Why living by the seaside is not always as idyllic as this picture suggests

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Sunset on a beachImage source, PA

Search #livingbytheseaside on Instagram and the pictures present an idyllic life.

The smell of the ocean and a spectacular view make living by the seaside a dream for many - even if the beach you are near is a bit too pebbly.

But many parts of the UK coast are struggling with high levels of both unemployment and deprivation, figures from the government suggest.

And in some of these towns, it's young people who are particularly affected.

Instagram user Kociatko shared an image of the sun setting over the Torquay shoreline., external

As part of a wider investigation into the suicide of Izzy Dix, a 14-year-old who died in 2013, Radio 1 Newsbeat spent some time in the Torbay area of Devon, her home for the last two years of her life.

Many young people there said they are ambitious - but those ambitions often mean having to leave the area to seek out opportunities or further education.

Others disliked living in a small community and feeling like they couldn't escape. One teenager, who had recently changed schools, said the best thing about his new school was that no-one knew who he was.

It is not just the Devon coast where young people are experiencing problems.

ShelleyChoung posted a picture on Instagram of the pebbly beach at Eastbourne., external

In the Tendering District of Essex, which includes the town of Clacton-on-Sea, just 13% of young people go to university compared to 49% nationally, the Centre for Social Justice found in 2013.

That same report - called Turning the Tide, external - shows that parts of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk had the highest rate of pregnancy among 15 to 17-year-olds in England.

In fact, things have become so bad in many towns, funds have been set aside in recent years to support the economic development of coastal areas specifically.

Demiiileighhh shared an image of the seaside at Cleethorpes on Instagram., external

One of these, the Coastal Communities Fund launched in 2012, has supported projects including a heritage railway in Hastings, a microbrewery in Gwynedd as well as Northern Ireland's first lobster hatchery.

In June, the government announced a £90m extension to this project, which will last another five years.

Torbay Council received nearly £1.4m in February 2013 from this fund to help improve employment opportunities in Paignton, Torquay and Brixham.

This is not to say that all coastal towns are deprived.

Some analysis of census data, released by the Office for National Statistics in 2013, showed that some seaside towns in England, such as Christchurch in Dorset, were better off than the average.

The decline of coastal towns is usually blamed on that fact that since the 1970s many people have been ditching holidays by the seaside in the UK, in favour of going abroad.

But there has been a recent trend in the rejuvenation of these holiday hotspots of the past.

KInstagram user Katiekourellias posted a picture of Margate beach., external

Banksy's transformation of the old lido in Weston-super-Mare into his Dismaland theme park, along with the re-opening of Margate's Dreamland, has seen tourists flocking back to these traditional resorts.

It's not just high-profile attractions that are helping seaside towns to recover and thrive again.

The Turning the Tide report praised "local people, services, schools, councillors and charities working hard to turn things around" in these areas.

One listener in Torbay told Newsbeat that she loved her community and valued having friends and family close by.

Asked where she saw herself in 10 years time, she said: "I see myself, still in Brixham, but helping more people.

"I'm planning, in a couple of years, to be a counsellor, who helps people out a lot."

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