N.J. to Los Angeles Relocation

I lived in el ******* for five years. All the good surf spots are south of **** ***...and, of course, rent in that area is astronomical.

"**** ****" can be epic, but it's covered in sharp razor clams and is a dangerous/dredging barrel in bigger swells. Anything north of **** **** is closed-out garbage (until *******).

El ***** is the best shape and most consistent spot in the area...but also horribly crowded, competitive and polluted (oil refinery is right there).

******* ********* used to be world class, but I haven't surfed it since they re-engineered the break wall.

There's also a few secret locals-only type spots strewn between ********* and ******* beaches, but you'll have to find them on your own. I've seen good sandbars form out of nowhere in the most unlikely spots, but that's kinda rare and they don't last long.

The **** *** area is going to be challenging as far as surf, but, if you're living a few blocks from the beach and don't expect too much, you might be satisfied (especially if you're anywhere within the beginner spectrum). Traffic is a killer, so I suggest you maybe get a pos beach cruiser w/ board rack...and a giant lock.

 

What, you're going to give-up the south end of OC right after they do a replenishment project?

What a loss.

Had a big "Move to Cullyfornia" thread the other week.

Are you an "east coast" type?

LA may be a bit of a culture shock, relatively.

The La Brea Tar Pits are awesome, though. And the missions....

The Griffith Park Obervatory is killer.

LA's water makes Jersey seem "clean." Actually Jersey has improved immensely in the past two decades, you lucky newcomers. Ah, gone are the days of railroad ties and needles. There's still needles on the beach but they came from junkies on terra firma, not medical waste from New York.

24 years old. Go. Don't even think.

If it doesn't work out, New Jersey will be here waiting for you.

Adventure, live it. Make memories.

Get the truck out of New Jersey before Camden gets you.

 

Congrats!

 

Grew up around Philadelphia, lived in New England for a few years post college, then moved out to LA. Actually live right in Playa Del Rey now. Porto is your best bet size and consistency wise for most of the year but more so in the winter. Be prepared to drive for surf in the summer if you want something other than a chest high closeout. North LA county has some fun random breaks scattered about and you can actually get them almost to yourself depending on the time of day and hype of the swell. PM if you want some more details.

Sorry for the lack of a hello thread, I'll just go back to lurking for another 7 years.

 

surfvt;340571]Grew up around Philadelphia......

Sorry for the lack of a hello thread, I'll just go back to lurking for another 7 years.[/QUOTE]

Pervert !! Stop watching us.

34th ST: Just go. If it doesn't work out Jersey will still be here, maybe.

And there's more waves out there so don't get all too specific aboot whether Hermosa Pier will satisfy.

Drive up to Oxnard in the winter...

Drive down to Newport in the summer.

You get the idea.

Get lost in the strange Venice sub culture.

Just leave New Jersey.

Atlantic County, NJ - yep, we own the honor of most home repos in the country. B!tchen...while officials try and figure out how this ghetto in Atlantic City can somehow become a family friendly resort.....

Yeah if your kid has a heroin problem and/or likes gun crimes, then AC is great. But it ain't Disneyland. Heck it's not even Times Square. Damn, that Juliani. Oh man, if Times Square was like it was 30 years ago, I'd never make it to Seldom Seen's. Ha.

 

Sh*t, please don't lump me in with wayne.

And I second oxnard in the winter, super fun but tide dependent and nice place to get away from the crowds.

 

lolz

 

Dude! Score! It's not as good as my setup, but getting a job in Playa Del Ray means you can easily surf decent-to-great waves every day (that you want to).

What everybody else said about the local surf spots. -----. Dawn patrol. Winter can be epic. Drive to Newport or Malibu on south swells. There is no surf north of LAX until ______ ____, so just forget it.

No public transit goes to the beach anywhere, and traffic will suck the life/surf-time out of you, so just live as close to work as you can. [unless you work from 11pm to 5am] DO NOT COMMUTE ON THE 405. It won't work. Not even 5 miles. Trust me.

Find the cheapest apartment/room (won't be cheap) you can in El Segundo. Look as far inland toward the 405 as you can, and still bike to dawn patrol, and then bike to work. There is a paved bike path all the way to the marina. There are beach showers and decent W/NW surf at **** ******. It is super-crowded and parking is impossible/expensive so bike bike bike (or skate). It'll help establish you as a local, maximize your surf time, keep you in shape, and save your pennies. CA workplaces usually are pretty relaxed about starting late, so you might be able to surf before work every day, and/or catch evening glass off on your way home. Don't be stupid when you start, obviously and DON'T TELL ANYONE THAT YOU SURF. EVER. Otherwise, every time someone can't find you, they'll assume you cut out to go surfing. Which is only actually true 95% of the time.

Hunt hindus in Manhattan beach and points south. Many have the bonus of being children of 1%'ers. Lots of opportunity. Go party inland in LA--clubbing capitol of the world.

LAX gets you cheap(ish) access to HI and all the surf hotspots of the Pac and Indian oceans. You can be an indo regular if you manage your funds right. Or maybe you'll discover somewhere even better in Asia...

Welcome to the land of opportunity, dude!

 

commutes in LA are different than NJ...in LA, you can be in your car for an hour, but hardly move anywhere.

If you think ***** is going to be your spot (good luck w/ that), residing in el ******* is probably the best/cheapest option. However, the cheapest rents are right by the airport and loud as hell. You might think you'll get used to it, but you won't (I spent 6 months next to the runway and thought I was going to go insane).

Look for someone renting a room in their house as south in el ******* as possible (doesn't matter so much east or west, as the beach is within biking range of anywhere in town). There's a lot of criminally insane druggy/crackheads living in el *******...but about 20% of the population is as mellow and generous as you'll find anywhere in the world.

Forget about **********.

 

Playa Del Rey and El Segundo are your best bet combining cost of living with work commute and beach access. They both have a smallish town vibe but with some fun bars and what not. I actually work in real estate so if you need help finding something let me know what your looking for and budget etc.

Not bad at all getting from Porto to Playa Del Rey in the mornings. Even in rush hour its 10 minutes.

Are you sure your job isn't in Playa Vista insead of Playa Del Rey? Just asking because there's not all that much going on work wise in Playa Del Rey while Playa Vista has a ton of tech companies moving there. Either way both towns are close to one another. Probably another ten minutes to Playa Vista beyond Play Del Rey.

Oxnard's probably an hour fifteen on the weekends if you leave early from Playa del rey. 30 or 40 minutes to Huntington. The drive home always takes a bit longer as the rest of LA has woken up and clogged the roads.

 

I usually surfed **** **** and *****. ******* ***** can be good, but the oil slick gave me earaches.

Like you said, there just aren't many good spots in the south bay...and definitely not enough to disperse the out of control population. Being a newb, just take your time and look around for uncrowded, but workable sandbars...maybe try to make the top spots your plan B.

 

im 25 and did the NJ to Ca move about a year ago. I'm living in Huntington Beach now. The cost isn't horrible as long as you can find an affordable place to live and you don't blow all of your money at the bars on the weekends. my advice is get as many roommates as possible. you won't be in your apartment very much to begin with so as long as you have a cheap place to sleep your golden.

 

Now you're gettin' it.

Dawnie crowds are heavy. You'll have 3 buddies before you can see what you're surfing. By civil twilight it gets totally clogged. Winter timing sucks; good waves but no light to surf by. Everyone goes to work by 9. Trust fund babies start showing up around 10. Evening glass off can be lighter. Men in the family way often can't swing them, since they're fickle and suppertime.

Craigslist is your friend in SoCal. Don't be skeered of it. Don't drive. Ride yer bike. You wanna cook in a metal box with a bunch of obese texting passive-agressives, or coast down the boardwalk, with the sun on your back and the wind in your hair, scoping killer waves and the choicest SoCal hindus on rollerblades or sunbathing with their straps undone?

I don't know why people are down on the south bay. Venice is flat, but south of LAX fires on the regular, even if it's not Blacks.

Brah, there is nothing like smelling the salt air and Hyperion sewage treatment plant while chocolate tubes whuff out magic radioactive spray on a brisk winter dawnie, with your hoodie up and your board under your arm. Dawn kisses the towering smoke columns from the refinery, signaling oil-slick glass for the faithful. Tie the hoodie to the bike, lock the bike to Chevron's fence, and paddle out into that turgid glass lovely.

And stop naming spots, you a-holes. Just bike down the beach boardwalk on a solid WNW day and you'll see every spot there is to surf--from LAX to RAT--marked by spitting tubes and a crowd. There's a killer one that you can't miss--I used to drive there from the valley on weekends when I lived in that s-hole, rather than go up to the 805.

Driving up to the 805 in winter is like me driving down to San Diego. Why bother? Just surf local. At 24, you don't really even need a car in that area. You've got the green line, the airport, and a bike path direct to every local surf spot and plenty of watering holes. Travel to surf when you've made friends or you're gonna go somewhere legendary.

Again, don't write off Indo vacations at least yearly. You pretty much live in the gateway to Asia (LAX). If you wanted to go to the ments right now from LAX you could hit it for 12 days for $996 round trip!

 

fixed

I figured: "it's f#cking LA, one of the most crowded cities on the planet, none of the spots there are a secret"...but, you're right, no good spots should ever be advertised...anywhere...ever.

...now go bleep out the spots you named

 

Hey look at this literary genius. Your chocolate tubes and Hyperion plant line was wonderful.

 

Oh, Speedbump, get over the naming spots sh!t. Yeah, those spots are such friggin secrets. Shhhh keep it on the down low.

And every east coast dork on here is jotting these posts down and searching for directions. They'll all be there next week.