Where in the world would you live?
 

DH and I are considering relocating. We'd like to be by the ocean in a quaint/historic community that's at least somewhat off the beaten path. We'd need to find someplace affordable where you can get a modest house for under $200K. DH's one caveat is "not in Florida", otherwise, anywhere where there's no snow is OK. Have all of the seaside communities in temperate zones become tourists meccas or gated communities? We currently live in Maui and have decided that this island no longer meets many of our criteria, not just the economic ones. Thank you in advance for allowing us the benefit of your experience.

Ocean Isle, NC or Isle of Palms, SC
would be my choice. Ocean Isle is just up a bit from Myrtle Beach, SC and Isle of Palms is by Charleston.
On the West Coast, from Point Reyes to Mendocino would be my choice.
My only concern, unless other posts have ideas, is finding an ocean location under $200K. I live by the ocean and that would be impossible to find. You might want to consider a condo.

I agree its going to be difficult to find an oceanfront house for that anywhere - unless you mean the community is on the ocena and you wouldn't mind living in a suburb away from the water. Still seems very modest for any sort of house unless you go very far off the beaten track.

You would be hard pressed to find any oceanfront houses for under a million. You could get a nice two bedroom oceanfront condo for around $200,000.

Thanks for your replies. We don't need to be oceanfront, just within 5 miles or so. We'd like to stay away from areas with large apartment buildings and find someplace that's actually charming and affordable, if indeed such a place exists any longer.

walter, if your husband wants to avoid Florida because of the heat in the summer, you probably should scratch all of the southeastern states off your list. May through September it is miserably hot and humid in LA, SC, GA, FL, AL, and MISS.

Actually, it's not the heat or humidity, it's the bugs (far more bugs than Maui) and the building materials (he hates cinderblock houses). After reading that 1/2 of the US population lives within a two hour drive of the ocean, I'm guessing that there are no longer any US coastal areas that are both picturesque and affordable. :(

We used to live on Maui and even though we Floridians have bugs, it's not more than Maui.
I live in a ocean resort community just south of Jacksonville, and although cinderblock homes exist, very few of them are in my area. Most of Florida homes are a mix of all different styles and building materials.