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The Florida Keys have so much to offer. They don't have many beaches, but they do have lots of clear water, amazing sealife, great snorkeling and diving, and calm waters great for kayaking, paddleboarding, easy kiteboarding and sailing, etc. And of course, plenty of sunshine, heat, and humidity.
But there continue to be young people who come down here not understanding that paradise doesn't just fall into your lap, you have to plan and work hard for it.
With that in mind, I thought I would share some of the real situations of people who came down here recently with nothing but a backpack and a dream, only to find that the Keys are not what they were in the 60s. Today they are very built up, with no land untaken, and a police presence that is very hostile to people who choose to be homeless here. There is nowhere really to hide to park or sleep on the ground, and no locals who are sympathetic to your desire to couch surf while they are killing themselves with 3 jobs just to afford their single room in a house with 3-5 other roommates. It's hard to make it in the Keys - despite the image of palm trees and turquoise waters, it's actually harder to make it in the Keys than it is in most locations in the US. There are very few jobs here that pay more than $10/hr, most of them offer no benefits, and there is almost no housing affordable to the working class at all. And even where there is, it either has a long wait list, or is in a below-flood dump that is not even a legal, nor livable residence. Govt. marketplace health insurance is the most expensive here in the state, starting at a minimum of $300/mo for a plan that covers absolutely nothing, and working its way up from there.
But don't take my word for it. Here are some of the latest people around the Keys who regret their choice to come down to paradise. Every single one of these is a situation going on right this week:
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A craigslist post today says:
please help need a ride of Orlando (dennys key largo)
Been stranded outside in key largo need a ride please someone heading to Orlando please take me that way I have no money I'm exhausted and I need to get home. I have one backpack and a duffel bag
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I saw a young guy outside a store on Tavernier yesterday, who was dirty, had no shoes, and was sitting on the concrete next to a backpack and a cellphone he apparently had found an outlet to charge outside of the store. He was totally coherent and clearly did not want to be living that way. He looked scared and was asking people if they might share some food with him.
Apparently, coming down to paradise with the idea you're going to land a bartending job right away didn't turn out to be that easy - no wonder when those jobs are already given usually to locals who have connections, and all the residential rentals go to people who already have jobs and can prove income, local references, and who can give FIRST, LAST, AND SECURITY. - That is the standard here. Also, almost no place will take pets, so be prepared for that.
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This one could happen to anyone but it's part of the problem with moving with no savings, no backup plan, and no other skills, with an entire family leaning on the existence of one job:
GOOD HEARTED HELP NEEDED
Thank you for clicking on this ad to read, but only SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY PLEASE..I was always told "if you dont ask, you wont know" and "closed mouths dont get fed"..so here I am asking for help...my family and I are in need of a donation and looking for someone who can and willingly help because you have the means to do so and you want to reach out and help change a family's life for the better with no strings attached or sexual favors...so here is our story...my family and I just re-located here to the Keys about a year ago for my husbands job...well after going through enough cold winters up north we jumped at the opportunity, the sister company down here painted a beautiful picture for my husband..so we came..upon driving here my husband was in a car accident and now needs anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, which means he need c4, c5, c6 disc removed, then cleared and prepared for a bone graft, the graft is between the vertebrae, then a metal plate attached while the vertebrae heals...Also his right wrist has 2 torn tendons...Well my husband..like the trooper he is..put off surgery to support his family and went to work with his injuries, the company was well aware of his injuries...my husband bent over backwards for this new company...going out of town for them and even taking a pay-cut! And still no surgery yet...he busted his ass for them..for them now to permanently let him go!!! what?? After all that, thats the "thank you" he gets?!?! Now he is out of work and so am I...I'm looking, and now my husband is going to get the surgery he needs but will not be able to work for at least 2months per Dr. orders..he was the "bread winner" in the family...we are up to our heads in bills and really need the help for at least til he is cleared to go back to work..and thats at least 2 or more months we need help with, I am putting my applications in all over, I have done some personal assistant work in the past..shopping, cleaning, laundry, errands, etc...and looking in those areas again...I have never asked for help like this before and had to swallow my pride to do so, so please do not add insult to our injuries we already have...if you chose to help a family in real need..please do so with a clean heart without expecting anything in return...please email me with your name, phone number, location and how you can help...I thank you for your time and have a beautiful day. GOD BLESS
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Apparently Key West is still alive and well for illegal activities:
R U missing a bicycle in KW? (Key West)
If you are missing a bicycle, one place you may want to check out is the mangroves off the bike path in the area of xxxxx. Nothing is permitted to be stored in the mangroves, and I have had to throw away a couple of bikes, wheels, etc. I do not still have these bikes, they were <$500 type bikes, but in the future this is one place to check. I have found other weird items with the bikes suggesting illegal camping or drug manufacturing, so use caution.
Nothing better than living in the mangroves covered in swamp stink, hordes of mosquitoes, snakes, etc. in 93 degree and 99% humidity, with the mangroves blocking all your breeze, next to sex offender who's homeless because he got zoned out of a place to live cooking meth, and a pile of rusted stolen bicycle parts. Welcome to paradise, did you really lie awake at night dreaming of this for your future? Or did you fall asleep and this was your nightmare?
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Yet another Key West housing scam...
couple in need of place to stay (key west)
We have no resources as we were scammed on our lease....just need a place to stay for the week...... Please help can't sleep in car anymore.......
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And yet another, this time with a family that did not do their research...
Need help ASAP !! Family of 3 !! (Key West)
we came from Ohio and got scammed on our new place....cash is low and just need a place to set up our tent!! Can do work for consideration !!
---- looking for place to stay
I'm 22 year old male from new Mexico. I'm looking to lease a room cheap as possible for I am trying to start new. I've been looking for jobs on the keys but have not been successful. I just need some help with living because I would have to live in my truck till I get enough money. Give me a text if you have any questions doesn't matter how many questions. I'm headed down there at the end of August. Please get back to me if you can help me out
This is a total disaster waiting to happen... but I'm sure he'll come anyway, as so many do, just assuming it's going to work out. It won't, that just not how it works down here anymore.
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The story is not great for those who look to retire here in their old age without much money:
Elder looking for help (key west)
Hi I am a 77 year old lady with slight dementia looking for a room to rent. All I need is a bed, bath and kitchen area to make my tea! ... please let me know if you have an extra room, I am on a fixed income but I know Key West is not cheap...Thank you!
You have to think ahead about what will happen when your health starts to fail and you have no family here, or if you move with a partner and that partner dies, leaving you alone. It can get really scary, because there is nobody down here who will help you out, and the vast majority of safe legal housing in the Keys is in stilt houses, which are too hard for many elderly to get in and out of.
---- $400 In need of a room to rent in key largo or tavernier
In need of a room to rent must talk about pricing because i work part time but I hope thats going to change currently working at win dixie. i am 20 years old , male , im very organized and clean , great roomate overall im pet friendly and i even have a kitten of my own but am willing to give her up if I have to
Yeah, that's not happening. Most room rentals are $700-900/mo in the Keys, and do not allow pets. Great though that he thought to get a kitten when he doesn't even have a place to live or a full-time job, and is struggling to get more than part-time hours on minimum wage at the grocery store.
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This woman left her family and job in PA and ended up homeless just a few years ago in Key Largo after erroneously being declared officially dead. Please note that if coming down to the Keys with no plan and no place to live were paradise, the BEFORE picture would be on the right, and the AFTER picture would be the on the LEFT. Reality is written all over her face, this is not paradise, this is hard living for those who have no job and savings lined up:
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Excerpts from a very long news article on Keys homelessness:
"Even the welcoming, tropical tourist town of Key West— with slogans "Come as you are" and "One Human Family" — has a limit when it comes to tolerating free spirits. In the past two months, Key West police have arrested more than 70 vagrants for "quality of life" offenses: aggressive panhandling, trespassing, fighting, public intoxication, defecating on public property, using residents' outdoor showers and electricity. And the crackdown — spurred by complaints from residents, business owners and visitors — is about to get a financial boost from the federal government: $813,000 in stimulus funds. The money will pay for four new police officers for three years, assigned primarily to quality-of-life issues. The police department is in the process of hiring the officers, which will patrol public beaches, parks and other homeless hangouts.
...The National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty named Key West one of the country's "meanest" cities for the homeless.
... Oscar Rodriguez, 54, said he came to Key West from Fort Lauderdale looking for work: landscaping, roofing, anything.
"Two weeks ago, I went into the hospital for a cough and came out with cancer," he said, the medical bracelet from nearby Lower Keys Medical Center still on his wrist.
Rodriguez was arrested by Key West police... for trespassing.
...Clevenger, 56, came to Key West from Iowa 15 years ago. With a burglary rap sheet, he's among those facing more scrutiny from police.
...Martin is 51, but his weathered skin and disheveled gray beard make him look decades older. He said he once was a champion ballroom dancer who came to the Keys 11 years ago selling electric car rentals. But he suffers from anemia and hasn't worked in five years. "I'm not homeless because I drink; I drink because I'm homeless," Martin said. "The truth: I hope I lay down one night and never wake up. My soul would go somewhere peaceful." "... by Cammy Clark, Miami Herald
It doesn't sound like bum life in the Keys is that easy, fun, or happy. People are suffering, miserable, and want to die.
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These were all really easy to find, as they are every week. People who come to the Keys with no plan are plentiful, and so many of them are really struggling. If you don't have a lot of work experience, great references, in-demand SKILLS, and a job lined up ahead of time with savings in the bank, this dream of "paradise" is not going to work out.
I hope somebody dreaming of the bum life on the beach happens to read this and realizes
1. There are virtually no beaches in all of the Keys
2. The few that we have are very tiny and heavily policed - you are not allowed to camp or live on them, and local police tend to get violent if they think you are trying
3. The cost of living here is higher than most other places in the country, but the available wages are extremely low, and we have a housing shortage. The Keys are a vacation destination and early retirement-type community, they are not great for people just trying to make it who have to work. Even locals who have been here for generations and have all the connections really are struggling. If you don't offer spectacular skills that no one else can, you have no reason to think you'll do better than the people who are actually from here and get first dibs at all the opportunities.
It is really sad reading about and seeing these people all so upset and scared every week. Please don't come down here to be one of them. We have a real crisis here. You have a better shot of making it in almost any city in the US other than here, because at least most other places have jobs, benefits, affordable rent, and plenty of legal apartments available.
Paradise is something you have to work for to make it come true. And even a lot of people who work really hard, still can't make it. The Florida Keys are beautiful. But they are not a fantasy, this is real life, and real life for people who come without a plan is devastatingly hard.
Last edited by StarfishKey; 09-03-2015 at 12:33 PM..
Keys may be the extreme version but these points could fit in many parts of FL. Definite sticky material
yep - see it here in TB area as well...especially downtown ST Petersburg (Williams' Park).....freq you see people sleeping on the sidewalks middle of the day.
The keys sound like a horrible place full of homeless bums where poverty is in abundance, Thanks for the heads up i'll make sure my vacation plans dont include the Keys.
Keys may be the extreme version but these points could fit in many parts of FL. Definite sticky material
I think this this reasonable for everyone to think about who wants to escape their current life, but it's important for people to understand that the Keys really do have a legitimately much worse situation than most other places in the country. The expectations on people who come here are really high - it is the norm to require 3x the rent up front in cash (first, last, and security), and to require proof of a job and sufficient income, as well as LOCAL references.
We have an actual affordable housing shortage, which is not the case of almost any other county. Working class people truly cannot afford to live here without roommates, Section 8 is not accepted almost anywhere (because most of the housing is illegal and in someone's below-flood storage area under their residential house), we have almost no corporation-owned apartment buildings, and many companies will actually truck worked in from Homestead to do their minimum wage jobs because people down here can't afford to live on Kmart wages. Plus, we have nowhere for the homeless to hide if they just want to bum it somewhere in their van or whatever.
I'm not saying these people should go to another part of Florida to become a burden on society. But in other counties, at least you can survive on a 35k job if you have to. Here in Monroe County, there is literally nowhere to live, unless you take illegal unsafe housing and share with a roommate, or you are one of the extremely lucky ones (usually only locals) who can get one of the very few legal apartments we have here. And those still will not be cheap at all, they cost way more than in other parts of the state.
So it's just something to be aware of and try to be reasonable about, we have an actual crisis here, even for people WITH jobs and who try really hard, the Keys have become a resort community that will chew you up and spit you out. I'm not saying I'm better than anybody, it could happen to me one day too. I was homeless several times before, so I get it. I am very lucky that so far, my life has been stable here, I have a house and can pay the mortgage. But whether or not people like that truth, it really is a truth that the Keys are gentrifying in a massive way, mostly due to flood regulations and the majority of the county being below flood, and above-flood housing being so expensive to built and to keep insurance on. The working class people here are holding on by the skin of their teeth, and every week more of them are forced out because they just can't make it anymore. That situation is not getting better, it is getting worse, because these are islands - property values are not going to go down, because there is always going to be a limited amount of space to be able to live on here. And every year, people more and more want the "carefree" island lifestyle, with the pretty water. Unless we get hit by a catastrophic hurricane - in which case NOBODY can manage to safely live here - then the demand will keep going up, and the people who have less will keep getting forced out.
One example is the small community of Knights Key in the Middle Keys. As the communities here change, more and more newcomers are willing to vote for development here, because they are more attached to the way things are on the mainland than they are to how it used to be here in the Keys. So now there has been less opposition to big developers, like this guy Singh who is trying to develop the most ultra-1% resort on Knights Key. It looks like it's going to happen, and while the poorer locals are up in arms because they know what this means, the wealthier ones are happy because they ALSO know what this means - when this place becomes the ultimate international destination for the world's wealthy, property values on that key and the surrounding keys will skyrocket. All the poorer residents, and also all of the poorer vacations who used to like to come there for camping, will be forced out by the new sky-high prices, fancier stores and restaurants, a totally new way of life for that area. And other companies will be attracted to the wealthy clientele and try to buy more land and build their resorts and gated neighborhoods too. That hasn't happened yet and there's already a problem, and already there is nobody who can afford to work for these places. So they are building worker housing, like a mining camp - because we all know what a joy it is to work for your employer and never get to leave work, to live under their rules too and always be on guard that they're watching your personal life and deciding how much rent you should pay them out of the measly hourly wage they give you. Anyway, imagine when they build this how much worse the situation here is going to get. It means the whole Keys has more cache, because an ultra-trendy mega-resort is here. It's not good news for people who don't own yet and aren't in the 1%. It's not necessarily good news for those of us who do own, either, because taxes and local groceries, etc. may go so high that we can't afford to stay, either. Which is what they want, because we are not posh enough. Plus, they will destroy the local ecosystem with their carelessness and building, which gradually ruins the thing we are all down here for.
So, this is something for everyone who wants to move down here to think about. Long-term, it is pretty hard to sustain, and basically impossible if all you've got is a waitressing job, or no job at all. The tidal wave of economic change here will come and will wipe you out, as it has so many others already. You need to have a good plan to have a shot.
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