American Dream - preferably inland

What is one of the tangible results of living the American dream? For many people to own a house.

Well, we haven't been different after we moved from Austria to Massachusetts. First, we rented a house in a nice suburbanian neighborhood approx. 8 miles away from downtown Boston. Quickly, we realized that for the same amount we paid for rent we easily could afford a mortgage and own a house. A few months later we bought a house nearby a lake where we can swim in summer.

Although we love our house, we secretly nurtured a bigger dream: A house directly at the coast. Listening to the sound of waves when falling asleep, admiring the rising sun over the ocean in the morning - could there be anything more perfect than that?

A few days ago we experienced a rude awakening: Not only are the insurance rates for coastal property much higher than for inland property, now the state of Massachusetts officially recommended that all homeowners along the coastline raise their houses for up to three feet to protect them against the rising sea level due to global warming: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/greenblog/2008/05/mass_urges_coastal_homeowners.html