Tell me about living on or near the coast? (East coast)

[BeachLove]

This is all just an idea right now but moving to a new place is something I want to do again before i turn 30scared1 in a couple of years. Living near a beach has always been in the back of my mind. Thing is, I also love being near a good sized city area in addition to being near water. Who here lives near the water along the east coast? Or within an hour or two? Where are you and do you enjoy living there? What do you love or hate about the area? I'm not about to pack my bags tomorrow, instead, I just want to get an idea on places.

 

[Ceila]

This is all just an idea right now but moving to a new place is something I want to do again before i turn 30scared1 in a couple of years. Living near a beach has always been in the back of my mind. Thing is, I also love being near a good sized city area in addition to being near water. Who hear lives near the water along the east coast? Or within an hour or two? Where are you and do you enjoy living there? What do you love or hate about the area? I'm not about to pack my bags tomorrow, instead, I just want to get an idea on places.

Philadelphia and its suburbs are 1-2 hours from the more southern NJ beaches. We're in south Jersey now and like it. We can be in Philly in 25 minutes and at the beach in 45. What kind of work do you do? That might play a role in how close to the beach you could live, no matter what state you look at.

 

[kellyg403]

I live about 20 minutes from Emerald Isle NC and about 40 minutes from Surf City. I love the area! We are about 1 hour from Wilmington NC and honestly, they really have a lot going for th city. If I really want big city living Raleigh NC is about 21/2 hours away.

PROS: The ocean is minutes away all summer long. The weather is usually very nice. My community is smaller as are most so close to the ocean, so very small community feel. Great schools. Very friendly neighbors. Affordable while far enough away.

CONS: Hurricanes. You never know how that is going to play out. Insurance, Home insurance is sky high as we have to have special coverage. The beach; Its great, but once summer starts rolling around, the beaches are CROWDED. We end up at the pool!

The cons seem like big ones and I am not downplaying anything. But being prepared is 90% of the battle. We always know far enough out to leave if need be but we are not in a flood area so we can wait a little longer than some. Being smart is the other 10%. Knowing when to leave and making sure if you stay you have supplies to last you at least one week. Home insurance is a must anywhere you live and its the price we pay to be able to live near the ocean. Just know your insurance and be knowledgable about what you are getting. You will be well covered from a large hurricane.

We have no intentions of moving anywhere farther inland. However, the location may change further south.

Kelly

 

[BeachLove]

Philadelphia and its suburbs are 1-2 hours from the more southern NJ beaches. We're in south Jersey now and like it. We can be in Philly in 25 minutes and at the beach in 45. What kind of work do you do? That might play a role in how close to the beach you could live, no matter what state you look at.

I'm self employed for the most part and just tend to volunteer or pickup an extra PT job at times. I've been to Philly many times as a teen/early 20's and I loved it. Just never mapped how far it was from beaches. I've crossed over to NJ maybe 5 times total and don't know anything about it besides it had one of the scariest roads. I got on and I swear everyone was going 90-100mph! I thought the homes where very pretty when I did visit. What kind of price range do the homes start in for decently safe area? 2-3bedroom with a small lot.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm self employed for the most part and just tend to volunteer or pickup an extra PT job at times. I've been to Philly many times as a teen/early 20's and I loved it. Just never mapped how far it was from beaches. I've crossed over to NJ maybe 5 times total and don't know anything about it besides it had one of the scariest roads. I got on and I swear everyone was going 90-100mph! I thought the homes where very pretty when I did visit. What kind of price range do the homes start in for decently safe area? 2-3bedroom with a small lot.

NJ has one of the highest COL in the country. Where I live (1 hour from the beach, 20 minutes from NYC) the average home is aboutr $400,000 (was more a few years back), but it's the property taxes that kill you ($10,000 a year on that home). Almost all lots are small here. It's less expensive south/west, but still expensive compared to other parts of the country.

 

[JaneBanks]

Long Island - abut 10 minutes from the beach, 2 minutes down the road from water, an hour away from the city.

It's too expensive to live here unless of course, you can afford it. lol

 

[kimmyann]

Va Beach, VA. I live about 10 minutes to the oceanfront & have lived here all of my life. I do like it here & wouldn't mind being a bit closer to the beach (so we could walk or ride bikes to it). There is always things to do during the summer. I don't go down to the main oceanfront very often because of the traffic, tourists & parking. We do have smaller beaches & that is where we go most of the time. Of course being in a hurricane zone is always in the back of your mind. We tend to get lucky each year & don't usually get a direct hit because they hit N.C before us. Our winters are usually pretty mild, but we do get snow. I really like our mid-atlantic location because we are not too terribly far from anything on the east coast.

 

[MM27]

I live right by the beach in NJ. Home costs are high, taxes are high but the beach being right outside your front door is wonderful. In the summer, it gets crowded with out of towners and while that is expected, you have to be prepared for the ones that act like idiots and because they are on vacation feel that they can do whatever they want. They don't understand (or maybe they just don't care) that people actually live there.

 

[Disney Doll]

The CT shoreline is nice, espcially from Branford north to the RI border.

 

[Disney Doll]

The CT shoreline is nice, espcially from Branford north to the RI border.

 

[leebee]

Portland, ME, is a terrific small city. Lots of restaurants, cultural activities, transportation centers (airport- and SW is coming!- Amtrak, bus), reasonable cost of living. The winters aren't too terrible and the summers are terrific! If you REALLY need a city, it's a 90 minute drive to Boston. In addition to all that the ocean and beaches have to offer, driving west/northwest for an hour or so will get you to the mountains; gorgeous hiking in the warmer months, terrific skiing in the winter. Freeport is within a half-hour, and Bar Harbor/Canada are within three hours. Portland is well-located, combines the best of both city life and "country" living, and is just plain nice. I was driving through Portland a couple of weeks ago and realized how much I'd like to live there!

 

[My2Qtz0205]

Va Beach, VA. I live about 10 minutes to the oceanfront & have lived here all of my life. I do like it here & wouldn't mind being a bit closer to the beach (so we could walk or ride bikes to it). There is always things to do during the summer. I don't go down to the main oceanfront very often because of the traffic, tourists & parking. We do have smaller beaches & that is where we go most of the time. Of course being in a hurricane zone is always in the back of your mind. We tend to get lucky each year & don't usually get a direct hit because they hit N.C before us. Our winters are usually pretty mild, but we do get snow. I really like our mid-atlantic location because we are not too terribly far from anything on the east coast.

This. Virginia Beach is part of a larger metropolitan area referred to as Hampton Roads. There are several cities within 30-45 minutes drive of the beach. This includes VA Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk (though Suffolk itself is very big, so of course the farther west you live in Suffolk the farther you'll be from the beach!). We've had two hurricane hits in the past ten years--Isabel in 2003 and Irene in 2011. Once you've lived here a while (I'm a native), you learn how to avoid the touristy areas, but still get in your beach time. I'm not sure what beachfront property goes for here, but my mom recently bought a 3 bedroom house in an established neighborhood for $140k, if that gives you an idea of our market.

 

[Schmeck]

I'm about 45 min north of Boston, MA. I'm one town away from the ocean (on a good day you can see it from our deck, as our house is on a hill). If you like weather, it's a great place to live, LOL! Summers - hot and humid or cold and rainy. Fall - colorful, but could be windy, and rainy, and damp. Winter - icy, cold, snowy, power outages and ice storms. Nor'easters are fun Spring - not sure if we have that season here anymore

I couldn't live anywhere else. Going two hours north into Vermont makes me feel like I can't breathe. I need that salt air at sea level. We're going to Denver, Colorado this summer. I'll be a fish out of water, glub, glub!

 

[Arielle22]

I'm an hour South of Boston. I take the commuter rail into Boston since it is a bedroom community. As I lie in my bed I can look see the ocean. There are two houses and a street between me and the ocean.

I love this town. My home is right outside the flood plain so I don't have that worry. However during the winter the road along the water frequently closes due to sand and rocks coming over the sea wall.

The bad side of living on the south shore is that during the summer Rt 3, the highway that leads to Cape Cod is always backed up. The only way to avoid it is take the back roads which gets old.

We have several beaches. The one I can see is all rocks. However a mile away is a beautiful beach. The town's beaches have parking lots only for residents which limit visitors.

The other odd thing is that my town banned both chain restaurants and drive through windows. Two Dunkin Dounuts were grandfathered in but that is it.

 

[Ceila]

I'm self employed for the most part and just tend to volunteer or pickup an extra PT job at times. I've been to Philly many times as a teen/early 20's and I loved it. Just never mapped how far it was from beaches. I've crossed over to NJ maybe 5 times total and don't know anything about it besides it had one of the scariest roads. I got on and I swear everyone was going 90-100mph! I thought the homes where very pretty when I did visit. What kind of price range do the homes start in for decently safe area? 2-3bedroom with a small lot.

It varies so much that it's kind of hard to give you an exact figure. As a PP mentioned, the taxes are high in most areas, although the real estate market has depressed home costs in a lot of towns. I'm not from here originally, although I do like it for the most part (but don't get me started on the stupid jug handles that make you turn right in order to go left!).

I know you're just getting ideas now, but if you ever get to the point of wanting specific info on areas in south Jersey please feel free to PM me!

 

[Dreamer04]

Hi. The Rockaway Peninsula is located in the borough of Queens, and in the City of New York. Manhattan is 45 minutes away and we have a huge amount of oceanfront apartment buildings with balconies and beach block private houses with apartments within.

We are 20 minutes from John F. Kennedy International Airport and have public transportation directly to it.

I have lived here most of my life. Our beaches are beautiful. Search the real estate-the zip is 11694-or check out our local paper, The Wave of Long Island. See although we are physically attached to Long Island, we are actually in Queens, New York.

Come visit, enjoy our boardwalk, our sand and our lifeguards.

Good luck----Pick us..pick us!!

Ursula

 

[bellanotte10]

I'm about 45 min north of Boston, MA. I'm one town away from the ocean (on a good day you can see it from our deck, as our house is on a hill). If you like weather, it's a great place to live, LOL! Summers - hot and humid or cold and rainy. Fall - colorful, but could be windy, and rainy, and damp. Winter - icy, cold, snowy, power outages and ice storms. Nor'easters are fun Spring - not sure if we have that season here anymore

I couldn't live anywhere else. Going two hours north into Vermont makes me feel like I can't breathe. I need that salt air at sea level. We're going to Denver, Colorado this summer. I'll be a fish out of water, glub, glub!

If you live where i think you live I am SUPER jealous! I've always wanted a house in that area... when I move out thats where I wanna go. , its soooo pretty. I hate the metro north area close to the city....

I love the MA coast. Not so good for swimming, but great for scenery. I grew up going for weeks down to Cape Cod for the summer. I couldn't imagine moving away from this Area. I'd only consider portland or freeport Maine!

 

[NewYorkRedNeck]

Long Island - abut 10 minutes from the beach, 2 minutes down the road from water, an hour away from the city.

It's too expensive to live here unless of course, you can afford it. lol

I have to agree.Id swear you'd have to live in my neighbor hood lol.

 

[phorsenuf]

I'm an hour South of Boston. I take the commuter rail into Boston since it is a bedroom community. As I lie in my bed I can look see the ocean. There are two houses and a street between me and the ocean.

I love this town. My home is right outside the flood plain so I don't have that worry. However during the winter the road along the water frequently closes due to sand and rocks coming over the sea wall.

The bad side of living on the south shore is that during the summer Rt 3, the highway that leads to Cape Cod is always backed up. The only way to avoid it is take the back roads which gets old.

We have several beaches. The one I can see is all rocks. However a mile away is a beautiful beach. The town's beaches have parking lots only for residents which limit visitors.

The other odd thing is that my town banned both chain restaurants and drive through windows. Two Dunkin Dounuts were grandfathered in but that is it.

If I recall you live in the same town I grew up in (well, until I was 11). I second the area!!

 

[pyrxtc]

Anywhere on the MA or NH coastal area will be awesome. I live lived just north of Boston most of my life and now live in the mountains in NH but still only about 1 1/2 hours from the ocean. I would love to live closer, and actually have my house for sale to do so, but this still works for me. It is a nice day trip to the ocean or to Boston. Maine is also gorgeous and not too far from Boston in some spots and all 3 states have wonderful big cities if you don't want Boston.