The things every Key West
homeowner should know
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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 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.
Key West hurricane prep | Part 1: Let’s get started
June is hurricane prep time in Key West. With so much hurricane prep info floating around, here’s what you REALLY need to know.
4 ways to strengthen the Key West tree canopy without home rule control
Historically, the Key West tree canopy boasted little in the way of showy shade trees. We are an inhospitable, oolite limestone island in the middle of salt water. What green things we had were more scraggly than soaring, the results of birds and other creatures using...
Key West trees | Welcome to the Cunningham Urban Hammock
Myrtles of the river, stoppers and the Jamaica caper flank the pool with mango overhead (2022) The mango remained, as did the Florida thatch palm, in 2012 In 2013, the urban hammock was just establishing itself The next people to own our house are in for an...
Living in Key West: Part 3: Cat hair, garbage cans, fresh water conchs
It doesn’t take a degree in demographics and a passion for data dumps to know when Key West’s snowbirds arrive. Lights in that once dark house come on at dusk. There are peals of laughter across the fence line and the rumble of interesting conversations of which I can...
Buying a Key West home? Wind and flood insurance costs could change your plans
Three things come at a premium when you're living in Key West: An X flood zone, which until Oct. 1, had meant your house wasn't as likely to flood and therefore the mortgage company wouldn't require flood insurance; parking because there isn't any in Key West; and...