Keys Life – Week 1

Hello from the Keys! We’ll be down here for about 10 weeks & I thought it’d be fun to write some regular posts about our life here, both the good things and the bad things. When we travel I always write down my first impressions of a place and my parting thoughts at the end of the trip. It’s interesting to see how everything changes in between. The things you thought you loved in the beginning fade into the background while seemingly unimportant details become the standouts. Since we’re evaluating moving here full-time, paying attention to everything is even more important.

This week was all about unpacking, settling in & getting the lay of the land. I’d say we nailed it! We’re both very comfortable here & the dogs have adjusted well to their new life. In a lot of ways it feels like we’ve been here much longer than a week. Maybe it’s because we were just here in September or maybe it’s because this is where we’re meant to live – time will tell.

Highlights from the first week –

• The weather! It’s been amazing here – in the 80s and sunny every day. I can’t say enough about how much I love it! It was 37 and raining at home this week so we would have been stuck inside 100% of the time. I’m outside now, having coffee & listening to the birds – what’s better than that!
• No fenced in yard here means more walks & podcasts for me! It’s given me a chance to listen to a lot of missed episodes. Favorites of the week are: The Expat Chat & Tara Brach.
• We can walk/bike to restaurants and bars – we’ve found our new ‘spot’. About a 15 minute walk from our house there’s a laid back bar on the water with picnic tables, gorgeous sunset views & live music. We were there in September and have been back twice this week.

• Paddle boarding – we can walk to the kayak launch with our boards, really awesome. We paddled around the mangroves on Friday and saw a little nurse shark in there. Very sweet! We’ll definitely be exploring that area more.
• We can bike to the outdoor lap pool – makes for a great lunch break! A little sun & exercise sets a good tone for the afternoon.
• Warm evening dog walks in shorts & flip flops.
• Everyone is really friendly – some boaters even gave us a boat drink on New Year’s Eve, our first Keys boat drink!
• Diving is just a 5 minute drive away. We’ve never dove at home, it’s too cold and the boat rides are too long. We dove Friday & Saturday afternoon and had a great time both days.

A few diving pics from this weekend. Not the best but we’re working on it!

A few downsides from the first week –

• Being a holiday week for schools, the traffic has been much heavier than normal. We haven’t been able to explore much this week for that reason but next week should be better.
• A lack of ethnic food – I’ll be more than ready for some very spicy Indian food when we get home & a steaming bowl of Pho! All the restaurants down here are the variations of the same theme. I guess I need to step up my game in the kitchen.
• We don’t know anyone – obviously! Our old neighborhood is a very tight knit place where everyone knows each other. You can’t go to any of the local establishments without running into at least one person you know. We’ll get there here but it’ll take time, especially working from home full-time.

Keys Rating after week one – 9 out of 10

At this point, we’re ready to go home in March, quickly get our house on the market and move down here full-time.

Hope you’re staying warm where you are!

Until next time..

Warm thoughts to all!