3 Years in the Keys
As we prepare to say ‘see ya later’ to the Keys, I’ve been reflecting on our time here. I have to be honest, it was hard moving here. I glossed over it on the blog, barely mentioning my homesickness but it was HARD for so many reasons. Moving to a new place is always hard. When you work from home it’s even harder to find your community. The first year here was rough and isolating. Our rental was at the end of a dead end street and the neighbors were all weekenders from Miami. It was quiet, peaceful, and downright lonely. At the end of that first year we could have high-tailed it back to Virginia but I’m so glad we didn’t.
While that first year was rough, it was supposed to be temporary and I can stand just about anything if I know there’s an end in sight. Our move here was strategic, an important step toward our goal, so we needed to see it through. Sure, we wanted to dive and escape winter but most importantly we needed to break ties with Virginia. Virginia has been sited as one of the worst for hounding people for state income tax when they leave the country which is something I just don’t want to deal with. Goals achieved. When we decided to stay another year, we still hadn’t found our place here, but we also hadn’t found our next destination. So we signed on for another year here and that’s when everything fell into place.
We moved to “downtown” Key Largo which is where we wanted to live to begin with but we couldn’t find a place for our first year. We can walk/bike to bars, restaurants, sunset, yoga, the pool, and even our dentist. It’s a great location and there’s always something going on. And while we didn’t know it at the time, the couple across the street would become our best friends.
We kept diving, volunteering, going to fish talks, etc then one day I looked around and realized I’d built an awesome life here. I have more friends here than I’ve had anywhere else in my life. I spent 26 years in New England and 11 in Virginia and didn’t amass the friend circle I’ve amassed here in just 3 years. We know people everywhere we go and I love that.
Beyond all of the amazing people we’ve met, I’ve grown so much in our time here. I’m leaps and bounds a better diver. Between fun diving, diving with the Coral Restoration Foundation, participating in clean-up dives, and honing my underwater photography skills, I’ve gained invaluable experience underwater. Not to mention becoming a divemaster our first year. I’m so glad we didn’t delay taking that course. Being DMs will allow us to work in Bonaire right away which will be a nice way to settle into life there.
I’ll always have very fond memories of our time in the Keys. If you love the water, paddling, diving, awesome weather, gorgeous sunsets, cold beer, and cool people – spend a few years in the Keys. You won’t regret it!
We’ll definitely be back to visit!