Hello from Key West!

Island living is something that is not for the average person.  Key West is almost a country of its own. The variety of people here range from Americans to Europeans to Asian to Haitian and of course, Cubans.
The island of Key West if one mile wide and four miles long and is at the end of  the Florida Keys.  The island is about  90 miles from Cuba and is about 150 miles from Miami.

The Spanish name is Cayo Hueso. The literal translation is "Bone Island". History reports that the island was either an old burial ground or a Native American battleground.

More history later.  Key West is a place of eclectic people. From New Town to Old Town, you will find any type of people, place or thing.  It is a tourist generated economy. There are usually 23,000 people that live on the island, however, when there are any events on the books, there can be upwards of 70,000+ on the island at one time. That is a lot of people in such small area.  In fact, on New Year's Eve 2012, there were 79,000 revelers on this small parcel of land.

Most of the residents ride bicycles, motor scooters or electric street legal golf carts.  The other part of the residents drive regular autos. We have to share the road, but, there have been a few car vs. bike accidents. The car usually wins.

Key West has supermarkets, restaurants, schools, a hospital, clinics, gas stations and tons of other things to create jobs for the residents.  The more tourists come, the more jobs.  Being in a small area can create problems, too.  The main road, North Roosevelt Blvd, it being renovated. Lots of slow traffic and signage not clearly marked. There have been no serious accidents...yet, but with all of the tourists on the island, road rage has reared its ugly head from time to time.  I am guilty of road rage, but not very often.  Like most of the natives, I know how to get around the other routes to stay out of the traffic.

All in all, the visit is worth the trip. And if you decide to  move here, get the book "Quit your job and Move to Key West The Complete Guide" by David L. Sloan. Everything in it is true.  I did it.