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| post_id | thread_id | thread_title | post_number | author_username | post_date | post_date_iso | post_body |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 207453 | 10448 | Cities to Surf and raise a family in that are somewhat affordable? | 5 | Driftwood | May 16, 2021 | 2021-05-16T15:14:42-0400 | Give it a lot of thought. And make sure you and your wife are on the same page. Leaving California is easy - getting back less so. Kids get seriously attached to places and friends, jobs and housing have a way of becoming more permanent, housing seems to always go up back home. A lot of this is going to come down to how close you want to be to the ocean, and how much surfing plays an essential part in that scenario. Interesting cities (and countries) that are safe, have great schools and health care, decent housing markets are easyish to find, ones that are on the coast where you can surf as much and as painlessly as North County are much less so. If you can deal with cold water, New England is killer, as is the Pacific Northwest. Florida seems to have some great areas but I don't know it so I can't comment. I don't regret where my kids grew up - great education, very safe childhood, neat combination of forest and only 20 minutes to downtown Bordeaux. 30 minutes to the bay, 45-50 for surf. But... they didn't grow up having bonfires on the beach or surfing/sailing/diving all the time like we did. Still, they're much better people than I was at their age, and as a Dad, that's where the importance lies for me. That being said, conditions here are way less consistent, and I went from maybe 150 sessions a year to less than 50 - some years much less than 50 by making this choice. And there are days/weeks/months when that frankly sucks. I guess what I'm trying to say in my usual longwinded way is to be really aware of what you're giving up, and what you're gaining. Then go for it with no regrets and second-thoughts. Except, of course, if it turns out lame and then get the heck back there! Good luck with your decision, |