Seaside more likely to make us nostalgic than green places, study finds

(Press-News.org) People in the UK and US are more likely to feel nostalgic towards places by the sea, lakes or rivers than they are towards fields, forests and mountains, according to new research. The study suggests that coastlines may have the optimal visual properties to make us feel positive emotions, and argues that ‘place nostalgia’ offers significant psychological benefits.

 

Seaside and oceanside spots account for over a quarter of nostalgic places identified by UK residents (26%) and one-fifth (20%) of US residents in the University of Cambridge-led study.

 

Rivers and lakes raise the figure to around a third (35% UK; 30% US). Over one-fifth of nostalgic places are urban (UK 20%; US 22%), while agricultural areas only account for around 10% (UK and US). Mountains and forests also only account for 10% each.

 

Today, the researchers behind the study published maps showing the most nostalgic regions of the UK and US, identified by participants from each country. The maps, published on the University of Cambridge’s website, supplement a study published in Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology.

“We expected people to be more often nostalgic for green places since so many studies emphasise the psychological benefits of green, natural environments. We were surprised to find that blue places are the hallmark feature of place nostalgia,” says Dr Elisabeta Militaru, who led the research during her PhD at Cambridge’s Psychology Department.

“Our findings add to the growing evidence that blue places are associated with increased psychological well-being,” Militaru says.

The maps were created for illustration purposes, showing where around 100 UK and around 400 US participants’ nostalgic places are. “Although this number is not representative of the UK’s and US’ population, the maps probably rhyme with our intuition” says Militaru.

The UK map indicates that UK participants were particularly nostalgic about places in Cornwall and Devon which have some of the most popular coastlines in the country. North Yorkshire also performed well perhaps because, the researchers explain, it blends blue and green, boasting a long coastline and the Yorkshire Dales.

US participants were especially nostalgic for places in California and Florida, states that host some of the countries’ most sought-after coastal destinations. New York also stood out for its many national parks and urban landmarks such as New York City.

Around 800 US residents and 200 UK residents took part in the study. Participants – ranging in age from 18 to 94 years and evenly split between men and women – were asked to identify and describe the places they were nostalgic about.

The team of psychology researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Essex, Southampton and Korea University isolated the defining characteristics of nostalgic places by contrasting them against ordinary places.

“The idea that places serve as an emotional anchor is not new. Nearly 3,000 years ago, Homer wrote of Ulysses’ longing to return to his homeland, Ithaca. We wanted to understand what makes certain places more likely to evoke nostalgia than others. What are the physical and psychological features that give a place its nostalgic pull?” says Militaru.

“This is the first study to combine natural language analysis and geolocation data to identify what makes places more likely to resurface in our minds at a later date.”

 

The power of blue places  

Militaru suggests that places by the coast, river or lake make people feel nostalgic because they have particular visual properties. Participants often described nostalgic places with words like ‘beautiful’, ‘aesthetic’, or ‘views’. Previous studies involving the researchers have shown that brightness, colour saturation, and contrast all contribute to the feelings which places elicit. Blue places are often bright, saturated and high in contrast which may contribute to their restorative effects.

Militaru also points to the potential power of a landscape’s’ ‘fractal property’, which refers to how often the elements of a scene are repeated.

“Past research suggests that landscapes with moderate fractal structure, like coastlines, tend to generate positive emotions,” continues Militaru. “People don't like extremely chaotic outlines of the kind you might see in the middle of the forest, where you don’t get a sense of openness. People also don't like too little complexity. With an urban skyline, for instance, there are very few breaks in the scene’s pattern.”

“Seaside, rivers and lakes may give us the optimal visual complexity, but more work is needed to fully understand this.”

 

Urban nostalgia  

Over one-fifth of nostalgic places identified by US and UK participants were in towns and cities. The researchers believe this is partly because the majority of people in both countries live in urban locations, increasing the likelihood of them having personal memories in urban places.

“It’s important to note that urban places are more often classed as being ‘ordinary’ than nostalgia-inducing”, clarifies Militaru. 

But the researchers also point to the emotional impact of visits to unfamiliar cities. “We are particularly nostalgic about memorable one-time experiences and about unique places which we have visited,” Militaru says. “Holidays, including trips to cities, can leave a deep emotional imprint.”

 

Benefits of nostalgia  

“Back in the 17th century, nostalgia had a negative reputation, it was regarded as a disease of the mind,” says Militaru, now based at the University of Amsterdam’s Social Psychology Department. “Scientific investigation changed that. Now we know that nostalgia is a psychological resource; it emerges when we are faced with psychological discomfort, like feeling lonely or socially excluded. Emerging research finds that nostalgia can also have a positive role in caring for people with dementia.”

The study finds that reminiscing about a nostalgic place bestows significant psychological benefits. When people think about nostalgic places, they feel more connected to others, their lives seem more meaningful, their self-esteem increases, as does their sense of authenticity.

“Nostalgia brings places into focus, much like a magnifying glass. Meaningful places tend to be physically far away from us, yet nostalgia brings them back into focus and, in so doing, connects our past self to our present and future self,” Militaru explains.

Militaru argues that nostalgia can be used as a guide for conservation efforts and urban design. “Our research suggests that access to coasts, rivers, parks, and natural landscapes should be prioritised, especially in dense urban areas”.

Nostalgia can also be used to identify areas that are important for local communities since many nostalgic places are relatively small-scale. “Communities need to be involved in urban planning decisions implemented in their neighbourhoods. Only then can we identify the local landmarks that need to be preserved,” Militaru says.

 

Reference Ioana E. Militaru, Wijnand A.P. van Tilburg, Constantine Sedikides, Tim Wildschut, Peter J. Rentfrow, ‘Searching for Ithaca: The geography and psychological benefits of nostalgic places’, Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100223

 

Media contacts Tom Almeroth-Williams, Communications Manager (Research), University of Cambridge: researchcommunications@admin.cam.ac.uk  / tel: +44 (0) 7540 139 444

Elisabeta Militaru: iem24@cantab.ac.uk

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