A few months back I posted a survey as part of researching the feasibility of moving to the Keys from New York. So far not one person answered any of the questions so I am doing due diligence from other sources about the Keys.
One of the websites that I used was Sperling's. They have tons of statistical data there on most of the areas in the U.S. Similar to ESRI which is a very popular but high end site for demographics. And this is where I got the numbers from so do not argue them with me, instead argue with Sperling's. There are several sites that produce these statistics and I have seen different numbers, but they all agree on one general thing and that I will go over in my final comments.
I combined Key West, Marathon, East Egg and the Untied State (as the benchmark) all into various tables for comparison. In the cells I colored them green for favorable conditions, red for unfavorable and white for where I have no opinion on.
Under the tables I am giving MY opinion on the data. You may accept my opinion or not and come up with your own conclusions. It is your choice.
| Favorable | |
| Unfavorable | |
| No Opinion |
| People | Key West, FL | Marathon, FL | East Egg, NY | United States |
| Population | 32,680 | 8,297 | 30,052 | 308,035,306 |
| Pop. Density | 1,557 | 983 | 3,014 | 87 |
| Pop. Change | -3.29% | -16.63% | 4.95% | 8.07% |
| Median Age | 41.7 | 47.8 | 42.8 | 37.3 |
| Households | 14,084 | 3,718 | 10,948 | 116,716,292 |
| Household Size | 2.21 | 2.19 | 2.73 | 2.58 |
| Male Population | 54.90% | 51.89% | 48.42% | 49.27% |
| Female Population | 45.10% | 48.11% | 51.58% | 50.96% |
| Married Population | 37.78% | 50.49% | 55.33% | 47.02% |
| Single Population | 62.22% | 49.51% | 44.67% | 52.98% |
Key West is smaller in size than East Egg yet it is a lot more populated but the density in East Egg is double that. I see that there is a decline in population on both Key West and a large decline in Marathon which in a way is bad but at the same time it can open up more opportunities. I feel that the decline is due to the downturn in the economy which can lead to opportunities.
| Health | Key West, FL | Marathon, FL | East Egg, NY | United States |
| Air Quality (100=best) | 84 | 84 | 36.5 | 82.8 |
| Water Quality (100=best) | 50 | 50 | 60 | 55 |
| Superfund Sites (100=best) | 99 | 98 | 10 | 71 |
| Physicians per 100k | 238.1 | 238.1 | 598.8 | 261.3 |
Hands down the Keys win out. East Egg does have a slight advantage in water quality based on these figure but using the website by the Environmental Working Group paints a totally different picture. And considering the amount of cancer that is on Long Island and the pockets of it, I am inclined to agree with the EWG website. In a later post I will do a comparison of the drinking water qualities.
There are many more physicians than the Keys but looking at Nassau County and how dense it is, it makes sense. Besides it is quality not quantity that matters. A big downer for East Egg besides poor air quality and the Superfund sites. We have a major one right here in town. Plus numerous others surrounding the area. Can we say "not good"?
| Economy | Key West, FL | Marathon, FL | East Egg, NY | United States |
| Unemployment Rate | 5.90% | 6.40% | 6.40% | 8.60% |
| Recent Job Growth | 1.19% | 0.79% | -1.61% | 0.35% |
| Future Job Growth | 36.48% | 35.18% | 30.38% | 32.10% |
| Sales Taxes | 7.50% | 7.50% | 8.63% | 5.00% |
| Income Taxes | 0.00% | 0.00% | 6.85% | 4.70% |
| Income per Cap. | $32,018 | $27,894 | $59,460 | $26,154 |
| Household Income | $52,663 | $44,031 | $109,706 | $50,935 |
ESTIMATED HOUSEHOLDS BY HOUSEHOLD INCOME |
||||
| Income Less Than 15K | 11.74% | 15.93% | 5.28% | 12.37% |
| Income between 15K and 25K | 8.69% | 11.20% | 4.20% | 10.53% |
| Income between 25K and 35K | 10.60% | 12.74% | 5.09% | 10.88% |
| Income between 35K and 50K | 16.18% | 16.46% | 7.85% | 15.37% |
| Income between 50K and 75K | 21.85% | 18.26% | 12.98% | 20.14% |
| Income between 75K and 100K | 12.67% | 10.41% | 11.08% | 12.41% |
| Income between 100K and 150K | 10.64% | 8.23% | 16.97% | 11.27% |
| Income between 150K and 250K | 5.37% | 4.35% | 22.04% | 5.01% |
| Income between 250K and 500K | 2.08% | 2.26% | 13.33% | 1.86% |
| Income greater than 500K | 0.17% | .021% | 1.18% | 0.16% |
POPULATION BY OCCUPATION |
||||
| Management, Business, and Financial Operations | 14.07% | 9.84% | 22.45% | 14.04% |
| Professional and Related Occupations | 15.24% | 12.85% | 31.64% | 20.61% |
| Service | 25.72% | 24.66% | 11.72% | 14.45% |
| Sales and Office | 24.99% | 21.77% | 25.40% | 26.75% |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry | 2.91% | 4.36% | 0.05% | 0.70% |
| Construction, Extraction, and Maintenance | 10.30% | 15.04% | 3.67% | 9.42% |
| Production, Transportation, and Material Moving | 6.77% | 11.45% | 5.06% | 14.05% |
Unemployment is slightly lower in Key West as compared to Marathon and East Egg. But I can assure you that the unemployment here in East Egg and on Long Island is a lot higher as a whole. There is growth in the Keys while jobs are leaving here. Gee I wonder why?
Sales taxes, income taxes and property taxes in East Egg are a lot higher than the Keys.
There is a good sign for future job growth in the Keys which means opportunity. Wages here in East Egg are higher over all. That is because we have a lot of investment bankers, high end executives that make NYC their base of operations and of course a lot more physicians. At least there is a good band of green in the 50K-100K range.
| Cost of Living | Key West, FL | Marathon, FL | East Egg, NY | United States |
| Overall | 133 | 130 | 220 | 100 |
| Food | 105 | 105 | 120 | 100 |
| Utilities | 93 | 93 | 137 | 100 |
| Miscellaneous | 99 | 99 | 124 | 100 |
Here is something that irks me. I have heard how expensive it is to live in the Keys and that you need two jobs just to survive. Knowing how bad it is here makes me wonder about that. By looking at how expensive it is here in East Egg, all I can say is that I will take Key West any day.
| Housing | Key West, FL | Marathon, FL | East Egg, NY | United States |
| Median Home Age | 40.8 | 31.7 | 54.5 | 35.1 |
| Median Home Cost | $336,200 | $305,200 | $705,200 | $153,800 |
| Home Appreciation | 1.38% | 1.03% | -3.41% | 1.62% |
| Homes Owned | 34.52% | 32.99% | 63.16% | 57.69% |
| Housing Vacant | 22.24% | 39.91% | 7.50% | 11.38% |
| Homes Rented | 43.24% | 27.11% | 29.31% | 30.93% |
| Property Tax Rate | $8.38 | $8.38 | $23.43 | $11.20 |
OWNER-OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS BY VALUE |
||||
| Less Than $20,000 | 1.13% | 7.27% | 0.00% | 2.72% |
| $20,000 to $39,999 | 2.83% | 5.55% | 0.00% | 4.03% |
| $40,000 to $59,999 | 3.52% | 2.34% | 0.51% | 5.58% |
| $60,000 to $79,999 | 1.73% | 0.67% | 0.31% | 7.09% |
| $80,000 to $99,999 | 1.19% | 2.06% | 0.05% | 8.80% |
| $100,000 to $149,999 | 6.00% | 12.29% | 0.15% | 21.26% |
| $150,000 to $199,999 | 7.32% | 12.72% | 0.58% | 14.87% |
| $200,000 to $299,999 | 22.52% | 20.90% | 2.70% | 16.82% |
| $300,000 to $399,999 | 20.49% | 11.96% | 5.97% | 7.83% |
| $400,000 to $499,999 | 12.49% | 7.56% | 8.34% | 4.04% |
| $500,000 to $749,999 | 12.15% | 10.47% | 28.02% | 4.05% |
| $750,000 to $999,999 | 4.56% | 4.50% | 21.51% | 1.26% |
| $1,000,000 or more | 4.08% | 1.72% | 31.84% | 1.64% |
HOUSING UNITS BY YEAR STRUCTURE BUILT |
||||
| 1999 to 2005 | 6.39% | 10.45% | 7.42% | 13.71% |
| 1995 to 1998 | 13.17% | 10.11% | 3.35% | 14.31% |
| 1990 to 1994 | 13.17% | 10.11% | 3.35% | 14.31% |
| 1980 to 1989 | 13.62% | 24.29% | 5.12% | 13.87% |
| 1970 to 1979 | 15.34% | 29.96% | 8.99% | 16.17% |
| 1960 to 1969 | 15.48% | 13.26% | 13.33% | 11.70% |
| 1950 to 1959 | 14.44% | 10.33% | 24.39% | 11.08% |
| 1940 to 1949 | 7.92% | 0.94% | 10.27% | 6.02% |
| 1939 or Earlier | 13.66% | 0.66% | 27.13% | 13.15% |
People have told me how expensive housing is there in Key West. Looking at the figures you can see that the housing here in East Egg is a hell of a lot higher. In my neighborhood alone you cannot touch anything for less than $600,000 and these are not outlandish homes either. You can also see that East Egg pays more than double the amount of property taxes than people do in the Keys which makes moving there all the more attractive. And with the homes appreciating while they are depreciating here, in my opinion it is a good investment to buy there.
And to me an affordable house is between $100K and $400K. With that in mind we see that there is a large amount of them within that range in the Keys and a very narrow band in East Egg. And those in East Egg at that price they are shacks at best and they need extensive work. And with million dollar home East Egg has more than you can count. Not far from where we live a house with no yard went for $1.8 Million. Yes if you want something decent around here you need to be a millionaire.
The place we live in is a rental and we were able to get it at a nice price and this is a dump to begin with. I have no idea what shapes the houses in the Key are in the green bands. I would be interested in finding out.
| Climate | Key West, FL | Marathon, FL | East Egg, NY | United States |
| Rainfall (in.) | 39.9 | 40.2 | 49.2 | 36.5 |
| Snowfall (in.) | 0 | 0 | 24.7 | 25 |
| Precipitation Days | 107 | 103 | 116 | 100 |
| Sunny Days | 259 | 250 | 200 | 205 |
| Avg. July High | 89 | 90 | 81 | 86.5 |
| Avg. Jan. Low | 64.8 | 63 | 25.1 | 20.5 |
| Comfort Index (higher=better) | 28 | 28 | 47 | 44 |
| UV Index | 7.2 | 7.2 | 3.6 | 4.3 |
| Elevation ft. | 4 | 3 | 68 | 1,443 |
Looking at the numbers it seems that the Keys is the place to live. The only things that are of concern is the high UV index, the comfort level and the elevation. The UV Index is a lot higher in the Keys than NY but that is to be expected since the Keys is closer to the equator than NY. Caution is required here to prevent burning and with my wife having fair skin, that is not good. The comfort level is worse in the Keys than NY. I have to question that for NY in the winter is horrible and it is very muggy here in the summer with little winds.
The elevation of the Keys is a little bothersome for a good storm surge and you are treading water. I read that Roosevelt Blvd. was under 8 feet of water during Wilma. Where we live in East Egg our house is about 40 feet above sea level so storm surges do not bother us but since we are a water front community there are areas that can and do go underwater with the right storm. A good example was Sandy which did a lot of damage on the South Shore and minor to moderate damage on the north Shore. Coastal areas on the North Shore did get flooded in any case.
That brings up a major concern and that is storms in general especially hurricanes. The Keys are prime targets for them. At least I would think that they are better equipped than NY is since they do get hit more frequently.
| Crime | Key West, FL | Marathon, FL | East Egg, NY | United States |
| Violent Crime | 7 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Property Crime | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
Crime is everywhere but the statistics do not paint a pretty picture of crime in the Keys especially Key West. I would guess that is because there are more bars in Key West than here and a person with a full belly of booze can do strange things. But from living here in East Egg I can tell you that crime is a lot higher than shown here. The local PD keeps a lot under wraps to help to protect the property values.
Final opinion:
There are advantages in living in East Egg, that is for sure. Higher wage is one of those, if you can find work. And you have a wide choice of health care providers as well. But in the long run moving to the Keys is a very good idea based on these numbers. The cost of living is a lot lower, housing is more affordable, property values are on the increase and there is growth potential in employment.
Now to move on to the next part of my due diligence project and that is to compare the same locations using City-Data and to finalize the water quality post.
'till next time
No comments:
Post a Comment