Key Largo

Definitely a place not to be overlooked for a possible retirement destination! It’s as tropical as you can get without leaving the United States. Starting with the basics: Walgreens, McDonalds, Burger King, Big K. Need I say more? The only thing I found expensive was the liquor prices. The first Church I saw was Catholic, beyond that I didn’t pay any attention.
It took us an hour and a half to get there from the Miami Airport. Known as “Alligator Alley”, Hwy 1 is lined with fences on both sides and has a 45 mph speed limit. If you want to meet a State Trooper, just park anywhere along it. You will personally speak to one in about two minutes. Watch your speed and don’t drive drunk.
The locals are family here. It doesn’t matter what your income bracket is, or your religion. You could be one of the wealthy along the water ways or wait staff at mile marker 88, or a tourist. Everyone of them has to definitely know how to cross sell. The kids just starting out in the Keys usually grew up there, went away to college, then return to help run the family business. These are the people who can guide you to the fun things to do while in the keys. On line booking for activities is not advisable. Go there and talk to your bar tender. We went deep sea fishing for $450. We left the dock at 8am and returned at 1:30pm with Mangrove Snapper in hand (I caught all 3) to hand over to The Pilot House to cook it and build our lunch around it.
Personally, I like to pay attention to tourism prices and real estate. $5 a beer at the bar, $7 for a rail drink. If you go to lunch, plan on spending $15 a person. That’s at a place like The Pilot House. Speaking of which, it the place with the glass bottom deck. That’s sheets of plexiglass in the floor to watch the baby barracudas and other tropical fish at the beginning of the coral reef. Buy chicken wings and give the bones to the fish by pushing them through the little hole in the bar. Unique is the only word I have for this little place with live local music. http://www.pilothousemarina.com is a great place to start researching local fare and libation.
We found everyone says they make the best key lime pie. The only thing I can say is I don’t make Key Lime Pie nearly as well as any of them. The same can be said for Conch, pronounced without the H at the end. Everything we ate in the Keys was done to perfection, if not precisely to everyone’s taste.
We obviously went to the keys just before Christmas. After hurricane season, yet we found out it was ahead of the busy season. So everything was in full swing but not overcrowded.
There are a few properties for sale that can fit the middle class. So to move there you would only have to have 2 to 3 thousand dollars to buy a roof over your head, but most properties are in the millions. This is a weekenders paradise. People who live in Miami have their second homes here, their getaways. Considering the low crime rate and the close by stores available for getting basics, and don’t forget the winter temperatures, this place should not be overlooked. The only problem is the wet/hurricane season. If that doesn’t scare you away it could be a very nice destination for retirement.