So I'm a work at home dad and software developer making an OK income doing open source development. My wife and kids are liking the idea of moving to California, but not for the Silicon Valley type of life.<p>What we would be looking for is a laid back beach side town where they can learn to surf, is not too expensive so I can keep working part time, and so on.<p>We were in Carlsbad a couple months back and liked it a lot, but priced out of our range. Years back I was around Ventura and liked it as well, but I have no idea what its like now.<p>Any thoughts? We're also checking out Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica.<p>Thanks.
Lived in the bay area, LA and San Diego for extended periods.<p>If I were remote, focused on family, and somewhat price conscious, first choice would be San Louis Obispo: beaches, nice downtown, college town. My next choices would be San Diego (north of La Jolla) or Santa Barbara. If you are less price conscious and want to move north, then Half Moon Bay or Santa Cruz. Can find more remote places too that are amazing if you want that, like the Big Sur area or north of the Bay Area. Tend to like the places mentioned more than Carlsbad or Ventura, but those places aren’t bad by any stretch.<p>Been to Costa Rica, it’s nice, but more expensive than people think and issues with crime, like don’t ever leave your house unattended. Brother goes to Nicaragua to surf a lot, sounds like Costa Rica but cheaper and less stable. Mexico still feels too dangerous to me. About three months ago our nanny was scared to go home because of the crime. When I was in the military not too long ago, you needed a General’s approval to go. Some areas are probably good but doesn’t strike me as family friendly, more like retirement and vacation compounds. No idea about Panama, but all sound like an adventure.<p>Good luck and have fun. Remote sounds better by the day.
You asked in the right place. I recently spent the better part of ten years trying to find this place, for exactly the same reasons. Sadly, the short answer is that it doesn't exist.<p>Like you, I'm 100% remote, so my constraints were "Somewhere in the world, with pleasant living and good surf". Sounds easy right? The problem though is that they nearly always put the good surf <i>right on the beach</i>, so anywhere that also has pleasant living will have $5m houses to go with it.<p>California crosses itself off the list immediately. Santa Cruz has tiny run down houses for around a million dollars in the Pleasure Point area, walking distance to some really good surfing, but you need to at least double that if you want a house that isn't being sold as a teardown. Santa Barbara has good waves and possibly four houses within 30 miles that you can afford, but none down by Rincon where you want to be.<p>San Clemente could work. If you drive far enough up the hill from Trestles, the soulless, yardless, cheaply built houses eventually come down to $800k. Further north, you might find a house inland from one of the urban breaks for that price, provided you don't mind people shooting at your kids on occasion.<p>As to Parts South? I'd recommend you spend a good full season in Nicaragua or similar before you buy there. You'll learn a lot about the psyche of your typical Expat Surfer In Central America. Turns out he's kinda bitter, and not a very pleasant guy to spend your time with.<p>And the places where you'd buy your house tend to be of the "cleared farmland on the coast between fishing villages" variety, with gates at the road to ensure you never meet any locals and Fancy-yet-Sad houses overlooking the sea at prices that aren't really as cheap as you'd expect. It's unlikely that you'll actually find a nice piece of land next to the quaint fishing village with an undiscovered point break out front.<p>We spent several winters in places like that, and never found one that really felt like we could make it home.<p>One ray of hope might be Puerto Rico, in the West Rincon or Aguada area. Spend next winter there and see if you can deal with the combination of dusty cinder block houses on the coast with giant Walgreens/KFC strip malls on the outskirts of every little town. With a good architect and a well chosen plot of land, you could make it work there. A lot of people have, and the vibe is a lot more friendly than the Mexico crowd.<p>All the best, and don't hesitate to hit me up with any questions!
<p><pre><code> San Luis Obispo is awesome as others have said, but it is about 10 miles from the beach.
Ventura County is also good, but has been getting very expensive that last 10 years.
Carpinteria would have been great 15 years ago, but prices have gone through the roof.
This would be my short list:
- Between Carlsbad and La Jolla
- Cayucos/Morro Bay/Los Osos (all pretty close to each other; I prefer Los Osos because not many people know about it and thus not a lot of traffic on holidays and weekends)
- Some of the lesser known towns between Monterrey and Santa Cruz
- Fort Bragg/Mendocino area
If you're ok with living 5/10/15 miles from the beach, housing gets much cheaper.</code></pre>
Surprised no one has mentioned the northern California coast. There are lots of little towns on the coast, of varying sizes. If you want something a bit more populated, there's Eureka.<p>I haven't lived in any of these places -- though my wife and I have enjoyed vacationing in Mendocino a few times -- so I can't offer an unqualified recommendation, but it certainly seems like they would be worth looking into.
San Luis Obispo (and surrounding areas) - Went to Cal Poly, absolutely fell in love with the city. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZBLZDk4HTQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZBLZDk4HTQ</a><p>Redondo Beach - Live here now. As another person said, not a lot to do, but it's nice and family friendly. Plus, you're not too far from Venice/Santa Monica.
Arroyo Grande (AG). It's close to Pismo Beach and SLO (San Luis Obispo) along Highway 101.<p>My wife took my young sons to Pismo Beach often. She let them play in the surf with no worries, because the surfers were vigilant of little kids.<p>As for afforable housing, we have friends that live inexpensively in rural AG, back in the hills. Very beautiful.<p>SLO is a great college town. Lots of engineering students and faculty for potential friends. Lots of fun things to do in downtown SLO.
Coastal towns are expensive everywhere, but that being said:<p>Santa Cruz suburbs are a good bet; Soquel, Aptos, Watsonville (last is inland).<p>Or in the San Luis Obispo area: Pismo Beach, Morro Bay. Cayucos, recommended already, is here too.
Naxos island in Cyclades , Greece <a href="http://www.naxos.gr/en/" rel="nofollow">http://www.naxos.gr/en/</a> .