Tell me all about Key West

[mhoward48]

Originally Posted by mrs1885

Oh absolutely. I'm not an active person - never have been. My idea of heaven is laying on a beach reading a book. I don't drink. I don't like masses of people. I don't like shopping. I just like spending my days doing nothing. It's what my entire life consisted of until I was 18 - that and school.

Like I said - it's a personal preference thing. My husband says all the time he wants to move to a deserted island - just he and I. He'd never make it. He just retired from law enforcement a year ago and he's going stir crazy. He's a workaholic that always has to be doing something.

We're proof that opposites attract!

You sound just like me, and my husband is like your husband lol! We are looking for something we can afford to buy in the keys. I read, and do a lot of computer stuff.

My husband cannot keep still since retiring. I am trying to separate my books now, as to what I can keep and what I will sell before moving down there

[mystree]

Key West isn't too bad,there is ALOT of partying.I do like the laid back attitude and the whole island atmosphere.My husband would move there in a heartbeat.When we were there a guy was doing paintings on the street,he whipped up a palm tree in like 2 minutes and tried to sell it to me for $5. I refused a 5 year old could do just as good(I guess he thought I had sucker written on my forehead)

My husband always says if something happens to me he's moving to Key West and selling palm tree paintings...lol psst...He can't paint either.

[Strel]

Originally Posted by sfw1979

Hello everyone! I love this board..tons of info!

My family (myself, husband and 2 kids) are planning on moving ot Key West in 2 years. We would already have a good job and housing lined up ( my husband is Navy) so for anyone who lives there can you tell me a little more about it? I've been there once on vacation several years ago.
I have read that everything is spendy!! And with the base and commisary that is fine, we would shop there most of the time.
Are there good beaches there? etc..

Thanks for any replies!

Drinking, fishing, strip clubs....and the beaches are terrible.

[CoventryDude]

Originally Posted by BeenAroundTheBlock

We didn't realize it wasn't a real family friendly town when we went on vacation with a 10 & 12 year old. Don't get me wrong, there were things to do like taking a snorkle trip, parasailing and things like that but we would have never gone to Key West on vacation with kids knowing what we know now. Shame on us, we didn't do our homework before we went!

We visited for a day with our 9 and 12 year old boys. Definitely not a place for children on vacation for more than a couple of days, IMHO.

A nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there-although I have a freind who does live there 6 months a year. If I were a college student I'd love to visit there, definitely a party atmosphere, although the storefront windows full of drug paraphanalia and t-shirts made me wonder about the subculture there.....

But it is a fun place, and we plan on going back when we can spend a little more time there and see a few more things!

And now I have been to both the beginning and end of Route 1!

[i love the keys]

Gotta tell ya, key west is a vacation spot. I live in MD and it is no different than OC MD( as far as t-shirt shops and paraphanalia) Get over your "this is not a place for kids" deal. There is more nature in the keys and family adventures than you can imagine. Anytown USA is dangerous to raise kids.

[ACTS Mom]

Key West (and other lower Keys) is expensive compared to other parts of Florida, especially during snow-bird season. We went down for 4 nights in February and paid $100+ per night for a campsite on Big Pine Key. The "beach" area was horrible. Key West is mostly touristy -- great food for the most part, love the roosters running around, but I don't do all the partying at night either. The Butterfly Conservatory was beautiful as were the older homes. Oh, and I saw a real Key Deer on one of the back roads!

Great place to visit (next time 3 nights), but I wouldn't want to live there.

[jeffabb]

I have been scheming on moving to KW for 10 years now. I work from home and can cover a fair house payment (fair as in from other parts of FL). Right now my biggest hurdle is to convince the wife to move, b/c she is afraid moving there would make us struggle.

My question is, has the housing market lowered (or is there a cheaper place to live, maybe new town or stock island)? I really like Old town (who doesn't) but the reality is the cost of buying a place there. Granted other factors are there too. We have a child and that is a consideration too, but I have met many people that have grown up and lived there and they seem fine.

I know Key West has its warts, and being such a small place, everything is magnified, but so is the good. The saying I was hearing was the billionaires are pushing out the millionaires. I am just trying to weigh out the cost of living for that intrinsic value you cannot get any where else in the world (each year that intrinsic value gets bigger and bigger).

I know am probably pining for the KW of the 70's (when I was in diapers), but where else can you walk to just about everywhere you need to be, meet people from all over the world, and still have history, debauchery, and diversity all under the tropic stars?

[SLCPUNK]

Originally Posted by dennis s

New Orleans is a tourist town with a drinking problem,

Key West is a drinking town with a tourist problem.

Quote of the day, thanks! hahaha

[FLESH69]

Originally Posted by missy8580

I grew up in KW from age 5 to age 18, then i moved up to NY, and my mom still lives in our old house in KW so i always have a free place to stay

what i want to address is everyone saying "KEY WEST IS NOT A FAMILY TOWN" -- i think KW was a great place to grow up--only downfall is it was kind of boring....but the way people are saying it makes it sound like it's a bad place to live b/c it's dangerous for kids or something. It's great to grow up in such a diverse atmosphere!! you are exposed to all sorts of people (not just druggies and alcoholics--which by the way are in every town in america) and your life is richer for it--plus all the happen things are encompassed in one block! so there's not as much drunk driving (except by some tourists) as maybe an area where you have to drive from town to town to get your drink on, it's all right there on DUVAL! and there's alllll kinds of different bar, um, themes i guess you could call them, to hang with other people of similar intrests--it's always fun, and there is a lot of history there like some people have said. All i'm saying is that if you didn't grow up there and have only vacationed there a few times, you have no right to say "it's not a family place"

p.s. the military housing there is really nice too!

I'm thinking of moving to Florida, and have been looking in to KW. I was wondering if you had any sugestions on location. I have a 13 yr old daughter and myself. I'll be looking into a Tattoo shop to work out of and will be starting off with small housing of some kind.

...any info on decent schools/apartments/rentals and areas to look would be helpful.

Thanks,
Bobby Jones

[CSININDY]

Key West is a great town and tons of fun...FOR ADULTS! My husband and I lived there three years. I'll dispense some free advice. HAVE A PLAN AND A JOB ALREADY LINED UP. Otherwise expect to work your tail off at bars and resturants. There are a few big name corporations there on a small scale. There is Coca Cola in BPK 30 miles N of KW. Home Depot is in KW and Marathon. That was our lifeline. We both went to work at HD and thus could afford to stay having found a great living situation that isn't available anymore. Used to be you could live in an RV at one of the many RV parks. They are now as rare as a snowball and the ones remaining are privately owned lots. You must be flexible and willing to move around until you find your niche. Also plan on seriously downsizing your stuff. Apartments less than 500 sq feet for about $900 are the norm. Then there are the hurricanes that could never come in a season or could call for evacuation 5 times in as many months can turn family life on it's ear. Food is about twice as much as on the mainland. That said, if you are single or it's just a couple who ar flexible and enjoy the wacky unexpected, Key West is one of the best places in the world to live. Just no kids.