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Enjoying this past week here in the Keys. The rain has started to come back after an extremely long absence, and of course the mosquitoes are starting to come back too. My neighbor told me about putrid-smelling gray algae that comes in with certain rain conditions and was out by our waterfront - so I'll have to learn more about that, when I learn its name.
Looking forward to all that the rainy season will bring (aside of course from the storms, which is the major thing). Since I moved here I have seen the plants die more and more, so it will be a totally different experience to see things actually grow and flourish - I wonder what will flower, how much more privacy I will get when things grow, and how different it will look in my yard and the neighborhood since this is a very heavily planted natural area, unlike most of the Keys neighborhoods which are pretty bare in terms of plants to keep the properties low-maintenance.
There was a crazy storm earlier in the week that was so loud and full of blinding lightning it woke me up at 3AM and I could not go back to sleep. It scared me a little because I didn't even know it was supposed to be coming and I didn't know how bad it was going to get, so I thought: I guess this is what it's going to be like in the rainy season. When I woke up things were scattered around the yards. The neighbors, too, did not get much sleep. We all have been tired this week but glad for a little rain, which we've gotten almost none of for 6 months.
I have trimmed all the large trees (of which I have several - again, not as common for many properties) and will have the huge limbs hauled away for storm season. It appears the previous owner did not maintain any of the plants, so there are an abundance of poisonous plants (especially Brazilian Pepper, which is like poison ivy) and overgrown limbs everywhere which could damage property and people in storms. So now, all of it has to go, which is a huge job taking more than a month of work. I have to know what everything is before I do anything, because the Keys has very strict codes about removal or even pruning of trees - many are protected and you need a permit and a biologist visit to your property just to trim anything back. I was fortunate that I didn't have any of those types to prune, and in fact the things I want to get rid of are invasive and considered a nuisance by the county anyway.
I see dragonflies and butterflies swarming around me daily while I'm trying to work. They are all colors, but I see mostly blue dragonflies, and yellow and black striped butterflies lately. A lot of woodpeckers trying to kill my trees and peck bugs out of electric poles. There is still a bird that calls like a person yelling, and it is driving me crazy because I don't know what it is or what it looks like. I hear it constantly - at first I thought it was an insane neighbor, but have figured out that it is in fact a bird sounding like nothing I have ever heard before. I assume it comes from the Caribbean or maybe Central American rainforest, because it certainly sounds like nothing I have ever heard before in the US, but more like things I heard in rainforests in other countries.
I have lived in major cities for many years, and so it strikes me that being here is nothing like that - the natural world affects me on a daily basis, much more than the developed world does really. At least so far. US-1/The Overseas Hwy still has crazy drivers whizzing in all directions around you, but when you're not on the main road things are pretty quiet. The local waterfront bar started having its band play again (not sure why they took a break for a while), so when I go out to sit on my balcony at night for a minute before it gets too hot to stand, I can hear them play rock, rhythm and blues, or tropical vacation-type music that carries over the water. It sounds like neighbors having a party every night. But I like to hear people have a good time, so I don't mind. On the other hand, my crazy party-house neighbors who practice their heavy metal band in the middle of the daytime is less fun - it doesn't sound like the instruments are having a good time at all, it sounds like the guitars are being beaten and trying to get away. Maybe the drum running away from its torturers would explain why it's never on beat.
Today was the first day it was so hot no one even wanted to walk outside. There was virtually no breeze at all, totally still, and very high humidity. The temp was the highest I think since I moved here. Summer is definitely coming. The Royal Poincianas are all in bloom, which I think only just happened in the last week. They made the road look so different I missed the turn-off for my house! I was a quarter mile down when I realized I must have already passed it! The weather can change everything here very quickly, even the markers you use to find home.
A different thread had an article about the distinct regions of FL, and I saw this comment on the website of that article. I thought I would add it to this thread. In response to the article saying the Keys are full of Jimmy Buffett lovers and loafers, she wrote the following comment:
"Actual Residents of the Keys absolutely hate Buffet music- We play it for you dumb yuppies who come down here and spend all your money for one crappy frozen margarita. .. However the drinking..fishing and overall laziness. Yes generally true :P "
Lol! So that gives you a sense of what it's like to be local. Even residents would not exactly say they are the height of motivation and productivity... but then again, that's why they moved here. If you moved to the Keys, wouldn't you want to chill and stare at the ocean too? I think a lot of people work to drink - it takes 3 jobs here to afford rent and a case of beer. Then there are the people who own boats - they generally don't work at all, because they come here with money. I don't drink nor do I currently own a boat, so my budget is a little smaller than most, giving me a lot more freedom too. But I have been considering buying a kayak or rowboat at least, because I am definitely missing out on better exploring what is right next to me. I don't think I'll be buying the yacht any time soon. Most people here are flat broke, or loaded, so I am weirdly in the middle and it can make socializing harder simply because I don't meet people at work (I work from home) nor at the yacht club. I think if I drank myself into a stupor at least once a week I'd fit in better. I don't think the Keys are a great place for recovering alcoholics. There are a lot of alcoholics down here - but not recovering ones.
In related news, a local girl recently won a Coors Light contest. The local news link is not working right now, but she jumped off a cliff to win a year's worth of free beer, the video of which she submitted to the contest. The company surprised her with the contest win by having her friend take her kayaking around Marathon which she does often, and then hired scuba divers surfaced next to them with the news. Apparently the whole thing was caught on video. She apparently still goes to college... so I'm guessing her grades won't be so good this year...
I had to call some county offices this week. They consistently went to voicemail. If you move to the Keys, don't expect people to actually be in their govt. office in the middle of the day on a weekday. People are very friendly here, but not exactly business-minded. Too bad, because a few weeks ago I reached someone and they went out of their way to be really helpful. So everything is just the luck of the draw here, don't ever do anything last-minute that is urgent, because you might do it on one of those days when the office door says "Gone Fishin'..."
Living in Key West can be fun, but "rock fever" can be a problem after a while and taking nearly three hours to drive off the Keys gets tedious after a while notwithstanding the beauty of the drive.
Living in Key West can be fun, but "rock fever" can be a problem after a while and taking nearly three hours to drive off the Keys gets tedious after a while notwithstanding the beauty of the drive.
Yes definitely, that's why I decided to live in the Upper Keys. It's a lot slower, but easier to get off the ride when you're getting a little seasick and crave the mainland. It's also closer to Miami doctors, etc.
Also, for me personally I find Key West to be too crowded and expensive to live on - exciting but rather stressful for island living. I have lived in big cities before, and I moved here to get away from all that drama. But I think it's a good place to visit.
If you're living in the Keys, it would be great if you'd post here more about your experiences. People don't often get chances to hear how it really is from somebody who's actually lived here. Also, it would be cool if you wanted to add something to the other thread I started, called "Kitschy Keys Culture." It's fun to get a local perspective of the crazy life that is being here full-time.
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This made me think of something else that is unique about living here. For those in Key West, hopping a commercial flight to Cuba is now possible! From what I understand, it's backlogged a million people and you still have to get permission from all sorts of govt. dept.s first, but there is in fact regular flight service back and forth now! So that's something no other city could say... I know someone who is going this summer as part of a cultural exchange program for professors, one of the reasons permitted by the Feds. So that will be interesting.
I am not able to go often unfortunately - yet anyway! - but my neighbor goes every single day, both for work and for play. So it just depends on your resources and your determination. I am lucky to see a lot of reef life right off my dock, so that is some consolation - I have a medium size jellyfish living upside-down there the past few days, as well as mollusks in shells including what may be a conch (haven't gotten close enough to verify yet), starfish, and many different kids of fish. My neighbor tells me there was an eel there about a month ago. Manatees (although not lately perhaps because of the heat in shallow water and the abundance of sea grass elsewhere - they're likely to be in our area most in the Winter), and lots of other things growing on the underside of my dock - you can lay down and look through the cracks and watch for hours! If I were able to, I think I'd LIVE underwater and count instead the frequency with which I bothered to walk on land. Maybe someday...
Scuba diving is totally worth it here, this is the 3rd largest reef in the world just offshore and teeming with beautiful and diverse life. Like reefs everywhere, it is suffering from mostly human-made effects, but there is still plenty to see and Coral Reef Restoration is actively improving the situation of killed coral. If you like looking at aquariums, this is far better. Of course, there is dead brain coral all over my yard so one can see remnants of undersea life everywhere when you live here - every time I dig a hole to put a plant in, more coral comes up (along with halves of old coconut shells, sand, etc.). The reef is 3 miles offshore, so you'll need a boat to see the best stuff, and generally speaking canals are not deemed clean enough to safely swim in unfortunately. Depending on where one lives, the ride can be a little longer since the reef is oceanside and needs a direct access canal - otherwise you may need to wend your way around quite a bit to get where you're trying to go - all through beautiful backcountry no less, but still it takes time in each direction unless you leave from a point of direct ocean access. There are hundreds of good dives spots throughout the Keys, not just at the reef, though.
Waterfront properties both oceanside (Atlantic Ocean) and bayside (the West side/Gulf of Mexico) maintain equal value on the real estate market because of this - the oceanside provides direct access for the reef and deep-sea fishing (as well as more direct sailing to Caribbean islands if you're able), but is much more vulnerable to serious hurricane damage. The bayside is generally more protected from serious wave action - especially in the Upper Keys - and has amazing sunsets (a major Keys cultural pastime), but you'll have to sail around from your starting point to a major cut and cross over to the oceanside for the deep stuff. I am bayside, but there are deserted islands on our side too, and also more direct access to the Everglades if backcountry kayaking and swamp exploration are your thing. So it just depends on which suits you best personally.
I wanted the sunsets - but another part of Keys life, is that you can pay whatever for the waterfront property facing the sunset, and then if you're not directly on the open water your neighbors can let their trees grow however and there goes your view. You can also pay an extra 200k for the water to touch your lot (at minimum this is what it adds to the value/cost of a house versus the same house on a dry lot/no water), and then mangroves can start to grow in your waterfront, and it's illegal to do anything to them without a biologist and a permit, and even then they rarely let you cut or remove them at all. So they grow quickly and spread across your waterfront in a matter of a few years, and then your place loses half its value because now no one can use the waterfront because doing so would require you to disturb or pull out the mangroves, where fish and all sorts of other Keys life live. Added to this, you need a permit to even trim the mangroves down, so they may also entirely block your view of the water, further depreciating your house value. If you have the money to live on deep open water (and don't mind the serious risk to your house in hurricanes) and a yacht, you don't have to worry about this - you waterfront will be there, it's just your house that may disappear!
Everything in the Keys is a compromise, no matter where you live and what kind of money or lack thereof you have. Everything you love, also has a terrible side to it. And everything you hate, also has a wonderful side to it. In a way, it makes for a balanced life if you're willing to go with the flow. Flexibility is a key character requirement to live here successfully.
Your bird sounds like a peacock to me too, we have quite a few here in Cutler bay and they are extremely loud. You can hear them often a mile or two away. We hear them in the morning and at dusk.
Oh I want to warn you that in a month and half you'll have mini season and the Keys explode then. My sister told me last year a lot of idiots would snorkel in her canal to get Lobsters.
You made me laugh about the amount of Alcoholics in the Keys since when we house sit we notice the heavy amounts of drinking.
Yeah we bring our boat from Miami down when we are in Marathon and the reef is beautiful, my boys love doing that.
Oh I want to warn you that in a month and half you'll have mini season and the Keys explode then. My sister told me last year a lot of idiots would snorkel in her canal to get Lobsters.
I do know about the Lobster mini-season since I came down constantly for years from Miami, but I didn't know people might actually try canals... that would scare the crap out of me if I looked over and there was somebody snorkeling there with a spear. Well, I guess if they're willing to snorkel through raw sewage and barracudas past the massive neighborhood mascot the Croc, then they're welcome to what they can find! I don't think any neighbors are going to try to compete for whatever contaminated little crayfish are in there. But I doubt they'll find much.
The canal is wide and nice to look at, but really doesn't get much circulation so I personally would not want to eat from there. You're better off taking your chances eating canned lobster from the Dollar Store. The fresh fish here in the Keys is in open water, away from all the human settlement. Even if you do have a waterfront lot, you generally don't want to fish right off your back yard unless you're on open water and have a long dock. It's unfortunate, but true - most canals here are not sanitary. Hopefully they will pass legislation and put efforts in soon to change that - there has certainly been talk of it.
I've never been to the Keys before but I have been to South Florida on vacation. I'd imagine the Keys to be a beautiful place but not somewhere that I'd want to live, even if I did have the money (the Keys are very expensive from what I hear). They're just too isolated for me, and I'd get bored I think. Nice to go fishing at or take a relaxing trip, I would love to see Key West especially because I'm an Earnest Hemmingway fan and I hear that Captain Tony's is the best bar in the world. But no, I wouldn't live there, especially due to hurricanes, it's a long drive back to the mainland if a storm is coming.
The Keys kind of reminds me of Hawaii, both tropical paradises and beautiful. But both very expensive and isolated. I couldn't live long term in any place like that. Just my 2 cents, not hating. Everybody has their own opinions.
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