In terms of pure comfort -- balmy weather, palm trees, a huge bay filled with islands, miles of oceanfront beaches, exciting nightlife, diverse culture and reasonably priced housing -- few cities are as attractive as Miami. With one foot in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the other in the United States, Miami's siren to the Americas has attracted visitors and residents for decades.

On any given Friday or Saturday night, it's possible to drive around Greater Miami and discover scores of different social scenes -- from a Flamenco nightclub in west Miami-Dade to a sidewalk cafe in South Beach to an elegant white-linen restaurant in Coral Gables. While the venue may change, one thing you are likely to hear is a foreign language, probably Spanish or Portuguese.

The reason is simple: 10 million tourists and business travelers visit Greater Miami each year, a sizeable percentage of which -- some 3.7 million -- arrive from Latin America and the Caribbean. They come because nowhere else in the Americas offers such a winning combination of natural beauty, cultural activities, nightlife, fine restaurants and shopping -- with a Latin-friendly climate and culture.

From the beaches to the nightclubs to the performing arts, Miami offers all the benefits of a resort lifestyle in a cosmopolitan, urban setting. The marketing slogan which the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau has coined to reflect that combination of urban chic in a semi-tropical setting says it all: Tropicool.

One of the most visible results of the Latin American and Caribbean affection for Miami is the explosion of new oceanfront and bayfront condominiums which have climbed skyward in recent years. While buyers come from all over the world, sellers report that between 25 percent and 40 percent of units in new condominiums are purchased by visitors from Latin America and the Caribbean who decide to put down more permanent roots in Miami.

"The Latin Americans are still pouring in," says Angela Ocampo, a vice president of The Keyes Company who runs the firm's Key Biscayne office. Working with her son Gilberto, Ocampo generated US$18 million in sales last year, about 70 percent to international buyers.

"Many Latins come here as visitors for many years, then decide to buy an apartment or condominium," Ocampo says. "We have wealthy people from Argentina to Mexico investing in South Florida, feeling that it's a good time to put money into real estate."

Like other observers of the real estate market, Ocampo says Latins like the region's convenient air connections, its warm climate and its multiethnic culture. "People can come here and go shopping, then go out to dinner and enjoy a nightclub--all in Spanish," she says.

Miami also gets high marks for affordability Compared with other major US cities, Miami has a relatively low cost of living in general and a much lower cost for housing. Latin Americans also perceive South Florida as having better real estate values than comparable beachfront communities in the Caribbean, Mexico and South America, says Lewis M. Goodkin, president of Miami-based Goodkin Research Corporation. "Waterfront homes are still a bargain in the global marketplace," he says.

One factor driving Latin American investment in Miami real estate is the surging growth in international trade and services with the region in the past decade. "Many Latin buyers have business operations in South Florida, and find that a condo in Miami serves a functional purpose," says David Dabby, president of The Dabby Group, a Coral Gables real estate consulting firm. "They can stay in their own condo rather than in a hotel room, and bring the family along for a vacation. Some Latins are even buying several units in the same development so family and friends have a suitable and convenient place to stay together while in Miami."

Another factor is that rising affluence has made it possible for a younger generation of Latin buyers to purchase second homes in the US. Miami, with its cultural and language affinities, is a natural setting to buy a vacation home.

"While there have been Latin American buyers in every project we've represented for the past 20 years, the demographics have changed," says broker Veronica Cervera of Miami-based Cervera Real Estate. "Now, we have a great many more young professionals. Many have parents who bought homes in Miami in the 1970s, so they're familiar with the market and they want a place of their own."

Finally, the political and financial turmoil that has characterized many Latin American nations in recent years has propelled a growing investment trend. Buying a home in Miami may provide an asset in US dollars that helps diversify an investor's portfolio. Preservation of capital is a key issue for many buyers, notes Ocampo.

Unlike past cycles of foreign investment--often ruled by speculators hoping to buy and sell quickly--today's Latin buyers are here for the long term, say local brokers. Clearly, they hope their investment will grow in value, but the convenience of having a home in South Florida for family vacations or business trips is a much stronger motivating factor.