Key West - Expensive Real Estate/

There is a small, sandy public beach within walking distance of the marina with anice view

The thing about Key West is that they're not making any more of it. The land that's here now is all there is so real estate development is limited and what there is goes for very high prices (see photo). Now the condos are nice but they are just condos, typically 2 bedrooms with 2 baths. There's nothing like Miami type hotels on site. The tallest buildings are only three stories high with most being one story so even the rooms go for a good price ($450/night for a good hotel). Taking that in the context of bring a boat to Key West, the $2000/month we pay for dockage sounds high but much less expensive than renting a room or buying a condo. Of course if we were satisfied with wintering over in Titusville we could have gotten by with $450/month but we do like Key West. You could always winter over on a mooring in Marathon but even that is $300/month and then you have just Marathon and you have to run the genset twice a day. I'd rather be in Key West. We have easy access to shore and we've never done as much exercise as here, getting out for runs and walks three times a day.

Typical condo prices in Key West, nothing special except, of course, they are in Key West

Of course, Key West is a popular place and can be crowded when the tour boats come in. There were two yesterday and another one today. We walked to Sloppy Joe's with the intention of getting a table and listening to Barry Cuda bang away at his piano which we greatly enjoy. However, the tour boat people beat us there and the place was very noisy so we skipped by. Still, we had a nice walk in the perfect 77 degree weather with full sun.

On Tuesday we'll go for a sail and anchor for lunch with guests. It'll be fun.