Beach Front Property. No Thank You!

I'm doing my best to offgas the new heaters in my house so this morning I turned them on and left for a walk on the beach. Beautiful day. Sunny, but cool. The ocean was gorgeous.

This is the same beach I dig for clams so in the last year I've gotten to know it well. However, it changes constantly. The land has been eroding away for years with houses falling into the ocean every now and then. There is an artist in the area who collects old house wood from this area and makes decorative signs with it. I know of one person who's land is now IN the ocean. He probably could petition the city or county so he doesn't have to pay taxes, but he likes owning ocean. Taxes are only $1 per year. Not sure why they bother.

During this walk I noticed a lot of trees on the beach up ahead. I didn't remember trees when I was here last week so I thought I should go explore.

 

 

Yep, more of the land is being eaten by the waves and the trees on the shore are falling into the water. Big healthy deciduous trees and pine trees with huge roots that could not hold onto the ocean-soaked earth any longer. How sad.

 



Last week, this little building was up on land! I remember thinking it had lots of room, but might not still be standing a year from now. It was either a garage or large garden shed, maybe a small cottage. It's now toast. How scary is that?

This foundation hangs over the ledge waiting for the next high tide and large wave.

 

Houses precariously close to the ledge...that little yellow house only has about ten more feet to go before taking the dive. I doubt if the owners can even sell them and their only option is to wait until the water gets too close for comfort and abandon everything. It makes me wonder about the other houses down the beach that seem to be situated back far enough from the water. Are they at risk, too? Eventually will they end up in the ocean?

 

Can you imagine buying beach front property, building a house, and then slowly watch it destroyed by nature? I wonder what options the owners have? Could they bring in lots of boulders and build some kind of protective wall? Or would the waves destroy it anyway? Maybe it's too costly or the property values aren't worth it? There are warning signs all over stating the sand is unstable and to stay out of the water. People ignorantly ignore these signs and attempt to drive their little foreign cars on the beach. They get stuck in the sand all the time. People don't know how to read...I just laugh.

 

Arrived home a few hours later and the heaters are doing much better. The air still makes my sinuses burn a little, but my heater-induced symptoms are going away. I'm still angry about letting those electricians install cheap heaters I did not want. What was I thinking?