Select to expand quoteShifu said..
I like the look of Geraldton. Are there any places south of Perth good for windsurfers?
Mandurah, Albany
Pretty sure it wouldn't rate as best in pure terms, but the Illawarra is a good balance. Primbee in the westerlies is pretty special (speed and slalom), wave sailing options in wollongong but Gerroa is just down the road. Active raceboard and LT scene on the lake. Access to Sydney if that matters to you.
Select to expand quotedelmar71 said..
Pretty sure it wouldn't rate as best in pure terms, but the Illawarra is a good balance. Primbee in the westerlies is pretty special (speed and slalom), wave sailing options in wollongong but Gerroa is just down the road. Active raceboard and LT scene on the lake. Access to Sydney if that matters to you.
Illawarra is one of the best areas of Australia for sure!
Geraldton, but for winter would be Cairns, Whitsundays or Fiji* (*there are some secret spots) not windy that often tide dependant.
Gero's not fancy schmacy, glitzy and touristy* ...it's not going to suit everyone ..and endless sunny days of 30-40c in summer no rain for months and 20-30knts 4-5 days a week isn't for everyone either. * couple of nice food places now that i rate highly.
It has its issues ..and some parts of town are nicer than others ..but thats reflective of any town and city..you just might notice it.
What is doesn't have is stupid over inflated realestate prices that are crippling our economy.
This is the main beach in town centre ..it gets crowded .. last trip i saw two people swimming during mid week, crazy!
If Gero is too busy for you ..there countless other spots along the coast that are similar but smaller towns. just a sunny, windy and empty!... sorry WA crew ...eventually the east coast is going to wake up to itself and there will be a mass migration west!
Its always amazing when your there, its warm and windy and the water looks good for a sail and it is ...but no one is out ! ...they are, its just more likely they will be further up the coast in even better conditions, or waiting for the late arvo blow , which is just a bit windier and better than what its been since 1pm :)
back in the day the locals had a saying ...'say no to six 0' '! ... I once saw i guy run out of town when he rigged up a 7m sail on a 'rest day' !
I want a small town. I dont care about superficial shizz like big cities, cafes, fancy houses, and shopping malls.
Select to expand quoteShifu said..
I want a small town. I dont care about superficial shizz like big cities, cafes, fancy houses, and shopping malls.
Maybe 40miles west of Gero would suit.
Abrolhos Islands.
I used to work on a cray boat out there.
Wasn't sailing at the time, but I'm sure there is mega sailing setups all though there.
If I won the lotto, id live in Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. So perfect and dreamy. Water like it was painted blue.
It really is that color, it's not photoshopped. Got something to do with the type of sand. Such a relaxed place. $2.50 to get a motorcycle licence to ride hire bikes. Funny story... for safety, the one local cop wants to see if people can handle bikes. So, after riding everywhere for the weekend, cops closed on weekend, I rocked up to the station, (hut) with wifey on the back, and he said, " you didn't crash getting here, so you're good to go ".' $2.50 please. If you have the chance, go there just to dribble at the water. Would be happy to die there.
Select to expand quoteShifu said..
I want a small town. I dont care about superficial shizz like big cities, cafes, fancy houses, and shopping malls.
Bribie Island has it all. Well, it's got some...No superficial Shizz at all. The most excitement you will get is having to look both ways at a roundabout. We have OK wind for half a year and the other half , none.Want to do a two hour walk at the dog beach mid week and pass three people? We just got our second set of traffic lights and that didn't go down well. Somebody forgot to stop and hit someone.
Other than that, my driving is getting bad , clipping curves and not wasting blinker fluid seems to me that I'm fitting into Bribie life. The painted parking space lines are only for something to aim for. It's OK , most parking lots are empty . So taking two is normal.Drinking on public land seems to be legal , it seems to be encouraged. Those large electric scooters for two that hold a esky are popular. It is an adjustment from city life. It is an adjustment from your normal heartbeat, until you get to a roundabout.Its strange when the young check out chicks at the shops call me darl. If I did that in Melbourne, I'd get arrested.
Select to expand quoteBen1973 said..Imax1 said..Ben1973 said..ptsf1111 said..
Love the question and keen to see some of the responses.
Question for you though: why wait until retirement? You should move there now, make the most of it and enjoy life. You could be unfit, broke or not alive at the time you stop working...
I think life is backwards, you should be able to enjoy yourself when you're young and fit and then start work at 50 until you die. I know to many people that have waited for retirement only to get ill and not be able to enjoy it.
So I start a four year apprenticeship at 46 ?
Why not? I rode bikes (professionally so sort of job) and windsurfed till I was 40, then got a proper job, it worked out pretty well for me, definitely don't regret joining the 9 to 5ers earlier
Locally we are down to couple of real old guy (+60's). Most of the other windsurfers in our age group have had to stop due to physical issues or worse. We were all in a good financial situation to retire years ago. FIRE, financially independent, retire early. Add zero debt and adopting a simpler life style. Now that we are in our early to late 60's the past injuries and new dings are putting a serious dent in our relatively active lifestyle. Wish I could have retired in early 40's or late 30's like a few of my windsurfing friends who sold their high tech based business during the tech boom. Still no regrets.
Already live in a great spot - being Perth. Have the option of the river which will work in almost any wind direction, the coast and Safety Bay and Mandurah is a short drive away which are all good for most pursuits other than wave sailing but could drive to Lancelin for that. If I was looking for a spot to buy a holiday house after a Lotto win it would be in Safety Bay or Cervantes, the latter a little jewel that's still an affordable coastal windsurfing bay location that absolutely blows its tits off all summer and only an easy couple of hours north of Perth! Safety Bay's sea breeze starts earlier, finishes later and always blows 3-5 knots stronger than Perth and is a short drive to the Mandurah estuary for speed.
Select to expand quotePhilUK said..
This place for me. No pesky shore break, bit of a swell with flat water in between for some proper blasting, 95-110l freerace/slalom and 6 -7m 2 cam sail.
How often is it like this?
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I live there. I spend my life dreaming of moving to WA and travelling to wind when I can. The guy in the vid lives here and doesn't sail anymore. It's fun in a westerly. We get about 4 decent westerlies a year if we're lucky. There's no clean wind in anything from ENE to SSW. In a high tide and NE you have to swim your gear out to get to the clean wind. In a low tide by the time you're out in the clean wind you might as well be off any beach in NSW. We have had super crappy NE seasons the last few years.
Cervantes through summer (a dinner trip to the country club, one of the local crayfisherman referred to it as a "windy sh!thole"). But winter up there I would figure to be quite drab. I think Perth all in all is a great base of operations. Plenty of great windy destinations not too long a drive away. Planning on plenty of Cervantes trips this summer.
It was gusting up to 25 knots today on the Swan River.
Very early in the season and the sea breezes have been strong.
Not many out today especially at Melville, maybe 10 max.
A bit cool later in the afternoon, maybe only 20 C.
Maybe here...
www.belleproperty.com/listings/42-the-little-grand-parade-brighton-le-sands-nsw-2216-qme2v5Xa
Select to expand quotesupbb said..
Maybe here...
www.belleproperty.com/listings/42-the-little-grand-parade-brighton-le-sands-nsw-2216-qme2v5Xa
Nope. Getting over the grand parade would not be fun if you are carrying your gear, so you may as well drive anyway. That's if you can get there early to get a parking spot before all the visitors pack the place out with their barbeques.
I wouldn't live there for windsurfing, and you can't kite there either.
It would give you a head-start on the morning peak hour commute though 
You can get stuck at the airport tunnel earlier than anyone else. 
Select to expand quotePcdefender said..
It was gusting up to 25 knots today on the Swan River.
Very early in the season and the sea breezes have been strong.
Not many out today especially at Melville, maybe 10 max.
A bit cool later in the afternoon, maybe only 20 C.
And it's unseasonal so dunno about moving across the country based on how Melville water was this week Pete
Select to expand quoteFormulaNova said..supbb said..
Maybe here...
www.belleproperty.com/listings/42-the-little-grand-parade-brighton-le-sands-nsw-2216-qme2v5Xa
Nope. Getting over the grand parade would not be fun if you are carrying your gear, so you may as well drive anyway. That's if you can get there early to get a parking spot before all the visitors pack the place out with their barbeques.
I wouldn't live there for windsurfing, and you can't kite there either.
It would give you a head-start on the morning peak hour commute though You can get stuck at the airport tunnel earlier than anyone else.
Little Grand Parade is the street that runs along the beachfront there. There used to be a couple of sailors living there who could rig up in their front garden if they desired.
And now that I look at the ad, it could easily be what one of them redeveloped a single storey semi into. It was either that house or the one next door that an ex pilot bought in the early 2000's.
Select to expand quoteMr Milk said..FormulaNova said..supbb said..
Maybe here...
www.belleproperty.com/listings/42-the-little-grand-parade-brighton-le-sands-nsw-2216-qme2v5Xa
Nope. Getting over the grand parade would not be fun if you are carrying your gear, so you may as well drive anyway. That's if you can get there early to get a parking spot before all the visitors pack the place out with their barbeques.
I wouldn't live there for windsurfing, and you can't kite there either.
It would give you a head-start on the morning peak hour commute though You can get stuck at the airport tunnel earlier than anyone else.
Little Grand Parade is the street that runs along the beachfront there. There used to be a couple of sailors living there who could rig up in their front garden if they desired.
And now that I look at the ad, it could easily be what one of them redeveloped a single storey semi into. It was either that house or the one next door that an ex pilot bought in the early 2000's.
Right you are. I looked at the property ad and saw where the pin was and assumed it was corrrect; on the west side of the grand parade. Now I take a better look, its not, it's right opposite the water.
I still wouldn't want to live there though but I am sure I would get used to it after a while. I remember doing laps around there trying to figure out where I could park.
Oh well, definitely not in my price range either way.
