Live and Kite - San Francisco or Outer Banks

[spencero]

What's the better place to live and enjoy kiting?

[EdG]

I loved living in SF and that was ~96/97 before kiting on Ocean Beach I lived in NC before SF and the Outer Banks is kind of isolated. Depends if you like the City life or a more remote location.

[clintopher]

OBX is definitely more isolated which also means fewer jobs...much fewer. Something to consider.
If employment wasn't an issue I'd live in the Outer Banks. Of course, I could really do without city life.

[pbmaniac27]

Anywhere else in the US that you guys would recommend if you could pick where your career is going to be.

I am at that stage of my life almost.

[Krazedkiter]

1 to 1-1/2 hour is a common drive for me to a kite beach.....and I live 5 minutes from the Ocean.

You can still be near prime kite spots but still also be in larger cites with larger employment ops. If I lived within 3 hours of OBX I would be hysterical.

[jwoodunlv]

Corpus Christi. What kind of career field are you in? We get wind all the time here from mid February through July and sometimes even August. The rest of the year we still get wind but not as frequent as cold fronts shut the wind down for a few days.

[spencero]

Ok, I asked a stupid question...thanks for the responses.

OBX is a place for me to vacation. Don't think I can live there year round. I forgot to consider the seasons too.

Thanks jwood, I'll have to check out SPI....Spring thru mid Summer u say. How are the skimpy Spring Breakers? Longhorns?

[jakemoore]

Texas is bigger than it looks on the map. SPI and corpus are a good 2 hours a part. But North Padre is closer to Corpus than SPI is to the cities in the RGV. I also think highly of coastal TX and even Houston/Galveston could be an option if you needed more opportunity for work. SPI/Corpus/Houston are all good but I think Corpus offers the most places to ride in a shorter drive and the best wind but he launches are a little more gnarley. The taxicab supported downwinders in SPI are a tough act to beat in the windy season. If I was single I would pick Houston or San Fran.

Jake

[jwoodunlv]

Corpus is the better TX spot if you work and want to catch after work sessions. SPI is close to nowhere so if you lived in Harlingen or McCallen you would only be kiting on weekends and it's also really crowded. We get great wind year round but Mid February through July is when it is the most consistent. September sucks, but then it kicks back in early October and we are still in boardshorts through mid to late November. I get off work around 4:30 and I can still get in a good 2 hour session after work during daylight savings time. The only setback is there are not a lot of jobs here but if you have the right skills you can find work. Jakemoore is right about the launches they are a bit gnarly here but you get used to it. We also have some secret spots with easier launches that most people don't know about.

[spencero]

You are right. Not a lot of jobs anywhere. But I heard Bush made Texas one of the few growing economies during his reign. They had a relocation program for New Jersey to TX...can you imagine! Obama must be a playa hata...spreading the wealth outside of TX.

I'm in the food industry, I guess I'll have to drive my Taco truck down to TX during the Spring. Less rat meat in the cooler, need to make room for kites.