A Postcard from Gulf Shores
We can't quite take our eyes off the vast expanse of white sand at our doorstep. Our second home on the beach is perfect for this time in our life. We wanted easy living and great golf, and we got it. Now we're living right! 

  

About Gulf Shores, Alabama
Gulf Shores has all the ingredients for a perfect second home destination: golf, fishing, coastal living, mild climate, and low cost of living. With an average temperature of 68 year round, the white sand beaches and emerald green water create the perfect setting for year-round outdoor enjoyment.  Add to that an impressive list of signature golf courses, and you see why the population is growing here. Gulf Shores and nearby communities welcome almost 3 million visitors yearly, the largest in any Alabama county.

Gulf Shores has a genuine sense of welcome, even creating special activities for the "snowbirds" who use their second home just for the winter months. And retired folks are anything but "retiring" as there is a vast array of activities, from water sports to culture. And yet the bottom line is relaxation. A recent study showed that the highest ranked activities of visitors were beach and relaxing. If you love golf, you love the sea and you really want to relax in perfect weather at affordable prices, take time to check out Gulf Shores, Alabama. It could be your place.

An Average Lifestyle in Gulf Shores, Alabama

Leisurely, slow and easy living is what brings people to Gulf Shores. But don't mistake that for meaning doing nothing. People here are quite active, especially with golf and walking. But they do it with a sense of having all the time in the world. People come to Gulf Shores to relax. With your own home here, you might just become equally passionate about it.

Housing

Options: Beachfront Condos, Golf Villas and everything in between.

Costs
The Census lists the median single family home price in the county $122,000, and in Gulf Shores at $177,000. However, that does not include condos which are a major part of the Gulf Shore market, and range from $170,000 to upwards of $350,000.

Rental
Very Strong Rental Market, making a second home a good investment.  Rental prices. A huge 5 bedroom house on the beach will rent upwards of $2000/week, a two-bedroom gulf view apartment rends for about $700.  The high season for rentals is actually in the summer months, as it is cooler here than other nearby locations in Florida for example. 27% of the homes are currently rental units, 40% of the homes are listed as seasonally occupied, with a fairly high seasonal vacancy.  It appears that due to lower costs of property, not as many people rent their homes, but rather leave them vacant when not in use. Condominiums represent 81% of the rental market, according to one study.

Things to Do in Gulf Shores

Golf, every day

Tennis

Bicycling

Scuba Diving

Sailing

Fishing for blue marlin, tuna and others; Fresh water fishing at Lake Shelby

Visit Bon Secour National Wildlife Preserve

Hike through Gulf State Park (6000 acres and beach front)

Waterski on Lake Shelby

Beach walking- over thirty-two miles of Gulf of Mexico white sand beach

Cultural Activities in Gulf Shores

Orange Beach Indian and Sea Museum

Gulf Shores Museum

Theater performances at George C. Myers Theater Arts Center

Concerts at Erie Meyer Civic Center

Near-By Excursions

Dauphin Island Sea Lab (by Ferry to Dauphin Island)

Fort Morgan

Mobile, Alabama (1 hour away) - antebellum homes and history

Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Center

Calendar of Events

Location
On the Gulf of Mexico, on a peninsula at the bottom of Alabama, near the Florida Border. In Baldwin County, Alabama

Elevation: sea level

Distance to other major cities

Orange Beach: 6 miles

Mobile, Alabama: 41 miles

Pensacola, Florida 30 miles

Getting To Gulf Shores, Alabama

Small planes into Jack Edwards Airport; otherwise by car, after flying into Pensacola or Mobile.

Weather

Annual Average Temperature: Average 50 in January, 82 in July, yearly average of  68

Annual Average Rainfall:

Demographics & Economics

Population: 5963

Growth Rate: about 4% in the county yearly

Population Projections: 7196 in 2008

Median Age, 2003: 47.6, 20% over 65

Median Household Income: $43,497

Principle Industries: Retail, tourism

More information

Alabama Gulf Coast Area

Vacation Guide