San Diego or San Francisco

Go south young man.

 

go to school in SD then get a job in SF when you're done. I lived in SF for years. Great town- bur wear board shorts not a 3/4 when your age 18-22 dude.

 

San Diego my brother.... SD has sick waves all year long. And the real Ocean Beach is in San Diego.... OB SD has some of the best waves in SoCal. Jetty, Pier, Reefs, Points. Can't find a place better in the continental US... Trust me brother. San Diego is the place to go. Hands down. Better weather, better women and better waves. (Disclaimer: Unless you want to be a "big wave rider" and charge mavericks etc...) SD gets plenty big, but stay in the consistently fun head-high to DOH range a lot of the year... There are some HUGE days down there for sure, but for the most part, you will spend fall enjoying a better Hurricane season than the east coast ever gets, then enjoy solid waves every day of the winter, including some HUGE sh**, followed by a breezy, but consistent spring. Summer is crowded and fun, but the "School Year" offers waves practically every freaking day.... mix that with some heat waves and perfect winter weather and you can't ask for much more

Just remember, it got the nick-name "STD-SU" for a reason. Wrap it up young man.

 

Have you ever surfed belmar,ca??

#belmarscomingtocali

 

Having grown up in NorCal and moving down to SD when I was 30 I'd say go to SDSU. The waves are better in NorCal. Period. No question. True, you'd have to drive to Santa Cruz to get consistency but if you're living in the college area of San Diego you're going to be driving all over the county to get waves here. Now the plus here is that while SF is a constant state of winter, SD is a constant state of summer. Also, like someone else said, you want to be in board shorts while in college. SF is just a better place for after you graduate and have some more money.

Now this is more about the college experience than surfing, and SDSU ****s on SFSU in every social way, e.g. girls, parties, etc.

So I'm voting SDSU for you, and I usually try and steer anyone away from moving where I live

 

I've surfed both areas and would highly recommend SD over SF. OB, SF is overrated mushballs unless it's stupid big and your other choices for surf in the area are few and far between. The San Diego area has more breaks than you can name and everything from beachies to reefs to points.

Not to mention the San Diego area is perfect weather and gorgeous. SF on the other hand does have a very gritty east coast feel, so it can help remind you of home.

P.S. do not judge san diego based on your LA / OC experience.....it's completely completely different once you're south of OC.

 

Hands down San Diego! Well hands up cuz you'll be in Heaven. I lived and loved North County (encinitas-Cardiff Reef-Del Mar-Solana....the list goes on. I lived in Leucadia which is part of Encinitas and borders Carlsbad and loved it. There are a few breaks that resemble the East and are fairly mellow and uncrowded considering it's California. HIT Stone Steps and Grandview and you'll enjoy the waves and the vibe....envious for sure!

 

I would drive thru Tijuana as quick as you can, couple of military check points up to Ensenada. Ensenada is a safe port town (closest part of mainland to Todos Santos if you wanna find a boat), cheap rooms, fun party scene, nice little empty spot I surfed with some dolphins by the military airport south of town. After Ensenada it is Baja dessert, small villages, empty breaks, be smart and you'll be fine. Best roadside fish tacos I ever ate, maybe 50 cents a piece and that was gringo prices. One trip made it as far south as El Rosario, found a sweet ocean front resort that Reagan stayed at for like 20 bucks a night in the off season, albeit beach break but definitely an experience. Baja isn't a route for the cartels to traffic, but with that being said that's what the military is gonna be searching you for at the checkpoints thinking you're a mule so be smart. Enjoy the tacos...

 

Yeah, I agree with davincimoon there. SDSU is literally less than a 20 minute drive to the border. Skate through TJ lickety split. Always early morning or during daylight. You may hit a checkpoint on your way up to La Playa in TJ, but after that, its smooth sailing along the coastline to Ensenada. For all intents and purposes, there are about 50 world class breaks in that area, so my daily trip was usually as follows.

Stop at La Fonda if the wife was with me. Park in a safe area right in front of the hotel. Walk through the hotel and down the stairs to a SICK beach break.... You can also surf on the the numerous points between TJ, Rosarito and Ensenada. Calafia is one of my favorites if there is a solid South in the water. Little tricky, but an epic point break into a boneyard.... You will need some local knowledge for a few of the spots, but if you surf k38 and all the well known spots, you will have a few gringos around you. Makes you feel a bit safer. But I would always spend the day surfing close to Ensenada, then before the sun went down, we would drive into Downtown Ensenada to a little hotel. It was $30 per night, and all gated. You actually drive you car into the gates and park directly in front of your room. It keeps your gear safe and your wheels safe. Then you just walk down the strip and party. Its very safe in that area unless you go 4-5 blocks off the strip. You have "Pharmacias" and all that crap if that is your thing, but its always a great time to crush a bunch of authentic mexican food and drink some ice cold beer.

Don't drink any liquor on the rocks. Just do shots. No mixed drinks with ice. And always watch your bartender when they pour your drinks... Well, this is TJ talk, cause I have had a group of about 8 of us almost all get roofied if we hadnt seen the guys doing it....

Just follow the normal, "dont be an idiot" standards and you will be okay. Dont ride dirty, cause you can get anything you need down there and if you have a problem at a check point and they wont take a pay off, you will be in a mexican jail. Which is obviously bad news.....

 

Check out Alaska. The waves are uncrowded and the bears are delicious.

 

Why is this even a question? Daygo

 

if your from the northeast/mid atlantic, prepare for ridiculous crowds in SD. we're used to empty, surfable jetties every other beach, but over there it's a lot different. weather/waves are friendlier but that's what creates the trade off

 

Its hard to beat San Diego... That would be my choice.

 

Having lived in the bay area, i would say, without a doubt go to sdsu. You may get a better book education in sf cause the waves will be cold, and so will the weather. Famous mark twain quote bout sf weather "the coldest winter i ever had was a summer in san francisco". Took a few road trips to san diego and had warm(er) waves and hot girls all over the place. Had to hang up on my girlfriend from sensory overload just driving down the street, hot beachy surfer girls all over. Not the case in sf.

 

Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means ‘a whale’s vagina.'

 

This thread is inspiring me to move to SD. Findin g a job there on the other hand I haven't even glanced at.