<p>Visiting the East coast a few times I was struck by the difference in the beach areas. Out here in CA beach areas are populated year-round; San Diego, Orange County, Santa Monica, etc. There isn’t really a tradition where people own or rent vacation homes on the coast in CA during the summer the way there seems to be on the Jersey Shore or Cape Cod because the mass of rentals isn’t available and homes on the coast are quite expensive; the average family couldn’t afford to buy one only to have it vacant much of the year. </p>
<p>We were told that not only does the population swell during the summer, but college students will get together to rent a place and then work seasonal jobs. I was curious how common this is, and if any parents have stories of spending a summer that way while in college.</p>
<p>I know a number kids who have worked for a summer or two on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the Delaware shore. They have lived in very crummy housing or in Mom and Dad’s summer house. The jobs are typical summer beach jobs: waiter, life guard, pizza delivery, hardware store, tee shirt store… They have done it for various reasons, mostly having to do with laying on the beach on their off days, and partying with friends. The money they earn is usually barely enough to cover expenses. Most of the kids I know who have done a summer or two of beach jobs have parents who did the same thing back in their own college days. They have mostly enjoyed the experience. It is not a summer that generally adds anything of value to the old resume or the savings account, but it can be a fun summer. The window of time for job applications is swiftly closing for this summer, however!</p>
<p>My husband and I spent a few summers at a Delaware beach working. It was fun and yes, it’s very common. The winters on the Eastern shore from Maine to probably Maryland are often cold and windy. I know a few people that have rental property at the shore/beach and they can break even on the mortgage payments by renting the houses out in-season and than visiting themselves when there are no renters. I don’t know anyone that makes a profit.</p>
<p>I spent two summers waiting tables in the Poconos at one of the mountain resorts and my last summer working in Hyannis on the Cape. That last summer there were 5 of us in a 2 bedroom cinderblock “house” right on the West Yarmouth line. We paid $3800 for the summer. It was a helluva good time. Four great girls lived in the house next door; 3 were from CO and one from Australia. One of the guys ended up liking it so much he bought a small summer house there a few years later.</p>
<p>I drove back to Troy, NY, with about $3700 cash in my pocket (1986). Bartenders and higher priced restaurant wait staff might have double that. At the time, waiting tables paid so much better than an engineering internship that a summer in Utica didn’t make much sense.</p>
<p>Here in WA state, not many people live near the beach areas. They are much more of a summer destination similar to the East Coast.</p>
<p>I spent a summer working in an arcade at the Jersey shore, shared a one bedroom apartment with three people and occasionally the person subletting it to us plus a variety of weekend visitors. It was a great time and I remember most of it.</p>
<p>My daughter waitressed for two summers on Nantucket (island off Cape Cod). She lived in a house with 5 other college students. The restaurant where she worked did provide housing–but it was far from town and D wanted to be closer and also live with people she knew. She did really well despite having to pay for housing and was able to earn spending money for the school year. The key was getting housing that was cheap because in many of the resort areas like the Cape and islands that isn’t always easy.</p>
<p>My sister spent a summer working on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She worked in a pastry shop. An old bf spent a summer on the OBX working in a bar. Lots of kids flock to the beaches of NC for summer jobs/summer fun.</p>