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Affordable Windsurfing Cities on the Gulf & East Coasts
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rhorton1



Joined: 19 Aug 2010
Posts: 88

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 10:17 am    Post subject: Affordable Windsurfing Cities on the Gulf & East Coasts Reply with quote

So I'm graduating about a year from now with a degree in civil engineering, and my wife and I are looking to move out of Portland, OR. Portland is a fun city with excellent windsurfing an hour away, but its insanely expensive. Even with both of us working, we can't afford a house here unless the market crashes. Rents are going through the roof as well. Long story short, we're thinking of picking up our roots and moving eastward. We've already done the California thing and Seattle is even more expensive than Portland.

We're mostly looking to move someplace friendly and affordable, and to a city large enough that neither of us will have too much difficulty finding good work. Having decent windsurfing within an hour's drive is important to me, but not so much to my wife Smile. It doesn't have to be Maui or Gorge or Hatteras windy.... but I would like to be able to get out on the water and planing 6 months a year with a 7.5 sail and my wind-sup. I learned to windsurf in windless San Diego, so I can be happy with relatively low winds. Any suggestions?

Our preference is to stay south of Washington DC. Looking around on the internet and reading through the iwindsurf pro forecasts, it looks like Newport News/Norfolk area, Wilmington NC, Charleston, or even Houston/Galveston would be options. We'd like to stay close to the ocean if possible. Are there good windsurfing groups in any of these areas? I really not educated on any of these places, so any input is appreciated!
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Corpus Cristie and Harlingen Texas.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

rhorton1 wrote:
any input is appreciated!

Let's hope so. Smile

I've lived in many states, including on all three coasts and in between with special emphasis on the SE region you mentioned (where I grew up), and threw away my career to avoid a forced return to the eastern half of the U.S. (and to the SoCal coast including your previous home of Sa Diego). The east/SE's heat, humidity, bug, overpopulation, private land, stifling rules, and other such burdens are far more onerous than what I'm willing to bear after having discovered the intermountain west. In moving to the high desert inlands of the SW and now the NW U.S., I gained freedoms from all of that and more that would fill a page. Some of those regions offer much more WSing than your minimum criteria, to boot, not to mention many other sports. Between the Cascades and Sierra Nevada on the west side and the Great Basin Dry Line on the east side are millions of square miles and many employment opportunities free of much of the BS forced upon people living further east or west.

Housing prices drop by as much as 90%. No more bugs. It's only a dry heat actually MATTERS, and dramatically. Whole states full of public land open to a huge variety of recreation at your fingertips. Lots of windy water (e.g., the best sailing on the Columbia, NM lakes that sometimes blow harder than I've ever witnessed on the Columbia). 1% of the population density, 1% of the rain, 3%-5% humidity, free camping in places infinitely more beautiful than most campgrounds ... it just goes on and on and on. The desert city I chose over any and all U.S. towns and cities to live in now is absolutely booming despite the lousy U.S. economy, has many of the best schools in the state, has a sky-high percentage of high-tech people and jobs, is growing far faster than I would prefer, and provides quicker access to better WSing than does anything within an hour of downtown Portland. And the ocean is within reach for occasional trips at about 5 hours away.

But that's just my opinion after over half a century of choosing exactly where I wanted to live in the lower 47 states, with WSing my primary objective in the last 17.
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scargo



Joined: 19 May 2007
Posts: 394

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 2:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have you ever spent any significant time on the east coast? Most folks from the west aren't that thrilled about being here, and spend lots of time daydreaming about how to get back.
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rhorton1



Joined: 19 Aug 2010
Posts: 88

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tri-cities is on my list... lots of interesting engineering work you be done out there, but its a little close to home. If we're gonna move, we might as well make it a big one!

scargo wrote:
Have you ever spent any significant time on the east coast? Most folks from the west aren't that thrilled about being here, and spend lots of time daydreaming about how to get back.


I spent a couple years in Rhode Island as a kid. Learned how to sail there. Big fan of the boating culture, not a big fan of the privatized beaches and summer traffic. Thats why I'm interested in the Southeast more than New England. Why is it that you find that west coasters aren't happy with East Coast living?
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motogon



Joined: 19 Aug 2000
Posts: 376
Location: Philly

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 9:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How about Virginia Beach area? A lot of engineering work in area. Good sailing on Chesapeake and ocean. 2 hours drive to OBX.
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A lot of great surfers were ruined by family and steady job.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rhorton1 wrote:
Tri-cities is on my list... lots of interesting engineering work you be done out there, but its a little close to home. If we're gonna move, we might as well make it a big one!

Moving from San Diego/Portland to the TriCities is a pretty giant step for mankind. Whether that step is forward or backward is a personal decision. Smile
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My first choice would be Honolulu.
Summer wave sailing at DH, Makena, and Mok's.
Winter wave sailing at Backyards, Moks, DH, Turtle Bay, 7th Hole.....
Flat water cruising 4 days a week at Kailua.
Ocean swell blasting at BrighamYoungBeach.
No windsurfing crowds, great 12-18 mph winds, lotsa traffic, but work opportunities galor.
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capetonian



Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 1196
Location: Florida

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Caveat - I recently moved to the east coast (Melbourne, Florida) so don't know the area very well yet.

If you consider Florida and are into wavesailing, Jupiter is a good choice seems to have the best wavesailing in Florida. I gather the season is late fall, winter, early spring. For a mix of flat water and some wavesailing (but not much) the area around Cape Canaveral is a OK choice. I wish I'd chosen the Jupiter area. The wind is nowhere near as strong here as the Jupiter area.


Last edited by capetonian on Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:33 pm; edited 3 times in total
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capetonian



Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 1196
Location: Florida

PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

zirtaeb wrote:
My first choice would be Honolulu.
Summer wave sailing at DH, Makena, and Mok's.
Winter wave sailing at Backyards, Moks, DH, Turtle Bay, 7th Hole.....
Flat water cruising 4 days a week at Kailua.
Ocean swell blasting at BrighamYoungBeach.
No windsurfing crowds, great 12-18 mph winds, lotsa traffic, but work opportunities galor.


We moved to Florida from Oahu. The wavesailing and surfing is phenomenally good, every bit as good as zirtaeb says (provided you can handle the lighter wind vs Maui). The island is more beautiful than anything I've seen on mainland US or the little bit of the Caribbean I've seen. BUT it is too expensive. It makes Portland look cheap. Housing is expensive, groceries are expensive, gas is expensive and electricity is expensive. And salaries are slightly lower than the same position on the mainland.
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