Sometimes that means living under primitive conditions. Key Peninsula has many wealthy residents. But there also is a fair amount of poverty. Life on the peninsula, whose isolated coves attracted smugglers and bootleggers in years gone by, can be a little rough around the edges. There are problems with illegal methamphetamine labs and marijuana being grown at the end of some of the remote gravel roads.
Domestic violence is a concern.
And the transportation system leaves something to be desired because the buses don't go south of Key Center. Another problem is the lack of jobs. The school district is the biggest employer and the grocery store runs a distant second. The only other major employer, Custom Cameras, shut down recently and pulled out of town, says Marty Marcus, Key Peninsula Civic Center Association president. As a result, many residents commute to work in Bremerton or Tacoma.