Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
nearest ocean beach:
to me, a place isn't truly "coastal" if you can't wake up on a random summer saturday and say "hey, it's gorgeous out today, let's go to the beach!"
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Yeah, pretty much.
Pennsylvania is technically a coastal state because the Delaware River is tidal up to around the Philadelphia area (like DC is coastal because the Potomac is tidal).
Sure, the state is part of the greater Eastern Seaboard, but that certainly doesn't make every part of the state "coastal". It would be ridiculous to say that Pittsburgh is coastal. Just like it would be ridiculous to say that Philadelphia is an Appalachian city because Pennsylvania is Appalachian.
And
I don't really consider Philly (or DC) to be coastal cities... at least not in the way that Boston, NY, Miami, Charleston, etc. are coastal cities.
That's what I dislike most about Philly and DC -- they're hot as fucking shit from coastal humidity in the summer without the corresponding sea and land breezes associated with actually being coastal. And even though you can get to the Jersey or Maryland or Delaware shores relatively easily, it's still a pain in the ass with lots of traffic. Having lived in both, I find both Philly and DC to be generally miserable in the summer... ocean so close to tease you, yet far enough away to make it unrealistic to head there all the time... and certainly not after work for a couple hours of beach time.
To me, Chicago and the rest of the Great Lakes port cities are "coastal". They are the North Coast.