I grew up & lived in So Calif for 54 years. With traffic the beaches were at least an hour away & more when I moved out to the desert. I never liked the beaches in calif. The water was too cool for my taste & it wasnt clean. Private beaches were nicer but I just never enjoyed beaches like I do mountain lakes & streams. Now that I really enjoy. My farm in Ky where I moved to 10 years ago has a creek running across the back & a runoff stream running through my woods. Love the sound of a stream more than crashing waves of the ocean.

The interesting ocean experience was at Cabo San Lucas, the tip of Baja Calif, Mexico. The Pacific side. The waves are actually dangerous & have washed people into the sea while on the sea of Cortez side the water is warm, calm, & you can see the fish swiming around you. That was amazing. .

I always loved backpavking into the sierra's & tenting next to glacier fed lakes. The smell of pines was always so much more refreshing to me than the smell of the ocean.

BUT....we all have our personal tastes & it is important to know & to try to fulfill it if possible. Living where you enjoy is very important. I hated living in Los Angeles all my life & leaving was the best thing I ever did....we all need to try to live in a location we enjoy as it makes life so much more fulfilling