Mountains vs. ocean

I might be facing a dilemma.
I retired in December and we decided to spend this year living in France. If we want to make it permanent, we'll buy a house here next year.
We've rented a home in the small village of Quillan in the southwest of the country in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

Sunrise over the mountains around Quillan.

I love the mountains. Back home in the States I'd try to backpack as often as I could in the Appalachian chain or West Virginia or southern Ohio. I preferred camping on mountaintops for the wind and view instead of  designated campsites in the hollers.  Quillan is perfect because we can literally walk less than a mile to several trail heads, every day. We feel healthier after a 2,000-foot climb and walking to the town center for food, the market or a drink by the Aude River. However, I don't know if overnight camping in the mountains is allowed in France.
A big plus, though, is that the housing prices in Quillan are within our budget. Perfect, I thought. I could definitely live here.
Then some friends let us stay at their condo in the Atlantic beach town of Chatelaillon-Plage south of La Rochelle. It's an ocean-front apartment with a terrace.

Sunset on the Atlantic at Chatelaillon-Plage.

We can hear the breaking of the waves, walk along the huge sandy beach and watch the kite and wind surfers and sailboats glide across the crests. It reminds me of our years in St. Petersburg, Fla. We'd go to the beach with friends to have a beer and blackened grouper at the Hurricane restaurant and watch the sun set over the Gulf. Sometimes I'd go by myself and stay until the sun went down, listening to the waves and finding myself feeling calm and even dozing off.
When I was younger I always thought it would be cool to live in a waterfront tourist town. Even when I was older, the traffic and tourist hassles were worth living close to the water.
Then I saw the prices of homes in Chatelaillon-Plage. Reality check. They are way out of our reach, and the same probably is true of any beachfront home in France, or even St. Pete.
Maybe we can find a less expensive place close to a beach in a less touristy area where there are ample amenities like restaurants, markets, wine shops and patisseries. Getting an idea of our priorities?
We have the rest of the year to decide whether France will be our new home, and where.
Right now, the mountains are calling. But who knows?