Surfing and Careers

I work for the government and live on the jersey shore (belmar area). 5 weeks off per year, work 7:30 - 4 and make enough to go anywhere I want on my vacation. Not a bad setup if you can deal with the cold but the psycho II comes in handy for that...

 

It's okay, our lineups are full right now anyway. We don't need any more people.

 

Ah, yeah I did think about it, but figured it suffered the same problems I spoke of for NYC and DE. But sure, I've definitely seen some pics of Jersey going off. Not sure about the jobs though and it's a little north of the mason dixon line...for me.

But yeah, it doesn't seem like the cities in the East are as convenient locations for Surfing and having a prominent career (again depending on your profession and logistics flexibility) as well as being an environment for raising a family, as opposed to the West Coast where cities are exactly where they need to be and most of the cities are booming with a variety of industries. Obviously crowding is a problem though.

Again, I'm only speaking for myself. A single guy with no family tie-downs and a different profession from me may be able to get by without things I can't.

 

Just an FYI, I wasn't cutting on CA but I got done reading some stats about the economy out there and it was depressing.

 

Yeah, it has its problems, but I think statistics for a state with over 33 million people gets blurred a little bit. San Fran, LA and San Diego have tons of jobs still and the real estate market is reasonable again... Although I am probably going to move back east sometime soon to start the family, but I am very tempted right now to get a condo. There are 2bdrm condos in my neighborhood about 8 blocks from the beach that are under $200K. First time since 2000 or something that its happened that way. There is a condo across the street from me going for $169K and 2 years ago, I looked at the Exact unit and it was on the market for $295K... And california is all relative. If any of you live like a few blocks from the beach, then yes, a place just like that out here will be pretty outrageous. But most people I know from back home live at least a few miles from the beach where they surf. So, if that is the setup you have now, you might as well move somewhere in california and buy a nice house 5 minutes inland. Literrally all the houses here drop in price the second you go 1 mile east of the ocean. So, I know guys that live in North Park and Normal Heights who have nice homes with yards and sh** that they got for $200-$250. So, that is the same as you will pay in Jersey for sure. So it all depends on how you look at it. Most people that move out here want to live like ON THE SAND. So, they pay top dollar, then move back east a year later complaining about the high cost of living. Yeah, I paid an arm and a leg for my ocean view pad on sunset cliffs. Then I got smart and got a reasonable place a few blocks in.

But like he said, the line-ups here are crowded enough =) I am just not trying to deter people from following their dreams and all of the other cliches.

 

I live in the AC area NJ,
I have a BS in Environmental .

First i like the area, and hour drive north or south covers 90% of the breaks in NJ.
commutes are possible from Philly or NY, but i never will..
Second, you wont make any money in the field research field unless you have a Masters or greater.

I have also worked for a shaper making surfboards.
better water time, but scrapping by. You have to love it.

I have also worked construction in the shore towns.
Lots of water time, I used to bring my board and suit, paddle out for lunch.
i always had one eye on the waves, sneek off early if it got good.
Not much money, but if you own your business, how much you make is up to you(or the economy)

 

Well it depends what town you reside in...but for much of the greater area, the surf sucks. I don't care what anyone says about AC... yes IT can and maybe will get good..but it still sucks!!!

 

no way, man. i went to stockton and scored countless times at ac. and if the direction wasn't good, it was a quick drive to lbi or sometimes ocean city.

ac has the most rippable left i've ever surfed.

 

what about VA Beach. I know people there and even if the waves arnt the greatest its 2 hours from great breaks in North Carolina. Norfolk may not be the best area but if you make good money send your kids to private school or live in the actual town of Virginia Beach. Its not far from Richmond and for career wise it may be the beast "surf and career" town. The only thing that blows is the tunnel from V.A. Beach into Newport News and Hampton which are some other towns close by

 

making very good money and having the ability to surf whenever is pretty much impossible. if any of you know how, let me know

 

Yeah, VB has everything you would need to have a successful career in many fields and a good setup for the family. It much closer to where I am from also, but the main downer i have had about VB is that all the people from there have told me how sh**y it is. Maybe there is some truth to it, or maybe you just want one less surfer in VB, but with the colder water, colder weather etc... I just kept looking south down in WB. But VB has all the things you would need to have a good life/surfing. I would love to hear some good things about VB other than its proximity to OBX =)

 

making very good money and having the ability to surf whenever is pretty much impossible. if any of you know how, let me know

SELL BUDS.

Which left are you talking bout motion? crystal/metro jety or goKarts
cuz ive gotten the best waves of my life at those 2!

 

Health Care....

 

haha, yeah that would be sweet.

I guess my thoughts on living/surfing back east are as follows: You work your ass off doing whatever it is that you do, surfing before or after work and on weekends, but when the good surf comes, you take a couple hours off that day, or take a long lunch, or wake up early. I thought that being back east would make for a pretty balanced life with surfing etc. Cause its not like its chest to head high every day. So you focus on your life on the off days, and when its on, you go for it and surf until your nuts fall off...

So, maybe in the fall and stuff you could get caught up staring out your window looking at perfect surf, but overall, just save those sick days, or regardless of what you do, get it done. If you are a good employee, in any field, your boss should have no problem letting you get wet for a few hours...

I dunno... just thinking out loud as usual.

But the only problem with the ideas above are if you don't live very close to the beach. I went to college at Towson, and that is a minimum 2 hour drive to the beach, so that made things really tough, which is why the second i graduated, I moved directly to the beach. So, if you live more than 15 or 20 minutes from the beach, i guess it makes things much much harder.

 

So I'm new to this forum but this topic prompted me to sign up so I could add my two cents....my situation seems somewhat similar to yours, zach619, in that, I lived in SD for approx. 5 yrs after growing up surfing east coast beach breaks for the first 20-something years of my life. I hauled ass shortly after college in order to surf "real waves." My wife and I moved back to VB a few years ago to buy a house instead of a condo, be closer to the fam., and to start a fam. I've got a few friends in Wilmington and they love it, the job market is not as good as the Hampton Roads area but if you're in the hospitality industry, you'll prob. find something down there w/ no problem. Like you said warmer water and air temps are HUGE pluses. Not to mention the eye candy that roams the local campus is quite nice ("just cuz you're on a diet, doesn't mean you can't look at the menu").

I guess what I'm getting at is, being a grommet in VB sucked b/c I was always thinking/dreaming of better places to be. Now that I've served my time, experienced other places, I'm stoked to call VB home. My place is 5 min from the beach (and workplace), I've got a house w/ woods behind me (instead of feeling like i could brush my neighbors teeth in the morning by reachin out my own window), and the fishing in the Hampton Roads area is worldclass. Striper season just started and I'm jonezin for my first phatty of the season. Not to mention folks are slayin the speckled trout and pups. (fishn in Wilmington is good too, but the Ches. Bay is not at it's front door). While the surf isn't anything to write home about for 300 days, I've had my share of chest/head glass, minimal crowds this year alone. So besides VB's proximity to NC, I'd have to say that the fishing is on time, the schools in VB are great (there are some ghetto areas of VB, but the majority is nice) and like SD, a few hours, you're in the mountains, (but no desert options). Oh yeah, and plenty of golf courses to keep you busy too on those other 300 or so days when it's less than ideal.

Cheers, and good luck wherever you wind up.

 

professional surfers

 

I
make money off shoobies for 5 months, I do some teaching in the fall, then I go to Costa Rica for most of the winter. Come back, repeat.

 

Yes way man. I went to Stockton as well. Like I said, it does get good...BUT it's always better north. Obviously we all have our opinions, but I stopped even trying to go there because it always sucks.


Ps. I like big and heavy... not long and mushy.

 

get a government job.