Maybe the new year is the time to consider a new home somewhere closer to your dream location?
Maybe a secluded cottage within one of Wales' glorious national parks? How about a period property within or near a thriving village or market town that can offer a supportive community and independent shops and restaurants?
Or maybe one of the posh apartments on the waterfront in one of our nation's coastal towns or cities that comes with all the contemporary extras and amazing views too.
READ MORE: Old bus depot transformed into stunning home in historic town
But for many people, moving to the coast is the ultimate dream location, and some are even lucky enough to act on it and pack up their bucket and spade and head for the sea.
The Covid-19 pandemic has heightened this rush to be beside the seaside with many potential buyers, after being subjected to lockdowns in their current homes, deciding to act on their home by the sea dream.
So to track down a property positioned right opposite a beach for sale is not only now hard to find, but you'll have to pay a prime price for a prime seaside spot.
A two bed bungalow with a neighbour that is a sweeping, sandy bay is going for auction for £370,000.
The home can be found opposite Newton beach, near Porthcawl on a road full of dream homes with huge picture windows and balconies to make the most of the coastal position.
The road is so popular that there have only been two sales on the street in the last five years, according to property portal Zoopla.
These were both in 2018 for around the £320,000 price range but are now estimated to be worth more like about £430,000.
Newton village can be found to the east of the seaside town of Porthcawl, which was named one of the UK's top 21 towns to relocate to in 2021 according to estate agents Savills and The Telegraph. Find out more about that here.
Porthcawl might be the prime local target for shopping, eating out and walking the seafront but Newton has a quieter feel to it than its bustling neighbour, with a central common flanked by pretty properties, a historic church and a couple of pubs.
Nearby, Merthyr Mawr Warren National Nature Reserve and sand dunes offers towering sand dunes and sandy valleys which can easily help you to lose yourself in natural rural bliss for the day.
And at low tide you can walk from Newton Beach to Merthyr Mawr beach at the other end of the bay to access its maze of sand dunes stretching out and undulating behind it.
Or you can drive through the country lane through the collection of pretty thatched cottages to the car park.
Ogmore-by-Sea, another very popular coastal place to call home, is also close by.
The cities of Cardiff and Swansea are about a 40 and 30-minute drive away respectively, depending on traffic, and Bridgend and the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet are both just up the dual carriageway.
Beach Road in Newton does exactly what you would expect it to do - it starts at the centre of the village between the pub and the church, and leads you to the beach, where it then hugs the shoreline as it sweeps around the large bay.
About half way along the road, before it gets to the popular Trecco Bay caravan park at the end, there's a sweet two-bed bungalow nestled into the streetscene that you might not even notice.
Flanked by two sea view dream homes, the house is a renovation project filling in the centre of this sandwich of properties.
The plot appears at first glance to be long and thin but comes with a long front garden and a back garden too.
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This is certainly a bit of a Tardis property, looking small on the outside but actually stretching back into the plot to offer more space than you might imagine when looking at it from the pavement.
Walking up the drive, the cute home welcomes you through the front door and into a handy porch and then inner hallway that leads directly into a lounge.
This large living area spans the width of the house and also leads into a front conservatory which is surely the most pleasant place to watch the seaside world go by and the wild Welsh weather, from the warmth and comfort from inside.
The living room has stairs in the corner that leads to two rooms in the loft that could easily be a home office and kids' den, but currently not classed as bedrooms presumably due to the conversion not complying to building and fire regulations.
Maybe a reworking of the loft conversion to gain compliance could transform this property into a four bed seaside home?
Currently the two existing bedrooms and a shower room can be found on the ground floor, behind the living room and off an inner hallway that also leads to the generous and sociable kitchen diner.
The main bedroom might not have an ensuite bathroom or shower room, but it does have a conservatory, which can also be accessed from the kitchen diner.
This rear glass addition looks out over the private, rear garden that can boast a large patio as well as raised lawn area; the perfect place to enjoy the sunshine away from the day visitors at the beach at the front of the property.
The property has obviously been a well-loved and comfortable home over the years and offers a new owner the chance to put their own interior design stamp on it.
Maybe they will sadly decide to squash it and build something new, subject to planning and their build budget of course.
Or maybe they will want to extend it upwards, if the current property can structurally take it, to increase space, add value and, maybe most importantly, add a balcony or terrace to make the most of the beach and sea views opposite.
The property is going to auction for a guide price of £370,000, but comes with some fees attached to the purchase too, so calling estate agent Peter Alan at their Porthcawl branch on 01656 771600 is a must if you fancy a bid on this bungalow by the beach.
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