Key West

thedirts86

thedirts86

New member
Any info would be useful is it really super hard to find places to sleep outside there like i have heard? Thinking about trying to buy a piece of shit boat to live in for the winter?
 
Why not go down and see? I recall some threads on Key West from a while ago; basically, they claimed that cops would hassle hitchhikers, spangers, and between homebums & cops there were no places to safely sleep without getting bothered.
Where are you now?
 
One thing to know about the Florida Keys is that it's an extremely small chain of islands by any standards with a majority of upper-class residents. With less land mass comes a lot less opportunities for hiding out. Key West is fun but you wouldn't want to live there. Your best bet would be crossing sandbars and swimming out to some of the barrier islands between Key West and Key Cudjoe. They're all uninhabited to the best of my knowledge but getting to them isn't a picnic.
 
Unfortunately you're pretty far away to gamble that it will work out - that said, if it doesn't go smoothly in Key West, something will work out, you're not gonna be killed for trying and failing. You talked about buying a boat, so you have SOME money. I just rented an apt in Miami Beach, have only spent a couple days there. For as touristy as it is, you'd think that being a bum there is tough - but no, I saw dude passed-out splayed across the steps of an art museum right on the tourist strip of Ocean Drive, about 9pm. And in the daylight, about 2pm or so, I saw another dude just sleeping on the porch of a building (previously) under construction. I also saw undercover cops make a bust of a would-be thief, so it's not that cops aren't around, and I didn't wait with the sleeping bums to see how long they lasted before cops shooed or arrested them, but my point is that anywhere in FL is better than Philly, given the temps of the next few months ahead.
I suggest shooting for Key West, see how you can do, and if it's a hassle go to.. well, anywhere else. Another island as suggested, or on the peninsula somewhere. People sleep/car-camp on the beach in St. Pete, right by the bridge to Tampa, don't get hassled.
Key West properties are getting ridiculously pricey, so as Eden mentioned, there may be no tolerance for unsightly po' folk.
 
It IS hard to find a place to sleep in key west. But on certain nights, no one sleeps in key west. whooo

I backpacked through the keys.
Never had a problem finding people my age and crashing on their couch, floor, yard, roof, whatever.

Key west is the party place. Everyone lives more north. Like big pine key.
In key largo, we took a dingy boat out to a mangrove island, set up our tents, bought tons of beer and cigarettes. Hung a rope from a mangrove to swing into the water. And had a huge bonfire. We stayed out there 5 days and no one said a thing.
I also stayed on a dilapidated boat with a friend for 2 weeks. There are boat squatters. Usually the coastguard tells them to move along. and they write tickets if you shit and piss in the water and they catch you.
And there are patches of woods Everywhere for short stays.
Hitching in the keys really sucks unless fantasy fest, mardi gras or somethign's going on.
Don't get stuck walking the 7 mile bridge. the cops will stop you, and you might die from heat stroke.
Hope this info helps :P
I miss the keys
 
yeah my friend and i got it in our heads that it'd be awesome to walk the bridge. it wasn't awesome. (._.)
 
Worst place to be IMO, I spent about 7 months there homeless, I've never been bothered by police so much in my life. You can't even walk down the street without getting harassed by them. They do have a homeless shelter called kotts there with hot showers, It kind of sucks though you have to be there by like 8 or 9 pm or you can't sleep there that night and out by like 5 or 6 am in the morning. They lock you in, they even have the police bring drug dogs and wake you up at 2 am in the morning searching your stuff. There are a lot of drunks and crackheads too. You will have trouble finding places to squat too, it's a very very small island and the police seem to know where most people try to sleep and they come mess with you, a lot of homeless people end up dead there too. The water there is horrible too, I knew like 5 people that had staph infections from swimming in the water.
 
I lived in key west for almost 2 years just moved back north this summer. It's a beautiful fun place and VERY unfriendly to non-tourist travelers like y'all. it does get a LOT of vagrants and drifters esp in winter so crowding is an issue. Also there is a bit group of folks with big hatred for drifters and it's not just the cops. so if you go go in disguise at least pretend you have money.
 
nuckfumbertheory said:
I lived in key west for almost 2 years just moved back north this summer. It's a beautiful fun place and VERY unfriendly to non-tourist travelers like y'all. it does get a LOT of vagrants and drifters esp in winter so crowding is an issue. Also there is a bit group of folks with big hatred for drifters and it's not just the cops. so if you go go in disguise at least pretend you have money.
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good advice ..im on my way down there now
 
like everyones said its pretty bad news bears if you arnt a local or tourist with money, yea its realy beautiful but it kind of loses all of that when yer getting hassled every 5 minutes. i dont know if it was covered already but last i heard (maybe a year or so ago) that you need a city permit to busk, and that it costs 100 bucks. this is of course information given to us by a busker down there who might of just not wanted to have his spot over run with dirt and dogs.
 
I lived there two years ago. Here's what I know:

Its called the Florida Sewer with reason. Its an incredibly tiny place and my experience was less than great.

First off, Duval and Truman are the main roads. You'll need a bike for the island. I recommend stealing one from wherever--its almost expected to find unlocked bikes.

There's roosters everywhere. I believe its a federal crime to eat them and those motherfuckers will wake you up at 5am from your booze-induced coma.

Forget the homeless shelter on Stock Island. Project Lighthouse is the traveler's saving grace. Its a day shelter and they can point you to some decent resources. Cliff's cool and this older hispanic woman (I forget her name) are tops. Its supposedly a youth shelter, but you'll see the local transients drink coffee and surf the net.

As far as homebums are concerned, this seems like the place to drink themselves to death. Conch Republic rum is the cheapest, $1 Natty's, or 4-packs are the norm. But better yet, you can just pick up stray drinks left by yuppies. Then again, alot of people go on bum-cations down here and you can meet some disenfranchised computer programmer who just wants party.

The landscape is unnatural--the beaches are man-made, so be prepared for staph infections. Its ridiculously common and it seems like poetic justice for all the money thrown around there. The beach is infested with no-see-um's (tiny mosquitos) and red ants.

The mandatory sentencing is around 29 days in jail for vagrancy.

You WILL get hassled on holidays. Thanksgiving was the worst by far, with cops coming up to us at 9am while sitting on a bench and saying "Don't even think of going downtown." Some of my friend's got dosed by someone giving them a drink, so even the tourist don't like anyone who looks slightly alternative.

Everyone gets the same idea to come and make money panhandling or busking, but I've seen my share of failures down there. There's a $100 permit and I believe its a once-a-year thing (November?). The street performers range from stupid gimmick (Spiderman with a Sitar--its this dude named Grady) to ridiculously good (the tumbler guy who jumps through peoples arms). Mallory Square has a signup, but it works. But beware of the locals--they've got the street-racket and DON'T TAKE THEIR SPOT. There's an open mic on Mondays. Be sure to meet Toko and his talented kids--they're good people.

Jobs are REALLY scarce and the real estate is OUT OF THIS WORLD expensive. Even a shitty apartment that my friend was staying at was $900/month.

Hitchhiking is illegal there. You WILL get harassed. Why? Who knows, but they want to make sure that you never come back. No one picked me up on Christmas Eve. Whole families in gigantic SUV's passed me by. It wasn't until I walked 30 miles that someone picked me up and dropped me at the Miami airport.

Key West is also considered a gay mecca. If that's your cup of tea, you'll have no problem finding your sugar daddy. If not, be prepared to meet ALOT of gay men with serious Cophetua Complexes. 3 of my hitch rides ALL propositioned me for sex.

Christmas Tree island is the locals-only secret. If you can afford a dingy, you still have to hitch it somewhere, and therein lies the problem. Also, its federal property and that leads to raids, helicopter surveillance and alot of bewildered looks from tourists--"You live where???" You can take over a camp there, but the "boat people" will claim it as their own, leaving you little recourse.

All in all, Southern Florida has a cut-throat feel to it. Its a very hard town to hustle in.
 
Don't know too much about Key West, except I knew two girls who seperately spent some time down there, ome who slept under a bridge maybe a few years back - and another who went down there in the 1980s for a couple of years and liked how she was able to go barefoot the whole time.
Connecticut to an extent is the same way, (they) don't like outsiders either, and now after living here for almost 25 years, I can understand why: the outsiders come in, and try to change things to the way they want it - and that's just plain wrong...

I like the idea of living on a boat though, that's really starting to appeal to me a little more each day.
Know a girl in Brooklyn NY (of all places) that's been living on an ex-fishing boat for a while now, and she loves it.
 
The Cack - you described it all sooooo well. lol stolen bike capital of the us., staph infections capital of the us., etc. etc. haha you can get away with busking/selling crafts in certain spots and if you just keep an eye out for cops. altho forget about doin it on the main strip anymore without a permit. you will really piss some people off if they find out THEY paid for the permit, while YOU did not.
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If there's not a lot of homebums already hustlin it, you can learn how to make roses and shit out of palm fronds and sell em for a buck to the tourists on foot. enough to make your beer money....but then again, you're probably steppin on someones toes there if you try it on duval.
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squats/places to sleep are hard to come by. DON'T sleep on beaches there like everyone said. some people sleep on boats, others i've seen sleep in banyan trees, or in parking garages...you'll have to be creative if you want a good spot with no mosquitoes :)
 
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