To ask what life is like at the coast?

[Peasbewithyou]

Posting in AIBU for traffic.

If you live by the sea, do you like it and what job do you do? (And do you like that?). If you can tell me where (ish) you are that would be helpful too!

We currently live in a pretty landlocked part of the British Isles but I have always wanted to live by the sea. Lockdown has made me really think about priorities and our lives and I am now considering making some big changes. Why the hell have I never lived by the sea if it’s something I have always wanted to do!? It’s not like we don’t have much coastline in this country! DH is in an industry where he can probably work remotely but is looking for a new job anyway. I feel like I need a new career after being a SAHM for a couple of years and not really being sure I want to go back to my old industry. So just trying to figure out what it’s like away from the London / South East bubble, by the coast!

Iteland East Coast north of Dublin. Teacher. Love it. Lots of Irish people live on the coast.

Generally no industry apart from tourism, so nothing to aspire to and most young people get into drinking and smoking weed early as there’s nothing else around really. Anyone who was clever/ambitious in school left for uni at 18 and just never came back.

This is the problem in many, beautiful coastal areas - lack of jobs and those there are are badly paid. I was one of those who left to go to uni and never moved back. My parents still live there and we love going up to visit them, but I'm glad I don't live there. As a teen I was bored stiff and there's no public transport, so it's very limiting socially. You really need to learn to drive at 17 and get hold of a car somehow! Two of my siblings stayed. Both are low paid, despite one being highly educated.

I'd say that the pros really relate to small DC (beach time!) and retirees who have a nest egg and time to enjoy the coast outside of the frenzied school holidays.

I live walking distance to coast in Cornwall . Love it . Go to the beach every day basically Best time of year is May and September to me - fewer tourists .
Avoid touristy beaches like the plague in summer months .

I love my seaside life (North Wales coast, small village) but we downsized after the DC had all left home. I think if we had moved here with a young family, while days on the beach are fantastic for small children, older ones and teenagers often want more. DH and I both work in healthcare so had no problem finding work and experienced no reduction in pay. My kids do sometimes say they wished they'd grown up on the coast, and learnt to paddleboard and kayak and kite surf - but they are enjoying learning these new skills as young adults (or at least they will continue to do so, when Wales opens again for visitors).

My parents moved us to the Norfolk coast when I was 10 and I'm incredibly thankful.

We live about 10 mins drive (out of season, in season it can take an hour!) from a major seaside town with all the amusements, theme park rides that come with it. It was great as a student as I was able to work seasonally when I came back from uni and fun asa child as instead of going on holiday we made the most of where we lived.

Our town has a beautiful 'locals only' beach which is much quieter, Dd is able to take part in surf and lifeguard lessons in the summer. Before we moved to the coast, going to the beach was a full day event with several hours of travelling now we don't tend to spend the whole day at the beach as we did when I was a smaller child, we tend to go in the morning and back home for lunch or a wander
In the evening.

The most negative part of living by the coast for day to day life is holiday makers, journey lengths double if not triple which is frustrating and trying to run quick errands in town take forever etc. Unemployment can be an issue as can drugs as there is a high turnover of people. However I have personally never struggled to find work and work as a teacher but individuals may need to travel to the nearby city for media, marketing, financial work etc.

I'm on the coast in Northern Ireland. 10 min walk to the beach, 30min train or drive into the centre of Belfast.
Fantasia schools, thriving IT sector so loads of work opportunities.

All makes for a great quality of life

As a PP said, you're possibly best off choosing a town which happens to be on the coast, rather than a coastal resort.

Another one here in the North East of England, and towns that spring to mind that fit that bill are Sunderland, Blyth, South Shields, plus maybe Seaham, Hartlepool.

Whitley Bay. Amble - more resort towns / suburbs.

Fabulous beaches up here, especially Northumberland, and most stretches don't get busy.

The beach is at the end of my road, I love how easy it is to go for a walk/run/cycle and avoid the roads. Also love taking my daughter there after school for a paddle or to build a sandcastle or eat fish and chips. I do a university support role, DH works in construction.

Ooh lots of replies! Thank you all so much for taking the time! Just got back from taking the kids to run around in the woods so will have a proper read through with a cup of tea!!

@Lightsabre thank you! I didn’t know there was another thread, I will have a look for it!

@GinDaddyRedux I honestly didn’t know there was another similar thread! Obviously I wouldn’t have started an identical thread if I had known. Lockdown must have started at least one other person thinking in a similar vein!

Oh and @YouDirtyMare I am drawn to the South West because that’s a place I have visited a lot and absolutely love. Especially the far West of Cornwall. I have a family connection there too. But it is quite a long way from where we live now and I am fully aware that there aren’t a lot of jobs there apart from tourism / fishing. I will have a look at the places mentioned here. And on the “other thread”

OP as Cornwall moves forward with super-fast broadband, and more and more companies are looking to continue with remote working, it may become easier to work down here for a company based elsewhere.

And there's not really that many jobs in fishing any more!

I'd say it's more important to find a location with good broadband connections, and a town with good (for COrnwall) transport connections. In fact, far west might not be too bad because of the direct link to London...

I must live in a nearby (if not the same) place to @HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime and would agree with all points: Working outside of education or health is difficult or only seasonal.

Deprivation is generally high and aspiration low with little movement and it's an extra journey to get anywhere else in the country.

But during lockdown we've had no problems accessing our enormous beach or local woodland, had all groceries delivered and our internet is plenty good enough to support WFH.

I live on the coast, mid Cornwall, in a non-touristy neighbourhood. I work in the environment sector.
I love it, and I love it even more after experiencing lockdown.
I do sometimes miss the bustle & culture of city living, but not really now we have DC and no money.
As others have said, it's the simple life and it suits us down to the ground.

I was brought up on the east Yorkshire coast. It was a great place to grow up. Large town and a city under an hour away. We spent our entire school hols on the beach.

I live on the Fylde coast in Lancashire. I live 200m from the beach. Have 3 children 10, 7 and 2. I'm training as a social worker and partner is a carpenter. We love it but we were brought up here. There is loads to do. Lots of events (usually, not this year ovb) good local transport, not great national transport. House prices are low even in nice areas. We get horrendous storms in the winter. We get a right battering being so close to the beach. The car gets filthy. Have to clean my windows when it's been windy because you can't see out of them! But we love it!

I live right on the beach, well my back garden gate backs onto a sand dune. We moved here, East Coast, when my children were under 8 and every weekend felt like a holiday.
Not much for teenagers to do, but a wonderful place to live. I love seeing the sea every day of my life, and hearing it (from the garden) when I peg my washing out!

My kids are all into surfing , that is their main focus and social life

I highly recommend The Wirral! It’s a peninsula so the water is never far away. 20 minutes to Liverpool and Chester and 45 minutes (ish) in to Manchester. Several beaches, affordable housing in most areas and we still have Grammar Schools!

I lived in the midlands and now live on the south coast. And yes, it is WAY better, no question. I’m 2 minutes from the beach and we lead a beach lifestyle-barbecues, a dinghy, body boards, plenty of ice cream and fresh donuts in the summer. It’s quiet in the winter but cosy and the beach walks are still lovely. There’s always something new to look at. It comes at a cost though. I’m on a national pay scale so what will get me a large four bedroom house in the midlands will only get me a two bedroom flat at the beach. Worth it though 😊

I lived in Newquay for a few years. I worked for the local authority care related and my partner the courts service. We were both lucky to have year round rather than seasonal employment.

Absolutely loved the area/scenery and the people. Lots of positive, upbeat, outdoorsy type people. Lots of kind, helpful people. Lots of people who know they are lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

The downsides are mostly financial. House prices are expensive. I think it was the region with the largest disparity between house prices and average incomes. Family homes that are more modestly priced to rent or buy were competitive to get hold of. Very little/no chance of local authority help with council housing. They used to publish they had 11000 people on their housing lists and rehoused about 500 a year I think - who would be top priority bands/homeless etc.

Water bills are dear. Unmetered water was around £100 a month a few years ago where here in the west Midlands it is £37 odd now.

Low average wages. My husbands wage was very low even top of his scale in the court service as I believe they calculate the wage by local earnings. This was around 2007 and around 17k.

Young people (your kids when grown) might have to move away for work and affordable housing opportunities or risk only finding seasonal low paid work. When my husband retrained as a teacher schools were getting 100 applications for a post - most from outside Cornwall prompting us to relocate back near family.

Newquay (and Cornwall) has been badly hit by the financial impact of Covid and many people are suffering financially. What the future brings for them now economically is uncertain and I guess depends on what happens with the virus management and tourism going forward.

I live in a seaside town in Dorset. I couldn't imagine anywhere better to bring up my children. In the winter it can be quite grey and quiet but that's when I love it best. We are a 10 minute walk from the local beach and other loverly beaches are a 10 min drive away. We have lived here 6 years and are still finding new places to explore. Jobs haven't been a problem either. Not London wages obviously but depends what you do I guess. The slower pace of life has been just what we hoped it would be!

I live in a NI coastal village, with the beach about 2mins walk from our house.
We make the most of living here, with frequent sea swims and body boarding, and walking on the beach almost daily. We avoid it during the day on hot days when it gets busy, and just go down in the evening for sunsets.
I grew up living by the sea and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
I work in NHS in a clinical role, and drive to work in Belfast in around 30mins or so, which isn’t much more of a commute than for people who live on the city outskirts. House prices are still v reasonable here, as we never really recovered from the 2008 crash.

I live on the East Coast and our beach sucks. We never go because we don't actually like the beach but we both grew up here and can't imagine leaving. I worked in a supermarket (i don't work now) and DH works in a thing for Cefas on shit money.

Whereas my sister lives in Wales and I'm so envious of her beach pictures, they all look lovely!

I'm in Cornwall and am self employed, as is DH, although he worked in a bank before that.

I love it and wouldn't live anywhere else in the UK now, although I've moved around a bit before settling back here.

Other jobs that friends have:

TA
Teacher
Head
Uni lecturer
Librarian
Business analyst
Project manager
Heating engineer
Drugs support worker
Supermarket assistant
Cleaner
Admin
Solicitor
Pub manager
Shop worker
GP
Police officer
Council worker
Vet
Physiotherapist
Therapist
Plumber

And many more!

As others have said, the main problem is the discrepancy between wages and house prices, but that shouldn't be a problem if you're moving from London.

I live in the south. I'm not in a coastal town but live 15-20 minutes' drive from a port and multiple very nice beaches (shingle, but sand at low tide). I've brought up a family here and it's been the best of all worlds - coast, countryside and a town with good amenities and excellent schools. It's one of the more expensive parts of the country but not London prices or anything close. I work in the arts and my partner in publishing. We are both self-employed, and a lot of people locally are as it's a supportive environment for small businesses. As a result, we don't suffer from a dormitory town atmosphere as there are a lot of people out and about during the day even on weekdays, which in turn supports our amenities. We haven't been to the coast for a bit because of lockdown but ordinarily we might go for a walk on the beach or a run on the beach path, visit a beach cafe, buy fish direct from the port, visit coastal attractions etc. We went more when the kids were little. We're in the process of getting ready to sell up and move away but will definitely stay coastal.

What do you think you're looking for in your new location, OP? Maybe we can help you narrow your options down.