How much do you pay to live near, or even remotely close, to the ocean? Image: Machado
There is a story floating around the Internet that a couple tore down a $4.2 million dollar home (mansion)… not to rebuild on the lot but instead for the view of the water. I happened to be traveling as the story broke so I heard a few different regional perspectives on it. I can summarize those as “Only in California can something this nutty make sense.” Well… maybe it’s because I’ve now lived in California for a couple decades but… it does make sense to me. It makes sense because it starts to illustrate just how valuable our coastlines really are. It attaches a physical price tag (which is high enough that it surprises many) to how valuable even just a view of the coast is.
I know what you’re thinking, those numbers are nutty… you don’t have access to that kind of money and wouldn’t spend it that way if you did.
Or… do you already make decisions that are similar?
How much do you pay to live near, or even remotely close, to the ocean?
Think about your personal life and your lifestyle choices. How much of a premium do you think you pay to live where you do? How much more do you pay for rent or a mortgage to live where you do than if you lived in Ohio… 20% more? 80% more? 300% more? It’s a notable percent, I know because I’ve lived in both places.
You may not be spending $4.2 million for a view but you, all of us, are paying a premium to live near the water.
For me, the three statistics to the right frame this issue well. Let’s bridge this topic to the news which revolves around the economy and jobs. Let’s dig a little deeper and look at the economic value associated with our coasts.
For a deeper dive into this subject (and access to most of the statistics I cite in this post) check out The Foundations of a Blue Economy report which was released yesterday.
On one level you don’t need to read the report because if you’re reading this blog you are the subject of the report. You might not label what we’re talking about here “The Blue Economy” because it talks about many of the people and companies you interact with on a daily basis.
Our coasts are the home to more than half of the nation’s population; we may just be talking about “The Economy.”
You may be a coastal local but we know that everyone, regardless of where they live, loves beaches. Knowing the actual number of people who visit beaches each year (450 million) is interesting but we stand in line behind them so… we feel that number.
We also know, firsthand, the value of recreation, such as surfing, to coastal communities. Mavericks put Half Moon Bay on the map. It’s estimated that Mavericks draws $24 million to the local economy every year. Again, we see people flocking to beach towns in droves, so being told they are meaningful contributors to the economy as a whole makes logical sense.
We know what the coasts are worth because of our daily choices regarding where we live and work. They are worth enough to keep us here even though it’s more expensive than inland alternatives. We stay because it’s worth it, the value we gain exceeds the cost we pay. This phenomenon isn’t limited to one region or another, Surfrider did a study of coastal use in Oregon last year (pdf here) and found out that 80% of the state residents visit the coast once a year and they spend an average of $88 per trip. That bubbles up to $2.4 billion for the state and local economies.
Let me share three perspectives on the value of our coasts.
