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Home Decorating

For those with a lovely view from your house: city lights or ocean vu

3 years ago

I'm in my 70s, widowed for a year and ready to move out of a VERY nice, but too-large-now, home & 1/2 acre lot to manage. My dream was always to have a sparkling city lights and/or ocean view (close enough to see a nice, distant chunk of ocean but can't afford to be right on top of it, of course) from living room, rear yard and/or deck - single story house. I'm in San Diego, moving closer to kids in Palos Verdes, Calif., 1.5 hrs. away. That view I want is really gonna cost me + I'm fussy & I'm most likely going have to spend $$ for upgrades in decor, etc.

For those that are lucky enough to have either city lights or an ocean view (so, either a day view or a night view, really) - which did/do you prefer? Most importantly, if this is your first experience having one or both of those, DID YOU FINALLY START TO TAKE IT FOR GRANTED AND YOU DON'T REALLY APPRECIATE/NOTICE IT SO MUCH ANY MORE? I won't be entertaining very much now as I used to so not a lot of people to share it with, sadly. Do you still look/sit outside and love & cherish your view after the first 6 mos. and way beyond? Would you do it again if you moved? I guess I'm trying to determine if that view is worth, say, $50,000 - 100,000 extra. I'm really "waffling" ... and if I spring for it, in order to afford it, I will have to do a lot remodeling to bring the house up to my "standards/preferences". The couple we bought THIS house from, 18 yrs. ago, when I asked her if SHE still looked and admired the lights & hills view that this has, she said, "No - she didn't really notice it anymore". And I see that *I* don't look too often in last several years, myself, unless I walk out there to see it at night. It's not visible unless you walk around to the back - can't see it from our side patio.

I know, everyone should have such a dilemma, right? But, it's my last house, my last chance, but if the thrill is gone after a year or so, I'd rather prefer to put that money more into decor that's already in the house. Thanks for anyone's suggestion or opinion.

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Comments (8)

zaccaii
3 years ago
The daily oceanview would be the way to go, ever changing dawn until dusk (the time you would most appreciate it) You would never grow tired of seeing creation! Marvel at it daily, it would never get old, $ well spent.
Kris Bruesehoff
3 years ago
i still enjoy our view after a few years and we have instituted sunset cocktail hour to insure we take a break at its finest point of the day. In your position though I wonder if Imight consider spending less on home and instead choose to travel more- and fill my life with more variety of views.
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I've only been to OC, Md once--have you been before? If not, I'm afraid you may be vastly disappointed. It's one of those places where they've built horrible high rises right on the beach, so no one else has any view or sea breeze. It's very over-developed, very commercial, too crime-ridden for my taste. It sounds as if you're looking for a lovely, quiet, more high-end beach visit. Have you considered driving a few more miles north, getting on the ferry, and spending a few days in Cape May, NJ? From what you're asking, I think it sounds more like what you want. It's a lovely Victorian seaside town. Lots of lovely B & B's, nothing too glitzy or commercial. Lovely restaurants. Not super-crowded. Very sedate and classy. And if you do want a little night life, you're only a stone's throw from Wildwood, and about a half hour or so from AC and OC (the NJ one--that's much more family oriented than it's MD counterpart). With the hopes you're pinning on this trip, I'd just hate to see you disappointed the way I was when I once visited OC, MD.
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PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
3 years ago

This ^ is the view from here at my house on the Inter Coastal Waterway on Siesta Key in Florida:

We get dolphins and manatees swimming by occasionally:

Oops, sorry, wrong picture:
My3dogs ME zone 5A
3 years ago
I bought my old Cape in southern Maine 32 years ago. As I walked into the kitchen, and saw the river that forms the property line out back, I said, 'This is IT!', and the realtor had a big smile on his face. There isn't a single day that I don't enjoy my yard and view.
jill302
3 years ago
We have a city view, been here almost 5 years and I still enjoy it. We are on a ravine with lots of trees, I actually enjoy the view of the trees more than the city view. That said I would much prefer an ocean view. Just looking at the ocean is very relaxing to me.
M Miller
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
My mother had an opportunity to buy a condo with an ocean view, but opted to buy a condo on the other side of the same building with more of a city view for 2 reasons: (1) she said at night she did not want to look into the blackness of an ocean view, and (2) it was much less expensive to buy one with a city view than an ocean view, and she used the saved money for extensive renovations on the condo. But, now we are trying to sell the condo. The ones in the building with ocean views are being snapped up, even in this market, and the ones with city views are not selling, despite steep price drops.

In conclusion, there are practical reasons I listed above for a city view instead of an ocean view, but for resale, ocean view wins hands down.
Lala
3 years ago
Hands down, I would pick being on or near the water. Building/city lights doesn't appeal to me.
Yayagal
3 years ago
I never tire of the ocean or lake. We are surrounded on three sides by a huge lake and mountains. I would suggest water.

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