[ImissThe90's]

So, my wife is writing a novel that she wants to set in Key West. She is doing research on the area now, and we are planning a trip, but I figured I could maybe help by asking some questions here. So any help would be much appreciated.

1.What is every day living like there? Is it all tourist related, or are there things outside of that, work or play?
2.Are there areas to avoid? If so, what areas?
3. What are the best bars/restaurants, especially those locals frequent?
4. Other than typical beach stuff, what is there to do?

I'm sure there are many more questions I could/should be asking. I am looking for the point of view of people who currently, or have resided in Key West, or have knowledge of the area. If there are any tidbits about the area that could be interesting, feel free to share them. Please, any info you think may be needed for writing about the area would be greatly appreciated!

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by ImissThe90's

So, my wife is writing a novel that she wants to set in Key West. She is doing research on the area now, and we are planning a trip, but I figured I could maybe help by asking some questions here. So any help would be much appreciated.

1.What is every day living like there? Is it all tourist related, or are there things outside of that, work or play?
2.Are there areas to avoid? If so, what areas?
3. What are the best bars/restaurants, especially those locals frequent?
4. Other than typical beach stuff, what is there to do?

I'm sure there are many more questions I could/should be asking. I am looking for the point of view of people who currently, or have resided in Key West, or have knowledge of the area. If there are any tidbits about the area that could be interesting, feel free to share them. Please, any info you think may be needed for writing about the area would be greatly appreciated!

As a visitor (I have been there several times) I will give you my two cents, based on experience (I also have a few friends who grew up there):

1. Mainly tourist-related. The service industry seems to be where most locals work. Locals play very hard. Heavy party mentality.
2. Not that I saw, nor that I heard of. Very small area, and overall safe.
3. Locals don't tend to flock on Duval for restaurants. The East side of the island appeared to have more locals, though I cannot think of the names of the restaurants. I did see lots of locals at the bars on Duval at night, however. I did see lots of locals at local restaurants on Truman Ave as well, which is pretty much in the heart of the tourist area.
4. Fishing, fishing, and lots of fishing... And booze and cocaine seem to be unusually popular.

As I said, this is just my two cents from a visitor's perspective. The beaches didn't seem to be popular at all. Really, I only saw one beach, and it's always pretty deserted.
Someone who's lived there may have a completely different viewpoint than mine.

[unquiltom]

I've been visiting Key West since 1988 and now live only a 3 hour drive away. I know my way around the town fairly well and have a few friends who live there.
1. It's true, many of the residents are in the tourist related industries, but there are normal services there that employ a lot of people too. Keys Energy, the navy and coast guard, and a number of banks, just to name a few. There's a high school and I'm sure, a couple of other schools there as well.
2. Crime is relatively non existent, other than the occasional rowdy tourist. Bahamas Village can look intimidating to an outsider, but I've never experienced any problems walking or driving through there.
3. The locals will usually stay away from the touristy places, Sloppy Joes, Hogs Breath, etc. I usually talk to the locals at places like Schooners Wharf or Finnegans Wake.
4. I'm a beach person, so I spend most of my day times at Ft. Taylor's beach. But for tourists, there's lots of historic places to tour. Hemingway's house, the Audubon house, Mel Fischer's museum and the Key West cemetery (yes, it's tourist attraction)
I also recommend a day trip to the Dry Tortugas to anyone who visits Key West. It has some of the clearest waters and diversity of wildlife of any of the Keys.

[macrodome2]

Use the advanced search and look for posts from StarFishKey. Her posts are generally filled with local info about the Keys.

[Roscoe Conkling]

Originally Posted by unquiltom

2. Crime is relatively non existent, other than the occasional rowdy tourist.

Not sure about this one.
I was in a convenience store not far off Duval and saw a group of black youths being fairly aggressive towards other customers.
Chatted to the lady on check-out who said, in her words, " they come looking every day for rich pickings. "
It ain't ghetto but the usual precautions should be observed.

[bigh110]

M.C.S.O. Arrest Log

monroe county florida arrests for the past 7 days.
it seems like a lot more arrests are made in key west versus the the rest of the keys.

[Rabflmom]

Best to write about what you know. Maybe she should live and work there and experience the daily life for a while to get her own perspective. Talk to the people in person who live there full time. Interview police officers, librarians, retail, boat captains, etc. Tourist views and residents' views are not usually the same .

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

Best to write about what you know. Maybe she should live and work there and experience the daily life for a while to get her own perspective. Talk to the people in person who live there full time. Interview police officers, librarians, retail, boat captains, etc. Tourist views and residents' views are not usually the same .

I was just going to say the same thing.

Especially in the ironic shadow of Hemingway.

[StreetLegal]

As has been suggested, the Hemingway house in Key West is great. They give a tour and it is really worth checking out.

[ImissThe90's]

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

Best to write about what you know. Maybe she should live and work there and experience the daily life for a while to get her own perspective. Talk to the people in person who live there full time. Interview police officers, librarians, retail, boat captains, etc. Tourist views and residents' views are not usually the same .

We have a trip planned for next month, and I am actually in the process of trying to get some interviews set up down that way. We would love to live at the beach, and this is a good excuse to get there. Luckily we have job skills/degrees that translate well to any type of area. We are just trying to gather information at the moment. Hopefully after the trip we will know whether it is a viable option our not.

Macrodome- I will definitely check out the posts by StarFishKey, thank you.

Thanks guys! Good stuff so far, please keep it coming!