@pmarin@Star2236@Tadlem43 I do miss the gulf from the 80s/90s. The last time I was in Destin, over 20 years ago, I was really sad at how touristy and overcrowded it had become. I think what I appreciate about the beaches here is whilst they are infinitely colder, they don’t have the same crowding issue with development and overcrowding for the most part.
They’ve replaced most of the motels with big resort buildings, the Miracle Strip Amusement Park is long gone, and Apalachicola Bay oysters are no longer plentiful and cheap, but the beach is the same, and Goofy Golf is still there.
@craigthom I’m in Dallas now, but I moved here from PCB. That was in the early 80’s. Great place to be!!
I spent many nights on the long pier, sipping wine, watching the stars and ships, and…uh…never mind. lol
@craigthom@Tadlem43 Around here it’s the mountains where you drive up to watch the stars … and as my high school boyfriend liked to say, “view the submarine races.”
Atlantic beaches (save for southern states) seem to be rocky, gray and cold. Pacific beaches are sandy, gray and cold. I voted Pacific, but now I’m not so sure either one rules.
@widijaz The Pacific has too many steep cliffs that can be too easily driven off the side, resulting in the car not being visible from the road, so even if you happen to survive the drop but you’re trapped, you’re screwed. No thanks!
@FightingMongoos I hated going to the beach when I lived in Florida. When it’s hot and humid outside the last thing I want to do is take a bath. The water wasn’t refreshing. I preferred to stay home in the AC.
I grew up in a country where all the beaches in the Pacific side had black sand from the volcanic activity, so you’d always get burned if you walked barefoot on dry places. When I moved to another country that bordered the Atlantic, I was mesmerised by the white sand beaches there and how clear the sea was (probably because he was no black background, making things difficult to see).
They both have different appeals. And yes, the gulf/southern state coasts should be broken out separately. Rocky shorelines are fun for beachcombing, tide pools etc. Long sandy beaches like the gulf are great for extended walks and playing in the water, paddleboards etc… All depends on the activity you plan to do once you get to the beach.
Gillian’s Beach House in Modesto California was my favorite. It was an indoor bar and grill filled with sand and all the trimmings that come with a beach; tiki huts, cabanas, beach volleyball, etc. All in air conditioned comfort. Great live entertainment there too.
I prefer the West Coast (based solely on the length of the drive for me to get there).
My overall favorite beaches are in New Zealand, but that is an even longer drive.
@dfknldaroih45 As a MidWestener I really enjoy a Great Lake! I’ve been to both coasts ,so I’ve experienced the rocky beaches in the east and ruff surf in the west. But Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean rocks!
@jkawaguchi
Especially given the fact that each island has different types of beaches. The volcanic activity on the big island of Hawaii makes those beaches so much different than they are in Kauai for instance.
@chienfou@jkawaguchi I’m super excited as I finally get to go and stay on Kauai! My friend’s family have an ancestral home on the beach and she’s been promising to invite me for years. She finally did so I’m off in September sans children. I’m so stoked! Not sure if I’m more excited for the hiking or the constant crashing of the waves.
We won’t discuss my irrational fear of shark attack in open water however…. Thanks Mr Spielberg for that one! Gonna need a bigger boat!
@sillyheathen
You will love kauai. Make sure you visit the Grand canyon of the Pacific. Also make sure you make it a point to go to some of the farmers markets. All the fresh produce and flowers are to die for. Enjoy your trip. Traveling without your kids is often a guilty pleasure.
Bring or rent snorkel gear. The water is super clear and I can assure you you’ll have enough visibility that you won’t have to worry about sharks sneaking up on you. I see much more shark activity in the Caribbean than I ever did around Hawaii…
@chienfou I’m getting pretty giddy. The house is in the south of the island. There’s access to Baby Beach from the backyard. And I’ll have pretty rad guides as the house and land has been in their family for many generations. I’ll be doing lots of non touristy touristy things. All the hiking! Also snorkeling. It’s funny. When I’m in the water, I’m fine. I’m only uneasy treading water. I will happily swim with sharks. I just don’t want them swimming under me when I can’t see them.
I’m really looking forward to it because the only other time that I’ve been there was on Maui for my sister’s wedding. That went from a simple affair on the beach to a 40k affair at sunset with catered dinner. I love her but she was an absolute bridezilla. I think my parents spent less than 10% of that on our wedding.
Any part of any coast that isn’t overgrown with houses, cabins, hotels and tourists.
Well and as a secondary factor is that the water isn’t so cold that I can’t convince myself to swim in it. ALTHOUGH there are parts of the coast that are incredibly beautiful to look at that there is no way I’d swim there since my legs get red from the cold just wading in the water.
And I really like looking at any coast from any of the tall ships I have worked on.
I will choose any location over a humid one. People think I’m crazy when I say 110 in the shade in Phoenix is better than some place at 90 with humidity. In the desert, your body’s cooling system, sweating, actually works.
@ratman But we have to cross another country or ocean to get there. It’s almost like the US / Russia DMZ with bears and moose, even Meh barely ships there.
Guard!!
Downhill.
KuoH
I strongly suspect that one’s opinion on this will be heavily influenced by the land along the ocean.
@haydesigner Odd since they would be equally wet.
KuoH
Nothing of that I need to support, it’s just a fact
The Atlantic coast smells fishier than the pacific coast.
@Katyboomboom do you prefer fishier or less fishy.
Sunset over the water is better than sunrise.
@Pavlov That’s not a sunset, it’s an inbound tsunami.
KuoH
@kuoh @Pavlov You can’t have a sunset without a sunrise.
I am very happy to leave the coasts to those who live on them, I’ll stay in my triple landlocked state happily.
The Gulf.
Why is that not an option??
@Tadlem43 was thinking that! Scenically and swimmingly not my vote, but gulf seafood and Cajun cuisine is the best.
@pmarin @Tadlem43 having grown up on the gulf and now living in the PNW, I concur.
@pmarin @sillyheathen @Tadlem43
I prefer the golf also.
@pmarin @Star2236 @Tadlem43 I do miss the gulf from the 80s/90s. The last time I was in Destin, over 20 years ago, I was really sad at how touristy and overcrowded it had become. I think what I appreciate about the beaches here is whilst they are infinitely colder, they don’t have the same crowding issue with development and overcrowding for the most part.
@Tadlem43 Squeaky white sand for the win!
I grew up in Georgia, so PCB was the place to be.
They’ve replaced most of the motels with big resort buildings, the Miracle Strip Amusement Park is long gone, and Apalachicola Bay oysters are no longer plentiful and cheap, but the beach is the same, and Goofy Golf is still there.
@craigthom I’m in Dallas now, but I moved here from PCB. That was in the early 80’s. Great place to be!!
I spent many nights on the long pier, sipping wine, watching the stars and ships, and…uh…never mind. lol
@craigthom @Tadlem43
Around here it’s the mountains where you drive up to watch the stars … and as my high school boyfriend liked to say, “view the submarine races.”
Atlantic beaches (save for southern states) seem to be rocky, gray and cold. Pacific beaches are sandy, gray and cold. I voted Pacific, but now I’m not so sure either one rules.
@widijaz The Pacific has too many steep cliffs that can be too easily driven off the side, resulting in the car not being visible from the road, so even if you happen to survive the drop but you’re trapped, you’re screwed.
No thanks!
I like the Atlantic better. Especially the warm waters of Florida. The Pacific coast has its charm but it’s too chilly for me.
@FightingMongoos Carpinteria Beach, south of Santa Barbara, is nice and warm. And calm.
@FightingMongoos I hated going to the beach when I lived in Florida. When it’s hot and humid outside the last thing I want to do is take a bath. The water wasn’t refreshing. I preferred to stay home in the AC.
I grew up in a country where all the beaches in the Pacific side had black sand from the volcanic activity, so you’d always get burned if you walked barefoot on dry places. When I moved to another country that bordered the Atlantic, I was mesmerised by the white sand beaches there and how clear the sea was (probably because he was no black background, making things difficult to see).
Pacific.
No bath water and a lot less hurricaney.
They both have different appeals. And yes, the gulf/southern state coasts should be broken out separately. Rocky shorelines are fun for beachcombing, tide pools etc. Long sandy beaches like the gulf are great for extended walks and playing in the water, paddleboards etc… All depends on the activity you plan to do once you get to the beach.
The West Coast is the best coast.
@Fuzzalini Their sidewalks have the best poop.
@Fuzzalini damned straight!
rollercoaster
Gillian’s Beach House in Modesto California was my favorite. It was an indoor bar and grill filled with sand and all the trimmings that come with a beach; tiki huts, cabanas, beach volleyball, etc. All in air conditioned comfort. Great live entertainment there too.
I prefer the West Coast (based solely on the length of the drive for me to get there).
My overall favorite beaches are in New Zealand, but that is an even longer drive.
@macromeh …and wetter
Why choose? 1300+ miles to either.
@dfknldaroih45 As a MidWestener I really enjoy a Great Lake! I’ve been to both coasts ,so I’ve experienced the rocky beaches in the east and ruff surf in the west. But Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean rocks!
@jkawaguchi
Especially given the fact that each island has different types of beaches. The volcanic activity on the big island of Hawaii makes those beaches so much different than they are in Kauai for instance.
@chienfou @jkawaguchi I’m super excited as I finally get to go and stay on Kauai! My friend’s family have an ancestral home on the beach and she’s been promising to invite me for years. She finally did so I’m off in September sans children. I’m so stoked! Not sure if I’m more excited for the hiking or the constant crashing of the waves.
We won’t discuss my irrational fear of shark attack in open water however…. Thanks Mr Spielberg for that one!
Gonna need a bigger boat! 
@sillyheathen
You will love kauai. Make sure you visit the Grand canyon of the Pacific. Also make sure you make it a point to go to some of the farmers markets. All the fresh produce and flowers are to die for. Enjoy your trip. Traveling without your kids is often a guilty pleasure.
Bring or rent snorkel gear. The water is super clear and I can assure you you’ll have enough visibility that you won’t have to worry about sharks sneaking up on you. I see much more shark activity in the Caribbean than I ever did around Hawaii…
@chienfou I’m getting pretty giddy. The house is in the south of the island. There’s access to Baby Beach from the backyard. And I’ll have pretty rad guides as the house and land has been in their family for many generations. I’ll be doing lots of non touristy touristy things. All the hiking! Also snorkeling. It’s funny. When I’m in the water, I’m fine. I’m only uneasy treading water. I will happily swim with sharks. I just don’t want them swimming under me when I can’t see them.
I’m really looking forward to it because the only other time that I’ve been there was on Maui for my sister’s wedding. That went from a simple affair on the beach to a 40k affair at sunset with catered dinner. I love her but she was an absolute bridezilla. I think my parents spent less than 10% of that on our wedding.
@chienfou this is the house we’ll be staying at.
@sillyheathen
That’s so cool. Enjoy!
The middle coast, west is lake Michigan and east is lake Huron, and north is lake Superior. Unsalted, no sharks, no poisonous creatures.
@hjrodgers
And no lifeguards
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2025/07/20/lake-michigan-drownings-lifeguards-beaches/83214223007/
Emerald.
Any part of any coast that isn’t overgrown with houses, cabins, hotels and tourists.
Well and as a secondary factor is that the water isn’t so cold that I can’t convince myself to swim in it. ALTHOUGH there are parts of the coast that are incredibly beautiful to look at that there is no way I’d swim there since my legs get red from the cold just wading in the water.
And I really like looking at any coast from any of the tall ships I have worked on.
Lake.
As a Great Lakes resident: North Coast
Pacific: no humidity.
I will choose any location over a humid one. People think I’m crazy when I say 110 in the shade in Phoenix is better than some place at 90 with humidity. In the desert, your body’s cooling system, sweating, actually works.
@die13lda As a Georgia native, I agree, although you have to drink a lot of water when your sweat evaporates as soon as it hits the air.
@craigthom @die13lda
Actually I still have to drink a lot of water here in Central Alabama … it just doesn’t evaporate and leaves me wringing wet!
Why not the Arctic Coast?
@ratman Well if we’re going to go abroad, I’d vote for the Amalfi Coast. Not that I’ve ever been there in real life either.
KuoH
@kuoh @ratman The Mediterranean coast of Spain has some marvelous beaches too.
@kuoh Not abroad. Alaska is the good ol’ USA!
@ratman But we have to cross another country or ocean to get there. It’s almost like the US / Russia DMZ with bears and moose, even Meh barely ships there.
KuoH
Having lived on both, I prefer Pacific. Not sure if it’s nostalgia or what, but I love the way the waves come in on the west coast.
@Thumperchick you can come stay in the less murdery shed once it’s finished, if you ever need a fix!
