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Come Home to Beautiful, Tropical Galveston Island

Millions of visitors each year dream about living in this tropical setting called Galveston Island. You can be one of the fortunate Island residents who live the fantasy.

Why Galveston?

Galveston Island is a great place to spend the winter months. Forget about long underwear and down parkas. Leave the mittens in their mothballs. Temperatures rarely dip into the 50s, and generally range from the low 60s to the low 80s. Relax and enjoy the waves rolling onto the beach and the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. And when you’ve relaxed enough, you’ll find the Island’s shopping, dining and cultural offerings are quite diverse. A list of area Realtors is provided for your reference. Call 888-GAL-ISLE for more information.

Great Reasons to Buy Galveston Real Estate

Customize your vacation stay: Imagine creating the perfect place for you and your family to enjoy endless vacations. You’ll always know what to expect.

The property can pay for itself with rentals: Cover the mortgage and maintenance of your property with a little marketing and the help of a good rental manager.

Time-share trading: Switch out the weeks at your Galveston Island vacation property with friends who own places in other locations to expand your vacation options.

A place for your family to gather: With extended families spread across the country or even the globe, it’s great to own a place that everyone will love to visit and enjoy catching up with each other on a regular basis.

Mild year-round weather: Of course the summer months are ideal for swimming in the Gulf, but Galveston Island’s semi-tropical climate boasts mild temperatures throughout the year, even in winter, when temperatures rarely dip below 50º F.

Galveston Island is located on the coastline of Texas just 50 miles south of Houston. Explore the treasures it has to offer – 32 miles of beaches, relaxed atmosphere, abundant leisure activities, excellent medical facilities, first-rate restaurants, educational opportunities, numerous attractions and a vibrant historic downtown that offers cruising, shopping, arts and entertainment.

Imagine yourself as an Islander living in an elegant Victorian home on a shady, oak-lined street on the Island’s east end, or in a home overlooking the sparkling Gulf of Mexico on the west end. There is a variety of rental property to choose from throughout the Island, from apartments to condominiums, high rises, low rises and raised beach homes.

Galveston has the amenities of a larger city, but with tight-knit small town friendliness. Its ethnically diverse citizens have worked together to make their city better since the early days of its founding in 1836. When faced with adversity, Galvestonians unite to solve whatever obstacles may arise. Non-profit organizations and community groups offer a variety of volunteer opportunities regardless of your interests or desired area of service.

The Island has a multifaceted economic base with expanding job markets in tourism, the medical field, marine-related fields, as well as other areas. Education, banking, insurance and marine industries also are job fields that contribute to the strong, diverse economy. Island life is enhanced by the absence of drive-time traffic reports on the radio and heavy traffic delays. The major thoroughfares are rarely heavily congested, even during peak times. And it takes no more than 15-20 minutes to get anywhere you want to go on the Island.

All this time saved driving to work and running errands can be spent enjoying Island life.

When the work day is over, pack a picnic dinner and some easy chairs and head to the beach. Temperatures are moderate, so outdoor activities are enjoyable year-round. Relax and enjoy watching the waves roll in at sunset as sandpipers scurry along the edge of the gulf water.

To enhance the pleasure of the beach for visitors and residents alike, the city operates a beach replenishment program to maintain the beaches below the seawall, a 10.4-mile-long concrete structure built to protect the Island against storm tides. As it has done since its creation after the 1900 storm, the seawall has again proven its worth in September 2008 when Hurricane Ike struck the Island.

Winter months, when currents deposit rows of shells on the sand, are the best time to comb the beaches for seashells. With average temperatures normally ranging from lows in the 50s (10 Celsius) to highs in the 60s (18 Celsius) December through February, the weather is perfect for enjoying outdoor activities such as fishing, boating and bird watching.

The beach is only one of dozens of enjoyable leisure-time attractions in Galveston. The excellent restaurants, shops, museums and special events, which lure millions of tourists to the Island each year, also make it a fun place to live.

First-class museums recount the histories of almost every form of transportation – ships, planes and trains. Historic house museums, including the Bishop’s Palace, Moody Mansion, Ashton Villa, and the Menard House, preserve the elegant life of 19th-century Galveston.

Many of these museums are located in historic downtown Galveston, which has experienced a dramatic renaissance in the last three decades. For a number of years, the ornate Victorian buildings along The Strand were empty, decaying shells. They were sad reminders of what The Strand and Galveston once was – the vibrant cultural and economic center of the Southwest.

Over the past few decades, an infusion of millions of dollars in private and public funds has revived The Strand and surrounding downtown streets to their former glory. A leisurely tour by trolley or horse-drawn carriage through the area offers an appreciation of the Victorian architecture of the buildings that now house shops, restaurants, offices, loft apartments and nighttime hot spots. The Strand is just one of a number of retail and banking centers located conveniently throughout the Island. Other major areas of retail activity include Seawall Boulevard, 45th Street, 61st Street, Broadway and Stewart Road.

The Strand is a beautiful backdrop for two of the Island’s largest annual events – Dickens on The Strand, a Victorian Christmas festival held in December; and Mardi Gras! Galveston, held between January and March (dependent on Lent), which attracts hundreds of thousands of people with the quality of its parades and festivities. As an Island resident, your calendar will be filled with festivals, theater performances and special events year-round. Between the festivals and attractions there is no shortage of fun and unique ways to enjoy Island life.

If you get a yearning for the big city and a faster pace, Houston is just an hour drive up Interstate 45. One of the largest cities in the United States, take your pick of professional sporting events, hundreds of restaurants, theater, live music, and all that a metropolitan area has to offer.

But you’ll find, as many Islanders do, that Galveston has an appeal that’s undeniable and hard to leave. Few great cities have this appealing packaging of amenities – rich history, natural beauty, cultural events and stunning architecture – all tied up neatly in a soft blue ribbon of relaxed ambiance.

Discover a secret that Galvestonians have kept for years – that Galveston Island is a wonderful place to live.

Location
Located in the Gulf of Mexico, 50 miles south of Houston.

Government
City council-manager system with six council members elected from single-member districts; the mayor is elected-at-large.

Climate
Offers temperate, semi-tropical weather year-round; averaging 57° F in the winter months and 81° F in the summer months.

Religion
Galveston is home to more than 50 churches and two synagogues representing every major religious denomination.

Health Care
A leading academic medical center, the University of Texas Medical Branch offers a wide range of primary and specialty care outpatient services at its on-campus and community-based clinics. The UTMB clinics logged more than 536,000 outpatient visits last year.

Education
Galveston Independent School District covers 94.82 square miles, including all of Galveston Island and a portion of the Bolivar Peninsula. The district serves approximately 6,400 students on the Island and Bolivar Peninsula. During the 2010-2011 school year, it will operate two high schools, four middle schools, and five elementary schools. Those schools include KIPP: Coastal Village and its newest school, Early Childhood University.

Higher Education
Texas A&M University at Galveston; Galveston College; and University of Texas Medical Branch.  Off Island, University of Houston, Clear Lake.

Taxes
Taxes are paid in the City of Galveston to five entities – city, county, school, community college and navigation districts. There is no state property or income tax. The total property tax rate in 2009 was set at $2.58 per $100 valuation. A sales tax of 8.25 percent is levied.

From Blog.Galveston.com RSS: From the Blogs  
Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:19:27 +0000
Salt Water Taffy and the Sea
What is it about salt water taffy and the sea? Master candy maker Ernest Torres makes the island's popular taffy at La King's Confectionery.

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:16:55 +0000
Enjoy Being Beautiful and Shine!
I hope you all enjoyed the last blog and are reaping the benefits of the BB and CC creams. So, I hope this blog can address some of the issues you might be having with your hair and hopefully you will find a way to embrace change however big or small. I have some amazing and talented women that I am blessed to call friends as well as clients. They are diverse and from all walks of life, but there is one question that I am asked by almost all of them; does my hair age me?

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:49:44 +0000
Islander is Senior Consultant in New Film
Dr. Barbara Sasser has lived in Galveston for over 35 years and has had many roles here on the island. She is a UTMB alum and former Galveston Chamber of Commerce member. More recently she was the chairman of the Galveston County Recovery Fund, as well as the former president of the Harris and Eliza Kempner fund. Sasser’s latest role, however, is in film as a senior consultant for the documentary Rescue in the Philippines: Refuge from the Holocaust.

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:17:26 +0000
Glen Campbell’s Famous Song “Galveston” Remade for Galveston Tourism Campaign
The world-famous country music song “Galveston” made popular by Glen Campbell in 1969 has been remade once again – this time in a marketing campaign for the Texas beach town the song was named after.

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:41:38 +0000
Let Beauty Speak for Itself!
When this exciting opportunity to write this beauty column presented itself, I was flooded with ideas. What topic should I tackle first? Being a Hair and makeup artist for the last 13 years, 10 of which focused solely on hair color, I have seen alot of Do's and Don'ts.

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