What every homeowner should know about living in Key West
Your home, flood and wind insurance could cost as much as your monthly mortgage payment. Maybe more. You need to make at least $30 an hour to even consider affording rent and you likely can never afford to buy. You’re closer to Havana than a Walmart or Target. You pretty much have one choice on pretty much everything. And everything runs on ISLAND TIME.
It’s not the mainland, folks. And it’s not a vacation
Soaring insurance costs push Key West’s home buyers out of the market
Ranger Ed and I bought our Key West house in August 2008, just weeks before the Sept. 29 subprime banking fiasco tanked the housing market. The house, which was in foreclosure and had been listed at $1.2 million in 2006 at the height of one of Key West's frenzied real...
Key West trash cans | City ready to clean up the mess
Let's talk trash. Specifically Key West trash cans. Live on the island long enough and your brain does this weird Photoshop editing thing. Voila, no more trash cans. Like with overhead utility lines and massive cell tower spires, your peepers no longer register those...
Sargassum 2025 | It’s time for Big Stink Season
Nothing like watching the ginormous blob of sargassum 2025 floating not too far southwest of the island to get me scurrying for a leftover Covid mask. Because, my beach-loving friends, we're right on schedule for what the experts are calling a record-breaking Stink...
Living in the Keys | And, just like that, the sink collapsed
"You need to come look at the bathroom sink," said Ranger Ed as he walked out on the porch. "The only thing holding it up is the drainpipe." Sigh. Oh, the joy of living in the Keys. The brackets holding the basin had rusted through and the whole thing collapsed. The...
Key West rain | Just dry season or is there a drought?
I'm not alone in grinning when I read a weather forecast that calls for rain. Or when I get up to promisingly heavy cloudy skies. Dadgummit! It could rain today. One needs only eyeballs to confirm it's been darn dry the past three months. It's dusty. Everything is...
Key West insurance | Is wind, flood coverage worse than the storms?
Two kinds of residents can ignore the disaster that is Florida wind and flood insurance coverage: The mega-rich for whom a $20,000 annual bill is budget dust and the feeling-lucky homeowners with no mortgages. (Although why anyone would play Key West insurance chicken...
Outside cleanup in Key West | Power washer or generator? Pick one
Twice a year Ranger Ed and I give into the temptation to whine about living in Key West. Welcome to the semi-annual outside cleanup. Up north y'all call it "opening the pool" or "getting ready for winter." Rake leaves; mulch plants; test the snow blower; shock (or...
Key West hurricane recovery | Part 3 | The worst is yet to come
Four kinds of people ride out a hurricane: Those with no where to go or no one to take them. Those whose clueless bravado having weathered a tropical storm or two leads them to believe hurricanes are just a bit more windy. Those who missed the evacuation window and...
Key West hurricane evacuation | Part 2 | What to do if you leave the island
When a mandatory hurricane evacuation order is issued in Key West and the Florida Keys, how do you know when to go and what to do? We’ll help you decide.
Fair Insurance Rates for Monroe is a grassroots nonprofit that helps residents understand and navigate the complicated world of Florida flood, wind and homeowner insurance. The BEST source of property insurance information in the Keys.
