Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Living on the Bay

Here is the bay by my house
 So many  people want to live by the shore but it has distinct disadvantages that are not always evident on the outside.
First, high prices for  what you get. This is true in almost any waterfront community or even semi waterfront community. Tiny cottages like mine, just barely 1089 square feet, can run  you way up there for the privilege of water views or water access or even just living within blocks of the water.
Secondly, hard wood floors take a real beating from tracking in sand. It scours them mercilessly and the humidity can warp woods, and corrode metal and electricity.
It became impossible for me to maintain a telephone land line coming into the house as the lines under the house corrode every so many  years and are expensive to have replaced. Other homes in the area are fine with that, but this house had a problem with it. One section on the ocean side here also has major problems with corrosion of telephone lines too.
Telephone poles have to be above ground as the water table is so high.. hence also no basements around here!
homes on the lagoon(too close together for my taste)
Arthritis and rheumatism are aggravated for those who may have it. When you live on the water especially, even if you have a house on a lagoon, the dampness can be invasive even to the bone.
Mold and mildew can be a constant battle for some people.
The closer you are to the water the more  you will pay for home insurance and some places will not give flood insurance at all, or at least some didn't I don't know about now.
You are vulnerable to wind and water damage during severe tropical storms and nor'easters that can drag away land and pull roofing and shingles right off.
There is always the threat of serious hurricanes and now, as we have seen too often already, tsunamis.
Still want to live by the shore?
Well if you really do want to,  those things are manageable and there are problems in any place  you live. I guess we put up with things to have what matters to us.





8 comments:

  1. Hi Annie,
    Yes we all have a trade off where we live. Where I live which is in a valley we experience much warmer weather than the west side. But I love where I live because I am about an hour away from the mountains with snow, the desert and about 45 minutes from the beach. I know you also love where you live on a bay so it is worth all the problems. 1089 sq feet that is really a cottage but you live alone so I am sure it is fine for you. Hope you have a wonderful day.
    Hugs, Dru

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  2. ... and for me, there's the dreaded fog and overcast days. We live about 20 minutes from Malibu/Zuma Beach and yet we are almost always in the sun. Often we'll head for the beach and run into a fog bank. Jeff's aunt built her own home in gorgeous Carmel but eventually left because of the many foggy, gloomy days that sent her into depression. We have friends who built there home right on the coadst of Oregon and have had all the problems you mention- mold, rust, the roof had to be redone after 2 years and on and on. I'm a beach girl but I don't need to live there. :) (((Hugz)))

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  3. Yes tiny cottage is ok for me and Garfield.
    Fog is not a problem on the east coast as the mid Atlantic warms up more than the Pacific .. up to around 73 or so in summer.
    No gloom here.

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  4. Hi Annie;

    I guess we all have to trade off things to live where we do. I had to trade off living in a hill town on a steep hill and impossible to walk down that hill over a mile to get to a village that has no grocery store and not having a car, I have to depend on a ride to be able to shop once (sometimes twice) a month especially with the price of gas today. I hate the bad winters and the hot summers here. But, I can't afford to live anywhere else. All the reasons you mention and although I love the shore, I would never be able to live there either. LOL! I guess I'm really more of a city girl (can't afford living there either). ;-} Sweet dreams my friend.

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  5. Ciao Annie!
    I guess all places have pros and cons, but oooh yes, I still want to live by the shore ;)
    Sure, not "any" shore; I would pick up a lovely wee place in Italy - no threat of hurricanes there, luckily.
    Have a lovely day!
    *hugs*

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  6. Hi Annie, I'm living 2 miles from the shore so I get to enjoy it but not too close which is not the best place here with the risk of hurricane. I just love where I live, houses are not close together at all which is important to me too. I hope you keep enjoying your cottage by the sea.

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  7. We are going to try beach living next year. It will be a totally new experience for us. We will be in a complex so hopefully the roof problems, if any, will be taken care of.

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  8. I live on the Oregon coast now....this is my second yr. I absolutely adore this place. Yes we get lots of rain and fog and sometimes its hard to deal with. This yr. has been especially bad, even the natives are groaning about it. I take Vit. D and I have found it helps alot. I dont get so mopey or depressed then.

    I am a few blocks from the ocean and on the downside of a big hill. I am lucky. Im in a little micro climate here. When I walk to the top of the hill its cold but on my side its warm. I sit outside at nite on my back deck and most nites can hear the ocean.

    And when I want to go to the beach, I dont have far to go. Its cold here most of the time so beach walking can be hard to do. But because of that, I get the beach to myself most of the time. And sometimes we get warm days when you least expect it so theres no one out there but the locals.

    I grew up in NJ and always loved the shore. Theres just something special about living in a beach town. It swells with people in the summers but then empties out in the winter. The fog rolls in and the rain too......and I crank up the fire place. Its so cozy.

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