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Lived in KW for 3.5 years, names on the wall at the Hogs Breath. For two years I was surrounded by about ten of the closest friends I could ever, have ever or expect to ever have. Had the best time of my life, early 20's, working, drinking , diving and getting laid. Then everybody started to move away one by one, we all grew up and left. Keys Disease is real. Be careful, nothing pretty about and old bum.
Suburbia with three kids.....
__________________ Baitkiller= Accredited Marine Surveyor
Bait fear me, fish just laugh.....
The little Dutch boy was just buying time...
I'm here thanks to the Military (somewhat at my request). The Keys are good if you like 1 (or both) of these two things:
1) Boating
2) Drinking
Otherwise there is little else to do. If you don't have business in Key West, I'd lean toward Marathon over Big Pine, so you don't have to make the 7mi Bridge run everytime you want something from the store. I have enjoyed my time here a lot, but ONLY because I normally have my boat tied to the dock in the backyard. Otherwise, I think it would suck. Hurricanes SUCK BAD.
bubba, a key west charter captain gave my wife and i some great advice when we expressed an interest to move there years ago. he said " don't ever move to a place that you vacation in. you will lose that place as a vacation spot. everything you love about a place on vacation, you will end up taking for granted and become bored with if you move there. he was right and we still enjoy our 3 or 4 day weekends to the keys several times a year.
i moved to florida 17 years ago from connecticut and have not looked back. i reside in orlando and we have a weekend house in madeira beach that offers us a great getaway that is just 2 hours away. move to florida and take trips around the state. there is every type of fishing one could ever want and if you get bored with our state fly over to the bahamas, you can be there in less than an hour from south florida.
sorry to sound like the chamber of commerce, but i really enjoy living down here and when i need my dose of cold i hop a plane to hartford and remember why i moved. good luck on your decision. capt. rodg
__________________ USCG 100 TON MASTER
Pursuit 2870 CC
Palm Beach 161
1984 Mckee Craft 14'
Sunset on the ICW
Madeira Beach, Fl
Honeymoon Harbor
Bimini
"Many times life gives you the test, before you learn the lesson!"
I gotta agree with signmansez.
I lived in KW for 2 years courtesy of the USN, the away for a year.
Got married and moved back down for 3 years.
We actually lived there when it was not crowded, and it was affordable. 74-79.
First place I bought was a dumpy trailer while in USN, on a canal, not very nice, and didnt appreciate it much.
Second trip lived on Cudjoe, bought a great canal lot for 6K, built a nice 2/2 for 28K. Had great access in both directions.
Why did we leave? We couldnt make enough money to get older on.
Second major reason.....................we got bored as heck. We boated day and night, we dove, we fished, we swam............and by the third year, we layed around and read books a lot.
Desire to make a better living caused me to move to the center of the state.
I still enjoy visiting, and when the urge to think about moving back hits me, I think ................remember how bored we were?
That and the fact that our 34K house now costs that much in insurance and taxes each year kinda puts a damper on moving down there.
Venice is totally different than the Keys. Not bad, buy different.
I also used to think I wanted to live in the Keys but after a long weekend last year with high winds I found out that if it's too rough to boat there isn't much else to do. Sure, you can do the tourist things but how long would that last if you lived there? Now my goal is to just get there at least once a year!
How bout the banks here? good fishin year round, temperate, no reason to winterize and still reasonably affordable. Not FL I know, but pretty dern close. The off season is great, it's like a ghost town here.
Location: Los Angeles, FL.or Georgia, depends. In Fl now.
Posts: 5,979
RE: keys living?
Quote:
bubbabowden - 2/15/2006 7:06 PM
thanks BK....my nest is empty, might try it for a couple of years....keys disease is OK.
Don't forget three or four evacuations every year due to hurricanes. Also cleanup after the storm is a pain in butt. Getting contractors to repair things is and adventure.
I have lived in Key West for about 14 years and I can honestly say that there is no other place in the US that I could live. We are raising 2 kids who have little clue as to what the real world is like. You pretty much have to be a master of your own fate to make here though. By that I mean having your own business and working it. My wife and I have each do. We decided that we could take the normal route, move to the big city and make our fortunes and someday retire here or just take the plunge and live here and make it happen now. The hurricanes of the last couple of years have been a pain, but it's part of life and I'm in a business that can profit while helping in the recovery. I plan on getting a place in Costa Rica or Panama to retire to.
If I win the lottery this Saturday, I will buy a home in the Keys, My favorite place, buts I do not think I could live there year round but would like to try. I would probably buy anouther home in some palce like Montana and spend time in both.
__________________ If you think Education is expensive, try ignorance.
keys living? 
