best place to be a surfer

O Christ. The belmar comments...

 

OBX. For me at least. NY cost of living is retarded. I can buy a mansion in the OBX for the same that i can buy a 1 bedroom/1 bath here. Oh and property taxes....OBX it'll take you a few years to pay what you'll pay here in a year. Lots of work in my field down there. And they get waves man. It's like any other EC state, but a little better. Can hold a tad more size than most.

I half really want to move down there after the wedding, half don't. It's very different from NY. I'm a New Yorker at heart. But really like the idea of moving down there

 

All you guys saying OBX are going to end up as broke waiters working at Dirty Dick’s Crab House lol

 

Puerto Rico?

 

How's that? You saying OBX is expensive?

 

There just isn’t much there, can’t see there being an abundance of good paying jobs that can sustain a decent lifestyle year round.

If you have a trade business like you, you have the ability to bring that with you but no guarantee it will work out down there. You’ll be starting from zero in a small market that probably has a few guys that have the place on lock already.

With my situation I could make it happen easily because I work remote so I can be anywhere I want and make what I make now. But if I didn’t have that I would have a hard time making that move while keeping my lifestyle where it’s at now.

 

Your not wrong. I actually have family who owns trade business down there, and job offers down there though. In my particular instance I'd have year round work since i do commercial. My uncle knows one of the guys who has the place on lock. Steady year round work. If i went to work for him he'd pay less, but not that much less, then what I'd be making here. A few thousand a year less.

But yeah that's actually a big reason why i can't see myself moving. The fiance would have a hard time finding a job.

 

As a single guy I’d jump on it in a heartbeat but when there is a woman involved that complicates things unless you make bank.

 

Finding a steady good paying job can be very difficult in a small town

 

I can only speak for my situation so here’s why I chose Melbourne FL.

Surf is one of the most consistent on the East Coast, right there with New Smyrna and OBX when you factor in the various breaks within a drive of each other. Lineups are generally empty if you pick the right spots. Crowded spots aren’t bad during the week.

Community / Economy is smaller and slower than Tampa but it’s a growing economy with enough job opportunities should I need to find something else to do. Maybe take a pay cut but would be employed fairly easily.

Cost of living is lower than Tampa. You can find a great deal on a house and be minutes to the water. We chose to live right over the bridge on the mainland to get more home for our money and have a little buffer from the hurricanes. Only 15 minutes to home break.

30-45 minutes to Orlando, 2hrs to Tampa, Jax or Miami. 2hr 15 minutes flight to PR.

Great food and drinks everywhere you look, good variety too. Lots of live music. Little crowding at most places, a few can get packed for around here but not bad compared to other places. It’s generally convenient getting in and out of places.

Overall it’s a chill place with a small town vibe but it isn’t too small.

 

A couple of you guys sold me. East coast FL: New Smyrna south to Melbourne.
Palm trees, good fishing and seafood, warm water, surf cond consistently much better than VB.
I've also been down there while the grandparents were still living.
Now to convince wifey to move upon my retirement in Oct. She hates snakes, gators, and sinkholes.
Maybe a small one-story, 3 BR, on mainland side.

 

Plenty of towns in California appeal to me both for surfing, and for non-surfing attractions more than any place I've been to on the east coast. Encinitas, Santa Cruz, Carpinteria. Is it more expensive to live than obx, central Florida, hell yeah but honestly Im not trying to shuffle off this mortal coil with a bunch of assets. I'd gladly downsize a bunch of lifestyle things and just enjoy great waves and mountains nearby. And I've never really found California crowds to be that much of an issue.

 

We’re renting a nice 3BR/2BA 2 car garage, almost 2,000 sq.ft. on a lake for $1,450/month, we plan to buy later this year. We will either buy the house we are in and lower our monthly payment or buy a nicer place and keep our payment about the same, haven’t decided.

There are plenty of places that are less expensive if you want smaller or just want to pay less. Depends on your income and what you want as your home. You could get a cheap mobile / manufactured home right on the beach if you wanted, there are nice but cheap houses for less than $1,000 a month too if you look around, size will vary.

So far we have not seen any gators in our lake or anywhere around here really, although they are out there somewhere. Not something you worry about around here, just don’t swim in the lakes, river, or swamps and you’re good. Snakes aren’t much of an issue in my experience, only seen one on my property and it was after the last hurricane and it was harmless.

Just take her on a little vacation down here and show her around, it’s an easy sale if she’s ready for a change.

 

You forgot spiders.
All female humans hate that list.

 

2 hours away yet you never come up... Gotta agree central Florida is pretty awesome. I’ve had some of my best sessions down there. JAX is a nice spot to be a surfer too. It’s a big ass city with boasting a higher murder rate than Miami, there are jobs available, cost of living is affordable and it’s on the ocean. The crowds are a bit heavy sometimes but you can find a spot to yourself if you have the time and inclination. Only gets cold for about 3 months too. I do love it here but I’ll retire to CFL cause it’s warm.

 

...skeeters, no see 'ems, swamps, hurricanes, flooding are also on my wife's "no Florida" list.
I was stationed in Pensacola in the early 80s and enjoyed it.

 

Yeah you got me there. I don’t come up there to surf but I have been there to see some football games. I promise to make the trip up soon, we’ll throw everybody's sh*t in the water too!

 

Lol But, no snow and you’ll be surfing in trunks 10 months of the year, and just a spring suite or 3/2 the other two.