The Pros and Cons of Beach Living

Is there something more perfect than living on the coast, enjoying the benefits of ocean water, a few feet away from the beach? Don’t call us cynical (or jealous) but the truth is that: yes, living on the coast can be great, but it’s far from being this perfect utopia wonder.

If you’re seeking to move to one of these beautiful beach cities, allow us to suggest the beautiful town of Boca Raton! If you are interested in moving to this attractive beach location, you’ll want to contact one of the real estate agents in Boca Raton.  

Not only is Boca Raton awesome as a beach town, but it’s a wonderful city to invest in – just like Miami, Sarasota, Savannah, and Hermosa Beach –  especially if you’re buying a second home. However: read our living near the beach pros and cons so you chose your beach knowing all the good and bad of living near the ocean.

The benefits of living near the beach

1. More time

We’ll assume you like the beach, ok? If you don’t, there’s not much use for this article… So, living close to the beach will save you a lot of time, and time is money, right? Are you a surfer?

No need to access websites to know if the waves are good; just take a peek through the blinds or walk a few blocks. One of the biggest benefits of living near the beach is the proximity itself. Gone are the days that frequent beachgoers are constantly sitting in traffic. When you live near the ocean, there is no need to plan a schedule around rush hour traffic or bedtime because you will already be home. Since beach days will no longer involve a commute, you can spend more time in the sand; not to mention that the fact that your house is so close by will allow your children to conquer independence earlier, as they will be able to go back and forth to the beach with friends and not much supervision, always in contact with neighbors etc.

2. Leisure

Speaking about that, a huge benefit of living near the beach is the fact that the geography itself allows for free leisure. If you live in a big urban city, at best you’ll have city parks as the only free option for you. When you live near the ocean, you can swim, surf, float in the water, you can tan and chill with friends, you can play sports in the sand (beach volleyball, Frisbee and many others), you can even walk your dog. All great activities – especially for young people – all 100% free. At the end of the month, the savings you do without having to take the bus to the mall and to eat unhealthy and expensive processed food on the food court; is pretty significant.

3. Health

Well, speaking about processed food… there’s a reason why most people living on the coast are usually in better shape. The beach life is usually very healthy. Not only because everybody is worried about their beach body, but when you’re living on the coast you end up eating less red meat and carbs, more seafood, and salad – both because those places can get hotter (thus asking for lighter food) and because there’s usually a great supply of fresh seafood.  

And what about the stress? Beaches have breathtaking views that extend over the horizon. Being able to view the ocean from home is a great privilege that many people only dream of and greatly help the population living on the coast – even the ones who don’t exactly live near the ocean but drive by the beach a lot – to have a much less stressful life. That seems like a good benefit of living near the beach, right? The only thing one needs to take care of is the sun exposure. Lots of sunscreen to avoid unhealthy doses of sun, which can lead to skin cancer.

But if this is “living near the beach pros and cons”, we need to talk about what doesn’t work when living near the ocean as well.

The cons of beach living

1. Pricier Housing

Leisure might be more affordable, but of course those many many benefits had to come with a price, right? Living on the coast, the closest you are to the beach the more expensive it is.

Depending on the area, homes for sale can cost millions of dollars. Most homes that are not in that price range are either foreclosures or in a location that is less traveled. But you can always contact a real estate agent to help you find that sweet spot where the price tag is not that high and the distance to the ocean is not that big.

2. Weather

This might come off as strange. You might be thinking “what do you mean? What about those awesome sunny days?!” Yeah, they’re there. However, coastal areas are more prone to natural disasters. If you go to the east coast (and the Mexican Gulf), you’re likely to bump into hurricanes, floods and even other phenomena like the Red Tide.

On the west coast, you have earthquakes and a severe drought. For any of those natural disasters, it can mean more damage to homes and higher expenses with home insurance. In fact, depending on where you’re living on the coast, extra insurance coverage can even be mandatory.  For more reference, visit our worst cities for natural disasters article.

3. More Maintenance

Living on the coast can also mean more maintenance to the home. This is, of course, contingent on how close the home is to the ocean. Homes that are right in front of the crashing waves will see more erosion on barriers that protect the home and backyard from the ocean waves. When waves cause coastal damage, it can result in flooding.

Homeowners near a sandy beach also need to upkeep maintenance so that tracking sand into the home doesn’t become a nuisance. Not to mention that just by being close to it, the air pushes the salt from the ocean inside the home, which accelerates the rusting process of anything metal.

As you see, living near the beach pros and cons is real. There definitely are bad things about living near the ocean. But is a beach house a good investment? Of course it is! There’s a real estate saying that goes “there’s never a bad time to buy; just to sell” and, to houses near the beach this definitely applies.

After all, is there a better way to sit on a property until its value increase than in a bathing suit, holding a mojito with one hand, a great book with the other, that gentle summer breeze blowing on your neck…  not bad at all!