Galveston, Texas

There is some magnificent Victorian architecture. Past that, I don't know much.

I grew up in Texas and remember Galveston for being the first place I ever saw the ocean. I have great memories of the place. A few years back I considered buying a little retirement place there but my brother talked me out of it. He thought Galveston was just too low end and catered to the poor. It does seem a bit run down there but I do think it could work. And I hear the Diva of the Island still does her show at the local gay club. And Houston is just in your backyard with its airport that goes everywhere in usual times.

Had a pretty bad hurricane some time ago, if memory serves.

It did get hit hard by Ike a few years back. In the process most of the black neighborhood was damaged. The people living there were relocated. A while later the neighborhood they once lived in turned Hispanic. I suspect the demographics the OP referred to are no longer true,

That's how I'm considering it, R2. For decades now, I've been surrounded by upper middle class strivers, with all their worries and misplaced priorities. It might be refreshing to live in a decidedly working class beach town. I would still have proximity to great medical care, the Houston airport, and of course wifi and books. But it's affordable and the dog could have a little yard.

It will be wiped out by storms. A nice place to visit perhaps but its doomed.

R2 here. I am not discouraging you. I still can kick myself for listening to my brother. I think it would be great to be in an area that is so affordable on the beach and then have Houston so close. Not much work is there except for the University medical center. Maybe I will see you there one day!

Google Galveston and Datalounge and roughly 597 threads come up. I'm curious why people are so intrigued by this place.

r8 It has a romantic appeal, kinda run down beach New Orleans vibe, mixed with Savannah Ga. type sleepy southern thing going on. It's also cheap. But yes, storms. My father used to take me there when he went on business trips in the area, this was like 1984. I went swimming out in the waves, and got sucked out and ended up like three miles away, after swimming parallel to the shore. There were all these very old motels right on the beach at the time, very nostalgic. I went maybe 15 times, and there was usually some kind of Hurricane activity and the shoreline properties looked very beat up. Decent seafood. We were from New England, and I know good seafood, but there was gumbo and some other stuff I had never had. No idea what it is like now. Reminded me of of Biloxi Mississippi, another nice kinda run down beach town I liked a lot. Oh, humid too. Go there, visit first.

Great summary, r9 Thanks!

southern Texas, despite what I think of as abysmal weather just due to the heat and humidity, seems to be a hotbed for hurricanes, in general. Plus, it's Texas.

I never knew Galveston was on the DL radar. The last time I was there I thought it would be a wonderful town for a roving gang of gay men to move to and restore. It sure seems beat up but those old housing are just begging to be restored.

I spent some extended time there 25 years ago. Galveston certainly has its charms. Hurricane season is not to be ignored. One hopes that r6's gloomy prediction is wrong, but it is worth remembering that the island still holds the unfortunate distinction of being the site of the deadliest natural disaster in American history, with the 1900 hurricane claiming between 6,000 and 12,000 persons (this includes the city itself and the nearby Texas mainland.) The most obvious drawback, of course, is that it is in Texas.

The 1900 hurricane was why the sea wall was built in Galveston. It did offer some protection during Ike. As everyone knows the entire gulf coast as well as the Atlantic is at risk for hurricanes. I wouldn't let that be the reason for not moving there.

There are a lot of big hurricanes. In addition, Galveston Island is sinking at the same time the sea level is rising. Your cheap, old restoration project could end up under water.

For your research:

r14, I didn't mean to imply that the possibility of hurricanes was reason enough in itself not to consider a move to Galveston. It's simply something that should be considered in making the decision. I added the information about The Great Storm of 1900 because of its historical interest. Living in Texas is far more off-putting, to me, than the very real possibility of hurricanes and tropical storms.

Hobby, the smaller, regional Houston Airport, is located off I-45, east of downtown. Since I-45 is the highway out of Galveston, that makes it reasonably convenient for Galveston residents. Intercontinental is north Houston and would be a major PITA for a Galveston dweller.

I went a few times in the 90’s and disliked it. The beach was very hard and pebble-y. Uncomfortable to walk on. It was not the sandy beaches of Florida. The water was not pretty, either.

It just seemed very rundown at the time. Maybe some of it was rebuilt after the latest hurricanes and storms. I have no idea.

[quote]about 60% white, 20% black, 5% Asian, the remaining probably Hispanic.

[bold]Hispanics are included in the 60%[/bold] since the US doesn't track them as a race. About 20.9% of the people of Galveston Speak Spanish as their primary language, so that should tell you they are a much larger piece of the pie.

2020

White 74%

Black 18%

Asian 3.21%

Maybe you'll meet (non-porn, better-looking, better hung) Brandon.

Is it on one of those coastal curves? They catch the 'canes.

One of the greatest American popular songs was written about it. Here it is with some nice images of the city:

R24 see R16 and R18

Galveston has changed a lot since the hurricanes of the last 15-20 years. The white people who live there are very wealthy and everyone else is poor. It was sleazy in a New Orleans kind of way when I was a kid 40 years ago. (I grew up in the area) I don't think there is affordable, decent housing anymore.

If you worked in Galveston you might end up having to live in Clear Lake, the area right by Nasa. It is generic suburb and going downhill compared to the other generic suburbs around Houston. It's incredibly diverse but there's not that much going on.

Galveston and nearby Kemah have very long sleazy histories up through the 1960s but like so many places the reality is 1) depressing 2) not charming 3) gentrified beyond recognition.

OP you need to go visit, and stay a week - ask the current locals

The west coast of Florida (Naples, Captiva, Sanibel Island) is much nicer, although can be expensive

R25 see r29.

I live in Houston and I never have thought of Galveston as anything but an occasional day trip to the beach. I would never want to live there despite its cheap housing.

The main reason is that its poor economy, dependent on tourism, has created a have and have-not populace, with the low-wage service workers greatly outnumbering the well-to-do.

It has a nice historic section with a few beautiful avenues of Victorian homes. Most of the rest of the city, which is built entirely on a barrier island, looks rather forlorn, including its half-empty downtown. Gay Texans have been moving there in recent years and redoing some of the homes on the side streets, but the city's restoration still has a long way to go. Comparisons with Savannah and Charleston are absurd, it's nothing like those two grande dames. It does resemble some of the seamier parts of New Orleans, however.

There's really nothing to do except drink and go to the beach. There are a lot of bars but little else. Houston is more than an hour away, up a crowded, unpleasant freeway.

Finally, the city could be destroyed by a major hurricane. Its pitiful seawall, built after the 1900 catastrophe, offers little defense. Someday it will happen, just like Katrina, only worse.

Better invest in a raft and a large safe that will stay afloat in it!

Not good for swimming, the water is FILTHY and the whole place is run down.

Who's to say that Galveston is bland and uneventful?

But I'd rather live in some shitty town in Central California than in any lovely town in Texas though.

About all that I know about Galveston from living in Dallas years ago and visiting a few times for short weekends echos what R32 said - the water and beaches are frankly quite ugly. I am very familiar with the Gulf beach towns of Florida and most are far nicer from an ocean/beach perspective. It was a very run-down area about 10/15 years ago (and likely has not changed much). Underwhelming is an understatement. It feels like a very transient, seasonal "vacation" spot for those who neither have the time nor money to go somewhere better. I assume with the proximity to Houston - it's a day trip for city dwellers to spend time at the ocean. That said, the water and sand are both brown and not much else. If you want powdery sand or blue water - look elsewhere.

Galveston is gritty. Felons and homeless abound.