How often do you actually go to the beach? (San Diego: neighborhood, earthquakes)

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

Thanks for all of the replies. Please, if we could limit this to people who currently live in San Diego County, that would be great.

The purpose is to get a sense of how often people who currently live in San Diego County go to the beach.

That way, people who are picturing themselves moving to San Diego "for the beaches" will get a better sense of how reality matches up with their picture of life here in San Diego County. That might make some people make better informed decisions about where to move.

Aside from people like Cardiff Kook, who surfs, what jumps out at me from the initial replies is how few people actually get in the water at the beach here on a regular basis.

Why do you guys think that is? Is it because of water temps, pollution, or some other factor? It could also be that people just reach a certain age where swimming in the ocean is no longer a thrill.

The other thing that jumps out so far is that even people who live inland still get to the beach. Of course, right now, it is a limited sample. I hope we will get more replies from people who live in different parts of the county so we can see if there's a major difference between coastal and inland folks in terms of spending time on the sand.

Keep the replies coming, San Diegans!

Ok but some of us use San Onofre beach, not just surfers but beach goers and it is one of the most popular beaches in California. It is a San Diego beach in case you didn't know. Entry is in San Clemente and many beach goers to the area come from Long Beach down through OC (most of my neighbor's kids).

I'm wondering how you will get a sense of how only San Diegans use this beach.

[Ilovepahrump]

1. Eastlake

2. Weekly to IB or Coronado. 2ish times a month we'd do a North County beach or PB/MB.

3. Walk the pier, get ice cream, sit on a blanket, watch the sunset, stick feet in the water, look at tidepools, look for seashells, let the kid "swim" around (I use the term swim loosely because she doesn't go past her waist and mostly just splashes around).

4. Remained the same

[sprez33]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

A lot of people say they want to live "close to the beach." After all, that's the vision people from outside of San Diego have of how we spend our time here -- always at the beach.

I'm curious how much time people who live in San Diego actually spend going to the beach.

So, if you are so inclined and currently live in San Diego, please reply to these questions in the thread below:

1. Area of the county where you live

2. On average, how often do you actually spend time on the beach (ocean only please and I am not talking about driving by in a car or on your bike, but actually being on the sand:

Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Yearly
Once in a blue moon

3. When/if you go to the beach, what type of activities do you generally do there?

4. During the time you've lived in San Diego County, have your beach-going habits changed or remained the same?

Good topic, Rosie!

1. Carmel Valley, two miles to the beach 'as the crow flies' and a 5-10 minute drive.

2. We probably get to the beach 4-6 times/year nowadays. A bit less than before because kids are teenagers with activities to attend to that get in the way of beach time.

3. Generally stay active boogie boarding, frisbee, catch, swimming, etc. It's amazing to me that kids who need iPads, Xboxes, etc at home can find hours of joy with just sand and water. Every year on Xmas day we meet another family and walk along the beach and take family pictures, enjoy the winter light.

4. My habit have changed to seeing beach time as time for activities. I grew up in Philly and our beach time was going to the Jersey 'shore' as we called it. What I've noticed is that on the East coast, people go to the beach mainly to socialize and party. On the West coast (the best coast!) people go the beach mainly to play and exercise. These are generalizations of course.

What I do appreciate a lot about living close to the beach is the climate. Even on summer days it's cool at nite. The back of my house looks directly at Torrey Pines beach and I love watching the cooling fog come in overnite, especially on warm/hot summer days.

[Sydney123]

I live a few blocks from the ocean and I go to the beach at least 3 or 4 times a week... ( all year around) depending on how good the surf is.

[loveautumn]

Live about 2 miles from the beach but hardly ever actually get to the sand and water, did when I was younger. I see the ocean maybe a couple times a month for the view and atmosphere. And I do like to eat at restaurants close to the beach, wish I could do it more often. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit how little I actually do visit the ocean...but I do have mountain views which I enjoy every day.

[jdoll88]

I have family down there I should ask them I don't believe they go often. If I could I'd go most weekends or more often for excercise I live near mountains/foothills in another state at the moment and get out for hikes/walks several times a week

[3chidogs]

We retired down here about 4 years ago, after vacationing here every summer for well on 20 years prior. We live in the Loma Portal/Sports Arena/Midway area, about 5-10 minutes from Mission Beach, 5 from Ocean Beach. We make it to the beach pretty much 5 days out of the weeks to walk the dog on the boardwalk during dog ok times. During the summer, I am here almost every weekday, on the beach, in the water 2-3 hours. I avoid weekends, way too crowded. I love it, and it is why we moved here, that and the weather. Beats the triple digits and smog of San Gabriel Valley.

[NewbieHere]

I used to go to the beach daily when I was younger. Now I go mostly in the summer. Maybe a few times a month.

[Jenkay]

1. Area of the county where you live: North Park

2. On average, how often do you actually spend time on the beach (ocean only please and I am not talking about driving by in a car or on your bike, but actually being on the sand:

Weekly (1-3x/week) in summer
Monthly, maybe bi-weekly in winter for walkies


3. When/if you go to the beach, what type of activities do you generally do there?
Walk/hike (Blacks/Torrey pines at least once a week when it's too hot to hike out East after work)
Bodysurf
Boogie board
Snorkel


4. During the time you've lived in San Diego County, have your beach-going habits changed or remained the same?

Pretty much remained the same since I was a kid excepting years when I was like in school and working 3 jobs and just had no time and the year I did chemo.

I work full time in Escondido, so cutting across to the coast after work works just fine for me.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by 3chidogs

We make it to the beach pretty much 5 days out of the weeks to walk the dog on the boardwalk during dog ok times.

Quick question 3chidogs, that is somewhat off topic: What are the dog OK hours on the OB pier? I'd love to take my two pups for a walk on the pier, but I didn't know that it was allowed. (I know about OB dog beach, of course).