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Haven't moved YET... currently live 35 minutes from the coast in NJ. I LOVE the beach, but only when it's not summer/tourist season. I prefer an empty beach, so i tend to visit in autumn or spring.
We are most likely going further inland, so i won't be able to do my day trips anymore....
But since i don't go too often, i'm hoping it won't be too hard.
I was born and raised in So. California just 4 miles from the beach. As a child it was fun and going to the beaches farther south was a great staycation for us. As a parent...I dreaded the beach at times. The time and effort it takes to get four kids (and friends) to and from the beach definitely made it lose its luster. My kids enjoyed it during the summer for sure and have some great memories. When my youngest was going into HS we moved to Austin, TX. He was a surfer/skateboarder and we were happy to remove him for that culture. Luckily we moved near two beautiful lakes which really helped him adjust to Texas living. If you asked any of us now if we missed the beach or CA it would be a resounding NO. In my opinion, I would rather live where the cost of living and quality of life is better and vacation at a beach of my choosing.
OP, I know that you are considering moving to Colorado. I did the same nearly 50 years ago -- moved from the Eastern Seaboard to Colorado. I love Colorado and spent a lot of time in the mountains skiing and hiking. But I always missed not only being close to the ocean but also just the lush greenness of the east coast. Colorado is very dry and trees are sparse. Winters on the plains (where Denver and Colorado Springs are) are brown. But, the weather is so much better with the lack of humidity, so it's all a trade-off. BTW, there are some discussions on the Colorado City-Data forum about moving from the east coast. I suggest you do a search.
When we retired, I wanted to be closer to the ocean again. We are now snowbirds, spending most of the year in Hawaii and the summers in the mountains of Colorado. Best of both worlds!
Summers in Colorado are nice and winters can be too long for a summer activities and sports person.
I moved from an "Ocean" state to a place hours from the coast and within the same state. I miss the ocean although I prefer Oregon's beaches to WA where I am now (I used to live 2 blocks from the beach in OR). I did have access to the beaches of WA when I lived there, but there weren't really my jam.
I'm not sure I could have dragged myself away from the Oregon Coast! I grew up in Massachusetts, and spent most of my teen years at New Hampshire beaches, which were so cold, but loved it anyway! Moved to Washington State at age 19, and agree with you that beaches there are not that great, so always headed to Oregon. Now, having retired to Ohio, I am satisfied with Lake Erie being almost close enough to walk to. I can't handle the heat like I could when I was younger, so even if I had a beach close by, I probably couldn't spend hours there now. Glad I had the chance to experience both the Atlantic and Pacific in my younger days!
I was born and raised in So. California just 4 miles from the beach. As a child it was fun and going to the beaches farther south was a great staycation for us. As a parent...I dreaded the beach at times. The time and effort it takes to get four kids (and friends) to and from the beach definitely made it lose its luster. My kids enjoyed it during the summer for sure and have some great memories. When my youngest was going into HS we moved to Austin, TX. He was a surfer/skateboarder and we were happy to remove him for that culture. Luckily we moved near two beautiful lakes which really helped him adjust to Texas living. If you asked any of us now if we missed the beach or CA it would be a resounding NO. In my opinion, I would rather live where the cost of living and quality of life is better and vacation at a beach of my choosing.
Much of this is contingent on family-situation. Coastal areas, being more crowded and more expensive, don't lend themselves to the raising of families. Instead, family-people might find more opportunities, comforts and cost-savings inland, where land is cheaper and more open, and it's just safer and less bustling to raise kids.
But consider... if oc2nyc never had kids, and were a a surfer/skateboarder him/herself, how would the social-dynamic and the lifestyle-dynamic have been different?
As a child-free person, I found it difficult to identify with my coworkers and peers, most of whom came from larger families, and had kids of their own. Their lives revolved around children, parents (theirs) and later grandchildren. Some had boats, which they'd take on familty trips to the local small lake or manmade reservoir. There was a small sandy manmade beach nearby - nothing grand, but functional. So the point is less about literal access to water and to waves and ocean sunsets, than the prevailing culture... in a nutshell, Coastal vs. Heartland. Heartland culture favors family-oriented life. Coastal culture favors... other things.
I moved from CA to VT but I never went to the beach that often in CA because it was a long drive from where we lived. Lake Champlain here in VT may as well be the ocean. It's huge. But I DO miss the ocean.
I moved from central California (around 3 hours to the ocean) to Wyoming. I don't miss the ocean at all. I've always been a mountain loving gal. Give me a creek, a river, or a lake to play in and I'm happy.
It doesn't help that the last time I took the kids to the ocean, right before we moved here, my kid stepped on a sting ray and it zapped her good. She cried for three hours straight and was in the most pain she's ever been in in her life. So yeah, not missing the ocean much after that traumatic experience.
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