Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I'm about an hour from the closest wave, and as much as I would like to live closer I have a house(that I like, w/ a fenced in yard for the pooch, which I need). As much as I would like to be closer, it's just not in the cards at the moment. I would say that if you're still renting, and thinking about buying, make the plunge and buy closer to the coast...even if that means taking a cut in pay or whatever, just buy something you'll be able to keep up with in anticipation of a lower wage. My $.02.

 

if your married, that's a tough one. if you aren't and dont have any real commitments, GO. you wont regret it. im still in school and i still live it home. i just commute to save money. convinced my mom to move two blocks from the bech. best move we have ever made in my opinion. im lucky and i appreciate it everyday that we did it.

 

take the pay cut if you have to and buy a reasonable house. If you think you surf enough now you have no idea how much more you will once you live close. You can still budget trips and whatever else you want to do all you have to do is have the will to make it happen. you your wife and the dog will be much more happier. Make the drive for the family visits not the ocean visits

 

I went through the same thing that you are going through now. I had to leave Charleston for work back in 2009 (thank you fugged up economy). I ended up in Richmond, with a really good job. I went from engineer to project manager, and was very good at what I did. After a couple years of dealing with the commute back and forth to the coast every couple weeks, I decided I couldn't stand living inland. All I did all week is dream about being on the coast. After a year of searching, I found an engineering position in Charleston. However, this position was still a step back from project management. I ended up going for it, as the pay was slightly better. In the end, I am happy to live in this area. I don't particularly like my job, and it isn't really a challenge, but I work to live. Nothing feels better than getting home after work, loading up the board, and heading to the beach. I will hopefully find a project management job down here eventually, but I have no regrets about the decision I made.

 

I'm going to guess that you are still young (I think I remember seeing you were in your early 30s) and it doesn't sound like you have kids and you don't own a house. I would do it man. You don't have many roots down besides family and honestly, I like to keep my distance from them although free childcare is pretty nice. We moved to Wilmington a couple years ago and surfing was the furthest thing from my mind, but now I totally appreciate being a 15 minute drive to the beach, but still think "what if we were closer, that would be awesome". Maybe someday, after the kids are growed up we'll get a place on topsail or CB.

And I'm paraphrasing Braveheart but "And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to live near the beach and tell your families that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR SURFING! "

 

One thing to consider is the atmosphere surrounding water activity centric communities. Even if you aren't right near the beach there is a laid back atmosphere that is usually prevalent once you get near communities that have a lot of waterways and/or beaches. Having grown up near the beach and bay I can't imagine leaving the area for an inland suburbia even if I never surfed another day in my life. With that being said and after seeing some of the real estate that's for sale in FL I'd say keep your eye out for all of the pieces falling in the right places.

 

I'm 2-2.5 hrs from the coast. It's the west coast, so there's almost always a ridable wave nearby, but the water is freezing. I liked it better when I lived in florida, but then it was flat for weeks at a time and I'm conveniently forgetting about the hoards of roaches and mosquitoes...but I digress.

whatever you do, I would take the parents/relatives out of the equation. You've been right there with them for 14+ years and you'll still be within relatively close driving distance wherever you go (in fla). Sounds to me, now's your chance to move where you want...before you get really stuck. You've been in the same place long enough and it appears you're ready to move on, and up

 

Do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Stay where you are but keep your options open for the right job and location, it sounds like there's plenty of time to make the move.

I live 15 minutes away from the beach here in Jax, and I'm trying to get closer, like looking at out of my window close, so I won't ever have to rely on cams ever again. I actually have my eyes set on a place in Melbourne sometime down the road if everything falls into place.

 

Do it before you have or start thinking about kids, once that happens, you can forget it, or it will be 100 times harder.

 

I live on the ocean. Will never move inland, I don't care what "boss" I enter a nuptial with. There is nothing, I repeat nothing, like sitting on your porch before bed and listening to the ocean talk to you as you see the clearest sky you've ever seen and you smell salt water. Well, that is until you see the sun rise on said ocean. Nothing like it. You can waste away to a skeleton and be content with that view. I type this on my phone as I lay on my porch swing that gives me a permanence these beach denizens in front of me dream of but don't realize they can have too. We can have anything we want.

Onto the surfing. I'm a mile from a more than adequate beach break and 30-45 minutes from several more if I get bored of the home break. I've done dawn patrol each day this week and while we are in the summer swell (lack of) there was still a solid 30 minutes of couple footers clean enough to have fun on since I timed the tides right. Wake up, grab board, step into liquid 5-8 minutes later. Eat breakfast, shower, start the rest of your day. By that time, everything else is a bonus. And we haven't even talked about the days it's cranking and you can get out 2-3 times in a day without lost time from driving.

I know what you mean when you talk about commitment. I've gone anywhere for the things I love. When you can bring them into your habitat is when the afterlife becomes an extension of the present.