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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to want to live near a beach

165 replies

dragonway · 29/06/2019 06:08

I have this dream for my life of getting up in the morning and walking a dog along a beautiful beach. Right now, we live in the middle of commuter land. No beach in sight and the nearest beautiful beach is over an hours drive away. My DH refuses to move because he says it’s a fantasy, people don’t live like that and that it’s good to dream but it’s not real life. So AIBU? Is there anyone on here who walks on a beautiful beach every day? Anyone who walks a dog on a beach every day?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
22
TurquoiseAndPurple · 29/06/2019 06:10

I live near(ish) to a beach but grew up even closer to it and we were there all the time. I know people who go every day. On new years day there's a local tradition where everyone goes for a walk along the beach! Your husband is BU. People do live like that.

Cyrusc · 29/06/2019 06:10

I used to live like that! Gre

eatyouup · 29/06/2019 06:10

I grew up in a seaside town, 20m by train from a major city so a popular commuting location. I walked the dog along the sea front every day. It was lovely but I didn't appreciate it properly as a teenager!

TurquoiseAndPurple · 29/06/2019 06:11

It takes me about 25 mins on the bus to get there and I go regularly. I was living inland for a few years and I absolutely hated it. Felt so landlocked and it stressed me out so much!

HappenedForAReisling · 29/06/2019 06:12

I spent the first 45 years of my life close to a beach. I rarely went.

Cyrusc · 29/06/2019 06:15

Sorry OP don't know what happened there! Anyway, I grew up beside the beach. I never truly appreciated living by the coast until I went to uni in Manchester. I longed to get back and so I did eventually move home after a few years of working in London. It was heaven and I walked my dog on the beach practically every day. Even in the rain the beach is beautiful!

Sadly then I met inlander DH Grin foolishly moved to the middle of nowhere, smack bang in the centre of the country and now there's not a week goes by when I don't ache to get home!

Sparklfairy · 29/06/2019 06:15

This used to be my daily dog walking route

to want to live near a beach
greensnail · 29/06/2019 06:16

No dog, but I used to take the DC to the beach most days after school. It's a wonderful way to live and I really miss it now we've moved away.

Scarydinosaurs · 29/06/2019 06:16

I think it just depends on the person. I love walking/running through woodland and do it several times a week- I live very near lots of country parks. But if I was by the sea, I would love walking or running along the beach (probably along the path- not a fan of running on sand 😂).

What is near you? Can you make the best of what you’ve got? The coast is great, but if moving means huge sacrifices in other areas then the beach might not be enough to make you happy.

SushiGo · 29/06/2019 06:17

Pity those of us who live right in the middle... Just about to drive 3 hours to the beach!

TruthOnTrial · 29/06/2019 06:21

Yep, this is us. We do this, and perhaps not coming from the coast originally this is more appreciated. I cant remember life before being near a beach now!

Wallywobbles · 29/06/2019 06:23

Very few dog friendly beaches so do your homework first.

HB2019 · 29/06/2019 06:25

I haul my 41w pregnant belly to the beach every day. I'm only 1.5 miles from it but at the moment I drive there in a couple of minutes and walk up and down the prom for 30 minutes. It's blissful. But my town is seen by many as a shithole Grin and it's 40-60 mins commute to any kind of decent work, so it's swings and roundabouts

to want to live near a beach
YouJustDoYou · 29/06/2019 06:26

It's not fantasy. It is real life. It's the best life I could've asked for.

BasiliskStare · 29/06/2019 06:27

I spent some of my early years by the coast - would never ever go back ( to live) For holidays , days out - fantastic. Very lovely . Trying to cycle to school in the wind e.g. November or February - not so fantastic.

My opinion is clouded - take better advice than from me

OneTownsVeryLikeAnother · 29/06/2019 06:29

I walk the dog on the beach twice a day, every day.

Original poster
dragonway · 29/06/2019 06:30

That’s a good point that I hadn’t considered WallyWobbles!

OP posts:
TheHandsOfNeilBuchanan · 29/06/2019 06:32

I love living on the coast, DS and I walk by the beach most days, no dogs allowed April to September though. It's a nightmare in the summer holidays too full of tourists.

swimmerforlife · 29/06/2019 06:48

I grew up near the coast in a rural area, admittedly not in the UK. TBH it is not what it is all cracked up to be.

Don't get me wrong it had some bonuses, certainty when I was young mum would take me down to the beach in the summer for a quick dip Also place for me to run wild lol.

But in winter - The wind, the wind, the wind. Get my point? Grin My god we got some strong winds. When we took the dog for a walk, rugged up in the middle of winter. And in the summer it gets swarmed with tourists now (although not when I was growing up).

I have lived in inner city since I left home at 18, my mum still lives there and its nice to go home for a few days by the coast, I also still like the sea but I can't say I miss living there.

For years we were nearly two hours from the coast which was a bit far, now we are about 45mins away so its perfect.

Apolloanddaphne · 29/06/2019 06:52

I live near a beach and love walking my dog on it.

fruitofthenight · 29/06/2019 07:01

I live a 10 minute drive from the beach and I wish i could walk on it every day. It's my favourite place and I go regularly at the weekend with my dc and see the same people walking their dogs each week. Some beaches do have dog bans but out of the 6 closest to me only 2 have full dog bans during the summer and they're little bays rather than full stretch miles of sand.

ForalltheSaints · 29/06/2019 07:03

The real test would be a windy day in January or February. The second test would be the local economy, as a lot of coastal towns and villages are suffering and even averagely paid jobs are not plentiful.

alwayscrashinginthesamecar1 · 29/06/2019 07:12

I moved to the other side of the world to live 5 minutes walk to this. It is heaven, and I still have to pinch myself sometimes.

to want to live near a beach
speadyourwingsandflyaway · 29/06/2019 07:13

My folks moved from Surrey to the coast 1.5 years ago. They are retired and has been in Surrey all their lives. Living by the coast has been amazing for them and they are always walking to the beach and along the coast to the next village. It's lovely where they live and not touristy.

Cyrusc · 29/06/2019 07:20

Felt so landlocked and it stressed me out so much!

This is exactly how I feel now. It's like where I live now isn't a "destination as such. It's just somewhere you're supposed to pass through to get to the coast.