Live by the sea?

[IsadoraMoon]

I've just come back from our annual weekly trip to the seaside and felt really sad to leave ..the kids and I love it SO much, I'm desperate to sell up and move (currently living in a city 2hours drive from the nearest beach) finding a job in the area was always the sticking point, but now with the possibility of working remotely it seems like it really could be possible! Tell me, does the novelty wear off to visit the beach if you live really close? I know it wouldn't for me but I wonder about the kids (they're 4 and 6) the sea would be the main attraction as there's not so much else to do around there! The other option would be to move to another city (nearer to the beach, say 35 minutes drive, but more to do) but it won't be the small coastal visit I'm so in love with!

I couldn't cope with all the tourists personally.
I would need a swathe of private coastline.

We’ve just made the move from being 3 hours away from the sea to being a 15 min drive. Living in County Durham now with Newcastle and Durham nearby and coast and countryside. So far three weeks in and loving it. Life is short, do it!

We moved from central London to a seaside town last year. We are busy renovating a completely derelict home though, and despite living 10-15min walk to sea, we have only been a handful of times!

Lovely to walk along the beach early morning, but in summer, its been absolutely packed, no parking and presumably full of tourists or people living farther away. I love the peace and quiet at our new location though, and hope to enjoy it more once the house is done.

Nope don’t get fed up, get fed up of tourists leaving an absolute mess on the beach during the summer.
Go to beach most days, more in the winter tbh when it’s quiet.

I'm on the beach most days for a dog walk but actually sitting and having a beach day is rare and the novelty has worn off for that. we do pop down for sunset firepit and drinks fairly often through summer which makes me feel really lucky to have it on my doorstep.
there's a surf school / general waterports for kids where we are at as well so they go to that alone.

Don't really understand why people come somewhere, presumably because it's nice & then trash it.

I like living by the sea but don't go to the beach much in summer as the littering is very sad.

I love it and went today and thought how lucky we are to live close to the sea but my teenage dc won’t set foot on the beach for anything.

I live about 5 miles away as the crow flies and no, we never get sick of it. We don't go every weekend but it's lovely knowing we can at any time pop along for an evening stroll or have a beach day. We are on the NE coast so not too many tourists to contend with but there are also wild beaches that are used much less.

I live by the sea
Downsides are
Wind
Sand
Tourists
Traffic jams because we don’t have many routes because we can’t build roads in the sea

I like to think that if I lived by the sea that I would go just about every day. I currently live on the edge of countryside and do go walking every day.

But a friend lives on the Costa del Sol about a mile from the beach and they almost never go, even though it's a quiet bit, so it's not like they have to dodge thousands of tourists and constant hassle from the looky looky men.

Another Durham lass here, 5 mins drive away. Perfect for early dog walks etc. I tend to stay away from the coast on bank holidays/weekends though tbh.

Ideal for a dog walk/paddle/nice coffee otherwise though!

I live close to both the beach and Dartmoor. No the novelty does not wear off. Just go different times like last night at 5.00pm. Love the peace in the winter. Moved here 15 years ago from London outskirts. NEVER going back. Only mistake you are making is thinking about finding a job. I have said this to so many people. It's not a job you need to live in areas like this it's INCOME! A job can be part of this but only part where wages are lower. Between us my partner and I have 5 incomes from 2 jobs which are part time, a small. Business and investments. Have done B & B too. All we do is part of living here and we live well and enjoy the area.

I grew up by the sea and I miss it terribly. But I do remember being a teenager and being absolutely desperate to move away. I basically didn't come home for my 4 years at uni. Living in a small town and knowing everyone was hard. I really want to move back with my kids now, but there are fewer opportunities for them, it is much more isolated, and I remember winters being so long and grey. I really can't decide.

We moved from a big city to being 5 mins walk from the sea. We’ve been here for years and still not sick of it. The children use the beach much more than parks and they love the sea - we swim, sail and kayak most of the year. Older children round here meet up and surf, kayak or sup in groups. They probably drink, smoke and do the usual teenager stuff but at least it’s not hanging around the subways, which is what they did by our old home.

The volume of tourists this year is a bit overwhelming but we are lucky that we don’t need to drive to get to the beaches. Something to bear in mind though as we have friends who are only a short drive away from the beach who don’t visit much over the Summer as they struggle to park.

I've lived by the sea my whole life and it never gets old, I still love it. I missed it when I went to uni for 3 years in my 20s and now I can see it from my bedroom window and I couldn't ever get sick of it. There's nothing like living by the sea

Moved from London to seaside town 2 years ago with a seven year old. Very aware what we left behind to be honest DS loved his school and there were lots of free things to do in London no car and zone three travel was cheap. It is lovely but DS spends more time at school than at the beach! ( his new school really deprived)

We have to avoid the beach in the summer or go at 7am and be home by 11am as waaaayyyy too many tourists and day trippers make it too busy and you can’t get near the car parks.

I grew up by the sea (not UK) but we were in a city ourselves and 20 min train ride from the ‘big city’. So a lot of stuff to do. Not a touristic spot, nor does it get littered when those with second homes come for holidays.

Being close to the sea is part of who I am but I was almost literally born on a beach. I spent my entire childhood in the sand or the water, and during ‘winter’ (Med weather so still 20 degrees), every Sat/Sun evening we’d have a stroll or an ice cream or a walk on the beach… New Year’s morning is always marked by a beach walk even now I’m a grown up (I’ll find a river or lake if I’m not there!).

I can’t live too far off the water. That feeling doesn’t wear off, but I think it would if there was nothing to do except the beach, IYSWIM.

Like PP, also on the NE coast, there's so many beaches to choose from. It's amazing here.

We're a 5 minute walk to the beach. I'm there every morning with the dog, in all seasons. In summer we're down every day or 2-4 times a week, for swimming, for dinner, for a lovely midnight swim.

It's been 2 years+ and still love it, DC still love it too.

Love love love being by the sea ( West Sussex) sea swim all year, kayaking and just a big open space to stare at.
It's wonderful

I've lived by the sea all my life. My grandfather was a fisherman and lived almost on top of it! High tides were a challenge. My parents house, our family home, overlooked the sea too. As a child I spent a lot of time on beaches, and swimming in the sea.

I moved in my 20s but to somewhere similar, up a steep hill with a sea view, and have been here ever since. However, I've never been to the beach to use it in the traditional sense. I've walked on it a fair few times. We had a boat for a few years, and a kayak for many more. Quite fancy getting a boat again.

So, no, I don't go much. But I still love living "in the clouds" overlooking the sea and the fresh sea air.

My children have moved away for careers but both thank us for bringing them up here (my career would have paid double plus if I'd worked in London). Especially my daughter who now works with people who grew up in large inner cities and realises how lucky they were. They did use the beach, after school, with mates on their way home.

Strangely they think she is posh to have lived here. Actually there's quite a lot of poverty here, in that housing is expensive and most jobs are minimum wage and seasonal. The only way we are posh is that we've been lucky to have had the opportunity to live in these surroundings.

I don't mind tourists. My grandfather took trips in summer and both sets of grandparents took in summer visitors. Whilst it's not my job, all of our incomes ere are related in some way to the tourist industry. I welcome them and hope they love it here too.

Close to the beach here too, perfect for early morning swims, before everyone else comes down for the day.
Also lovely in the autumn, winter and spring for different reasons.

I live a ten minute walk from the beach in a small seaside town and love it. My kids grew up going to the beach whatever the weather. I probably go more in winter and spring than in the summer though. As soon as the hot weather arrives it just becomes too busy so we prefer to go early evening once the crowds have thinned out a bit.

If we do decide to brave the beach on a hot day we go really early , pick up breakfast on the way and set up chairs and umbrellas and take a picnic for lunch.

Now my kids are teenagers they meet their friends at the beach and go paddle boarding or have bbqs.

Living on the coast was a life saver for me during the lockdowns and our daily seaside walks kept us all sane. We also have the benefit of being within an hour of London too so enjoy the best of both worlds.

Which seaside towns can people recommend? I am from Cornwall but don't want to be that isolated. Somewhere not far from a university city, but beautiful and good for sea swimming would be ideal.