I was born in Warsaw, in the middle of the Great European Plains, and except for a couple of years passed studying on the edge of the Bristol Channel, have spent most of my life away from a coast. Only five years ago, I moved from the Milan area in northern Italy, to Monaco, at the very heart of the French Riviera. It’s most picturesque part extends from Menton, right on the border with Italy, to Nice, once an Italian town, annexed to France in 1860.
When you move to live by a warm coast, you undergo a subtle change: you become more relaxed, optimistic, outgoing and … intolerant to frost. In most cases, you also develop resistance to common colds. There is a theory, that regular bathing in a sea enhances your immune system. If you add the benefit of being exposed to a good dose of sunlight , the availability of fresh fruit, vegetables and fish throughout the year, a recipe for a healthier life is ready made. Even living in coastal areas of Britain, seems to deliver measurable health benefits.
People who studied the most long lived populations on the planet, have analyzed multiple factors, but failed somehow to observe, that many of the elements contributing to extended well being are correlated to living by a warm sea. In fact, their Blue Zones are all placed within coastal sub tropical climates around the globe. The yearly and daily narrow temperature amplitude around moderate values, makes life somehow less of a challenge. To sum up: if you like the idea, and can plan for moving your home by the sea, don’t waste any more time. It’s well worth it.
