[alexei27]

Hi everyone...

I have the opportunity to move my family to Key West (from Utah...can you say culture shock!!!) Actually we are not happy in Utah and have no reservations leaving.

I would love some advice from those who live year around in the Keys. I have been told that there is a small town feel among the locals...but it is bustling with tourists.

My salary would be around 100K. Can you live on that??

We would want to buy a small home...it looks like 2-3 bedroom homes are around 500K or more? From what I understand the real estate market is lower then in the past few years due to Wilma.

How do other costs (besides housing) compare (utilities, groceries, etc)??

My job would be near the airport in Key West....so we would like to live there if possible...but whats the housing situation like farther up the Keys?

Also....any Navy folks on this forum?? I am a Navy Reserve Officer. Some bases open their govt housing to Federal employees. Does anyone know if this is done at NAS Key West?

Thanks for all the help....ANY information is welcome.

[harry chickpea]

If there is one area of Florida I would _never_ consider buying, it is Key West. Even if I could afford the insurance, I would go into it knowing that a hurricane could wipe out the entire city, rebuilding -if even allowed in today's environmental climate- would be only with supplies sent by boat or down the long and vulnerable supply line of the overseas highway, and that land values could tank as people realized it could all happen again.

Unless I could get a house for less than $250,000, and not have a mortgage, and could afford to go bare on insurance, I would rent.

$100K and a family? My guess is you would be suffering.
All costs are high in the Keys and have been for decades. Back in the 1980s the company I worked for had to pay managers in Key West a location stipend to cover additional costs. Otherwise they couldn't find a manager willing to lose money by working there. When managers transferred to a mainland location, they lost the stipend, but often still had more real money. A single guy, working for a year and renting a cheap room, could make some money, but when you start talking houses and family expenses, I think you would have a very difficult time.

[daniellefort]

Well during our vacation down there we got to talking with some street officers on patrol and they said most of them as well as health workers and other governement employees have to get special grants just to supplement their income because it's so darn expensive to live there. He said a lot of people live on the mainland in S. FL and travel to work in the keys everyday. by the way to drive from one end of the keys to the other takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours on a regular day. He also said a doublewide mobile home on a very small lot runs about $300,000. Keep in mind during hurricane season, there is only one road in and one road out that is just a 2 lane and all of the keys are 9 out of 10 times evacuated each time. I live in central FL and $100,000 to live on here might be ok but i wouldn't count on it anywhere in the Keys. Great place to vacation but something else to live there.

[doggiebus]

Oh yah, my parents have a double wide on a canal with bay access in the keys for sale 500k. For a trailer crazy to think.

[JSnFla]

key west is hurricane central....you will spend every other weekend in august and september deciding whether to evacuate or not. its seems every hurricane that comes out of the caribbean goes right over key west but surprisingly they havent been completely destroyed yet. no way in hell i would ever buy a place down there. i dont even know how u could get home owners insurance. also its almost all gays and then the tourists.

[dreamofmonterey]

I loved Key West for vacation. Was not aware any properties are there for under 1M. Not even counting hurricane costs, etc.


sunny

[tallrick]

Don't move to Key West. I live in Key Largo, it was very cheap here until the late 90's. When the idiots started driving up the prices all hell broke loose. Almost all my friends have left, and I may be next. In 1996 you could still buy a house in my area for under 100K. Now thanks to the jerks from the north and the south we're 500K and above. I am praying for a hurricane, it's something we desperately need.

[alexei27]

Appreciate all the info. Its a tough decision...the cost of a house is really the limiting factor here. We have lived in tourist traps before and can handle that...as we will probably end up opening a small business.

Homeowners insurance is tricky...I can't seem to get a straight answer on how much and what the availability is. Still looking...

Thanks again...any other comments welcome.

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by alexei27

Appreciate all the info. Its a tough decision...the cost of a house is really the limiting factor here. We have lived in tourist traps before and can handle that...as we will probably end up opening a small business.

Homeowners insurance is tricky...I can't seem to get a straight answer on how much and what the availability is. Still looking...

Thanks again...any other comments welcome.

I'm in central FL and i'm having trouble getting insurance for our home. Our insurance is not renewing us this year as of August. Allstate is dropping a lot of homeowners policies this year. Nobody want's to write new policies and i'm inland 30 miles from the coast. I can't imagine finding an insurance company to pick up a policy in the keys, let alone a mobile home.

[doggiebus]

I wouldn't be surprised if Citizens (last resort state run insurance) was the only one writing new policies in the keys.