If top talent wants to be there, I am right there with them
• Optionality – If you believe that Covid in all its different variant forms may be here for years, Florida offers an open-air opportunity for meetings and an aggressive business-forward economic environment. As a business owner, I want optionality to pivot immediately. If we can’t do business in the optimal way in one market, perhaps we can in others.
• Diversity of Thought – When I first moved down and experienced Florida life, I won’t lie – I was shocked. Businesses were open, events were happening, and people seldom wore masks. As a New Yorker, it was like another world. But after a little time, I started to appreciate the pro-business, pro-economy decisions that were made. Hotels, restaurants, and small businesses thrived. I still can’t say I agree with every decision, but I became a bit more open minded.

There were silver linings in this pandemic and this eye-opening experience has been one of them. It’s forced us to pivot and innovate in ways we could have never expected. And for that I am grateful.

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