Key West: The Opposite of Ohio

It was at the Key West Literary Seminar that poet Mark Doty said that, although “he was never actually here,” Hart Crane “loved Key West.” He loved Key West because it was, by all reports, the opposite of Ohio.*

 I watched HGTV's Urban Oasis giveaway on Friday night. I have to admit I got sucked in for a few minutes by the sleek lines of the Paramount Bay high rise condo.  I mused about winning the $900,000 condo and then thought to myself "Self, if you win, you will have to pay income tax on that thing. Do you really want to own a condo in Miami-a town where people are shot and killed daily for no reason? A place where most people don't speak English and have a culture that is alien to you? Do you really want to live up in the sky?" I admit that I filled out the online registration. I figured if I won I could sell the condo and make a few bucks because I really, truly would never want to live in Miami just as much as I would not want to live in Ohio.  

If you live in Ohio, please don't be offended. A lot of nice people live there. I sold houses to two different Ohio couples in the past couple of years.  They area really nice people who really didn't like living in Ohio in the winter when it was so cold and miserable. And they didn't like Ohio much more in the summer when it is so muggy. No, they dreamed of owning a little house in Key West where they could live a much easier environment in so many ways. One young couple bought a house I wrote about in my blog. They are raising their two little girls in a charming house in a quiet Key West neighborhood. I saw the mom and the two girls in their stroller on Sunday morning as I was taking photos for my blog. I asked how things are going, and she responded "I'll never leave Key West!" The other couple is older and don't have children. They bought a house maybe four blocks away from the first couple. A couple of months ago I saw them driving their Key West convertible with the top down.  They were in the turn lane at White and Truman. I asked how they were doing and they said something like "loving life". 

A couple from the northeast decided to buy a big lot in the Casa Marina area and build their dream home from scratch.  They hired a noted Key West architect, an accomplished landscape architect, and  very competent builder to turn their vision into reality.  The photos below show the view from their master bedroom and the new pool and gardens which are a dramatic alternative the HGTV Urban Oasis.  
 

My buyers could have bought a place in Miami and got a view similar to the one that some viewer will win in the HGTV Urban Oasis giveaway.  They chose the opposite of highrise living in a big city. I'll bet Hart Crane would agree with their decision.

If you have been dreaming of buying a place in Key West, please consider working with me, Gary Thomas. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

*  ABOUT THE BEATS   Read this most interesting account of Hart Crane by Mark Howell of Key West.