Do you consider yourself to live "near an ocean"?

Got in a mini argument with an out of stater who said it's not really near the ocean, it's the puget sound. Vancouver island and the western peninsula blocks much of the actual pacific ocean and it's essentially an inlet.

Growing up, I always associated the Puget sound with closer to the Seattle area and have always considered bellingham Bay and the surrounding area "the ocean".

What are your thoughts and how do you refer to the nearby big body of water by?