Ain't No Mountain High Enough to Beat a Beach Home

Spencer

June 11, 2025

The age old “would you rather” question asked at parties, sleepovers, and friendly icebreakers: would you rather live at the beach or in the mountains? While some may choose to live in the cool, secluded mountains, others might enjoy the warmth of a calm beach. Personally, while the mountains offer a peaceful, quiet life, I would much prefer living along a hot, beautiful beach. In California, there is a wide variety of mountain and beach real estate, so this choice is far more relevant here than many other places. While mountains are a popular choice, a beach offers far more entertainment and joy than a lonesome mountain. 

First, let's go over the pros of mountain living in California. The Santa Cruz mountains offer a unique array of trees to provide shade during the increasingly warm summers, and provide plenty of habitats for viewing wildlife and nature. A mountain house would be relatively isolated and away from large cities, allowing for more privacy and quietness. The mountains are home to many bird species, perfect for birdwatching, and is home to coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, and other species fun to watch. However, there are multiple downsides to mountain life. With isolation comes distance from some essentials, like hospitals, and requires more time to get help, also from electricity companies and other utilities. Mountain houses are also farther away from each other, leading to less neighborly connections. They are also prone to poorer Wi-Fi and more frequent power outages. 

A beach life offers far more exciting activities and opportunities than a mountain. Many beaches have large cities or towns nearby, due to high tourism and attractiveness. With these cities brings medical care, power, and utilities. Beaches are full of activities and fun attractions, such as boardwalks, surfing, and tide-pooling. Beaches are also home to different kinds of birds, such as seagulls, cormorants, and pelicans for birdwatching, and people can spend their time in tide-pools looking for marine life such as crabs, sea urchins, starfish, and the occasional octopus. Beaches are a very popular hangout spot for families and friends, whether its sand castle building, swimming, or simply tanning in the hot California sun. People could also enjoy fishing from beaches and piers, allowing many people to bring home their own food they gather themselves. Some downsides for a beach house is a lack of peace and quiet, as beaches are often crowded and noisy, they are susceptible to very poor weather if a storm should hit, and are often very expensive and hard to maintain. 

This decision is mostly based on simple personal preferences. There is no real answer to this question, but based on the reasons above, it is my personal belief that a beach house is superior to a mountain house.