Growing up on a four-mile long barrier island where the beach is one on side and the bay is on the other that can only be accessed by bridge or boat, I think I know a thing or two about what it’s like to live somewhere where most people vacation. Living practically on the beach has so many awesome perks, but with those perks come the unending frustration that everyone constantly feels from Memorial Day through Labor Day. If you grew up in a beach town, chances are you can relate to at least one (but probably all) of these things!
1. Sand. Everywhere.
This one is probably pretty obvious, but needed to be mentioned. There’s sand in your car, on your living room floor (which your mom has yelled at you about a million times), in your hair (no matter how many times you wash it), in your bath tub, in your shoes—you get the idea.
2. Flip flops are year-round attire.
We wear them all year long. People make fun of us, but we don’t care because it’s the closest you can get to being barefoot, which is how you really wish you could walk around.
3. Parking (or lack thereof).
This one is probably the most frustrating of all. To anyone who can park in front of their house year-round: Consider yourself lucky. You dread having to drive anywhere during the summer because you know that the second you pull out of your spot, you’re never getting it back. During the week it’s a toss-up, but on the weekends? FML. This brings me to my next point.
4. We bike everywhere and everywhere.
Having a nice bike in a beach town is probably more important than having a nice car, to be honest. You spend good money on a nice cruiser with a comfy seat because you know that, especially during the summer, it will be your primary mode of transportation. Anytime you asked your parents for a ride anywhere, their first response was always, “Can’t you just ride your bike?” You’ve lost count of the countless nights you spent carting your friends around on your handlebars doing stupid sh** that you probably should have gotten in trouble for, but never did.
5. Tourists never cease to kill your vibe.
Come on, you all know what I’m talking about. Out of towners pour off the trains, off the parkways and out of their cars and their first question is, “Um, where’s the beach?” Dude, the beach is right in front of you. Keep walking until you can’t walk anymore, and don’t ever talk to me again. What started out as a nice bike ride on the boardwalk has turned into sharply swerving every five seconds to avoid hitting people that don’t understand that the bike lane is for—gasp—bikes! Who would have thought?
Oh, I almost forgot—shoobies! "Rocket Power" had it right when they made fun of tourists who come onto the beach wearing socks and sandals.
6. Ocean is greater than the pool.
Every. Single. Time. This choice may not be such a no-brainer to everyone else, but you know that you’d choose the ocean any day of the week. Why dry out your hair and skin in a chemically saturated bath tub when you could dive into a natural, vast, beautiful body of salt water? Let’s be real; hardly anyone you know has a pool anyway. Beach curls and clear skin are just awesome added bonuses.
7. You simultaneously dread and eagerly anticipate the off-season.
We hate the off-season (mid-September through Memorial Day) because it means no more waking up at the crack of dawn to spend the entire day basking in the sun on the beach, but we also can’t freaking wait for it to get here. Why? Because we can park in front of our houses again! We can go to dinner on a Friday night without having to wait an inordinate amount of time. The bars aren’t so packed out that you can’t even breathe, let alone walk around. On the off-season, it’s locals only, and I think we can all appreciate that.
8. There's no place like home.
No matter how much out of towners piss you off, how crowded the summers are, or how far you may end up moving, you know that there is no place like where you grew up. Nothing will ever beat having the beach in your backyard, smelling the salty air every day and falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing a couple of blocks away.
