I live a little less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean, and let me be 100% clear: it is the best.
I’ve always gravitated toward large bodies of water. In New Orleans, I lived steps from Lake Pontchartrain. I also used to take regular excursions to Onondaga Lake when I lived in Syracuse, New York. And now that I live just a few steps from the biggest body of water in the world, I am in heaven.
With all that praise and gratitude out of the way, living by the beach isn’t always heaven. In fact, there are plenty of things that make living near the ocean unpleasant and sometimes dangerous.
We all know the best things about living near the ocean, but few people talk about the worst things about living by the beach.
So here they are. Let me know in the comments if I missed any.
1. Seasonal Crowds
Let’s start with the most obvious downside: the people! From the time it’s warm enough to put on a swimsuit to the last hurrahs of summer before school restarts, the beaches will be swarmed with people.
This has some benefits for the local economy, but those who live by the beach don’t necessarily want thousands of people coming into their neighborhood every day. Of course, the beaches don’t belong to any one person, so it’s only fair that people from all over are allowed to come and enjoy the beach.
There is also the flip side to crowds during the winter. Many beaches and beach communities will become ghost towns during the winter. If you want some privacy, that’s good. But if you own a business, the lack of customers can be very bad.
2. Parking
Whenever we visit my wife’s family, who lives in a small town along the Jersey Shore, the number one topic is always parking. There is always some scheming to borrow a neighbor’s parking space and complaining when someone else takes one of their designated spaces.
At some of my local beaches, parking is a hassle, even during the offseason. The nature of living near the beach means there are not many big parking lots for residents, so be prepared for a never-ending battle of looking for parking.
3. Tsunamis
A tsunami is one of the rare natural disasters. But when it does happen, it can be catastrophic.
According to global historical data compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a tsunami that causes damage or deaths near its source happens about twice each year. A tsunami that causes damage or deaths on shores more than 600 miles away happens about twice a decade.
While that does sound pretty common, a look at the historical data of tsunamis in the United States reveals there aren’t too many throughout U.S. history. All of the U.S. tsunamis happened on the West Coast and the coasts of Alaska and Hawaii.
Still, if you’ve read the devastating book Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala about the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, you wouldn’t dismiss tsunamis and their destructive nature.
4. Storms
More common and possibly more destructive than tsunamis are storms. Particularly if you live on the beach along the East Coast, every hurricane season is filled with stress. The Environmental Defense Fund points out that hurricanes are becoming more common. In fact, damaging hurricanes in the United States are three times more frequent than 100 years ago.
While storms themselves can be devastating thanks to high winds, storm surges usually inflict the most damage.
Storm surges from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy caused flooding in New York City and New Orleans that killed countless people and inflicted billions in damages.
If you live along the beach in places where hurricanes are common, a storm surge will undoubtedly cause flooding inside your home.
5. Rust
Moving on from downsides that could potentially destroy your home, there is another invisible and menacing threat when living on the beach: rust.
Metal and saltwater do not go together. This means anything with exposed metal is much more likely to rust faster.
One of the quickest victims of the salt air you will notice is your car. All of those nuts and bolts will begin to corrode and rust quicker than they would in less humid and salty regions. On top of the rust, your car’s paint will suffer from corrosion.
Your home on the beach will also get exposed to the salty, humid air. The big thing to keep your eye on is your HVAC system, which will have a significantly shorter lifespan at the beach.
Other things like furniture, grills, electronics, and decorations will all get rusty and weathered if left in the humid, salt air for too long.
6. High Home Prices
Whether you’re renting or buying someplace along the beach, be prepared to pay a premium for the privilege of peaceful ocean views. Even just the cities along the coast (Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, San Francisco, etc.) are all way costlier than inland cities.
Along with higher prices, the cost of maintenance due to rust will also make living by the beach more expensive. And then we have the next downside…
7. High Insurance Costs
Forgetting the cost of the houses and apartments themselves, the mere cost of insuring your abode makes living by the ocean even more unattainable.
According to Trust Choice, beachfront property is one of the most difficult types of property to insure. All of those downsides I’ve previously stated can make insuring your house expensive and complicated.
You can shop around for the best price, but always carefully read the details because you could be left holding the bag if the natural disaster is not covered.
8. Sand… Everywhere
As a young Anakin Skywalker once bemoaned about sand, “It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.”
This one is more harmless than the others on this list, but sand is your enemy by the beach. No matter how often I sweep and clean my apartment, there is always a fine layer of sand in the shower and on the floor. Even if I simply go running on the beach for a few minutes, sand will somehow attach to my body and clothes.
It will get stuck to everything you own and always be in the background, so get used to it.
9. Mold
Along with sand, mold will almost always be in the background if you live by the beach. Mold thrives on moisture — and the warm, humid ocean air offers the perfect environment.
The worst thing about having mold in your home is you can’t always detect it. Mold can be growing in your walls or your ductwork, and the only thing that will tell you if mold is around is whether you’re sneezing.
It’s important to do your best to keep your house as dry as possible. That means cleaning often and getting a dehumidifier.
10. Rising Sea Levels
Finally, there’s the big one: sea-level rise. If you live on the beach, chances are your home will be underwater in a few decades.
Unfortunately, it will likely be gone before then, though. The more sea levels rise, the more likely storm surges will flood your place year after year. On top of that, sea-level rise also causes coastal erosion. Rocks and soil wear away and are carried off into the ocean, leaving a crumbling foundation and disappearing shorelines.
As you can see from this list, climate change is the enemy of living on or near the beach. We need to do everything in our power to stop and reverse climate change before it’s too late.
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