Anyone on here own a surf house, condo, timeshare, whatever? Or have a rental or camp or just a spot you go to on a regular basis? What is your setup? How often do you go and (if you don't mind sharing), what is the cost? I really want to make it a goal to set myself up in the next year or two. Find a spot I can go to for a long weekend once every 1-3 months, and longer once or twice a year. How are you set up??
Belmar, Nj is the spot your looking for. Cheap flights to Allaire Airports. Cheap taxi ride from airport by Wallys surf Taxi. He will show you all the good spots in Belmar. There's a nice place to stay, beach front and all- the Mayfair motel. Walk out front to surf. Costco surfshop is within 15min. Night life supplied by DJais. Cost to stay: $150 Memories of Belmar stay: priceless
If you are single and are looking to go just every couple of months for a long weekend, don't buy a place, unless you have a lot of extra cash. You could use that money for some great surf trips. That being said, I'm married and did buy a little beach place that we get to at least once a month, and all summer long; we are both teachers. We plan on retiring there in about 5 years. IF YOU BUY A PLACE, make sure it is an easy driving distance so you can get there and enjoy it. We drive about 3 1/2 hours, so a day trip is possible but not ideal. The perks of having your own beach place are: your place, your boards, your wet suite, your bed, your stuff, are all there.
Beings as the original poster is from NY, I would suggest Buxton or Avon in North Carolina. Its very reasonable price wise and it is within driving distance. Waves and fishing are great. I plan on someday moving there.
Lots of good points here. If you're retiring there it's a layup. It's also a layup since you and Mrs. both have summers off. For most others without more than 3-4 weeks off annually and not closer to retirement, buying a place ends up a very expensive proposition per surf sesh when you break it down. If you rent it out or have a separate apartment within it that you can rent, that changes things big time. I travel on the reg. Some trips are strictly surf, some are biz trips built around surf as well. Either way, I go to various spots up SoCal, NorCal, and PNW in a fairly economical manner. Even flying with your own board is just $50 per way on the right airlines like JetBlue and you bring your suites with you packed in the board bag for added padding. Rental cars and hotels are very competitive and you have a full menu of options from economy to luxury. Traveling as a family is a whole different story I'm sure.
PR is definitely an option, I need to get down there to check it out. The nice thing is flights are cheap and don't seem to increase in price much close to the travel date. The bad thing is I hear its very crowded. But definitely need to see for myself. Lots of people around where I live go there. I know the Belmar thing is a (played) joke, but my buddy actually has a pretty sick place down there not far from the Mayfair hotel so I have been going a few times a summer for the past 7-8 years. Plus plenty of day trips year round. I avoid DJs but am a fan of Bar A. I need a real getaway though, NJ is like my extended backyard. Peru too far for regular visits for me. CBSCREWBY, I wish I could buy a beach place close to me, but I am on Long Island and everything is $$$$ in any direction. OBX is on my list of places to go for a week long trip but I would get pretty burnt out on driving 12+ hours on I-95 on any sort of regular basis. I don't think flying is an option.
My wife and I teach as well and we take off every summer. We live in Charleston 10 min from beach so surfing is part of our life daily but I think I would go crazy if we didn't take long trips every summer. Anyway we have been to every country in central america, Peru, indo, PR , Dominican and mexico. For us, mexico is the best place. It is easy to get to , super cheap, people are awesome, the waves pump, etc. We will retire there for sure but haven't bought a spot yet simply cause I don't want to own a house when I'm not there. Keep your eye on the future and you will be happy. Enjoy your next surf
Toats! Plus no title issues, no squatters, not much foreign culture (caution: it is the souff), if you have kids or are planning on it it is safe - they won't be stolen as soon as you turn your head. Constant consistent juicy surf, fishing kingdom. Good ole boys abound: if $hit hits the fan (hurricane, power outages, terrorist bs, etc.) they will help you out, not rob you. All in all, Mayberry By The Sea. Andy! Andy!
