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Ocean2026, Rockport and Port Aransas are two of my favorite coastal towns as well. As far as Deep South Texas goes, Port Isabel can be nice...South Padre Island is a little too resort-feeling to me. Same with Galveston (though I do like Galveston's historic district - the Strand). Galveston also has Moody Gardens which really appeals to the science nerd in me.
Some of the towns in the Florida Panhandle are also quite nice...check out Gulf Breeze, FL next time you are in that area.
The Chesapeake Bay area is nice, too...different than the other areas we are discussing, because it's more of a fishing/boating area than a beach area, but the small towns definitely have a coastal vibe to them
I think the most overlooked, and possibly steals of beaches would be St. Augustine, FL. and Flagler Beach, FL. Saint Augustine is full of overpriced ritzy areas, but also there are many affordable places in that area, and the town is beautiful. Also the Cape May area of New Jersey. The southern tip of NJ has some very freindly community like costal towns, and decient beaches at a lower cost than the more congested ones further north. South Padre Island is also on my list. The weather can get scorching there in the heat of the summer, but the springs, and falls are super plesant!
I really like Bar Habor. That's a nice village-y type of small town on the coast. I went in the late fall, so it was pretty deserted, but still pretty nice considering it was empty and cold. I can imagine it's a lot nicer in the summer. You can also stop by L.L Bean It's also not far from the Village Candle factory (my favorite candle brand) Lots of places for me to go to in Maine when I'm vacationing there.
I guess all of the Maine Coast is beautiful. I really enjoy a weekend or so there (maybe a week) but not too much more. It's a little too quiet for my tastes.
I have only been to a few places on Long Island, but what I saw was really nice. It's beautiful. the Northern portion of the island reminds me a lot of Cape Cod and Southern New England's coast.
The islands in S.E. Mass are beautiful too. Nantucket and Martha's Vinyard... can't go wrong there.
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Originally Posted by lrfox
I guess all of the Maine Coast is beautiful. I really enjoy a weekend or so there (maybe a week) but not too much more. It's a little too quiet for my tastes.
That's what's nice about it It's nice to get away from NYC sometimes and go somewhere quieter
And their coastal towns (the topic of this thread) are the most godawful ugly places on earth.
Apparently you don't have any actual experience with N.C. coastal towns. There are many towns there that were founded during America's Colonial Period, like Wilmington, New Bern, Morehead City, Kitty Hawk, Edenton, Washington, Elizabeth City, Nags Head, Beaufort, Manteo...etc. The coastal cities and towns in N.C. are beautiful and historic, and haven't been overrun with hotel/vacation home development like some other coastal cities and beaches. There is a ton of pristine land, like the Outer Banks and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and Ocracoke, Roanoke, Figure Eight, Emerald Isle, Bald Head, Topsail, and other barrier islands.
It's just irritating when someone makes such an ignorant comment for no real reason.
We've been almost everywhere along the East Coast and our favorite places, in terms of weather and beauty of nature, are in the SC Lowcountry. A lot of them were already mentioned here.
We finally chose NE Florida (for retirement) because it's close to a big city.
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It's also not far from the Village Candle factory (my favorite candle brand) 
Lots of places for me to go to in Maine when I'm vacationing there.
It's nice to get away from NYC sometimes and go somewhere quieter 
