There is a song in England that starts: ‘Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside.’
There is something very special about being near the ocean. I have never lived on the coast before, but now I live in a small town next to the sea, and I can see the water from my window.
The constant noise of the waves can be very peaceful. Life seems to happen at a slower pace here. Before I moved here I had been living in London, which has a very different atmosphere.
The sun setting over the ocean is a beautiful thing to watch. And I enjoy looking down to see the fish swimming around and jumping up.
Where I live there is no beach. Instead, there is a harbour. In many ways, I prefer this. It means that you can look straight down into the water to see what is there. I like seeing the fishing boats. It also means that there are not so many tourists who come to lie on the beach and sunbathe.
As you can see, living beside the sea has many advantages.
I have a few problems though.
1) Everywhere smells of fish. The town where I live is full of people cooking and eating fish and other seafood at lunch and dinner. That’s okay (although I am a bit sick of eating it myself). The problem is when I hang my clothes out to dry; they come back stinking of fish!
2) Seagulls. I really don't like them. They are extremely loud and irritating, and not very pretty birds.
3) The wind. It is very windy here. At the moment it is alright, because the days are still quite warm. During the summer the wind is nice and refreshing. But I can imagine that in the winter that strong wind will be very cold indeed.
But, in the end, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. So I can sing, ‘Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside,' and I won't be lying at all.
Do you live by the sea?