Best beach regions

[tom77falcons]

Originally Posted by Gerania

Island Beach State Park! I'd know that place from...an aerial photo.

Yup, and the beach pic is from there as well.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by User_Null

The Gulf/South Atlantic coasts are the best: warm beaches with light sand, and clear water. Anywhere in this zone that lacks these attributes (such as the Georgia, Louisiana, or Texas coasts) does so due to unchecked human interference.

Untrue. What is primarily responsible for the character of their coastlines is the presence of tidal estuaries which define their coastline. "Human interference" has nothing to do with it. Georgia has one of the most unspoiled coastlines in the country, as a matter of fact.

[FloridaBeachBum]

Originally Posted by Citykid3785

If you had to move to a beach region (let's say w/in 1 hr from the ocean), which areas would you consider (taking into account cost of living, natural disasters, crime, jobs, etc.).

My wife is a water girl at heart (currently live in MN, which actually has 55,000 miles of shoreline, but that's for another discussion), and we constantly toy with the idea of moving. We love the twin cities, but we are also wanderlusts to a degree. Which areas would you consider and why?

How is one hour from the Ocean a beach area?

I live 13 miles from the Ocean in my primary house. I also have a beach house at the beach. So my vacation home is 13 miles form my primary home. But a world of difference waking up hearing seagulls and walking to beach than being 13 miles away.

[tom77falcons]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Untrue. What is primarily responsible for the character of their coastlines is the presence of tidal estuaries which define their coastline. "Human interference" has nothing to do with it. Georgia has one of the most unspoiled coastlines in the country, as a matter of fact.

Georgia has a very undeveloped coastline for the most part, and so Texas, and LA. The reason no one wants to go to beaches in LA and never did was the sand and water was so muddy from the MS river. Texas water is murky due to the sediment from the MS river moving westward and settling in the offshore surf zone and it gets stirred up with waves, etc. The further south you go in TX the clearer the water.

GA has a very high tide range which sucks all the marsh water and wetland soils out from behind the barrier islands resulting in water that is brown/tea colored and not attractive for swimming. However, the water is not polluted.

The beaches are nice in and of themselves, but the water does not look subtropical or have any hint or hue of green or blue or any clarity whatsoever. Been there and saw if for myself. Even on Cumberland Island (which was a hassle to get to) the water was just a complete brown river water color the likes of which I have never seen on any other coast. I asked the Natl Park guard about it and he gave me the reason I listed above and said the water is never clear on the GA coast. It's a bit off putting to go to a subtropical beach and see water like that.

And before you state it, yes I am obsessed with the clarity of ocean water I swim in. The beaches of the Med are stunning for that same reason along with Bermuda, Hawaii, Caribbean, etc. I'm not the only one. Just about everyone loves crystal clear blue beach water.