Living in a car at the beach?

[Firewoman]

Does anyone live in a car at the beach? I love the beach and maybe I would like living there. I currently live in the mountains. I don't really care for my hometown.

 

[lenny flank]

Most beaches will not let you overnight there.

 

[B and C]

South Texas does allow beach camping.  Not sure of other places.  Be sure to have a way to get unstuck.

Edit to add:  You are camping on the beach, not living there.  The words you use make a big difference.

 

[Elbear1]

Heres what i found in all this lifestyle. The places you like are usually the places most everyone also likes. And most of those places are made off limits. Camping near water exists out there but 98% of the time its off limits.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

there many people that "stealth" or "blacktop" in and around beach cities and enjoy their days by the beach. so depending on what you mean by live at the beach, ya it is possible.

i have a friend, young retirement aged that lives in a minivan in north west oregon. for the most part she spends most of her free time at one of the local beach parks. then at the end of the day she heads back into town to find a spot to sleep for the night. she also has a few friends in the general area where she might spend some time and some days are spent doing city things. some times she does have to drive a half hour or more from the beach to get to a parking lot or area she feels comfortable staying over in.

i also have a friend that travels alot, all over in a class B motorhome, alot of the time he does what he calls "blacktopping". he spends all day down at the beach or doing what he wants. then heads up into towns and neighborhoods to sleep parked on the street. if he rolls in fairly late and just parks and goes right to sleep. then as soon as he gets up in the morning just drives away to some park or other location to have breakfast and start the day he doesnt have any problems. he does not do that as his sole means of living. i think he has a sticks and bricks but travels extensively. when there are campsites available where wants, like right on the beach at the campground in brookings oregon, he will get a space for a few days. but when in places campgrounds are sparse/full/or rediculously expensive. thats when he "blacktops" to be able to be where he wants to be

you can do it, it take some knowledge/experience and the right attitude, but it can be done

 

[bullfrog]

Tioga George was an expert at this and he was in a class C. His site is still up but dated even though he is gone sadly.

 

[Firewoman]

Thanks for the replies. Doesn't look like it would be a good idea if I'm living in my car. But if I wait until I get my disability (in 2 months I hope), I can buy my van and a Thousand Acres Camping Pass and live near a beach. That is certainly doable.

 

[maki2]

you must mean
Thousand Trail, not Thousand Acres. Lots of rules about staying at those facilities and how long you can stay and how long you have to wait before you can stay again. Read the fine print carefully.

Perhaps you could do work camping instead. For instance in some states there are a lot of lighthouses and they need work campers to help with the gift shop and tours. Naturally light houses are right by the water. A limiting factor for that work is for tall lighhouses a tour guide has to be able to climb all those stairs without any trouble.

 

[maki2]

Washington, Oregon, California all have work camping jobs for waterfront locations. I would imagine a lot of the coastal states have such jobs.

 

[GraceinMotion]

My brother camp hosted in OR and said there's a several year waiting list to host at lighthouse and beach locations.

 

[LoupGarou]

Head on down into Baja Mexico. Lots of sandy beachs down there.

 

[poot_traveller]

I plan to live near the beach as well, in my van. The main spot I chose is ten metres from the beach so when I wake up in the morning I can drink my coffee and have a great view.

Oh yeah, and I can do some kontiki fishing and not have to drive home afterwards.

 

[user 423]

Salty air near the ocean can be rough on your vehicle. Not just the finish and chrome but also the electrical connections.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

salty air is good for my soul. i would rather rust away a car at the beach than rust away from road salt in the snow country

millions of people live near beaches and cars from those areas have less issue with rust then the aptly named rust belt.

sure if you want your car to never rust you could live in the aird desert south west. but i value my serenity far more than the finsih on my car. i am just not materialistic enough

 

[highdesertranger]

around southern California there is a huge difference between the vehicles that are 10 miles and under from the coast and those that are 20 miles and over. after 10 years it's really obvious. when I was young and dumb I drove on beach sand, never again. highdesertranger

 

[Numpty]

I am living at the beach right now in a station wagon with black curtains.
I'm in Australia and have been staying at beaches South of Sydney. Coastal country beaches are more laid back.
You'd never get away with it at the popular city beaches.

One thing I look for when choosing a spot is a public boat ramp for launching boats.
It is quite normal for cars to be parked there overnight while people are out on their boats, they usually have toilets and fresh water.
Carparks at small local beaches are nicer. Try to find a carpark out of sight from residential houses, they are the ones that might complain.
My rule of thumb is 1. Everything stays in the car, I don't drag out coolers and storage tubs where I'm parked. If I need to reorganize the car I'll do it somewhere else and then drive in. And absolutely no litter, if I find litter near the car I'll clean it up so it looks better.
2. I don't cook, drink or socialize near the car, I do those things further away and then return to the car just to sleep.

The beach park I'm at now has free electric BBQ's and fresh running water.

 

[user 23166]

Salty air near the ocean can be rough on your vehicle. Not just the finish and chrome but also the electrical connections.

shouldn't be a problem if you do a complete car wash including undercarriage once a week....but as someone with COPD, the beach is the absolute BEST place to be for people like me

 

[WanderingRose]

You can camp on the beach for free at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas.

I was there in January.

The sand is smooth and packed, risk of getting stuck is minimal, and tho there are a fair number of people doing it there are so many miles that you don’t feel crowded.

The sand is hard on your vehicle, making it a great place to visit but not necessarily to live.

In my opinion.

 

[INTJohn]

I hang in my truck on or very near beaches all over murahka. Frum Nov '18 to May '19 I prolly was at a hundred. Sometimes 2 or 3 a day; other times I'll stay at one for a week. Frum San Diego to Salton Sea to South Padre and then bounced along the entire Gulf Coast to Key West, then up the Atlantic coast to North Carolina's Outer Banks.......... Do this every winter.

Its not as difficult or expensive as many believe. As far as SPI & Padre Island Nat. Seashore; tiz 1 a my main places. Yeah, you'll get salt all over your vehicle from driving thru the water, wet sand and spray but you simply go to a self serv car wash & do ur thing. As soon as you go over the bridge leaving Padre Sea shore theres a self serv car wash that has an under carriage spray too........... The salt frum there is nowhere near what one drives thru during winter in Michigan, tho. Give the entire vehicle a shower once a week-good to go. Course my truck has been under coated too but I still hose it all off.

Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and yes Florida too - entire Gulf Coast. I know many places across all these states where you can park all night right on the beach or so close to it it still counts and I've never been bothered by anyone..........

Jez sayin.........INTJohny Luzsha

 

[B and C]

I hang in my truck on or very near beaches all over murahka. 

Where is this?  All I can find reference to is people.