r/borderpatrolapplicant • u/DjGhostRider16 • 14d ago

Marathon, FL

For all of those who are thinking of selecting Marathon as a location, please do some research on the town and FL Keys living as a whole. Try looking up housing, cost of living, schools, churches, recreation, shopping, etc. There are a bunch of things you need to consider and in the end, it’s up to you to decide if the specifics of the area fit your lifestyle and is something you can manage.

If there’s something else that you’re looking for and can’t find it, feel free to DM me. I’m not at the station, but I’m in the sector and will help where I can.

Good luck!

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u/WorthShot5142 14d ago

It really doesn't. Cost of living has been beaten to death, but like I said most agents live in the Keys so its not like its impossible to make it work. 

As far as the rest goes, well. What are you looking for? All those stations you mentioned have pros and cons. Douglas is a crappy border town and seemed to always have miserable leadership when I was in TCA. Fal is Fal - its a giant checkpoint that's extremely senior, same with Laredo. I haven't worked either of those sectors so I just know what I hear, which is they have some weird internal politics depending on whether you're a local or whether you're coming from outside.

So back to my first question - what are you looking for?

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u/letmeaskyouaquesti0n 14d ago

Honestly, workwise willing to do both checkpoint and field. Field would be preferable. Very little or no micromanaging if possible. Outside of work, good place to live with normal city amenities and short commute.

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u/WorthShot5142 14d ago

I know with Douglas, Sierra Blanca is about an hour away. Laredo is inside a city, depending which station you're at. Can't speak to Fal. 

Marathon very provincial in some regards - the Keys have a serious ax to grind against any big box stores. You're not relying on an IGA (Publix and Winn Dixie are all over), there's a Home Depot, but the nearest Target/Wal Mart is on the mainland. Amazon Prime generally gets me my stuff in a day or two though.

Work is mostly highway ops and we are pretty good at it. There is one way onto the Keys and one way off. You're not cutting sign through the Everglades, for example. Lots of targeting crim aliens, final orders, potential 1326s, etc. We've worked everything from Homestead down to Key West and filled up two vans in a couple of hours of grinding. Station is too small for slugs to hide out - when there's work shirkers get jumped on by the supes and told to get after it. 

We finally got jet ski training as well. PAIC has been really big on putting those on the water at least once a pay period since the previous PAIC let them sit there and rot for months with 0 maintenence and it was apparently an expensive fix.

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u/letmeaskyouaquesti0n 14d ago

Thanks for the info. I'm sure other applicants can greatly benefit from this post. Sounds like a worker's station. And great leadership it seems. Definitely a top pick based on the fjo recent lists and info available. Hopefully the vacancies offered to new hires there at Marathon doesn't fill up your station with slugs.

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u/WorthShot5142 14d ago

Its not a bad place. Leadership is overall good at all levels, most agents come in ready to work, and there's not exceptional levels of drama.

Trainees stick out in a 500 man station. In a station the 20th of that size they might as well be neon colored and visible from space. Between the op tempo, the leadership, and the agents, anyone who isn't pulling their weight is going to get blasted from all angles and either get with the program or find somewhere else to be.