As someone from a mountainous region I love the mountains. Just the view up there is always worth it.

Mountains all the way.

Why not islands for the best of both?

I can't bear living away from the ocean, but I need a dose of mountains every so often or I get listless.

Granada, Spain. In Spring you can Ski in the morning, and swim in the Mediterranean the same afternoon (45 minutes away).

Have your cake and eat it too.

I was born, raised and currently live in a very mountainous region a few hours away from the nearest sea.

Seas and oceans are amazing, but mountains are home.

Ocean

I grew up around the ocean, but now live near the mountains.

But then again, I live in New Zealand, so the ocean is not to far away.

Why chose? A few places offer them both at the same time.

Sometimes I think that nature has no reason to be this beautiful. But somehow, it is

Franz Josef glacier in New Zealand (January 2024).

It reached almost to the base of the mountain in the early 1900s, but is now just that little cap of white in that shot.

Having spent considerable time in both, here’s what I’ve discovered.

Mountains invite me to move. To be active. To walk or bike through them, to climb, hike, and commune with other climbers and hikers.

The ocean invites me to be still. To rest. To stand or sit at its edge and let its perpetual white noise soothe me, to notice the other creatures that live in and near it, and bask in my solitude.

Mountains and the ocean meet different needs of mine. So I’d be hard pressed to say I prefer one over the other.

Definitely mountains.

Mountains!

Mountains.

Live by the mountains, die by the mountains.

Mountains

Mountains. Birds around water are noisy when I'm sleeping.

yes, yes i do!