
Ask HN: Family friendly beach town in California? - ishbits
So I&#x27;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&#x27;re also checking out Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica.<p>Thanks.
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poof131
Lived in the bay area, LA and San Diego for extended periods.

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.

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.

Good luck and have fun. Remote sounds better by the day.

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eshvk
> 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.

I have found parts of mexico that are pretty safe. E.g. Playa Del Carmen is
safe, has a lot of expats (Europeans) who also have kids. It doesn't have too
much surfing tho. Mostly kite boarding & cave diving.

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jasonkester
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.

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 _right on the beach_ , so anywhere
that also has pleasant living will have $5m houses to go with it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

We spent several winters in places like that, and never found one that really
felt like we could make it home.

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.

All the best, and don't hesitate to hit me up with any questions!

~~~
qaq
I wonder how many people are in the same boat. Looks like a good idea for
kickstarter project buy out a large island and setup all the amenities needed.

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re_todd

       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.

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ScottBurson
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.

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.

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lewisgodowski
San Luis Obispo (and surrounding areas) - Went to Cal Poly, absolutely fell in
love with the city.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZBLZDk4HTQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZBLZDk4HTQ)

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.

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Peter_Franusic
Arroyo Grande (AG). It's close to Pismo Beach and SLO (San Luis Obispo) along
Highway 101.

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.

As for afforable housing, we have friends that live inexpensively in rural AG,
back in the hills. Very beautiful.

SLO is a great college town. Lots of engineering students and faculty for
potential friends. Lots of fun things to do in downtown SLO.

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niftich
Coastal towns are expensive everywhere, but that being said:

Santa Cruz suburbs are a good bet; Soquel, Aptos, Watsonville (last is
inland).

Or in the San Luis Obispo area: Pismo Beach, Morro Bay. Cayucos, recommended
already, is here too.

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31reasons
San Clemente is pretty nice, laid back beach town. House prices are also not
too crazy. Closer to Irvine/ New Port Beach.

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gspyrou
Naxos island in Cyclades , Greece
[http://www.naxos.gr/en/](http://www.naxos.gr/en/) .

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axrami5
Look into Redondo Beach CA. Amazing little town. By far one of the most
affordable beach towns, not a ton to do but its quite and safe.

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saenns
cayucos - better weather than SC

[http://www.cayucosbythesea.com/](http://www.cayucosbythesea.com/)

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LarryMade2
South of Bodega Bay is going to be more expensive than North of it, but
Nothern coastal communities are much more rural.

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3eto
Not on your radar, but I've been getting a solid answer for the same question.
Cape Town

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mergy
Santa Cruz or Aptos.

