New research is suggesting that as sea levels around the world rise the actual rise that occurs in different locations may be very different. Apparently if the West Antarctic ice sheet melts, the meltwater will not spread evenly around the world’s oceans but, instead, will be focussed towards the east coast of North America (with sea levels there being 1-2 metres higher than elsewhere). According to climate models, this effect would occur for a number of reasons. First, as the ice sheet gets smaller it will exert a weaker gravitational pull on the surrounding oceans allowing it to move northwards more easily. Secondly, a lighter ice sheet will allow underlying land to rise displacing water elsewhere. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the redistribution of this large mass of water would alter the Earth’s spin shifting the locations of existing bulges of water that occur between the equator and the poles. The research is described briefly in New Scientist, Issue 2695 (14 February 2009).
And that’s not all… a completely separate study has calculated that sea levels on the east coast of the USA could rise by around 0.5 metres by 2100 due to a combination of the slow-down of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) caused by global warming and thermal expansion of ocean waters due to rising temperatures. This research is described briefly in New Scientist, Issue 2700 (21 March 2009) .
All in all, the future doesn’t look bright for low lying parts of the east of the USA.
Tim O'Hare 
It gets worse (perhaps). A news item in New Scientist, Issue 2711 [6 June 2009] describes possible sea level rise of 1m along the east coast of the USA (up to 2.5m in Boston) by 2100 and suggests that drastic measures such as river barrages or floating buildings may be required to protect these highly populated areas.