If you’ve read pretty much all of my posts, you’ll know that
I live in the UK. However, I haven’t expressed much that I actually live in
quite a small seaside town on the South-east coast of England. I won’t say
exactly where, for obvious reasons, but it’s about 30-45 minutes from Brighton
by train.
Whenever I meet anyone who doesn’t live by the coast I
always get the typical ’Oh I’d LOVE to live by the sea.’ I get it, I do. I
really take the fact I live near the sea for granted. I’ll start by saying that
I do know how lucky I am and that people would kill to live in the area I do.
BUT, it’s not all fun and games by the sea.
That’s the summary of this post. The good side and the bad
side to living in a seaside town in England.
(PS: To anyone who doesn’t understand ‘Chippies’; it’s slang
for fish and chip shops, which I’ll definitely be getting to later.)
The Good
- It’s pretty. One of my favourite views in the entire world is down my local seafront just as the sun is setting, especially on a clear day. The sky is all different colours and the sea reflects that. But any time of day in pretty much any weather, you can admire the site of the beach and the sea. It really is incredible, and when I move away for university, it’s something that I’m definitely going to miss.
- You can always get a good ice-cream. This is something small but definitely a plus. This applies more in the summer, clearly, but you can still always find an ice-cream in the winter too. I believe personally that the best ice-cream in the world is from a place called Di-Paulos café, which is right near the beach in the centre of my town. It’s run by an Italian family and honestly, I could probably live on their ice cream and the ridiculous amount of flavours they have. So whether you like a bubblegum ice-cream with sprinkles and chocolate, or just a plain old Mr Whippy, you’d get it in a seaside town.
- It’s cool. As in, regarding the temperature. If a rare scorching day comes across England, then by the sea is the best place to be. Not only is it always cooler, but you can bask in the sun on the beach and maybe even take a dip in the sea. It’s great in the summer to just walk from college and chill out on the beach for a while.
- Supposedly it is healthier to live by the sea. I know that research has been done regarding this; however, working in a pharmacy, I struggle to believe this.
The Bad
- SEAGULLS. Although seagulls appear to be popping up across the country now, at the coast we have to deal with them the most. Lots of people call them the ‘vermin of the skies’ and wouldn’t go that far, but they’re certainly a pain. Want to have a bag of chips on the beach? Forget it. You will be surrounded and probably dived on at some point. They seem to not be phased by humans at all. I was sitting in a café just the other day, and a little girl sitting on a table outside had her chips stolen by a seagull! It’s completely crazy.
- To quote ‘Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging’ which was partly filmed in the next town over, it seems tube ‘God’s waiting room’. There are a LOT of elderly people, and although this isn’t that bad in itself, it leads toothier issues. Young people get bored. There is nothing to do, as obviously the town focuses on its elderly residents, so pretty much the beach is the only fun we can have. So yeah, it’s great for retirees but not too great to grow up in.
- Tourists and foreign students. In the summer, it’s a constant sight to see students EVERYWHERE. I get that where I live, it’s not too far to London or Brighton and it’s also cheap to stay, but honestly you can’t keep up. It’s the certain students, not all obviously as it would be wrong to generalise, that are so loud and just generally rude that make summer something to dread a little bit. It’s the same with tourists. The majority are nice and polite, but the odd few clearly just don’t understand English manners. Living in a hot-spot, this is something you have to deal with a lot on the coast, and it becomes very annoying very quickly.
- It’s windy as hell. Due to being by the sea, there’s nothing really protecting our little town from the wind. This can be nice on hot days, as you always get a nice breeze, but on cold days, it’s almost a form of torture to be down the beach. It actually stings your face, and you can guarantee your cheeks will go tomato red. It’s freezing!
- Chippies EVERYWHERE. I think I’ve come to the conclusion there are 4 specific chip shops in our town centre, and many more cafes that offer it. I think it’s a novelty thing really, but they seem to be doing really well. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of fish and chips and I guess there are lots of people who are and living by the sea it can’t get much fresher.
So that’s it! In my personal experience of living in a
seaside town, these are the positives and negatives that I have picked up.
Obviously, this is specific to the town I live in/surrounding towns, so it won’t
be the same everywhere! Overall, I’m happy I live by the sea despite the
negatives and I know I’m very lucky, and I also know I 100% take it for
granted. Living by the seaside is pretty rad, and I think everyone should do it
at least some point in their lives.
Lots of love,
RubyLauren xx
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