somuchsurf, I did not grow up here. My wife and I moved here about 2 years ago for her job. Its a nice area. I grew up on the other side of the lake in the Adirondacks.
VTSURFER, shoot me a PM if you ever surf north shore MA, I live in gloucester. Where do you usually hit...NH and ME?
I live 5 miles from the beach - about 15 minute drive. No complaints, but I do realize that there are sneaker swells that I miss and would catch if I lived closer because 15 minutes each way means a half hour to check it, so you do wind up relying on buoy and cams a bit. I wouldn't mind being closer someday, where I could pour a cup of jo and walk out the door to check it. One thing inlanders should consider is the winter rental. When I lived in Trenton (job there) in the late 90's I split a winter rental in Belmar for $250 bucks a month (my rent in Trenton was only $450) from sept to May. I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights there, plus any night I thought there might be waves the next morning to surf and then drive to work.
Wow, not bummed about my drive at all. Granted it's not a walk out front, but relocating just isn't an option currently. Stoked to see guys making a commitment to get out and get some waves. I don't know if anyone has ever run into this either, but generally after someone finds out I've made the trek over, they let a few slip by. Obviously this occurs more in the winter, but non the less, thanks to the local guys for letting an inlander grab a few.
lived in central maryland most of my life (except a brief stint in southern maryland)... so it's always been at least 2.5 hours to get to a breaking wave. The "nice" thing about where I am, is that I can get to any of the DE, MD, or NJ spots in about 3 hours which gives a lot of options depending on the swell. Definitely a lot of friday and saturday nights where I'm in bed by 8pm to get up at 3am for a day trip. I daydream all the time about living closer... but work, family, mortgage, blah blah...
Haha, I'd say that's pretty "nice". I'm somewhat in the same situation, all of NJ is accessible within 2 hours. If I'm really feeling a road trip, DE and MD can be done within 3ish. Being in bed at 8pm to be up at 3am is a killer, but worth it.
I love where I live in Downtown ILM. (Figuring no traffic or dic.king around) 10 min to Wrightsville, 10 to CB, 15 to KB, 30 to SC and TI, 45 to OKI, 50 to OIB. -OR- 10 to the Marina then a little boat ride. Of course it takes a little longer if I take the 4x4 on the North end of CB or down to Ft. Fisher. Plus I have access to houses/parking in SC, WB, CB, KB, OKI and OIB. Can't beat it, just need to win the lottery so I can retire early, then I will be however long it takes my Gulfstream to get me where I want to go! lol
this is the only problem with not being walking/quick driving distance. you miss those sneaker swells, especially in the summer where my quick drive turns into a bit of a pain in the ass.
15-25 mins depending where I surf. If I lived any further from the beach, I would take up golf or full-time fantasy football.
8 minute bike ride at most. maybe 10 when the wind is ripping or on a slow day. 5 minute ride by car. i could probably get on my bike, and get to the beach within 6 minutes from now, but the good break is another few minutes south of there.
right now I can make it to AI in 1 hour 15 minutes for dawn patrol and 1.5 hours any other time of day. Having solid forecasting sure helps me pick the days (Thanks Micah!) but there's nothing like the short walk to the break to do the check. I'll just add the me too to whoever said, "work, mortgage, etc."
i can see one break from my bedroom window, another break from my living room window and if i go up on my roof i can see three different breaks at once, i guess you could say i am about a half a block from the beach. I couldnt ask for more. Actually i just lied, the mountains could be closer. LOL
Actually there are more than five "locals" (read: people who live near the ocean) on this page alone.
