Is being a surfer in Los Angeles like being a skier in Salt Lake?

[couloirman]

I am also following this thread closely as I may have to move to LA for residency. Currently interviewing at USC, UC Irvine, and Univ of Utah (with hopefully some nor cal, CO, WA, OR interviews still to come) so the decision is between skiing and surfing. Tougher call than I had originally thought...

[Rodneyyee]

If you end up at UCI-just go ahead and pound your dong with a hammer for 30 minutes-Traffic alone is enough to derail any sane person from living in or around that shit hole.

[Hugh Conway]

Same with USC. then you can hammer your dick on your board with the 5,000 other bros in the water.

[couloirman]

^^^ hahaha, duly noted. I wish I had more choice in the residency selection process than I do. The match is dumb. I prob won't end up there anyway, but they are options, and thanks for the info

[nest]

SLC- 3 Ogdens
LA- 7 Ogdens

[jtran10]

I am also following this thread closely as I may have to move to LA for residency. Currently interviewing at USC, UC Irvine, and Univ of Utah (with hopefully some nor cal, CO, WA, OR interviews still to come) so the decision is between skiing and surfing. Tougher call than I had originally thought...

Skiing and surfing? I think you mean working 60 hours a week or working 75.

FWIW, from Vermont originally, would never want to be in LA for longer than 8 hours straight. Would imagine most from RI have the same opinion.

[ill-advised strategy]

LA- 7 Ogdens

Bummer.

[media310]

Utah gets big dumps far more frequently then so cal gets waves. Being a surfer in So Cal would be like being a powder skier or rider in Tahoe the past few seasons. Lots of waiting around..

Most crowded place to surf in the world, more people then Hawaii, Indo etc etc..

I wouldn't do it unless you got the money and time to travel out of LAX, if so you can score epic waves within 5 hour flights to HI or Central America

[supermodel159]

North Shore = Cham or JH ???

Maui = A Basin, Squaw, Telluride, Ajax, Highlands, SLC, etc.

LA/ SoCal = Summit or Vail

Nor Cal/ OR/ WA = New England

Cocoa Beach/ Ponce = Mt Trashmore/ Midwest

That is my take on surfing/skiing

It was an effort, but not close really at any level.

Bottom line, don't start surfing.

[splitinbend]

This is the dumbest fucking surf related thread I have ever read. ON THE ENTIRE INTERWEB! SLC? Being a surfer in LA is like being a skier in fucking Africa.

Nor Cal/ OR/ WA = New England

There's a reason why Gerry Lopez surfs the Oregon coast, and it's not because it's like fucking New England? Holy shit that was retarded.

[whitekingsalmon]

^^^^^ barney alert,,,, hey kook ( ya you that lives 185 miles from the coast) Gerry didnt even go to the coast the first 3 years when he first lived in Oregon.
as for saying LA is like Africa ,,,,,,,,,,,, you are a full on kook...http://youtu.be/FAzYbJAxMYc

[ill-advised strategy]

This is the dumbest fucking surf related thread I have ever read. ON THE ENTIRE INTERWEB! SLC? Being a surfer in LA is like being a skier in fucking Africa.

So it's retarded of me to see this and think "hey, maybe living 45 minutes from this would be like when I lived 45 minutes from Snowbird"?



I mean, the comparison might not be apt but asking the question isn't retarded. You're retarded.

[Hugh Conway]

Utah gets big dumps far more frequently then so cal gets waves. Being a surfer in So Cal would be like being a powder skier or rider in Tahoe the past few seasons. Lots of waiting around..

Most crowded place to surf in the world, more people then Hawaii, Indo etc etc..

I wouldn't do it unless you got the money and time to travel out of LAX, if so you can score epic waves within 5 hour flights to HI or Central America

BWAH! DICKBAG310 chimes in with the stupid! YUP MAN MORE PEOPLE THAN INDO! Post some more "stoke" brah! how fucking stokeless are the idiots buying adds in your shitty magazine?

no surfers at all in SoCal, none, because there are no waves. What a fucking idiot.

[splitinbend]

^^^^^ barney alert,,,, hey kook ( ya you that lives 185 miles from the coast) Gerry didnt even go to the coast the first 3 years when he first lived in Oregon.
as for saying LA is like Africa ,,,,,,,,,,,, you are a full on kook...http://youtu.be/FAzYbJAxMYc

What the fuck do you even know about barneys? I lived in San Clemente for 22 years before moving to Oregon. I'd love to see you paddle out at lowers and even get a wave kook. Fuck surfing in SoCal with all the other kook cockroaches. Yeah bro there's waves in San Pedro and they're so good. Congrats, you have El Porto, it barely breaks. Malibu? Fagfest every day. Just go to Ventura if you want to surf.

LA is a desert when it comes to waves. A few hours north, a few hours south and you have some of the best waves in the world. Oh congratulations the swell direction during a massive hurricane swell made every spot in Southern California that could catch swell look like pipe. Fuck LA. And hurricane Marie was an anomaly. It's never been that good. But if you want to surf in LA and wait for the next hurricane Marie, go ahead, have fun waiting.

[ill-advised strategy]

Yes...that all seems about right.

FWIW "los angeles", for the purposes of my knocking ideas around, could have meant a few hours north or south too. I probably should have just said southern cal. I mean, there's an awful lot of los angeles' dna all over a lot of media I've consumed my whole life and there's a lot of mystery and wonder tied up in that place for me because I've never really spent much time there. I have no doubt it's a giant shitshow....but really, before I was sort of forced into moving to Salt Lake I thought I'd hate it there and that turned out really, really well for me.

anyway, this isn't serious research here. I'm not gearing up for a move, I'm not going to freak out if somebody is right or wrong, I'm just exploring a thought I had. Please don't get butthurt about it.

[whitekingsalmon]

^^^^^ I know what you were meaning... and I was thinking the same,,, LA is southern california ,,,,,,, which is santa barbara south.

[TahoeJ]

^^ Everyone from Santa Barbara will insist that they are part of the central coast along with SLO, not SoCal. ;-)

[whitekingsalmon]

ok then oil piers south is socal jajaja

[Meadow Skipper]

^^ Everyone from Santa Barbara will insist that they are part of the central coast along with SLO, not SoCal. ;-)

Heh.

But to keep the (possibly stoopid) snow/surf comparison concept going, I'd advance the idea that Santa Barbara would be like Park City, only more expensive. Oxnard=Ogden.

[splitinbend]

From a surfers perspective, SB is the bottom of the central coast and doesn't get touched by south swells during the summer. It's pretty much dormant as much of the central coast is too during the summer. It's not until the north swells start coming in that Rincon and other spots in SB come to life. I never considered SB as part of LA. Can't forget Mexico either. Waves from Rosarito to Ensenada are amazing and empty year round. Banff/Revelstoke?

[Ottime]

Man, some of you guys take this whole talking our of your ass on the internet thing way to seriously. You really need to relax a bit. And what does whitedouchfish know about LA, or CA for that matter. He is always half way around the world living in his dream and speaking German to himself while in board shorts.

[abraham]

He is always half way around the world living in his dream and speaking German to himself while in board shorts.

Bernhard's brother but without the sheep dreams?

[supermodel159]

^^ Everyone from Santa Barbara will insist that they are part of the central coast along with SLO, not SoCal. ;-)

Thank you! I was about to point that out. The only people in SB who represent/claim SoCal are the mexicans, who enjoy the idea of being connected with LA.

Man, some of you guys take this whole talking our of your ass on the internet thing way to seriously. You really need to relax a bit.

Agreed.

Also, there is no such thing as being a "surfer" anymore. Those days have long passed.

[ill-advised strategy]

Clearly I should have spent a few more days delicately crafting the original post and thread title. Time has gotten away from me and I guess I forget just how much panty and loose sand has been crammed up everyone's collective cloaca around here.

Core question: is it possible to live well on a working-class budget in urban southern California and still surf decent conditions frequently...in the same way it's possible to live a high-quality lifestyle on a working-class budget in Salt Lake City while skiing decent conditions frequently.

Yeah, there's a big city in Hawaii but it seems like there are a lot of issues with living in Hawaii...It's prohibitively expensive and you're always going to be the outsider in this native/tourism scheme. Plus no good baseball, plus no hockey, plus can't even drive to skiing. The coastal towns have the same cost of living/job market problems. Exactly like trying to make your way into being settled as an adult in a ski town where everything is working against you. I thought maybe there are livable pockets of this huge metropolis with all that coastline where you don't have to deal with the tourism monoculture as much and you could still get out and surf a lot. Sadly, I doubt that situation really exists.

[PedPro]

gotta rake in some scratch to live in LA proper (true with most of socal) and get in the water regularly, without getting fed up with commuting to surf. also it doesn't have much variety or consistency to its spots, but all of them have their days--manhatten, venice through santa monica surf are all marginal beach breaks probably on par with south carolina or maryland surfing with more consistency/groundswells.

You could rent a dumpy apt. off I-5 in oceanside for not too much money and have your dentist office, a del taco and cineplex all within walking distance with year round surf a 10 minute drive away and world class breaks within 30 min.