Try looking in the Northwest (US) if you think California is too expensive (I do). Anywhere in the Willamette Valley (from about Portland down to Eugene) puts you no more than an hour from mountains and an hour from the coasts. The surfing definitely is not as good as Cali, but its at least possible. I know lots of people who surf our beaches year-round. And you can't beat the cycling (especially through wine country )!
The weather is mild, and it rarely gets hotter than 100 or colder than 20. The rain isn't as bad as people complain about; I think all the whiners are the California-imports, anyway ! But if you think grey winters would be a drag, try looking at central Oregon. It puts you closer to the mountains (and lots of snow instead of rain) but farther from the beach.


Granted, I am little biased as I have lived in the Willamette Valley for most of my life. Out of the 24 FindYourSpot locations, I think I got all of the Oregon cities... Coincidence?