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Jul 18
Ditch The Hamptons, Head To These 6 Beach Towns Instead
If you have a favorite SoulCycle instructor in the Hamptons, it’s time to make a change. Yes, we get that you’ve been heading to the East End since you were four, but maybe give some newbies a chance? You know, while switching up the scene for yourself. Think of a new summer town as Vintner’s Daughter for the soul. Instead of repeating your seasonal routine, list your Hamptons house on Airbnb and use your gains to travel somewhere that you haven’t Instagrammed into oblivion.
Use this calculator to estimate how much you could earn this summer by not being so predictable it hurts. Keeping Hamptons standards of beach, shopping, and food in mind, we’ve curated the best places to manifest destiny. Maybe you’ll discover your new annual favorite!
Nantucket
Nantucket means hydrangeas, overs and vehicle permit stickers, and grey cedar shingles. Go for the Nantucket Comedy Festival. Go for Boston Pops. Or embrace tradition and go to the Chicken Box and see everyone you know from prep school. Shop on the Straight Wharf and see…everyone you know from prep school. Go to Cru and see…Lord Disick? If you’re lucky, your exploits will be chronicled by @chadtucket.
Kiawah Island
If you usually head out East with the family, Kiawah is a great substitute. With southern food (corn bread at every meal), you’ll want to be with people who love you unconditionally. When you’re not golfing or playing tennis, take a skeet shooting lesson and discover which of your siblings has a secret proclivity for violence. Go on a guided kayaking tour and regret it when they tell you to beware of alligators.
Manhattan Beach
Home to the first LF I ever shopped at circa 2007, Manhattan Beach is great if you happen to be traveling with someone who requires outdoor activities. While you shop and apply SPF, they can bike on The Strand and play volleyball. Go to the pier and take that photo you promised yourself you wouldn’t.
Sea Island
With southern architecture and southern charm, Sea Island is the best escape you’ve never heard of. It has vibes similar to Kiawah, but you’re even less likely to run into anyone you know. Golf and tennis abound so make sure to pack your FaceGym serums. See if listing your summer home can fund a restorative week in Sea Island.
Palm Beach
Palm Beach is for those of you who consider small town charm an affectation. Unabashedly ostentatious, Palm Beach proudly boasts a monument of the gilded age. When not ogling or taking part in conspicuous consumption, visit the artificial Peanut Island or snorkel in the artificial Lake Worth inlet. Palm Beach is @Miquela in place form: fake, but so beautiful you don’t care.
Cape May
If the pedestrian holds some kitsch appeal to you or if you’re up for nostalgia by way of Americana, head to Cape May. Where there were once very few options for fine dining, Cape May is now fluent in farm to table and açai bowls. Pick and choose which elements of a typical Jersey beach town you want to engage with, but admit boardwalk fries, games, and quaint/creepy Victorian inns have an everlasting charm. Don’t forget to buy salt water taffy as a souvenir for all your friends who refuse to leave the East End.
Written By: Sanibel Chai
