I Want to Swim in the Ocean

[khyron]

Originally Posted by musicmagus

North Carolina is an interesting suggestion. I've always thought of that area being conservative, but I don't know too much about it. I'll check it out. Thanks for the suggestions!

I grew up in Virginia, and if you live in Virginia then you know that Virginia Beach is nothing but a tourist trap and "the beach" means "the outer banks of North Carolina." Once one gets all the way to the outer banks, there is a long bridge that connects from the mainland. At the end of this bridge, you go left (north) or right (south). To the north are nothing but chain food places and gated neighborhoods and "resort communities" full of aging gross yuppies and their larva. There's nothing to do, and nobody wants to see any normal or young people around. It's terribly boring and monocultural.

If you head south, on the other hand...

There are a number of fun beach towns on the way down to Cape Hatteras (the very tip, where a historic light house makes a fun photo opportunity). You'll find Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, and Kitty Hawk all to be pretty fun places to hang out where you can actually find a vegetarian restaurant or two in between all the barbecue and there's TONS to do, including public beaches, dunes high enough to glide from, places to go kayaking, rent a jetski, etc. Tons of great food and no need to ever eat at a chain, plus grocery stores with good selections of real food should you wanna grill someplace. There are even campgrounds if you don't want to rent a house or get a hotel room (though there are plenty of cheap hotels, nothing fancy like up north).

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by musicmagus

I love Portland for many reasons, but the weather is bumming me out. I would like to live somewhere sunnier, although I don't mind storms or snow in the winter. I am a vegan and somewhat liberal (libertarian/anarchist leaning). I have a young child, so I would like to live somewhere that's good for kids. Mostly I want to live next to an ocean that I can actually swim in. Oh, and I'm poor. Anyone have any suggestions for places to live? I know it's kind of a tall order, but I would appreciate any thoughts.

I don't agree with the suggestions for North Carolina. Yes it's a nice place, but it is nothing like Oregon. The only area near Raleigh where you would expect to find a lot of vegans, would be Carrboro/Chapel Hill. That's a really small college town. On top of that, Raleigh isn't really close to the ocean. It's about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hr from Raleigh to the beach, depending on traffic.

You should think about Santa Cruz, CA if you can find a home you can afford.

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Originally Posted by khyron

I grew up in Virginia, and if you live in Virginia then you know that Virginia Beach is nothing but a tourist trap and "the beach" means "the outer banks of North Carolina." Once one gets all the way to the outer banks, there is a long bridge that connects from the mainland. At the end of this bridge, you go left (north) or right (south). To the north are nothing but chain food places and gated neighborhoods and "resort communities" full of aging gross yuppies and their larva. There's nothing to do, and nobody wants to see any normal or young people around. It's terribly boring and monocultural.

If you head south, on the other hand...

There are a number of fun beach towns on the way down to Cape Hatteras (the very tip, where a historic light house makes a fun photo opportunity). You'll find Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, and Kitty Hawk all to be pretty fun places to hang out where you can actually find a vegetarian restaurant or two in between all the barbecue and there's TONS to do, including public beaches, dunes high enough to glide from, places to go kayaking, rent a jetski, etc. Tons of great food and no need to ever eat at a chain, plus grocery stores with good selections of real food should you wanna grill someplace. There are even campgrounds if you don't want to rent a house or get a hotel room (though there are plenty of cheap hotels, nothing fancy like up north).

Wow, you nailed those descriptions perfectly. OBX (turning south) is a blast. I spent a week there with the in-laws a couple of years ago and loved every minute of it. Awesome beaches and so much to do for everyone. Looking forward to bringing my son there when he's a bit older.

[Bluesmama]

Originally Posted by musicmagus

I love Portland for many reasons, but the weather is bumming me out. I would like to live somewhere sunnier, although I don't mind storms or snow in the winter. I am a vegan and somewhat liberal (libertarian/anarchist leaning). I have a young child, so I would like to live somewhere that's good for kids. Mostly I want to live next to an ocean that I can actually swim in. Oh, and I'm poor. Anyone have any suggestions for places to live? I know it's kind of a tall order, but I would appreciate any thoughts.

There is nowhere in Oregon with temperate ocean waters. Brookings, I'm told, is an improvement but I've never been there to judge for myself (although I would like to someday).

I think Santa Cruz, California would be a perfect match for you. I don't know about the anarchist bit ~ it's a very laidback, peaceful coastal town ~ but it's highly liberal and has much influence from the 60's hippies that lived there.

But. . . .

Unfortunately, it's also one of the most expensive places in California. You'd probably have to roommate. Check it out, anyway.

[pathrunner]

I agree about Santa Cruz, but definitely you'd have to roommate. That wouldn't be so bad. There are likely alternative type preschools and schools and homeschoolers to educate your child, but personally I'd watch out for the stoner dreadlocks influence. While I am a cradle liberal and am still very liberal I find that I did not want my child attending college there, and I put my foot down. The university is outstanding but the subculture is too alluring and too much of a distraction IMO. My ex was shocked out of his mind because he was the arch neocon and still is. Some people just get more conservative after they have children. People get waylaid into subcultures of different sorts and then wake up at age 45 wondering what the hell happened.

Santa Cruz does get cold, so you could go further south to someplace like Ocean Beach in San Diego, but I haven't been there in a while so don't know how it is now but it was the "liberal hippie" hangout of the area. The truth is it has probably gentrified and has priced right out of the whole roommate thing, but you never know. I'd check that out on Craigslist.

The fact is things have completely changed and kids nowadays (twentysomethings) don't have nearly as many options as my generation did. And that's really sad.