Dreaming for a life by the shore

—JOSHUA DUENAS/UNSPLASH

If I had one peso for each time I daydreamed about living right on the beach, I’d surely be a millionaire by now.

And who doesn’t wish for a life by the shore? Especially for someone who’s been landlocked for the past 18 months, the thought of waking up every single day to the sound of rolling waves and the sight of the vivid blue sky greeting you is more than enough to make you beg the heavens to transport you to the beautiful waterfront of Boracay, Baler or Batangas.

Here are a handful of reasons why we find beach life to be the ideal life.

—SHO K/UNSPLASH

Unlimited breeze and sunshine

In the city, unless you are lucky enough to live across a park or on a street with trees, you have to leave the house in search of an area where you can treat yourself to some fresh air. At the beach, you get to breathe all the clean air to your lungs’ content.

Throughout this pandemic, we would often hear of the importance of getting enough vitamin D and having well-ventilated spaces. This also made us realize that bringing in those light gusts of wind indoors isn’t exactly a breeze when you’re in the urban jungle. At your beachside abode, all you need to do is pull the curtains back and open the windows and doors wide and, voila, your home is well aired out. As for your daily dose of sunshine, you only need to step outside and let Mr. Sun’s rays wash over you.

—MARK BROADHEAD/UNSPLASH

Time out in an instant

You no longer have to count the days until you can finally see some sea, sun and sand for a much needed respite. Living by the shore affords you to take that quick breather when things get stressful whether at work, school or life in general. You only have to excuse yourself for a couple of minutes from that Zoom meeting that seems to be getting nowhere, step out of your home office, feel the warm sand on your toes, look out to that sparkling blue surf and take a deep breath of that calming ocean breeze. Stress averted.

— WALDEMAR BRANDT/UNSPLASH

Active living

We all have this image that once we’re by the sea, we’d lounge lazily on a hammock with a good book in hand. But there’s also something about being at the beach that pushes us to be active. Who can say no to the idea of invigorating morning runs along the shoreline, rambunctious beach football matches with your neighbors, and catching your own wave and surfing until you’re stoked?

From engaging in various beach sports to simply running errands via active transportation like walking, cycling or skateboarding, we seem to have more energy and pep when we are at the seaside.

—TOA HEFTIBA/UNSPLASH

Healthy eats

From newly caught seafood to fresh fruits, count on beachside living to supply you with good and healthful fare. And as being outdoors in the sun and sand encourages us to live an active lifestyle, it seems to follow that we become a bit more mindful of what we put in our tummies, too.

Time seems slower

Have you ever noticed how the hours seem to go slower when you are by the sea? While days in the city seem to go by in a flash, days at the beach seem to pass in a more leisurely way. No matter how busy we get, each day by the sea seems to go more quietly and easily. We seem to be blessed with more time on our hands to catch up with family, get together with friends or simply sit back and reflect on the day that took place.

Now, who would not want that?