History and culture: Key West many different customs and cultures are a reflection of the island's rich mix of ethnicities, intertwining social classes and follow the various ' Styles ' of life. Since the early 1800 's, through a continuous process of nurturing and preserving and mixing together in a speck of an island situated 150 miles out to sea and just 90 miles from Cuba, customs and culture of Key West peculiarly evolved.
In the 19th century, most residents settling on the island were the old British loyalist immigrants moving to the nearby Bahamas, Cubans arriving in greater numbers after 1830 and African Americans who were fleeing from southern States looking for freedom from slavery. Some of these newcomers joined the sponge and industries of turtle and most early immigrants joined the island by Cuban cigar manufacturing following and businesses.
A multitude of manufacturing plants of cigars were founded and operated by certain entrepreneurs from the Mainland of Florida who lobbied for the economic development of the tropical island. The strategic geographical position of Key West in the Straits of Florida created a natural and important port in the Caribbean which became a place of dispatch of the world and a stronghold of the Navy. Profitable trades in Cuban cigar, fishing and sponge, salvage and rum running were developed. Today fishing is still an important local industry, treasure hunters continue to scour the seabed for old Galleons lost at sea and you can still find tiny outdoor ' MOM and pop ' stores of cigar is owned and operated by the Cuban cigar rollers. Through these trades that originated in the 1800s, the island is manifested in one of the richest cities of the United States – both financially and culturally, and during this time a great collection of some of the most charming wooden Victorian architecture in the world was built and remains today as part of a landmark indigenous preserved in authentic Key West historic district.
In the mid-20th century, Key West was attracting some of the creative minds and most famous smart at the time, such as Henry Flagler, Harry s. Truman, Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, a precedent for a continuous influx of people notable and intriguing characters seeking a more independent lifestyle and artistic. With more and bars more churches per capita than anywhere else in North America, the 1970s and 1980s attracted a whole new wave of free-creative thinkers with the arrival of literary groups, actors, musicians, treasure hunters, artists, designers, photographers and filmmakers, entrepreneurs, trades people, sailors, philanthropists, self-proclaimed ' pirates ' and members of the hippie ' counter-culture ', people openly gays and lesbians from every walk of vidae expatriates-most of which blended perfectly to small existing local community of concha, Cubans and Americans. Dali front the tropical island of Key West became a microcosm intriguing and one of the most interesting places to live and exclusive tourist destinations in the USA.
A human family: a continuum of welcome and accepting attitude to all kinds of people to this small island has created a unique cultural convergence of different ethnicities, languages, traditions, religions, food and free-thinkers and resulted in a remarkably distinct cultural character that the community refers to as the philosophy of "one human family." In 2000, Key West artist resident J.T. Thompson coined this phrase formally capture the essence of accepting everything and all included ' mood ' and was formally adopted by the city of Key West Commission as official ' philosophy ' of Key West.
While the unique Key West neighborhoods reflect and maintains its distinctive and delicious flavours celebrating the original shell of Bahamas, Cuban cultural heritage and African American through customs, celebrations and unique architecture, the citizens of the island tribute and practice a remarkably accepting integrating readily "newcomers" and then striving to live in harmony and work side by side with anotherleaving aside the social differences, regardless of ethnicity, social class, or sexual orientation. Regardless of the inevitable FLARE ups of small town political fads, there is a constant tone in the community that reflects a sense immortal, "we're all in this together".
A continuously in this special sense of connection group is temporary about this speck of an island, is through the generosity of its citizens to reach one another and strive continuously support each other and improving the community through a constant myriad of institutionalized annual ' parties-turned-fundraising ', (for example, Fantasy Fest, Parrothead meeting of minds), donations, charity work and donations that meet the multiple needs of the community of small but diverse island. And a unique example of the manifestation of community cohesion you find on the island is efficiently and heart-felt that its citizens diversified immediately unify the crisis in the aftermath of a hurricane to care for one another on all levels-emergency food, shelter, transportation, medical service and immediate financial assistance. Has already been said by some villagers ' FEMA arrives at the moment, most of the work of emergency human has already been done by the local population.
While local political practices small island, credits to property boundaries, land development debates and arguments about the presence of feral chickens streets sometimes can seem worthy of a performance of comic theatre or tragic, however, there is an underlying and unusual sense of compassion and commitment that people seem to have for one another, his creatures, and ' their island ' which is pervasive in the cultivation of the island. Maybe that naturally follows the geographical isolation of the island of mainland Florida. Although Key West is connected with the U.S. mainland by a narrow bridges that pass down more than 100 kilometers of narrow Islands-"there is only one road and a road outside" and once you get to Key West you landed and become part of a tiny diverse and still harmonious social microcosm that is closer to Miami HavanaCuba, Florida!
Come As You Are-be who you are: Key West is full of great history and intrigue this community small island always attracted a diversity of visitors, some famous and legendary. The impressive list of famous contemporary tourists include the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Shel Silverstien, Jimmy Buffet, Calvin Klein, Laurence Fishburne, Kelly Mcgillis, Nick Carter, Peter Fonda, Mike Peters, Jeff MacNelly, Tom McGuane, Margot Kidder, Warren Oats, Elizabeth Ashley, Goldie Hahn and Jamie Lee Curtis to name a few. Celebrities have easy access to the island with an airport equipped for landing private jets and private dockage for yachts in several marinas.
Of course, most tourists are people who are attracted to the relaxed lifestyle and carefree attitude authentic ' come as you are and be who you are. ' Key West is as exotic as it is within the United States and today is a wonderful tourist destination, and the best way to really live the lifestyle of the island is by staying in a vacation rental in a neighborhood of Key West. See this list of amazing private rural properties property for estates, historic seaport.
