If you want to surf, move to Santa Cruz. There are more breaks for various skill levels and they are easy to get to. Pacifica is an easy break for beginners but there's only one, and there isn't much to the town. Half Moon Bay has even less of a town, is far away from everything, and has no beginner breaks.
My advice is probably controversial because Santa Cruz is far away from the action and considered weird, but I was much happier when I lived there than when I lived in San Francisco. It's not too bad of a commute from SC to places like Cupertino, especially if you are used to Atlanta traffic.
Yeah, the commute isn't bad unless some idiot wipes out at the summit on 17 :)
I would have to second your recommendation of Santa Cruz if surfing is a priority. Unlike Pacifica or Half Moon Bay there is actually a "there" there when you compare SC to the other two locations. There is even a bit of local tech so the possibility of not needing to commute exists. In my previous startup I had three employees who commuted from SC to Mountain View and all of us were pleased with the arrangement. One other advantage of SC is that if your wife does not work she is less likely to go insane from boredom in SC.
My advice is probably controversial because Santa Cruz is far away from the action and considered weird, but I was much happier when I lived there than when I lived in San Francisco. It's not too bad of a commute from SC to places like Cupertino, especially if you are used to Atlanta traffic.