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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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?

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madcatladyforever · 29/06/2019 07:20

I followed my dream to move to a beach and I live here. Got divorced, I guess it was all just too sleepy for my husband who liked the nightlife and his commute was 2 hours to London every day from an unreliable station although I worked locally in the town.
It was supposed to be our dream and to me I live absolutely in a dream location which I love but I am thinking of moving because the town is dead, I lost my job and have a two hour commute everyday which is a killer but it will tear my heart from my chest leaving. It has to be a dream for you both not just for one of you but it can work if you are both on board.

to want to live near a beach
yearinyearout · 29/06/2019 07:20

Most seaside type places will have one beach that's dog friendly, or a section of dog friendly beach. It's also my dream to live by the sea!

disneyspendingmoney · 29/06/2019 07:25

I live a five-ish minute walk from a beach. May to September dogs are baned, so it a 2 hour walk to the dog allowed part. But there is a promenade to walk along. So every day mirni g and evening I get to see the sea and the way it changes. In winter us a bit difficult especially if storms roll in, or when it's snowing so you got to have appropriate boots and waterproofs. On windy days all year around you get sandblasted, which is a bit gritty. Also you've got to brush the sand out if the dogs coats. Walking on dry sand can be a bit hard going on the ankles, my preference is right on the waterline where the wet sand is firm but you've got to contend every now and then with waves washing over you. Also sand in your footware is not nice. Occasionally I'll go barefoot

If you've got a water dog, then you've got to wash the salt out of their coats, mine hate water they look at the seafoam and then run away from the ebb and flow.

Even on really hot days there is enough of a cool breeze coming off the sea to keep the dogs cool. But not in the middle of the day, then you've got to watch out incase the dogs overheat.

After doing it daily for two years, can I recommend it? Will it live up to your expectations? Doubt it. It becomes a chore, in winter you've got to be careful of the sea state, in summer there are people who moan about dogs on a beach and depending on what they are wearing something's you can't unsee. Best times to do it? sunrise and sunset, in winter that's a pita, in sumner, you get next to no sleep. Mid spring and mid autumn are fairly ok as long as the weather is fair.

You do get to see some people behaving like absolute idiots on a beach, which can be amusing or irritating depending on what they are doing. Sunrise pissheads loaded up on gear after an all night party trying to play with the dogs is annoying (surprisingly frequent this time if year at the weekends), other dog walkers with off lead aggressive dogs is annoying. The gods of exercise doing their workout in the sand can be amusing as well as the sunrise worshipers. The Instagramers trying to lifestyle and pose are somewhere in between.

Oddly given I have a very consistent routine for walking the dogs, I really see the same people. At the weekend there are the once a week dog walkers who drive to the beach and let them loose.

Would I recommend it? Not sure, it really does depend on your commitments. If I didn't have an obligation to walk the dogs, even living as close as I do I don't think I'd be going there daily or even weekly. Did I move close to a beach to walk my dogs no. Did I get dogs to go to the beach daily, no. In hindsight would I have purposefully got dogs and moved to near a beach god no.

VeryLittleOwl · 29/06/2019 07:27

I have this at the bottom of my fields with a gate for direct access on it - I walk my dogs there regularly and usually have it to myself, even in the middle of summer.

The catch is that it's on the edge of nowhere on the north coast of Scotland and in winter we can get winds of over 100mph. It's pretty scary lying in bed feeling your house shaking.

to want to live near a beach
AJPTaylor · 29/06/2019 07:43

We moved 2 years ago from beds, literally2.5 hours from any coast and actually never worth doing in any decent weather to a place 15 mins from the sea.i go every possible moment.

FairyDust92 · 29/06/2019 07:44

This is my view everyday. I never really go to the beach but I know for a fact if it wasn't there I'd miss it!

TheFatberg · 29/06/2019 07:47

The North East is great because there are loads of beaches and you're very near 3 cities for work and amenities.

VanessaShanessaJenkins · 29/06/2019 07:58

I spent 30 years living by the beach. I even worked on the beach for 2 years. In the winter it's cold and miserable. In the summer it's hot and sticky and full of tourists you can barely move. Very few perfect in between days. Plus I hate sand. It gets everywhere!
When I first moved I thought I missed it bit every time I've been to a beach since I remember that I don't like it.
I've worked out it's actually the edge I miss. I like having the edge of the country near me.

LittleCandle · 29/06/2019 08:18

I lived near a beach when I was a kid and we were down there pretty much every single day. Then moved inland and missed it like hell. Now, I live in a seaside town once more. While we aren't down there with the dogs every single day (loads of lovely walks round here) we are down often. I would never be able to live inland again.

lljkk · 29/06/2019 08:28

There may be no lovely jobs near the lovely beach.

FitandMiss · 29/06/2019 08:31

I live a few hundred metres from the sea, and when I first moved here you couldn't keep me away from the beach. But so many people round here take it for granted and barely set foot on the beach. I don't that often now, work, school and other activities mean it's nice it's close but not top priority. And as other have said there are restrictions on dog walking on the beaches for a large part of the year.

There are other downsides too, care and tourism are the main employers and both usually low paid, and summer season can be a nightmare - impossible to park, shops get cleared out of basics at the weekend, traffic is horrendous. That said I'm so happy DD gets to grow up here, and that going to the beach is as easy as going to the park.

StayAChild · 29/06/2019 08:35

YANBU. Would DH agree to retiring there?
I would love to retire to a beach area. After my first cruise 15 years ago I realised that being at sea is the most contentment I've ever known.

We holiday regularly in the UK, mainly the South/South West and I am so excited for my first glimpse of the sea, like a kid. I love bays and harbours more than vast expanses of beach, with the exception of the Bournemouth to Sandbanks beach. I would love to walk that promenade every single day. The colours of the seaside are my favourite palette. Beach bars lure me in. I'm sure it's a different kettle of fish in the winter though.

Skyejuly · 29/06/2019 08:35

We live on beach and we go most days!

Tableclothing · 29/06/2019 08:36

Me. I live about 2 minutes walk from a few lovely beaches. I run regularly, in the spring and autumn I get to see the sun rise over the sea.
I'm in the North East, so there aren't quite the same job opportunities you'd get in London, but there are a lot more jobs here than care and tourism, and its about 30 mins on public transport to the nearest city.
Its not too bad, all things considered.

We don't have a dog, because we both work 9-5 and don't want to fork out for doggy daycare, but it is definitely in the retirement plan Smile

BarrenFieldofFucks · 29/06/2019 08:37

I've always lived within walking distance to a beach,l (different places, different beaches) so ridiculously we do take it for granted a little. We don't go every day, but we do go regularly. In the summer we are often there all day, or take breakfast/dinner down and just hang out.

Tableclothing · 29/06/2019 08:39

a different kettle of fish in the winter though

It is brilliant in the winter. The beach is still beautiful, the weather can be pretty exciting, and all the tourists have gone. You have it all to yourselves. You just need a big coat. Where I am isn't a pure tourist town so all the restaurants etc are open all year round, except in the winter there's no queues. I love it.

PerfectionistProcrastinator · 29/06/2019 08:43

I was born and lived in a seaside town for all of my life, until 3 years ago. Where I live now is a very affluent area in comparison, very picturesque in places with lots to offer...but I miss being near the beach. Even though I rarely went!

ElGuardiandenoche · 29/06/2019 08:55

I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

to want to live near a beach
nonevernotever · 29/06/2019 08:55

5 minutes from the beach here. Dh cycles to work along the prom every morning and we wander along the beach two or three times a week. No dog ban at all, though I'm in summer we prefer the parks for dog walking. We're also in Edinburgh so no problem re jobs. It's getting more popular though and that brings its own problems. Very crowded in sunny weather, a massive increase in people having all night parties down there complete with amplified music despite the fact that there are flats and houses all the way along with just the width of the prom between them and the beach. I wouldn't move here because of it, but it does enhance our lives.

ImpracticalCape · 29/06/2019 09:06

One at the bottom of the garden and 5 within 10 mins drive but I'm in NZ.

PeePooAndPaperOnly · 29/06/2019 09:16

I live by the sea, its wonderful even when it's snowing. Dogs are banned at certain times of the year on part of the beach but it still leaves you alot of beach to walk on. People swim in the sea with their dogs too
People go there for the day and take bbqs, picnics etc. I am thankful every day for where I live

Jebuschristchocolatebar · 29/06/2019 09:20

I live on the sea front in Ireland. We probably walk there every day and it’s beautiful. The big cons for me are massive house prices and people parking everywhere on a sunny day.

ThisLittlePiggyWentTo · 29/06/2019 09:21

We love close. I often take the dc on an impromptu visit after school. I love travelling and we often talk of moving but we always end up with the same conclusion; we need to be near the sea. It makes me feel alive.

ThisLittlePiggyWentTo · 29/06/2019 09:22

Live not love!

DaisyChains6 · 29/06/2019 09:22

I'd say it's not fantasy and it is real life because seaside towns do have people who live there and go about their daily lives all year round.

It gets really busy in the summer at the beach nearer the centre of town but if you go a few miles up the prom it's much quieter.

I suppose I'm lucky where I live because even in winter I wouldn't describe it as a sleepy seaside town.