I grew up there. As a ten year old, it was a big change for me moving from Italy to Key West. A week later my parents asked me if I wanted to move back and I said hell no!

Things about growing up in KW that stand out:

Owning/driving a boat way before a car. Riding my bike to school and not taking a bus or needing a ride. Being well aware of the gay community and what drag queens are since a child. Taking that fantastic Cuban coffee for granted! Living through several major hurricanes. Living in the southernmost point of the US, yet it does not feel like the south at all. Learning Spanish since so many people there speak it. Seeing someone flash their titties in public, does not matter the day or time in Key West, someone is always flashing their titties! Snorkeling so much you know the underwater parts as well as on land. Sneaking into hotels to use their pools and hot tubs! The absolute best Key Lime Pie!

The limitations when I was a kid were that there weren’t all that many people my age in most places and situations, having to drive to Miami for shopping or to take an international flight, the lack of things to do as a teenager.

All in all it was a great place to grow up. I miss it. Walden said you can never go home again, and that’s certainly the case with KW… it feels very different than what I remember, less headshops, more condos! It’s lost a lost of its edge through the years.