Key West Real Estate Throwback Thursday No. 6

From: 11/19/2014

Key West is the Opposite of Ohio

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

Hart Crane

A while back I watched HGTV's Urban Oasis giveaway of a sleek high rise condo at Miami's Paramount Bay.  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 where people get shot and killed daily for no reason? Do you want to live in 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 must confess 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. I'm sure that a lot of nice people live there. I sold houses to two different Ohio couples in the past.  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 more comfortable climate and a lead a less harried pace of life. One young couple bought a house I wrote about in my blog. I saw the mom and the two girls in their stroller one Sunday morning as I was taking photos for my blog. I asked how things were going, and she responded "I'll never leave Key West!" The other couple is older and don't have children. They bought a house a quintessential Key West cottage. 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".  

Another couple from the northeast decided to buy a big lot in the Casa Marina area where they  built their dream home from scratch.  They hired a noted Key West architect, an accomplished landscape architect, and a very competent builder to turn their vision into reality.  The photos above show the view from their master bedroom and the new pool and gardens.  The pool view is a dramatic alternative to the view from the high rise Miami condo. Which place do you think Hart Crane would have preferred?

If you are thinking about buying a place in Key West, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.  Let me help you find your place in Paradise. 

*CLICK HERE to read this most interesting account about Hart Crane written by Key West's Mark Howell in ABOUT THE BEATS.