Editor’s Note: We are excited to introduce you to our new Miami Life Insider’s Guide editor, Lois Whitman Hess. The newsletter will be published weekly and whether you live in Miami or visit from time to time it will chock full of fun things to do in this vibrant city. SIGN UP.

Dear Tomatoes,

I was a diehard New Yorker for most of my life. If I had to leave the island of Manhattan to go to the Hamptons for the weekend, (we had a house there) I would become somewhat unglued. The city streets were my foundation. I didn’t feel whole unless I was in the center of all the chaos, noise, and crowds of people that made NYC so vibrant. I wanted to be a part of the craziness forever.

Then I read about the Delano Hotel, Miami Beach in Woman’s Wear Daily that said Madonna, Calvin Klein, Barry Diller, JLo and Sean “Diddy” Combs were often hanging around the pool in the oceanfront hotel. I wanted to see that myself. So 25 years ago, we made our first trip to Miami. The minute we reached Collins Avenue in front of the hotel, and I got my first look at the blue skies, aquamarine ocean and wide-open beaches, I finally saw paradise for the first time. The temperature back home was 25 degrees and Miami was 80. You didn’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to know that Miami was a special place.

My husband and I fell in love with Miami immediately. I never felt this way about Montauk (10 years) or Quogue (15 years) because unless you can afford a home on the ocean, or the bay, you might as well live anywhere in suburbia. If you live in Miami, you see water and beaches everywhere, quite a difference.

After many years spending a fortune at the Delano, we finally rented a two bedroom, two bath apartment that cost us less for a year than it did for a two week stay at the fancy hotel. We visited Miami every month and each time it got more difficult to go back NYC. We finally decided to sell our home in Quogue and buy a more comfortable place with a magnificent view (almost 360 degrees) at the beginning of Miami Beach.

We got very lucky around 2014 when a growing number of businesses started to work remotely. We got tired of paying an enormous amount of money for office space, so we decided to go virtual. Everyone at our PR agency, HWH PR, stared to work from home. We moved to Miami full time in September 2016. We love Miami more and more every day, not an ounce of regret.

I look forward to providing The Three Tomatoes newsletter with all of the exciting news about Miami. This city is now the envy of the United States and the world. We have the best weather, (except hurricane season), the best restaurants, the best theatrical shows, the best beaches, the best architecture, the best colleges, the best watersports, the best recreational facilities, and now New York quality culture. Our musical halls, art galleries, cultural centers and bookstores are state of the art. Miami Beach is New York with good weather. That’s why so many members of the tech industry are moving here.

It’s going to be my pleasure to introduce you to many of the events and activities in Miami. It’s a dream come true for adults who want to live a big city life at the beach.