Second home - which beach? Help please.

[Anonymous]

Daydreaming, but realizing I want to make this happen. I grew up going to Ocean City, MD. It's not the same anymore - lots of folks will say that. But how is North Ocean City? Fenwick? Selbyville (just hearing of this)? Ocean View? and possibly Rehoboth? I want to get a small second home to escape to. DH is still working for the next 6 years, but I want a place to get away from the DMV.

Are there other places I'm missing? OBX too far? What about the MD eastern shore? Virginia Northern Neck?

Life has been too much. I don't want to wait to walk on the beach and get away from the DMV. Any suggestions, recommendations and even cautionary tales.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Bethany!

[Anonymous]

Think of the drive. Pick an easy pleasant drive. When you are 75 you want easy.

[Anonymous]

What is your budget and how close do you need to be to the beach? Ocean View and Selbyville are fine but they are miles from the beach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethany!

This but not many people can afford it. Plus there is almost no properties listed there ever. People are hanging onto it.

[Anonymous]

Why does it have to be a beach?

I grew up in a beach town and love the beach but when it came time to buy a second home decided to look west of the DMV and not east.

Why?

First, I'd only want a beach house that's actually ocean front. If I can't look out my front window and actually see the ocean, it just wouldn't do it for me. And ocean front in DE and MD cost millions and millions and just isn't worth that much to me.

Second, for several months around here the beach is too cold even to take a pleasant walk on, then again actually sit on. And the beach towns themselves are dead, with the majority of the shops and restaurants largely if not entirely closed down and the majority of the year round residents being either old AF or MAGA or both.

We ended up buying a 5000 SF house with a pool on seven acres less than two hours west of downtown DC (even on a bad traffic day) for well under $1 million. On top of that, we can walk in about 15 minute into a quaint but perfectly big enough downtown where good and varied bars and restaurants are open year round and where you'll see people of every age and not just the blue heads. And it's not MAGA. It went 80 percent for Harris in 2024.

Had you asked me back in the day if I could ever be happier with a second home to the west of the DMV than to the east I'd say no way. But now I know I made the right decision.

[Anonymous]

Why wouldn't you just get a place in OC? It's the most affordable by far and it's only a few blocks wide so you'd be able to walk to the ocean from anywhere. Rehoboth is extremely expensive unless you want to drive to the beach. Traffic there is horrible. I also grew up going to OC and I don't think it's that different. You never have to go to the boardwalk, just look at the ocean from your balcony.

[Anonymous]

If you want the beach OP ignore the poster who sounds disgruntled and went west instead. Shecould have pointed out what she likes about it without making up stuff about the beaches.
We bought a Condo we love in Rehoboth in 2019. It’s a mile from the beach but has a pool and easy access to the bike trail.
We go a lot in the off season as well as the summer. We have dogs. So in the mornings I love taking them to Dewey Beach where they can run of leash. It’s all dog people, and has become my happy place and how I start my day down there.
The restaurants are 90% open year round. The downtown shops are about 90% open in the fall and spring and maybe 70% in Jan and Feb.
we are a gay couple and had no issues with maga anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethany!

This but not many people can afford it. Plus there is almost no properties listed there ever. People are hanging onto it.

+1. Bethany for sure. Quiet, laid back but close to everything.

Properties do go up for sale sometimes but you have to vigilant and jump on it. Goes under contract fast if move in ready.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your budget and how close do you need to be to the beach? Ocean View and Selbyville are fine but they are miles from the beach.

OMG no, Selbyville is way too far. Ocean view closer but you have to drive to the beach and traffic and parking is very difficult.

Ideal is to buy within town limits which is walkable to the beach. If you don’t want to walk, there is the trolley and so easy. The kids love the trolley.

You could also buy in South Bethany which is walkable to the beach but not town.

Or if you can drop 5-10 million, you can buy in North Bethany and be on or few houses to your own basically private beach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does it have to be a beach?

I grew up in a beach town and love the beach but when it came time to buy a second home decided to look west of the DMV and not east.

Why?

First, I'd only want a beach house that's actually ocean front. If I can't look out my front window and actually see the ocean, it just wouldn't do it for me. And ocean front in DE and MD cost millions and millions and just isn't worth that much to me.

Second, for several months around here the beach is too cold even to take a pleasant walk on, then again actually sit on. And the beach towns themselves are dead, with the majority of the shops and restaurants largely if not entirely closed down and the majority of the year round residents being either old AF or MAGA or both.

We ended up buying a 5000 SF house with a pool on seven acres less than two hours west of downtown DC (even on a bad traffic day) for well under $1 million. On top of that, we can walk in about 15 minute into a quaint but perfectly big enough downtown where good and varied bars and restaurants are open year round and where you'll see people of every age and not just the blue heads. And it's not MAGA. It went 80 percent for Harris in 2024.

Had you asked me back in the day if I could ever be happier with a second home to the west of the DMV than to the east I'd say no way. But now I know I made the right decision.

7 paragraphs but can’t name the place. She is looking for a place

[Anonymous]

We had a house at Bethany for 12 years and enjoyed it when our kids were younger.

As they got into their teens we used it less and less as they were bored there.

It was great while it lasted, and we made a ton of money when we sold it this fall.

Fun times, great investment all around.

We did not rent it out. Would have made 3x as much but we basictlived there in summers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a house at Bethany for 12 years and enjoyed it when our kids were younger.

As they got into their teens we used it less and less as they were bored there.

It was great while it lasted, and we made a ton of money when we sold it this fall.

Fun times, great investment all around.

We did not rent it out. Would have made 3x as much but we basictlived there in summers.

So where would you get it now?

[Anonymous]

Think about what you want-- you obviously need to balance things like how long it takes to drive, how close you are to the beach, and cost.

For example, I think Ocean Pines is nice because it's wooded, near the water and (most of the time) it is only about 20 minutes to either Ocean City or Assateague, but some people really want a beach house where they can walk to the beach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does it have to be a beach?

I grew up in a beach town and love the beach but when it came time to buy a second home decided to look west of the DMV and not east.

Why?

First, I'd only want a beach house that's actually ocean front. If I can't look out my front window and actually see the ocean, it just wouldn't do it for me. And ocean front in DE and MD cost millions and millions and just isn't worth that much to me.

Second, for several months around here the beach is too cold even to take a pleasant walk on, then again actually sit on. And the beach towns themselves are dead, with the majority of the shops and restaurants largely if not entirely closed down and the majority of the year round residents being either old AF or MAGA or both.

We ended up buying a 5000 SF house with a pool on seven acres less than two hours west of downtown DC (even on a bad traffic day) for well under $1 million. On top of that, we can walk in about 15 minute into a quaint but perfectly big enough downtown where good and varied bars and restaurants are open year round and where you'll see people of every age and not just the blue heads. And it's not MAGA. It went 80 percent for Harris in 2024.

Had you asked me back in the day if I could ever be happier with a second home to the west of the DMV than to the east I'd say no way. But now I know I made the right decision.

7 paragraphs but can’t name the place. She is looking for a place

2 sentences and added no value to the thread.