Lake house vs Beach house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about places like Fort Washington, MD (like mentioned in the other thread).

It's a Bay house, but close enough that you will use it all the time and the downsides to that part of MD (lack of amenities - stores and shopping, and schools) aren't a big deal when its a weekend home.

I think being close is really important - anything over an hour and it's going to be tough. Then again, maybe it's my perspective - I would want a weekend beach/lake home vs a beach/lake vacation home that you get to 3-6x a year. I would want 15-20x a year usage (twice a month)

Fort Washington is on the Potomac River. Not the Chesapeake Bay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about places like Fort Washington, MD (like mentioned in the other thread).

It's a Bay house, but close enough that you will use it all the time and the downsides to that part of MD (lack of amenities - stores and shopping, and schools) aren't a big deal when its a weekend home.

I think being close is really important - anything over an hour and it's going to be tough. Then again, maybe it's my perspective - I would want a weekend beach/lake home vs a beach/lake vacation home that you get to 3-6x a year. I would want 15-20x a year usage (twice a month)

Fort Washington is on the Potomac River. Not the Chesapeake Bay.

Yeah you're right - goes to show how much I value the difference btw beach/lake etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're currently building on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis; we live in Tysons so the house will be about 45 mins away with light traffic. The waves are magical; the swimming is lackluster but proximity is the biggest plus. We have young kids so we can still make birthday parties and such and drive back to the bay house for the rest of the Saturday afternoon. Anyone have real-world experience with homes in Annapolis on the Bay?

Tyson's to Annapolis will be a lot more like an hour with light traffic than 45 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beach house for me but they tend to be way more expensive. It would probably have better resale value though. Personally I hate lakes. I hate touching down on the plants. Shudder.

Well at a beach house/ in the ocean, you might get touched by more than plants; like maybe jellyfish or sharks!

There are no saltwater snakes

[Anonymous]

Dude. Mountain house.

[Anonymous]

We live in a lake house and wouldn’t trade it for a beach house. We retired here. We swim in the lake from May through October..... and for those of you who don’t like to “land” on plants - easy solution - wear water shoes.
We chose lake over ocean mainly because of upkeep. A lake house requires almost no maintenance (other than any land-locked home), whereas a beach house requires a good deal of maintenance because of the salty air. And, with young children (and adults as well), you don’t need to worry about rip currents.

I like visiting the ocean. I do like hearing the waves and feeling the breeze, but I much prefer to own a home at the lake.

[Anonymous]

We are also considering, but also including river (such as Deltaville on the Rappahannock River). Any thoughts on this area? If beach we are considering Sandbridge

[Anonymous]

how often do you plan on going to wrightsville per year? are you flying or driving? It can be 7 hours to get there from here and for a weekend- that is a lot of travel.

I grew up there and it is nice but it is by no means the nicest for the distance. If you are planning on flying- I would get a house on the gulf coast of florida because the beaches are so much nicer.

If you are driving- I would go lake house just for the convenience factor.

We have a free place to stay in wrightsville- and we go twice a year because of the distance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a lake house and wouldn’t trade it for a beach house. We retired here. We swim in the lake from May through October..... and for those of you who don’t like to “land” on plants - easy solution - wear water shoes.
We chose lake over ocean mainly because of upkeep. A lake house requires almost no maintenance (other than any land-locked home), whereas a beach house requires a good deal of maintenance because of the salty air. And, with young children (and adults as well), you don’t need to worry about rip currents.

I like visiting the ocean. I do like hearing the waves and feeling the breeze, but I much prefer to own a home at the lake.

Just an FYI, you still do need to worry about rip currents, especially in large lakes. Numerous people die in Great Lakes rip currents every summer. Still a great place to go, just please don't get lulled into thinking that there's no rip danger.

[Anonymous]

I like the smell and views of the ocean more than a lake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make the decision based on commute/accessibility. I grew up with a cottage on the lake - loved it. Now my parents have a beach condo - love it. But both of these places are in non-DC areas of the country where I used to live, and were very accessible from our home. Everyone I know with beach houses near DC have to contend with horrific traffic if they want to get out for just a weekend. Not sure if that's the same with lake places around here. Everyone who has ever owned a second house will tell you that you don't use it much if you have to deal with traffic or get on a plane.

We have both and you need to listen to this advice. Base your decision on commute.

[Anonymous]

DC is too far from any decent ocean or lake location to justify getting a house IMO. Unless you plan to live there over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Lake house is a no brainer. Sea level rise, hurricanes, and homeowners insurance are, and will be continuing to rise as the weather becomes more volatile. The trend is not your friend for a beach house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're currently building on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis; we live in Tysons so the house will be about 45 mins away with light traffic. The waves are magical; the swimming is lackluster but proximity is the biggest plus. We have young kids so we can still make birthday parties and such and drive back to the bay house for the rest of the Saturday afternoon. Anyone have real-world experience with homes in Annapolis on the Bay?

Tyson's to Annapolis will be a lot more like an hour with light traffic than 45 minutes.

Maybe for you. My in-laws live in on the water in Annapolis. We live in McLean, 50 miles away. For 20 years of driving there (mostly weekends), 98% of the time it takes us 50 minutes door to door. One Friday night it took 3 hours.

[Anonymous]

We are aiming for a Chesapeake house. Less issues than the beach (salty air), less traffic, more locations, closer to us (and hence more year round usage), and less hurricane risk.

I'll rent a beach house, but never buy one.