moving to galveston (crime, hotel, house)

[grneyesaz24]

my husband and i are planning on moving to galveston in the very near future. we're coming from arizona where the temperature today will be 109 degrees-very little humidity, though it's a stifling heat...we're in our mid forties, have 2 dogs, our children are grown but they will definitely be visiting us often. we're looking at a house on 31st street, pretty close to di bella's restaraunt (think i spelled that right) and a couple blocks from the seawall. i'm reading a lot of posts about crime, etc. (makes me a bit nervous)any information on that area would be great. we vacationed there 2 years ago and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and friendly attitude from the people we met during our stay. at the time of our vacation there was still quite a bit of renovations going on from ike. how is all that coming along?

[Mrs.JT]

I was there a couple of months ago on business, and I stayed at the Hotel Galvan on the sea wall. It was a nice hotel, but the rooms on the upper levels were still boarded up. It was somewhat unsightly, but they were working on renovations while I was there.

I saw a few remnants Ike, but not much. It looked like Galveston is on its way to picking up the pieces.

I was only there for two days, so I can't comment much about crime.

[YouShouldaTried]

I have lived in and out of Galveston since 1991, and it is a wonderful city. You just have to know who you are dealing with. I was set up on a blind date with a VERY well respected member of the community, we go back to my place for coffee and he decides to excuse himself to go to the bathroom and SMOKE CRACK! I am soooo not lying. It is laid back, it's a great place to live, but you should always be aware of what is going on around you. Just act like you live there and people won't bother you.

Galveston is also recovering very nicely from IKE. There is a lot of public opinion on the public housing issue, like there isn't any right now. That affects the stores actually staying open 24 hours (not without workers!) and an overall lack of minimum wage workers. But crime is down, too. The police force has had a lot of turnover the last couple of years, and all these new cops are gung-ho macho types and they cry about every little thing. I suggest reading the Galveston Daily News online regularly, and especially read some of the comments to the main stories.

And if you hire someone to do home renovations, don't get in a hurry because we all live on island time....

[TheyCallMeDerek]

Just remember that you're trading dry heat for oppressive humidity. But you'll like the people alot more, I think.

[DanielWayne]

This is a slightly old post, but if you are still looking at Galveston and you are concerned about crime, then heed YouShouldaTried's suggestion and read the Galveston Daily News. The comments are insightful, too. Galveston has some wonderful people and some wonderful, unique places to visit, but at the same time it has a disproportionate amount of people and places on the opposite end of the spectrum. As alluded to above - you have to know who you are dealing with, and I might add - you have to know your surroundings, too.

[BrazosJaime]

Is there any particular reason that you chose Galveston?