Everyday Tracks Episode 2: I Hate Snow and Cold Weather

I want to move to a warmer climate to get away from the snow and cold weather.  Where would I go if I do that and what it would take to make it work?  I cover that topic and others on this episode of Everyday Tracks.

Mentions during this episode

These are screenshots of a video I made long ago when I lived in the studio apartment, located at 114 7th Street West, Taylor TX.  If you go to the earliest image from StreetView, you can also see the 1992 F-150 I bought when I lived there.  There are a lot of changes to the area.  Explore!  You'll see why I loved living there so much.  Just wait until the show has ended first. :)

I think I made these videos (seven parts in all so it would fit in as an email attachment) around 2010 just before I moved to Temple so I could attend the police academy.

These are still photo camera images I took in 2007, only a couple years after I moved in.

As you can see, I made a lot of changes in the several years between these images.  This apartment was $300 a month with water paid.  The landlord was Hugh Hoven of Hutto.

 

Rentals in Key West

Some notes about these and my calculations for how much of net income shall go to rent.

• Total expenses should be no more than one-third of net income or,
• rent should not be more than one-quarter of net income.

The amount of net income I would need to make to live in these apartment is 4 times the yearly cost of the lease.

1. 1104 Virginia Street, Key West

Rent: $1850/month $22,200/year

Net income I need to make: $88,800/year

2. 1505 White Street, Key West

Rent: $2600/month $31,200/year

Net income I need to make: $124,800/year

3. 2601 S Roosevelt Blvd, Key West

Rent: $2700/month $32,400/year

Net income I need to make: $130,000/year

4. 3900 S Roosevelt Blvd, Key West (Ocean Walk)

Rent: $2958/month $35,496/year

Net income I need to make: $141,984/year

It should be noted that some of these listings are advertised as vacation rentals, which probably accounts for the high rent.

I'm amazed how much it costs to live there, but I'm really surprised how much a deputy makes in that county.

Here's some articles that explain some of why housing is too expensive in Key West and the problem it has become for service industry workers in the area who often make, on average, $44,000 a year.

Key West Workers Can't Afford Key West Rents - Now What?

Trouble in Paradise: Key West’s runaway real estate market pushing out workers

There's so many articles on the plight of average service workers that can't afford to live where they work, it's too many to list.  It's been a problem for a while, even when I was looking at moving there in 2002.  Because of speculators, AirBNB and others, property has become much more expensive than ever before looking to rent to higher income earners.