Moving to Key West: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Key West means accepting that it is fundamentally a destination market, not a commuter suburb -- the end of a roughly 160-mile, single-highway drive from Miami, with limited direct-flight airport access, and there is no way to buy "the affordable version" of Key West given its structural land constraint.
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Learn moreAccess to Miami and the mainland
Key West sits at the end of the Overseas Highway (US-1), roughly 160 miles and about a 4-hour drive from Miami under normal conditions, though real-world trips with stops or traffic commonly run 5-6 hours; the highway crosses 42 bridges over 113 miles, including the well-known Seven Mile Bridge near Marathon. As with the rest of the Keys, this is a single road in and out -- an accident or a busy holiday weekend can add hours with no detour available. This distance rules out any kind of regular commute to Miami-area jobs.
What kind of mover this suits
Key West suits luxury and second-home buyers, retirees with the means to absorb its cost premium, and anyone specifically drawn to its walkable historic Old Town character (genuinely golf-cart-and-bike scale, not a tourist gimmick) and established tourism economy, per the base place record. It's a poor fit for anyone needing regular access to a mainland South Florida job, and there is no lower-cost alternative within Key West itself -- unlike Key Largo, which offers a shorter commute and (relatively) more moderate Keys-level pricing, Key West's land constraint means every part of the market carries a real premium.
Practical tradeoffs of choosing Key West specifically
Key West International Airport (EYW) is a small regional field; most inbound travelers connect through Miami or Fort Lauderdale, or drive the Overseas Highway themselves, so day-to-day travel off the island takes real planning either way. The same single-road-in/single-road-out geography that limits commuting also makes hurricane-season evacuation logistics more serious here than almost anywhere else in Florida -- a genuine, standing consideration rather than a rare edge case, and one that applies regardless of how much a buyer is willing to pay for the property itself.
Key takeaways
- Key West is about 160 miles/4+ hours from Miami via a single highway (US-1) -- this rules out a regular commute and makes it fundamentally a destination market, not a commuter suburb.
- It suits luxury, second-home, and lifestyle-driven buyers who want its walkable historic Old Town and established tourism economy, not buyers needing mainland job access.
- There is no affordable version of Key West -- its roughly 4-square-mile land constraint means the cost premium applies island-wide, unlike Key Largo's relatively more moderate pricing and shorter mainland commute.
- EYW is a small regional airport with limited direct flights, and the single-highway evacuation route makes hurricane-season planning a serious, standing consideration for anyone living here.
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