Midatlantic East Coast beaches suck.

Signed,
Californian

Nobody refers to the DE and MD beaches as the eastern shore.

We refer to St. Michael’s and other areas on the east side of the Bay Bridge as the Eastern Shore.

Signed,

Lifelong Marylander with deep ties across our beautiful state

Anonymous wrote:I’ve often wondered why people go nuts over Bethany, rehobeth, wildwood, ocean city. If you’ve been to a beautiful beach, you just don’t see any beauty in those places in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland.

I don’t love them, but they have a lot of attractions for our kids, and they’re easy to get to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve often wondered why people go nuts over Bethany, rehobeth, wildwood, ocean city. If you’ve been to a beautiful beach, you just don’t see any beauty in those places in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland.

Nostalgia.

Many of us grew up going to local beaches. Our parents and grandparents went to the same beaches. Some of us have had a beach house in our family for generations. We take our own kids to the same beaches year after year. We get ice cream at the same place each summer. Crabs and Minigolf at the same places. IYKYK.

As beach people, we go out of our way to travel to beaches around the world. We know the beauty of the Caribbean and Mediterranean any beyond, but we don’t have the same nostalgia.

Nostalgia is a lot of it. Many people who grew up here also have family and friends who own places so we are staying for free/cheap. My grandparents bought a place the year I was born and we still have it in the family (I'm 50). Having a free place to stay makes the decision to go there easier. Granted, it's not the South of France but it's a heck of a lot more convenient.

Try Cape May

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve often wondered why people go nuts over Bethany, rehobeth, wildwood, ocean city. If you’ve been to a beautiful beach, you just don’t see any beauty in those places in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland.

Nostalgia.

Many of us grew up going to local beaches. Our parents and grandparents went to the same beaches. Some of us have had a beach house in our family for generations. We take our own kids to the same beaches year after year. We get ice cream at the same place each summer. Crabs and Minigolf at the same places. IYKYK.

As beach people, we go out of our way to travel to beaches around the world. We know the beauty of the Caribbean and Mediterranean any beyond, but we don’t have the same nostalgia.

Exactly. We stay at the same hotel in Rehoboth that I stayed in as a kid when I went with my parents. It's amazing the prices they get away with charging for rooms that are good but not great, but nostalgia is a strong pull, and our kids love it too.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve often wondered why people go nuts over Bethany, rehobeth, wildwood, ocean city. If you’ve been to a beautiful beach, you just don’t see any beauty in those places in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland.

Nostalgia.

Many of us grew up going to local beaches. Our parents and grandparents went to the same beaches. Some of us have had a beach house in our family for generations. We take our own kids to the same beaches year after year. We get ice cream at the same place each summer. Crabs and Minigolf at the same places. IYKYK.

As beach people, we go out of our way to travel to beaches around the world. We know the beauty of the Caribbean and Mediterranean any beyond, but we don’t have the same nostalgia.

I think OBX, especially farther south has gorgeous beaches- but it’s the natural beauty, not beautiful buildings or architecture.

What kind of beauty were you looking for, OP? We were just at the beach in France, and I didn’t find the actual beach to be that pretty, but the buildings and town around were absolutely gorgeous and charming.

I’ve often wondered why people go nuts over Bethany, rehobeth, wildwood, ocean city. If you’ve been to a beautiful beach, you just don’t see any beauty in those places in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland.

As for the Eastern Shore of Maryland generally, you need to consider the history. The area was mostly working class and agricultural before the beaches got popular. There were plenty of plantations, and slavery was a thing.

The people from the DC area would go to beaches along the Chesepeake on our side of the river, like North Beach (which was whites only until about 70 years ago.. the "colored" beach was Carr's Beach), and there was even a train service that ran from DC to North Beach.

Then the Bay Bridge was built and that made it easier to get to the eastern shore from the wealthy DC area. Only then did the beach towns really start to take off, but there wasn't much in the way of urban planning so that is why it's so haphazard.

As for France, the beaches I went to in Nice were so rocky you couldn't walk barefoot. And doesn't nearby Marseille have one of the highest crime rates in France? (Yes, I realize it's still way below the US)

You have to go to the stretch encompassing Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina.
It’s ugly and tacky until you get north of New York. Above New York it gets nice again.

I think the OP is disappointed that the women at US beaches don't go topless as the do in France.

St Michaels, Oxford

Assateague

There is natural beauty between Fenwick and Bethany. The beach is wild. I think it is a park and/or government owned land.

1. Lewes is on the bay not the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a charming town filled with history, but it’s obviously not a beach town in the truest sense.

2. Which French beaches do you hold up as the gold star beach experience? I’m truly curious.

3. I’ve been all over the Med and beaches across Europe and I’m always struck by the litter. The only American beach where I’ve encountered clutter is Miami, and I’ve always attributed that to the international tourists who perhaps don’t know better.

4. America is so vast and expansive that our beaches are dramatically different, each with its own vibe. Dcumlandians tend to be beach snobs: everyone has their favorite beach (which tends to be the one they visited each year while growing up) and they openly criticize the rest. Welcome to the party!

But do the beaches in France have Thrasher’s, Purple Moose Saloon and crabcakes?