Key West - OVER and awful

Pretty much anywhere cruise ships dock is a tourist trap and TBA

I "gay" partied there in the mid 80's and liked it but can see how it would devolved to where it is now.

Best gay hotel I ever went to was there, Island House I think it was called. The sex was amazing.

I read the title as Kanye West. Which is also applicable. lol

Florida, sucks to live there.

Where is the next gay haven? Where are all the cool and artist gays flocking too?

R6 isn’t Palm Springs still the biggest gay “city?”

Sadly, I have to concur. I had lots of great times in the late 80s and through the 90s in Key West, but went back with my partner in 2005 and swore it off. Provincetown isn't faring much better, either.

The straights ruin EVERYTHING!

[quote] wanted to move to Florida and it seemed like the best choice.

Had you not made this error, the whole problem would have been avoided.

R3 The Island House is still here and seems to be ok - I be only been there once for lunch while I was there. The crowd that was there seemed a little downscale but my friends told me that all kinds of shenanigans still happen there.

It’ll be the first to go when sea levels rise.

R10 I know it’s popular to bash Florida here on DL but there are parts of the state that are awesome. Unfortunately Key West is no longer one of them. Where do you suggest I move...NYC?

R12 there’s already epic flooding here even after a brief downpour

Uh wasn’t it pretty much wiped clean in a recent hurricane?

No, R15. Not sure if you're thinking of Michael last year that destroyed Mexico Beach, or Irma that hit the middle Keys in 2016 (?).

2017

Irma kind of went west around Key West and did more damage further up the keys. Mostly flooding and damage to roofs and vegetation. But the ocean water temp is already 83’ this early and that’s not a good sign.

R17, right, of course. I keep forgetting we're in 2019!

What about the rest of the Keys? Still enjoyable? Old Town is definitely overcrowded and the hotel prices the highest in Florida. We paid $150 for a run-down Days Inn far away from the center.

It’s interesting but every gay Mecca of the 70s has faded into straight overpriced straight - Ville. Wilton Manors and Palm Springs are probably the only “new” gay areas - but they are both oppressive and depressing int heir own way (PS is better). I’ve decided I’m staying in NYC. Screw the idea of living in paradise. I want people and life - even if it comes with annoyances.

Provincetown is the same way if maybe not quite so difficult to enjoy - what was a fun alternative has become drunken breeder central.

We make it cool and then the straights come and ruin it. It's like a friend said about Surfer's Paradise in Queensland: by the time they named it "Paradise" it wasn't paradise any more.

Lots of wonderful memories of a fun and funky key West ,but it died a very long time ago. All thats left is a shell of its former glory overrun by fat ass drunk straight people .I too last went in 2005 and will never go again. Same with New Orleans. Same with Austin.

Key west has become a tourist trap. Why would you wanna live there? It’s like moving to Times Square. Just DUMB.

do you have dade county pine?

Florida is the toilet bowl of the United States.

I live in Times Square and I thought Key West an expensive let down. The amount of passed out smashed drunk straight people littering the streets was incredible. The food wasn’t very good and Island House supposedly know for its food. Plus Island House over billed us to the tune of $1800 and took 3 weeks to get them to completely fix it without so much as an apology. The taxi driver told us he owned his own home and drove a taxi because the taxes were so expensive. I’d go back, but it would be at the bottom of my list.

You used to vacation there so you could be a drunk tourist. Then you decided to live there and wound up complaining about the drunk tourists.

If you don't like tourists, the tourism industry, cruise ships, or people getting drunk, Key West was always going to be a bad choice.

How do people compare it to New Orleans? Just went there and it was a little disappointing. The gay scene was more depressing old - and young - drunks than fun or glamorous. And the whole city seemed to smell bad. Overall, a place I wouldn’t rush to go back.

Ummm Times Square is an awful spot to live. And the tourism and traffic is way worse than Key West.

And Times Square is filled with drunk everyone also and tons of homeless.

That’s weird r29. What area did you stay in? I found NOLA to be one of the most interesting cities I’ve ever been, and is rich in culture, history and art.

I am not really a NOLA fan. I think it is a depressing place to live. I think the drinking and puking gets old really fast.

While I think Key West is still beautiful, you must be insane to want to live there. Tourists everywhere!

It's a nice place to visit for a few days. Live in Lt Lauderdale or Tampa

There’s more to do than drink and puke. Smh.

It’s a superior city to most if you love art, architecture and culture.

The only places I would live in FL are Tampa, Ft Lauderdale or Miami. I love where South Beach is.

[R34] LOL

A lot of you haven’t explored NOLA it seems. It’s lovely.

Explain this...

All these touristy party places are going to be problematic. Key West has the tourist problems plus so many more issues. Hurricanes, shitty hot/humid weather. You pay a premium for housing only to have it half destroyed periodically. Unless you like the heat and continual swamp ass, you're going to be stuck inside with the A/C. I love the beautiful water and sandy beaches...to visit. And even then you feel like you're in a total shit hole.

NOLA was interesting architecture. Loved that about it. And the food was unique - but got tired after a few days. But the stench of poverty and alcoholism seemed to pervade everything. Not the “feel good”, “let the good time roll “city I thought it would be.

[quote]Island House I think it was called.

You are incorrect.

It is called the Isjavd House.

The best time to go to NOLA is September

march/april for madis gras or Jazz fest.

The best time for NOLA is Halloween. They have a big party in some warehouse but even if you don't go, everyone ends up in the Quarter on Burbon St. so you get to see all the costumes and party a bit. The weather is cooler and it's usually not rainy.

Thread title: KEY WEST

No one gives a fuck about New Orleans.

I'm crying for you as I type this, OP!

NOLA is depressing the whole city has a depressing nihilistic vibe and not in a good way. Key West...it's all the straights that went to spring break in the 80's/90's returning to relive their glory days. No thanks.

Come on, R26, "toilet bowl" is so undignified. We're America's Wang.

I live in Provincetown, and even I miss what it used to be. Yes, it's changed a great deal; it's expensive and overrun by straight people, but it's NOTHING like what Key West has become.

So what about St.Augustine? Key West is like everywhere else now. It’s all chain stores and those leathery boring jimmy buffet types. Is there anywhere in Florida that is not too touristy and has some culture?

Sarasota

R50 St Augustine is also full of tourists. But it is a nice little town and worth visiting.

Pensacola is nice. It was an actual city from a hundred years back so it's got a historical district, really old, classic neighborhoods and churches, great sugar white beaches, and quite a large gay population. It hosts a huge Memorial Day she bang every year.

So... Is Island House still worth it? I was thinking about saving up and taking a long weekend there to be a slut and recharge my overworked batteries 🤷‍♂️

We had a sexier time at one of the gay “resorts” in Ft Lauderdale (really just converted 1960s motels with private courtyards). Clothing optional, but after midnight it turned into a bath house, with guys leaving their doors open as a signal they were DTF.

Was there with a bf at the time and had the most amazing foursome I’ve ever had.

Can’t remember the name, and it was 10 years ago so wonder if it’s even still around. It was a few blocks from the beach, behind what is now the W hotel/residences (still being built at that time)

There is nothing gay in the beach in FTL anymore. Everything is in that concrete ghetto of Wilton Manors. And no one under 50. Tampa St Pete is better now.

Straights are taking over gay areas. This is what I’ve been saying for years and no one wants to ever listen.

It’s happening in NYC FAST and it’s starting to happen in WEHO too

OT, but just moved to P.S. and absolutely love it!.

I still like P-Town but only go on non-theme weekends.

I’m thinking Palm Springs is the best of the options I’ve seen so far for gay retirees. But I’m still shooting to stay in the city if at all possible - maybe with a month or two in an Airbnb or VRBO in winter and summer.

We had reckless sex in Key West.

I like many things about Palm Springs and have considered retiring there, but I just can’t live in that summer heat. 120+ degrees, no thank you.

And it’s a matter of time til the water runs out. That area is overpopulated.

What about Miami?

Everyone who lives in Palm Springs leaves for the summer. No one--NO ONE---stays in Palm Springs for the summer months if you can afford to leave.

R59-I was in Provincetown for Bear Week-I did NOT know it was bear week. Tea dance was SO CROWDED. I like a mix of people it feels overwhelming when one type of HOMO predominates.

The "unwashed masses" ruin EVERYTHING, not just Key West. We need a good pandemic to take out about a third of people.

OP, I read your post as "Kanye West -- OVER and Awful".

R54 Island House I guess is ok on its own but it’s basically a bathhouse atmosphere, which of course is a draw for some. But if want to go out at night you will be very disappointed. And the beaches are hugely disappointing - there’s a barrier reef offshore and prevents waves so there’s no natural sand - all barged in from elsewhere. Also the beaches get covered in seaweed that rots in the sun and the smell is unbearable.

R67 lol

I do feel we need something crazy to happen to at least SCARE people to stop flocking to major areas.

I also thought Sarasota was nice.

Sassy Rhoda

We just need to pick some new places. And then we all need to show up. That would be kind of fun

Miami?

Miami is weirdly not gay. Hot men but very straight.

let's colonize a new place, gurls

South Beach went to shit as well

Detroit!

[quote]isn’t Palm Springs still the biggest gay “city?”

Yes—just fly in a few under-60s and you're good to go.

OP made a bad choice and wants to blame it on drunk tourists.

I lived in Key West in the late 80s and it was all the OP said but he's just a bitch. You can find out all that in two days on vacation. While the OP is not lying, it is true, your droning on and on, about something that would be obvious to a five year old after two days on vacation, is tedious.

I'm vacationing there this summer.

OP here, sorry I romanticized my memories of Key West, had an opportunity to move here and I did. Obviously I wasn’t thinking far forward or realistically. It’s not just the drunk tourists - they’re somewhat avoidable. It’s the drunk locals who are not only grumpy but their ethics start slipping away making and cause a lot of unsavory, impolite behavior. Keep in mind the island is only 1.5 miles wide by less than 4 miles long. Hard to get away from others. My chief problem here is housing. I know I made a mistake and it’s entirely my own fault. Maybe this thread will help prevent someone else from doing something similarly rash.

I still visit Key West from time to time and really enjoy it. I don’t find it hard to avoid the puppetheads or toucan sams or whatever they call themselves. There are some great little restaurants. The Studios of Key West puts on interesting art events (talks, exhibits, workshops and such). There’s a great little historic library in the middle of town. (Yes, I am that nerd who visits libraries when I travel). The art house cinema in town was nicely restored and shows movies I’m too busy to see in my everyday life. I rarely go to Duval Street but always find plenty of interest to keep me busy. Plus I just enjoy walking or biking around the hidden alleys that pop up everywhere.

R27 how is it that you live in Times Square? Do you mean off of 6th or 8th Avenue? Or right in the tourist-soaked heart of it?

Glad I experienced both Key West and Provincetown before the straights ruined it. Same for South Beach. I remember when Key West was a gay mans paradise. Provincetown was fabulous. One weekend I had lunch with Lily Tomlin at the Boatslip..later was introduced to David Hockney then partied all night with John Waters and a fabulous collection of artists and drag queens. You could go a full week without seeing a double wide baby stroller being pushed by a straight woman. Now that's ALL you see.

The BEST thing about Key West is awesome and beautiful drive there over the Ocean from Miami! R86, Read your Great post a d howled at thought of "Double-Wide baby stroller in P-Town! MARY! Nothing great stays the same forever. The KooKooRoo on Santa Monica in WeHo used to be cutting edge and delicious! Their showcase. Sold and went Downhill...some years later. Now it's an Over-rated, Over priced mediocre Shake Shack!

Why is ALL of Florida considered so awful?

R29 , at least you weren't MURDERED in NOLA , while you were there.

Not all of Florida is awful - there are some beautiful, unspoiled spots still

We really do need to colonize one, probably on the Gulf Coast, and preferably one that's fairly safe from himicanes.

Biloxi, Mississippi

I really love the idea of retiring near the ocean. But I want to be somewhere that’s progressive. Where are this places in Florida?

R93 Miami

r93 fantasy island.

Sarasota, Siesta Key, St. Pete Beach...very nice areas. Ft. Meyers isn't bad either.

The Gulf Coast is reported to have the largest toxic dead zone ever this summer. The Gulf Coast has been ruined by the Oil and Gas industry.

R96. What does that mean?

Red Tide, R98.

Sanibel and Captiva are lovely (still no streetlights because it fucks up the turtles' sense of direction, strict - for Florida, anyway - development rules, gorgeous beaches, and the Ding Darling nature preserve are highlights) but in season, the single main road along the spine of the island, Periwinkle Drive, is jammed solid with traffic from morning until night. You can't get around on the islands. And as above, when the algae blooms on the Gulf Coast it leaves the beaches a disgusting mess. Currently they say the beaches are free of it, but it has come back annually over the last couple of years.

So it's not just the gay places like Key West that were once cool and now are not - everywhere decent in Florida seems to have been overdeveloped.

I live in the L.A. area. When I get older (I'm 66 now) and don't want to travel as much and don't need to worry about going out and timing my life around traffic, I'll probably want to be near the ocean in a less crowded area -- like maybe the Central Coast of California.

[quote] A lot of you haven’t explored NOLA it seems. It’s lovely.

Oh they did, but they were murdered before they were able to get out.