[re_todd]

   San Luis Obispo is awesome as others have said, but it is about 10 miles from the beach.
   Ventura County is also good, but has been getting very expensive that last 10 years.
   Carpinteria would have been great 15 years ago, but prices have gone through the roof.

   This would be my short list:
   - Between Carlsbad and La Jolla
   - Cayucos/Morro Bay/Los Osos (all pretty close to each other; I prefer Los Osos because not many people know about it and thus not a lot of traffic on holidays and weekends)
   - Some of the lesser known towns between Monterrey and Santa Cruz
   - Fort Bragg/Mendocino area

   If you're ok with living 5/10/15 miles from the beach, housing gets much cheaper.