Nfla vs. Central fla

Flsurfdog speaks the truth. Port Fierce has become a freaking zoo. Way too crowded and there is a major attitude problems with all the south Florida kids coming up, snaking waves, just being real disrespectful loud mouths and crowding out locals.

And the trash. GEESH!

I would recommend further north or WPB

 

WPB is closed during Nov - April due to frequent visits by El Jeffe. No way in and no way out.

 

I live in jax and surf the poles (actually mayport, because its free and i can leave my keys in the car). I have a buddy that lives in Melbourne and I've surfed Indalantic with him a few times.
Its only a 2.5 ~ hour drive but its a world of difference for temperature. I use a 3/2 with boots and gloves here, and hes in a shorty.

If i had my preference and had a job paying what i can make here in jax, I'd pick Melbourne, but jax isnt a bad place, and its a better job market.

 

Betty, I just sat here for 45 mins. writing how bad it is here, it was so negative after I read it that I just cancelled the whole thing. The only time I surf that beach is on a weekday now or dawn patrol on the weekend

 

I've traveled and surfed around the world, and have given this exact question a lot of thought.

Having narrowed the entire world down to a handful of potential forever destinations, the Melbourne/Cocoa Beach area emerged as my number one choice behind Kill Devil Hills.

 

I'd actually love to do something like snowbirding, it was actually something I was interested in eventually doing when I was younger. My current job is like the opposite of snowbirding though, where I work during the ''Snowbirding'' season and have off in the summer. So going down to Florida from May-September isn't quite as fun as being there from November-March or whatever.

I would recommend a destination that gets somewhat good surf, South Florida really doesn't. I have an older friend, who is a friend of the family. He retired in his early 50's down to Florida, only he moved to Bradenton Beach on the Gulf Coast. He surfs and is pretty good, but he decided to move to a Gulf region, so that he wouldn't be tempted to do nothing but surf everyday. He enjoys golfing and riding his boat. So he either waits for the Gulf to stir up something or he takes a drive to the Atlantic Coast one day a week. He's also single and is able to spend his days golfing, surfing or boating and doing whatever he wants.

Sebastian area or perhaps Brevard County seems like a great place, if you're retired and no longer working. Although I don't have much experience there first hand.

 

I don't think anything cleans up N/NE wind and swell like the jetty at the Poles

 

On average the low water temp would be 55 deg F. Having grown up there, there have been some years when it dropped below 50 deg F, but it does not happen often (this means the whole east coast is also cold af). Usually a typical winter, during the month of February, on a cold day the water would be 58 deg F, and then the air temp would be in the 40's in the morning, but if it's a sunny day it will gradually transition to mid 50s to lower 60s air temps.

It's not bad, and if you are moving from somewhere up north, the water temps in Jax is nothing to be worried about.

I got by with a 3/2 and 3mm booties.

 

No ****. Well, I guess you have all the answers smart guy. Good luck with your decision.

 

Good luck with the crowd at the poles lol

 

Beach, I started looking at properties near Jax last week.

 

^^^ See what I mean lmao

 

If you're looking at living there only in the winter, establish yourself where the winter swells hit the hardest... NFL. Seems like a no-brainer.

If I was looking for a winter home in FL, my priorities would be (1) crowds, (2) consistency in winter months, (3) size/quality, (4) other things to do, (5... and a distant 5 at that) temperature.

So for me, that's a semi remote, relatively undeveloped place somewhere in Northern Florida. And if I'm retired, and not trying to beat it to the beach before or after work, it would NOT be in a beach community. It would be safely located slightly inland, and probably on concrete pillars. I'd want easy access to some kind of inland waterway, and plenty of property to keep a small boat and all my toys and gardens going strong... I guess a little house on a big piece of property.