As I get older I consistently find myself in the age old quandary of where I want/ need to wind up. If I had never seen the ocean, never paddled into a wave, never been stung by 53.6 jellies in one session; I would be far away from Florida (or at very least further inland) with many acres, horses, livestock, crops, looking over hills and mountains, etc. I truly enjoy a more rural and 'country' way of living (country, not f--king redneck).. So that being said I have been weighing my options of where to go next, where I can have a lifestyle similar to that but still have access to quality waves. I realize I could go to Ocala or the Panhandle or something but I'm sure why those aren't options is fairly obvious. And yes, I am aware some areas around here close enough to beaches (like off state roads 520, 415, 44, etc) but I fear the encroahment of development throughout Florida would eventually put a condo at my barbedwire fence line.

So time and time again I've thought NC is my solution.. Stab Mag has an acrticle up right now that reilluminated my interst, and gave my initiative to post this.. I've been to NC a number of times, Asheville, Brevard, Franklin, etc. but never to or even close to OBX or any beach. So that leads me here with a few questions to build my knowledge and to humor my interest.

How bad is the cold water factor, and how much time out of the year is wetsuit season?.. I could only imagine being NC it would suit my 'out-of-the-way' small-town/ rural ambitions, am I wrong?.. I'm aware of the quality when there is good swell, but does anyone know what a typical day is like? Any other info yall can provide would be apperciated and definetly note worthy. (Obviously not a tomorrow thing but I'm trying to keep my options open. Hell, one day it may come down to this or a banana farm in El Salvador, you never know)

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'Out of step' - Ian Mackaye

OBX summer =fun, crowded lots of activity shops stores open, rentals high $

 

OBX WInter = dark, COLD, everything closed, towns are dead, rentals rates plummet. Did I mention COLD

 

It takes a very special kind of person to live in OBX year round, known many..... most are a bit "off"

 

You had better be rich cause nothing going on in OBX during the Winter as far as employment.

 

My friend ran a crab farm, raised soft shell crabs lived in OBX year round.  Not much to do in the winter but stay inside and drink .

A  sign in his house read , "Here in the land of sun and fun we never flush for number one".

If you do not know what that means and the impact of those words to the surrounding environment...OBX may not be for you.

 

I would recommend South Jersey for year round living, If you have not been it is not what you think Jersey would be like, South Jersey Yes...North Jersey not so much  Both will give you more tube time than anywherre else I have lived/stayed on the East Coast.  Jersey is $$$ to live as compared to the South States

Edited: 11/26/2014 at 09:09 AM by SurferMic

^ All sounds like good news to me (except the COLD thing, of course)

Though now thinking I couldn't make the island life work anyhow because unless I hit the lottery or find a sunken treasure (don't know which is more likely) I'd have to be around an airport for work. There is only one or two in a relevant distance and they both look really small (in other words, no work)

Here's a link to Stab's opinion on the place. http://stabmag.com/from-where-youd-rather-be-the-worlds-best-beachbreaks-outer-banks/

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'Out of step' - Ian Mackaye

Yep, turns into a ghost town in winter. Hurricanes from hell, non stop. A lot of anguish dealing with those. Long power outages. No roads. Washed out. A very harsh place to live.

You'd be better off trying Topsail island. It's out of the way. Still feels remote and the surf is good. If you live 5 minutes off the beach, you are truely in the country. Cheap living too. http://www.surfchex.com/topsail-island-web-cam.php

 

 

BTW, I live in NC and have a home in Brevard too.

I dont have much to add other than the fact that I had one of my top 5 funnest surf session in Hatteras.

Shoulder high going right and left- top to bottom_ not a drop of water out of place

Not sure if it's too far north, but eastern Long Island has many rural/farming areas that are close to the beach. I grew up in Babylon, NY. Most of Long Island feels way too crowded to me now, but if you have some money, the eastern areas can be real nice. Just stay away from the Hamptons; a bunch of non-NYers who try to pretend they own the island.

I've only visited, but Maine was absolutely amazing with rural areas right down to the beaches. Ogunquit was a fun wave, but full suit even in summer was needed. Lots of open space up there though.

I second the vote for Maine.  Hands down the most scenic coastline on the eastern seaboard.

Vero Beach likes to pretend it's the "Southern Hamptons", as if you didn't already figure that out.

I grew up surfing in Hatteras. I agree strongly with the cold/hurricane/washed out roads/no electricity comments. 

Southern NC is a better place to live and has waves. Check Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach area for land and waves. Book mark it on magicseaweed and Surfline to watch the waves.  It's still cold but has way fewer of the Hatteras problems. Personally, I'd buy land inland in Brevard, Indian River or Osceola Co. to keep the warm water and much more consistent waves than any place I've seen on the east coast. 

I live in Wilmington and surf Wrightsville, Topsail, and Carolina Beach regularly. While there is surf, it is horribly overrated. Especially Wrightsville. Wetsuits are needed 5 months of the year. Winter water hovers +- 50. Wilmington is crowded and has a much larger city feel than what it is. You could live a country setting and be 5 minutes to the bridge at Surf City (Topsail) which is 30 minutes north of Wilmington. I grew up in Boca and have been here over 20 years and have become quite used to the weather. On average we are not that much colder than Jacksonville really. While its better than Boca, I think the surf in Brevard etc is better. We do have consistent sw wind chop in the summer though. True about the harshness of the OBX. One option is to live in 'town'. That is up in the Nags Head area. There is more work and people up there, but jobs are not what I would call plentiful. Plenty of opportunity to make it in your own business there though. It doesn't suffer as much as Hatteras Island does from the weather. Waves are freakin killer and Hatteras is a short drive south. Gets considerably colder than SNC. You will never forget a good day on the banks.

I'm thinking Puerto Rico.  Warm water no wetsuits, they are hard on the shoulders as I age.  Buy a large piece of property 30 minute east of Rincon, still close to the beach and with the www you know when surf will show.  Cold water is not much fun to me.

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JMA

 Oxb Pretty much covered by everybody here. Great in the fall one thing I like is when I visit one my old surfing friends That now lives up there is we take his 4X4 drive down the beach untill we see a sand bar thats working Surf pretty much alone. 

Australia??

Surfed Nags Head alone with really murkey 40 something degree water in a 3/2 and 2 mil booties. Noone there to watch if I died. Not so Smart but surf was chest to head high and peeling. Now Australia?! Loved it! surfed Snapper for two and a half weeks!! Super Epic!!don't know how to embed but go here for a bit of my trip. This is part of a 16 min vid that youtube took down :/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi8NxVP5W1U

I don't know whether it's still easy to get permits for working in Australia for a limited term, but the $30 (at Amazon) teaser is "101 Best Australian Beaches" by Andrew Short and Brad Farmer.  

I think UCF's hotel school has a student exchange program with a university in Brisbane.

Pretty glad I asked, guess it sounds nice in theory but realistically the cons seem strong with this one.. As for the Aus. theory, I had looked into it a while back, and I had met a pretty gnarly dude from there in Nica over the summer, he wound up traveling with us for the better part of a month, and over that time I asked him what all it entailed, I can't remember detail for detail now but it didn't super hard, it just seemed like there was due process to weed out the dumbcunts (there goes my chance anyhow). He said he could set me up with some of his 'mates' if I ever wanted to go and just check it out first hand.

On that note, it really is all up in the air, I could wind up in Aus, NZ, Central Am., etc.. hell, on a wild card, maybe even Indian River or Volusia county! Only time (and apparently ability to avoid lengthy relationships) will tell. Thanks for all yalls input.

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'Out of step' - Ian Mackaye

Hatty in bad shape, recent trip photos and the Ferry from Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island - now 1 hour trip deep into Sound -

(before shoaling - straight route - 25 minutes) - free ferry - paid by the state of North Carolina 

Many restaurants and stores have already closed.  Quite early this year.

With the requirement for permit to drive on the beach, fishermen not

returning to this area.  Most fishermen, as well as many vacationers,

visit for one week.  A permit to drive on the beach (for surf fishing or

sightseeing) can be purchased for one day or one year - not one week.

Many locals are not happy !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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