Moving to Key West, Navy Wife, Looking for Advice

Hi D.!
I am a navy wife too... We have been in Key West since August... I like it here...

As far as housing goes... living in base could be worse... alot depends on if you are officer or enlisted... I speak to you from the enlisted point of view...there are pros and cons to off and on base...

We live on base (husband, 2 kids 9&11, 2 cats & a dog) the 3 br houses are small! but it is nice to be sooo close to everything... I walk to work and if we want to go "out" the taxi doesn't have to go far! I believe the 2brs are with in walking distance to downtown! You can get a place a few keys down and bank a bit of money...but it is a heck of a commute (45 minutes... don't let the distance fool you... it is a slow drive!) I cant stand a long drive & like being so close to every thing so I am pretty content with living on base.
The hospital is small but the staff is AWESOME! My husband had surgery and they took such great care of BOTH of US! Right down to a hug and a kiss on the cheek when we left :)

Good luck and let me know if you need any info... more than happy to help!... A good sponsor is hard to find!
A.

Hi D. C,
Welcome to the Florida Keys. I live here (about 27 miles from Key West) and yes, rent is expensive (we own our house). There is a hospital in Key West (Lower Florida Keys Medical Center) and I had all 3 of my children there. It's a good hospital but anything major that happens you can expect to be sent to Miami. It's not a big city hospital so they don't have the highest technological things one would expect from a big city. I am not in the military but I've had a few friends who did live on base and I suppose it depends where you live that will determine if it's suitable for you. As for "toddler friendly" areas, well, there are parks and of course, the beaches. Yes, the Florida Keys in general are considered "resort haven" but it's a beautiful place to live. I'm from Chicago and have lived here since I was 16. If you are accustomed to having lots of things to do, then you will be disappointed. We don't have malls but we have a Publix, Winn Dixie, Home Depot, Ross Dress for less...just to name a few. I'd be happy to help you get info or answer any questions.

Dear D.:

I am not Navy oriented but have lived in the Keys for 20 years. As for Navy housing there should be at least 2 areas available for you one on Sigsbee and one on Key West. As to the conditions I don't know. If you come up the Keys more you would need to spend at least $1000 a month for a small home. If you can afford more you can get something on the water. Being closer to Key West can be more convenient for things for your child. Once you get above Big Coppitt there are less amenities. You would have to drive over 10 miles to get to the grocery store. This is really a personal choice. I live up by Big Pine the 28 mile marker. Address's correspond to the mile markers. Mile marker "0" is downtown Key West. Big Coppitt is the 10 MM. Big Pine is 30. We have a Winn Dixie on Big Pine for shopping. In Key West you have a nice park, some beaches and more activites for the kids. I hope this helps.
E.

Hi D.,
I have lived in Key West since 1988, but only as a civilian.
My instinct is saying "take the base housing" for a few reasons.
If you opt to live off base, you may be looking at $5k or $6k for first, last and security. You also may wind up in a neighborhood where you're surrounded by snowbirds and then you may not have any neighbors for half the year. If you live "up the Keys" as we say, you'll need to drive into town for groceries, library (story time is great for the kids)movies, swimming (except in a canal)and most everything else. I don't know what GLH housing is so I can't answer that question. The base housing I've been in seemed fine. Not palatial but certainly livable.I also think you'll have a better chance of meeting neighbors with kids if you're on base.

There are toddler friendly things here and special events through out the year.

My experiences with the hospital have only been good (2 births and a surgery) but its limited. Very serious conditions or accidents go to Miami.

Hope this helps.
Have a smooth move!

D.,

I will see if I can answer your questions. My husband is retired Navy and we are down here as contractors but as I don't see an answer and we are working on one of the bases I think I can help. First your husband should have been given a sponsor who can help you with what ever you choose to do.

The GLH Housing has just cone into effect so the housing is still basically base housing. If you have lived in Base housing then you know what I mean. It appears that they are better at responding now but the same people are running the new housing program locally.

Some key things to keep in mind when deciding where to live is that there really is nothing cheap out in town, you might save a few hundred up the keys but will more then likely pay it out in utilities. You will also need first, last, and security deposit for most houses (about $6500) just to move in to one.

The housing isn't great but when we were looking for something to rent we were not real impressed with what was out there. EVERY thing on the keys is smaller then what you are used to and the base housing is bigger then a lot of the stuff in town that you will be able to afford on any of the keys. I don’t know what the current Va Beach base housing is like but when we were at Oceana many years ago I would say that the houses here off base housing is about half that size for the same number of rooms. Our master bedroom (and few houses have true master baths) is only large enough for a king size bed and night stand on either side.

Now if you do want to look into off base housing then I suggest you contact base housing and see what they have in a book they keep. Some of them do not require the deposits and want only military personnel. You might get lucky as some have and find something. To give you an idea of traffic/travel on the keys, we live on Big Pine and go all the way to the far end of Key West to Truman Annex and it takes a minimum of 45 minutes. Traversing Key West (4 miles) takes about 20 minutes.

Most base housing is on Key West so even if you are on Stationed on NAS you will have to travel the Key West a little but will be going against traffic. I am not sure of your husbands rank but I do know that the E6’s I work with say they get about 2300 for BAH.

I am not sure what base you will be on (there are several) if you will be on NAS Key West then you could move up further and not spend a lot of time on the road and gas here has not dropped below $3.25 in over a year (on base gas is only a few cents cheaper then off).

Something else to keep in mind when making the decision is that the only real shopping are in Key West and then Big Pine for food and Marathon for K-Marts and food. There are only convince stores (ie mostly gas station type) any where else. The commissary and exchange are about the size of what we called a mini-mart and the selection is not great, but I can do most of my shopping there and it is a lot cheaper then out in town (hamburger is about 1.25 a lb on base and more like 2.50 and up in town). A lot of people don’t buy their produce on base but I have not had a problem with it. You will find if you like a lot of fresh then you have to go to the store often since it all ripens very quickly.

I ended up on this list kind of by mistake and am getting ready to get back off so if you want to get a hold of me again then please email me at ____@____.com

L.