[talkin56]

I have applied to a job available from my company in Tavernier, FL. I am an occupational therapist and it would be in the nursing home there as a permanent fulltime employee. I have been in Ft Lauderdale since November and had a job when I moved here that I ended up not liking. I accepted another position and turned in my notice then was told by the new company the job had been frozen. So for the first time in my 32 yrs as a therapist I depend on PRN employment to pay 855 COBRA health ins from my last employer, a 300 car payment and a 950 condo rent. I am making it but really need a full time job. There are so many schools here for what I do all the positions in the 40 nursing homes in Broward are filled. I am a real networker and as soon as there is an opening I get an email and apply. I am thinking they wont give me a FT job as long as I am useful as a PRN..but heck, I went ahead and applied for the permanent job in Tavernier anyway. I am new to researching what housing, doctor and dentist services may be like there. I am very healthy but need dental work done soon. Anyone out there know info on these areas ? Thanks !

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by THX 1138

Keys are expensive and totally service as mentioned. You will be competing against, people who will be willing to work for less too. I know they bus people in from Miami for many of the service jobs much like many parts of South Florida, the service jobs often pay so poorly that the people cannot even live nearby.

Fenced in yards are not common unless you own a home or rent one that has one.

+1......Last time I was in Key West the cab driver told me she "hot bunks" with another cabbie to save on rent (they work alternating shifts yet sleep in the same bed since one person is always at work when the other person is sleeping).

[MC5Wes]

I lived in Key Largo for almost 10 years. My daughter and I lived in a nice 2 bedroom condo at MM100. Rent was 1100 a month.

Full time jobs that pay decent are hard to find. I work for Uncle Sam and commuted to Homestead for work. The friends I have worked in Miami like me. Or at the hospital in Tavernier. Lots of people work in Real Estate. So breaking in may be tough. But on my last visit it seemed to be picking up.

I moved away to be close to my other Daughter and my grand kids. But look forward to the day I can move back.

Nice a quiet. If you some excitement Miami is just an hour a way. If you want some crazy excitement. Key West is 3 hours a away.

Good luck

[islamorada106]

My husband and I live in Islamorada. We came here after he accepted a job at Ocean Reef. Its a nice, quiet place to live. live but plan on having a good job to be able to enjoy the lifestyle here. Rental market is tight, if you want an updated, spacious place on a nice street, its going to be close to 2000. Or more. That's what we pay. You can find cheaper places but most are under a 1000 sq ft and dated. It's def a plus to have a boat to be able to enjoy the keys. That will be the easiest way to enjoy the water because there are few beaches and they are not what you imagine. Lots of good restaurants on the water not overly expensive. For whoever needed the dentist, Dr. Travis Bennett has a great rep his practice is Gental Dental in Key Largo. FYI nearest decent mall is about 1 and fifteen, closest target is one hour. So plan on loving the local winn Dixie, publix and kmart bc that's all we have. Besides some fantastic little boutiques for women in islamorada

[mammatus]

I lived in Key Largo, adjacent to Tavernier, from 1997 to 2009 before moving to Islamorada (within the incorporated Village of Islands, within the community of Tavernier on Plantation Key- yes, it's one place with 3 different potential names...the IRS had issues with us, but I digress). The Keys, in general, are a different planet than any place in the Miami metropolitan area. It is much safer, serene and stable here as aooposed to the madhouse atmosphere just beyond the 18-mile stretch from Florida City down to Key Largo. It's relatively expensive to live here, but you really do get what you pay for. The schools are good. Shopping is basically K-Mart or a trip to the mainland, but I don't shop much except for groceries (basically Publix or Winn Dixie). There's not much in the way of serious crime here. If you like water-related recreation, you'll be in heaven. I don't drink, so I find the high rate of alcohol-related festivities loathsome, but if you're into the whole "Margaritaville" thing, you'll fit in. My family has had good doctors here. We've also had good experiences with the dentist mentioned by name in a previous post. We're church-going folks, relatively rare here, but even outside of church there's a sense of community here that I've not found in other places I have lived over the years. Not to say this is Mayberry, but it's a nice place to live in relative peace and serenity most of the time. I hope things work out for you.