I am Back in Key West

 

My Key West Properties Real Estate Blog is up and running once again. I spent the last couple of weeks in Paris where my spirits were rejuvenated to a level I have not experienced in several years. The skies were sunny and the temperature warm but cooler and less humid than my Key West. I walked the streets to various restaurants and felt safe all the time. The food ranged from very good to memorable. (I had been on a diet the last few months and lost thirty pounds. I feared all pate would add the pounds back. But the walking kept me and my friend at our same body weight - mildly plump.) The Parisians could not have been any nicer. They are thinner and better looking than Americans even though many of them seem to sit at the little sidewalk cafes for hours on end drinking coffee and eating incredible pastries.

 I stayed in a beautiful fifteenth century apartment located across the street from a park in the Marais.  The area was dotted with little cafes and upscale shops including a patisserie a couple of blocks away where I bought baguettes and pastries each day. (By the way, the French pay less for their food than what we pay in Key West.) The sidewalks were more narrow than our in Key West - this kept me looking up and down and all around - dodging and stepping into the street and out of the way. I managed to see this little piece of art which made me stop, smile, and take a picture to remember how important little things are in life.

While I had been to Paris many times over the years, I saw the city as if this were my very first visit. I walked everywhere taking in each sight as if for the very first time. I stopped to check out the real estate listings on numerous occasions in different neighborhoods. While I don't read French, I could figure out how large the apartments were and how much they cost. The asking prices made me rethink the pessimism I have been having about housings prices in Key West.  I particularly admired a building a couple of doors away from our apartment at 12 Parc Royal. Then I saw unit in that building which was offered at $1,650,000 Euros or $1,937,574 US Dollars. Later that day I was walking in the Rive Gauche area and found an apartment with a great view - it was listed in the $6 million Euro range. I also compared less expensive one bedroom and studio apartments in both areas. They were priced higher than Key West and offered less space and practical or comfortable living spaces. At least that is my opinion. I'm pretty sure it is the location that drives prices in Paris just like it does in Key West. Even if I had the money to buy Rive Gauche apartment, I wouldn't feel comfortable in that area just like I wouldn't feel comfortable on the upper East Side of New York. The Marais fit my needs both as to price and area in which I would like to live. Comfort level as to price and desirable location is transferable to Key West, Los Angeles, or Omaha. It is universal.  

The architecture awed me on nearly every street. The palaces and pied-à-terres just overwhelmed me. I kept trying to figure out how architects and builders from centuries before modern engineering and mechanical equipment were able to build the subways, cathedrals, palaces and everyday apartment buildings. Almost every building I saw was grand beyond what I am used to in Key West. And that grandness, that boldness of design and execution, made me appreciate the simplicity of our little houses in Key West and the little lanes on which so many of our houses are located. I remembered that it was the simplicity of our little island out in the middle of the ocean that lured so many of us non-Conchs to move here - along with the simple life we all desired to live. 

If you are looking to buy a house or pied-à-terre in Key West, please consider calling me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. I don't speak French, but I do speak plane English.