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Florida Keys Arts and Culture

04-09-09
Ellen Alderman

Florida Keys Arts and Culture

The Keys are made up of small towns and communities. However, due to the strong economy from our tourist base, the Arts are a primary part of our culture. Most weekends bring festivals and street parties throughout the Keys and especially in Key West. Photography of wildlife here is also great. Check out www.dhphotoart.com

The Florida Keys Council of the Arts does a great job in supporting Art in the Keys http://www.keysarts.com/
Also see the Key West Arts and historical society http://www.kwahs.com/

Music
• The Keys Community Concert Band. Susan Bazin 451-4530.
• Keys Chamber Orchestra. Call Inga-Lisa Wright, 305-744-0508
• The Key West Pops, Inc. - 305 293-7658, P.O. Box 6206
• Note to musicians-There are about a zillion Tiki bars etc, that have live music. The times range from the afternoon through the evening. The pay is generally better than you'll find working in a regular club in the rest of the country. In addition to that most outdoor venues shut their nusic down about 11-so the hours are shorter.

Museums and Culture
• Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum - 305 294-1136, 907 Whitehead St., Key West FL
• Flagler's Station Historeum®-901 Caroline St., 1-305-295-3562.
• Key West East Martello Museum - 305 296-3913, 3501 S. Roosevelt Blvd.
• Key West Lighthouse Museum - 305 294-0012, 938 Whitehead Street
• Key West Museum of Art & History - 305 295-6616
• Key West Shipwreck Historeum - 305 292-8990, 1 Whitehead Street
• Little White House Museum - 305 294-9911
• Lofton B. Sands African Bahamian Museum - 305 293-9692,
• Wrecker's Museum - 322 Duval St., 294-9502.

Theater/dance
• Middle Florida Keys
• Marathon Community Theatre, 5101 O/S Hwy.....305 743-0994
• Key West Theatre
• Island Opera Theatre.....305 296-1520
• Red Barn Theatre, 319 Duval St (Rear).....305 296-9911
• Waterfront Playhouse, Mallory Square.....305 294-5015

Art Galleries/ Visual Arts
• Over 90 galleries throughout the Keys
• Note to Artists; regardless of the medium, ther is a place for you in the Keys. The Keys strongly support resident artists.

Writers groups in all genres (from screenwriting to novels) are spread throughout the Keys. There is definitely a reason so many world class writers and Play-rights have made and do make the Keys their home. Especially Key West.(“Ernest Hemingway” ) The musician and actor community here is strong.

In conclusion, the arts community in the keys is strong and will even grow stronger. If you like the arts and a small community with lots of outdoor opportunities, The Florida Keys could be just your place.

Wouldn’t it be nice to vacation here and not have to leave?

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Living and Investing in the Upper Keys

02-11-09
Ellen Alderman

Living and Investing in the Upper Keys
The Upper Keys is a great area for both recreation and Investments. The reason is simple: Miami and Miami International is just an hours drive. In Addition, the recent incredible growth in the South Miami area of Homestead (Forecasts call for 1 million people by 2010) is adding to the desire for homes in the Keys.

Why is this good for Investors
Ft Lauderdale, Naples and Miami residents come to the upper Keys for the weekends, meaning rental homes, duplexes, condos and hotels enjoy great occupancy rates. More importantly, Environmental issues and the fact there is just one main road into the Keys strictly restricts building. There is only so much land still available. The Keys can never be like California in terms of growth. Since they are restricted, this protects your investment.

Provided as a service of
Ellen M. Alderman, LLC
Coldwell Banker Schmitt Key Largo

100430 Overseas Highway, Suite 100
Key Largo, FL 33037
Cell - (305) 453-7548
RealEstate@EllenAlderman.com
http://www.EscapeToTheKeys.com

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A quick over-view of the Florida Keys

02-11-09
Ellen Alderman

A quick overview of our Florida Keys
I'm going to the Florida Keys! People all over the world love to say that.
The Florida Keys are in fact, one of the most desirable areas in the world to visit. Because of this, our property is some of the most desirable real estate in the world. The islands here comprise a unique American landscape. Called by some, Americas Caribbean. Our islands are reminiscent of the Bahamas, Caymans or Netherlands Antilles. Imagine low lying dots on an azure sea that separates Cuba from the U.S, strung 130 miles in a long narrow corridor athwart the Gulf Stream. Bordered by one of the world’s principal coral reefs that was the scourge of pirates and the Spanish fleet nearly 500 years ago. Our waters beckon year round divers, fishermen, and boaters.

Provided as a service of
Ellen M. Alderman, LLC
Coldwell Banker Schmitt Key Largo

100430 Overseas Highway, Suite 100
Key Largo, FL 33037
Cell - (305) 453-7548
RealEstate@EllenAlderman.com

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Key Largo Real Estate

02-11-09
Ellen Alderman

Key Largo Real Estate
Imagine owning a Vacation home rental in paradise. Imagine employment or retiring here. Imagine incredible sunsets, tropical weather and palm trees in your backyard. Imagine world-class fishing and diving, just minutes from home. How about year round fruits, vegetables and fresh seafood. Imagine balmy nights with soft tropical breezes and shades of green and blue you never knew existed. If that's not enough, what about clean air, quiet nights and pure nature mixed in with a laid-back Island attitude.
If all this sounds too good to be true consider this. Since we only spend a small percentage of our lifetimes outdoors, why not make the most of it.
How about going on vacation and never going home

Provided as a service of
Ellen M. Alderman, LLC
Coldwell Banker Schmitt Key Largo

100430 Overseas Highway, Suite 100
Key Largo, FL 33037
Cell - (305) 453-7548
RealEstate@EllenAlderman.com
http://www.EscapeToTheKeys.com

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Key Largo and the Upper Keys Overview

10-10-08
Ellen Alderman

Key Largo and the Upper Keys Overview
Once you leave civilization at Florida City, Key largo is the first town and first island you come to as you travel down US 1 -- across a dozen plus miles of beautiful and still totally pristine Everglades country, then along a narrow strip of mangrove splitting Barnes Sound from Blackwater Sound and Florida Bay, now across the old swing bridge at Jewfish Creek, finally over Lake Surprise.

And there it is: Key Largo, the stuff of myth, located some 55 miles and about an hour south of Miami International Airport and just 24 miles south of Homestead. You are now on a different planet.Since 1948, when it was the setting for the movie, "Key Largo," starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson and Lauren Bacall, the name Key Largo has become world famous. In fact, Key Largo is one of the oldest place names on early maps of the North American continent, dating back to the sixteenth century when the Spanish explored the area looking for riches to take back to Spain. Today it is Miami’s Cape Cod -- and for the rest of us it is the Gateway to the American Caribbean.The climate is subtropical and foliage is lush. Temperatures have only a few degrees day-night fluctuation, compared with much of the rest of Florida. There’s a steady sea breeze, and rain tends to be passing showersKey Largo has become synonymous with the laid-back Keys lifestyle. Yet Key Largo is also a particularly vibrant community due to it’s being close to Miami.
On the weekends, it is an easy drive for people to visit the Keys and their unique ambience. For investors it means great occupancy rates, for 2nd homeowners a quick and easy getaway. If you want to make this your home, well, Key largo was ranked No. 11 of the 50 Best Places to Live list by Men's Journal Magazine in 2002.If you’re looking to relocate here, there are homes as of Sept 2005 listed from $269,000. Of course as of 2006, they go up from there: the least expensive single family home now you'll find is about$399,000. (To get an idea on how prices work, look under the investment page for the Florida Keys.)
• The Key Largo housing market is diverse and eclectic, and includes everything from ultra-modern big new houses and condos to just plain old-Florida funky, and everything in between. It is a complex market, and will take the buyer or investor some time to comprehend.
• The market also covers a lot of physical territory: Key Largo itself, the largest and longest of the Florida Keys, stretches for 30 miles from the resort yachting community of Ocean Reef at the island’s north end (which exits to the Mainland by a separate bridge over Card Sound) to the community of Tavernier at its southern tip
• Moreover, another part of the diverse Upper Keys real Estate market is Islamorada, the 17-mile long, half-mile wide, often handsomely groomed municipality that picks up where Key Largo leaves off and is comprised of Plantation Key, Windley Key, and Upper and Lower Matecumbe Keys Some Facts About Key Largo
• It has a year-round population (not counting the ebb and flow of tourists and weekenders, and Miami daytrippers) of approximately 15,000 and a median age of 43.
• The primary industries here are:
Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services
Retail trade
Educational, health and social services
Construction

• Key Largo is served by a full-service hospital in Tavernier, providing easy health care access to all residents
• Key Largo children attend award-winning public and private schools covering grades from pre kindergarten through High School Recreational OptionsYou can’t really get bored here, unless you just don’t like the water.
• Dive: If you snorkel or dive, Key Largo is a terrific place to live. Long considered the sport diving capital of the world, Key Largo is home to John Pennekamp State Park, the world’s first underwater park. I used to camp and snorkel there on weekends with my kids. And I’ve also had some great times diving wrecks and exploring the surrounding waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. There are lots of dive shops for folks at all skill and preference levels.
• Fish: If you like to fish, Key Largo is (if that’s possible) an even better place to live. Stretching down to Islamorada, the bonefishing capital of the world, there is a fabulous “backcountry” – Florida Bay – and offshore you’ve got the Gulf Stream and every kind of pelagic sports fish you can imagine. If you’ve got your own boat, great; if you don’t, you’ll find one of the largest fishing fleets per square mile in the world, between Key Largo and Islamorada.
• Boats and Toys: See above. There is every possible sea thing to rent and enjoy. In fact, Key Largo and the rest of the Upper Keys, including Islamorada, are much better this way than the Middle Keys or Lower Keys with the exception of Key West.
• Kayaking, Canoeing, Photography and Birding: These don’t all necessarily go together. My friend and I did a lot of fishing from our kayaks before it became the latest craze. But if you want to explore shallow-water backcountry to enjoy birds and wildlife, and want to consider paddleboating as opposed to motorboating as the way to do it, then this part of the Keys will likely please you more than areas farther south and west.
• If you’re a private pilot, there’s a basic airstrip for small planes on Tavernier, and you can even live next to the runway. Living Here – Other OptionsSo what about the rare person who buys a home here but doesn’t want to spend every waking minute on the water? No problem. Here’s just a few things that contribute to the quality of life for the person who relocates to Key Largo.
• Eating out: You’ve got tempting choices here, ranging from easy drives to Islamorada – famous throughout the Keys for its eateries – to the Mainland. And right here on Key Largo you’ve got excelent choices of just about every possible cuisine. And not only that: ever noticed how few waterfront restaurants and bars there seem to be in waterfront areas? Well, Key Largo is an exception!
• Gallery hopping: Not exactly Key West by any means, but the Upper Keys from Key Largo through the long slender town of Islamorada offer a lively community of artisans, artists in residence, and galleries
• Shopping: One of the drawbacks (to some residents) of living farther “down” the Keys (in the direction of Key West) is the “need to get off the Rock” syndrome combined with the reality of limited shopping options. In the Upper Keys (Key Largo, Islamorada) that’s less of a problem. You’re an hour from Miami
• Other stuff: There’s local night life in the Upper Keys, unlike the Middle Keys (some, but less) or the Lower Keys (not much). And there’s lots of tennis, if that’s your game. There’s also plenty of local shopping and services; that’s worth mentioning because the farther south and west you go in the Keys, the less true that is. In conclusion, Key Largo definitely feels like you’re in a different part of the country, due partly to the aquamarine water and the Tiki bars and just the general ambience. So if you want to be away from traffic and a rushed lifestyle, but yet want to be near shopping and everything else that Miami has to offer, this could be just the ticket. It’s hard to imagine a better price-value proposition in the Keys.


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