The 5 things I wish I knew About Moving to Marathon FL 

Thanks for your frank discussion about living full time. Definitely gives one some things to think about.

My husband and I spent our honeymoon in Marathon in May of 2002 and have been back 18 or 19 times since. Our last visit was May of 2022. We love the Keys! We feel so much healthier when we are there! I wish that I would have discovered it when I was much younger. I would have saved every dime and worked out a way to live there, at least during the winter.

Dont beat yourself up Angie, most people come to realize eventually that its just a nice place to visit.

What you've described is called "gossip," not "small talk." Small talk is a different thing, it's a common way of talking that strangers use for getting acquainted.

Ask yourself how long youve lived there Angie. Then ask yourself how you like it in 10 years. Especially when you get older and have health issues. I lived full time on Duck Key in a home i built for 10 years, and now live in Vero Beach.

Most important thing for someone to know about moving to any of the Florida Keys .... Cost of Windstorm (Hurricane) Insurance. It's hard to acquire and cost is horrendous.

I lived in Marathon for 10 years - |I would have stayed longer, but I needed to finish my degrees, so I had to move where there was a 6-year university. I loved it there; it was like one big awesome family, and I was sooo healthy there (except when I got stung by a scorpion on my eyelid). I ate nearly all seafood - and wow., did I feel good! It's a great place to live; like Frnak Zappa says in the movie 200 Motels (about sope small town he stumbles across), "it's a nice place to raise yer kids up"!

The golden rule of traveling...........Every place seems so much more fun when vacationing......... I live in Flagstaff, AZ. Its the same thing here. People roll through thinking WOW the mountains in Arizona...ITS GREAT!! living here is so boring and transient.......Its stupid expensive and so many Californians have moved here it no longer feels like AZ. Its a great town for a few days to visit, but I am looking forward to moving on.........The winters are terrible and there is nothing to do, too damn cold......The locals keep to themselves and assume your another tourist which most people are......... The part about watch what you say in small towns made me smile because I learned that the hard way.......haha yup, be careful who knows what about your personal business......I miss Florida and will be coming back

My son lives on Duck Key in Marathon. Haven't been down to visit from NC. I was born in Hollywood, near Miami.

We love Marathon!

Anyone know if 41st street is completely gentrified now?

My parents lived there for awhile. After irma they had enough. Can’t say im a fan of the conchs or ocean hippies, to say the least, but im the visitor and it is there home, but the dealings really put a sour taste in my mouth. Our saying was you had to beg “to get ripped off”. There

So you have hurricanes, rising sea levels, an average elevation of 3 feet. What am I missing here? A wonderful place to visit for sure but living there, it is just a matter of time.

"Island time" is just a way to validate peoples laziness and irresponsibility.

How's the job market in Marathon, FL? Has it gotten any better over the years?

Not me! I am retired and I could live anywhere. I’ve got a good retirement I’m young and go to bed and get up what I want to stay up as late as I want drink as much as I want and go where I want.😂

Yeah, about your list. First, you obviously never heard the old joke about the person who was disappointed with life in Florida after moving there. It’s too long to repeat here but the gist is the person came on vacation and loved beach, the tropical breeze, the boating, the restaurants. After moving the person complained that he was surprised at how expensive everything is, long lines in the grocery store and post office, spending half the year preparing for a hurricane. The punchline is, before, he was a tourist, now he’s a resident. Affordable housing is nonexistent because there’s more money to be made by selling upscale homes to wealthy Northern retirees. Insurance rates are going up again but wages and salaries are not. Before the deluge of Northerners, many families in the city were related by blood or marriage, so, yeah, watch your mouth because word does get around. Marathon is a city that extends from Hog Key in the west to Grassy Key in the east. You try driving north or south and you’ll end up in the water. (Btw, Key Vaca is not called “Marathon Key”). Island time, like Keys disease, is real. A lot of people decided to move to the Florida Keys to live like Jimmy Buffet but without his money. Some of them spend significant amounts of time sleeping one off. Check the state data to find out how many registered sex offenders live in the county. Rich people who want their children to attend private school are going to have to drive (or have their people drive). The cities of Marathon and Key West have significant Spanish speaking populations. It’s helpful but not absolutely necessary to have a working knowledge of the language. I’ve been here over 20 years and I have seen so many people move away because they can no longer afford to live here. Richly Rich and his wealthy buddies are pushing them out. But lots of newcomers move away in their first five years when they find out that the tourist and real estate industries’ hype doesn’t always jibe with reality.

The first red flag is that you would ever consider *setting foot* in Florida, let alone living there. The level of crazy there is off the chain. I wouldn't live in that state if you paid me.

Nope

With the fall of capitalism this area could become a dangerous place to live. A typical half `s vs have nots created by our huge wage gap.

WOW, you had to be clueless and talk to the clueless. yes buy TP

It’s gross there

The longer you live in the Keys, is similar living on Gilligan's Island. US1 is the only road. The Keys are tiny town USA. If you don't love to get onto a boat, living in Keys might feel confining. Everyone knows your business. I spent much of my snow bird days living on upper Mudicumbee Key, just east of Craig Key, 20min east of Woody's. My favorite red neck biker bar, where a fat Indian had a band called, Big Dick and the Extenders rocked to roof off the place and verbally abuse the audience. Those days were allot of fun. If I ever go back, I will be on a boat living in Boot Key Harbor.