[MikeKle]

I live in Northern KY and have had it with the winters and want to find a way to stay in the keys during the winter months and come back up here in the spring,summer and fall to operate my lawn care business. Is there expensive and cheap places like any other area or is it all mainly high end? How is the lawn care industry down there? Too many people trying to do it? Do many people have their lawns mowed there? I can afford a fairly large amount on rent but without knowing the areas there, I dont know where to start looking. I might even be willing to go the cheap route because I dont think we would be spending much time in the house/apt. We would always be out or on the beach, just come home to sleep!Thanks for any help.

[mrcoolmrcool28]

NOTHING is cheap in the Keys.

[Spagettio]

I live in Key Largo and teach at the local school. We have so many families who move here thinking it is their dream location. The amount of time they stay varies...from a few weeks to a few months. The only ones who stay longer are people who moved here because they already had a job in the area - like working for the prison in Miami. It is a beautiful place, but very expensive. Our local pastor has started telling people who just show up looking for work to "go home." They come to our church needing food. There's not much work here right now. We are a tourist economy and fishing is down. Only the most wealthy homes have lawns, everyone else has rock. Times are tough here. Come and visit. It's a wonderful place to visit, but a hard place to live if you are not a millionaire.

[Marlin331]

Originally Posted by MikeKle

I live in Northern KY and have had it with the winters and want to find a way to stay in the keys during the winter months and come back up here in the spring,summer and fall to operate my lawn care business. Is there expensive and cheap places like any other area or is it all mainly high end? How is the lawn care industry down there? Too many people trying to do it? Do many people have their lawns mowed there? I can afford a fairly large amount on rent but without knowing the areas there, I dont know where to start looking. I might even be willing to go the cheap route because I dont think we would be spending much time in the house/apt. We would always be out or on the beach, just come home to sleep!Thanks for any help.

Rental prices are still a lot lower than monthly mortgage payments. For example, a home just sold down the street from where my parents live for $419,000. A very similar home one street down was just rented for only $1,500. Both homes have 900-1000 square feet and are in a nice, middle class neighborhood and on boating canals! I have seen 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom homes with views of the ocean renting for only $2,000 per month, so getting close to the water will be attainable for you since you say rental cost is not a big issue.

As for your other question, the forumer who posted above me is absolutely right that lawn care doesn't seem to be a big business in the Keys. For some reason, almost no one has a lawn! On my parents' street of about 20 homes, THE ONLY home with a lawn is that of my parents. I grew up there and always helped my dad mow the lawn and care for the yard; most of my school friends had never touched a lawn mower in their lives! LOL With that said, landscape businesses do exist and profit, but they don't really get much revenue from lawn care.

[popcorn247]

A reason that people don't have lawns is the high cost of water in the Keys. Fresh water is piped down from the mainland and it is expensive. Most of the landscaping in a typical homesite is native trees and shrubs, as it should be IMO.