Surfing Waves

Hey Guys,

After returning from OZ I made a decision to move closer to the surf where I can surf consistently so I returned home and put my place on the market, over 12 months later my dream is coming true and my flat is sold subject to contract.

Over the past 12 months I have been looking at North devon namely around Croyde for the obvious reason ( I got the wave of my life on my 2nd visit, well overhead , packed a real punch and super consistent! ) but the problem is house prices are through the roof and one other thing that worries me is that its over an hour from exeter (the nearest biggest city) and 90% of devon will be dead through off-season months with many shops closing.

I pulled open google maps yesterday and started looking at south west wales instead around porthcawl, its got that south-west bearing beaches but the only problem was - it was pumping in croyde but seemed near flat up there.

* Does the bristol channel sap that much energy from the waves that they only reach up there is hard storms?
* Is porthcawl / south west wales consistent at all, when I say consistent as in, able to surf minimum 3 times a week?

As much as North devon has world class waves and a spot for all conditions, its expensive for property and buying a house / place in the wrong area could spell disaster.

Love to hear your guys thoughts, ultimately I am making a huge decision, moving 200 miles to the west of the country where we pratically know no one, all in the name of a simple life and surf, It will most prob be the place me and the missus settle down, get married and have kiddies in the new couple of years!.

The area around Llangennith gets fairly consistent swell, but has fewer workable swell windows than Devon because Devon is more open to NW and SW swells, while SW Wales needs direct westerly swell to enter the channel. It's not so much the channel as the fact that Ireland gets in the way of any NW swell, and England blocks any SW swell.

3 surfable days per week? Over winter, probably, over summer, probably not.
Although you could say the same about Devon and Cornwall.

There are plenty of spots in the porthcawl neck of the woods, but nowhere near as many as Devon/Cornwall, and there are fewer options. Croyde, for example, has a beach facing W, NW and SW within 10 minutes of each other, so you can usually find somewhere sheltered enough to surf, while Llangennith, for example, is one long beach with no protection (and one mother of a paddle out). There are plenty of SW wales spots - just not as many.

If you're in SW wales and it's not working, well, it's not working. In Devon, you've got a good chance of being able to jump in your car and find somewhere that is (hit the south coast for more shelter, for example, head towards cornwall for a bit more swell, head up the channel for a bit less swell etc.).

Also... one last thing... while I love Wales and have spent a lot of time there... some of the more urban or industrial areas around the SW side are, frankly, a bit grim. I'd go and have a good look around the place before planning any further... there's a reason the house prices are so much cheaper!

DBB my man, how you been doing? hope that lovely point has been treating you well

I agree on the swell windows thats why I asked 90% of waves needs a w - sw it seems, croyde is an amazing place with a very unique wave, one minute its a little 3 footer the next minute you dropping in and being dwarfed by a monster...it really is a special place with a very diverse set of breaks all very close to each other (as long as you drive).

The problem is the house prices, to get a place I can settle in with enough bedrooms etc etc, I am going to have to go down towards westward ho, which as you know has fickle wave and one wrong move there and I could really end up in a crappy area.

PS. We used to live in wales about the same distance that porthcawl is, a place called Pontypridd (and surround dumpsters), its not the best place in the world but really not much difference, the fact you have confirmed my suspicions about swell windows (which ultimately reduces consistency, its a no go for me now).

I dont want to go so far south that I start getting into the heart of cornwall, bude would be my absolute stretch however, it makes that commute to exter a pain in the rear!

I wish I was over there with you, but I had no luck with a career sponsor.

drowningbitbybit wrote:Also... one last thing... while I love Wales and have spent a lot of time there... some of the more urban or industrial areas around the SW side are, frankly, a bit grim. I'd go and have a good look around the place before planning any further... there's a reason the house prices are so much cheaper!

this made me chuckle, you're not wrong there DBBB!! Have family in Wales and boy..those slag heaps don't do the awesome people there justice.

And Peazz.. Err, Hawaii?

If never be able to buy a house I don't think and own it as an outsider in Hawaii, my first choice would be Pacific Coast Australia, the food is to die for and the amount of quality breaks on the or near the border of nsw and Queensland is just crazy.

Only problem I have is that while I am good at my job and in high demand recently I doubt it's enough to get me Into the country especially considering I'm self taught without a degree.

I'm self taught but extremely good at what I do and only just realised it, for now the west coast of England will have to do until I can get recognised.

PS. If you run a web development firm and want a solid multi skilled full stack web developer with node, sails, angular, php, javascript, jquery,scss, and design skills hit me up!

I wish I had skills like that Peazz. I first started as a web dev back in 2001 but after a year or two I went into IT. If I had continue to stick with it then I could surf and work from home! Now I'm stuck in a 9-5 job which really sucks.

Saying that, I did some work as a web dev in Portugal and had a nice working holiday.

Hmm my SO is now in Australia for conferences and she is considering moving there. So I might need to ask you for some tips!

Web Development is easy (at least for me) it only took me a month to learn how to code and start pumping out wordpress / magento sites. From there I have just learn bit by bit, I am now in the process of developing a project management system, its all 'live' updating and based on angular... exciting times.

If you go over to OZ mate, make sure you have your driving license otherwise u are going to be confined to a small area (unless u take a coach or a train) I would highly advise a car so u do the pacific coast... I did and it was amaaazing (and I got paddle out with DBB at currumbin point )

I am just in the process of launching Trevor Sorbies new digital presence, once it been launched and my new website is up i'll throw you a link

PS. We never did get to meet up for that surf

peazz wrote: I would highly advise a car so u do the pacific coast... I did and it was amaaazing (and I got paddle out with DBB at currumbin point )

On a really crowded day... you gotta love the Gold Coast in summer. I'm looking forward to autumn!

On the subject of aussie visas... a typical route is to do a one-year working holiday visa, get a job while you're out here and prove your worth, then get them to sponsor you. It'd be harder without a degree, and there's no guarantee of success, but plenty of people have done it that way.

BaNZ wrote:Hmm my SO is now in Australia for conferences and she is considering moving there. So I might need to ask you for some tips!

Tip #1. Do it.

considered anywhere in NZ like around Auckland and the west coast ie Piha, Muriwai, Raglan or even Dunedin (if you want some cold but consistently decent surf with cheap housing) ? Or even gisbourne? Although quite a small town.

@dbb I am considering it, I could invest my house money for 3 years, work try to get sponsored and see where it goes if I can get a pet a visa 170k would get me a very nice place not to far from a nice consistent Aussie break.

@banz - dooooooo it! It was the best thing I ever did with my life, it changes my goals and way I do things

@benji - I only love is so much because of the weather, food and waves I am open to anywhere that has the same, I wouldnt move half way round the world to a cold place when I can move 200 miles west for the same thing

BaNZ wrote:
Hmm my SO is now in Australia for conferences and she is considering moving there. So I might need to ask you for some tips!

If you want to talk about surf areas BaNZ. Then Uncle Jaffa will let you know.
IT , and most systems work and development is around big cities, = big buck needs for housing .
My area only hit -9C once or twice a year it will seem tropical to you!

I barely know anyone in OZ and never been there. It just seems so far away and I don't even know if I will like it, but I'll definitely have to go for a visit. I'm most likely going to San Diego for 3 months to surf this year. My SO compromised and said we can go OZ or california if it makes my life happier.

OZ is probably easier to get a working visa compared to the states I guess.

My Aussie friends have told me that OZ is really big, living there doesn't mean you're close to a beach. They said it can still take 1-2 hours to get to the coast! I just hate the commute to surf since I was spoilt last year when it was only 15 mins away...

They are semi correct, all the major cities are on the coast, Sydney is the most surfacious with the east and northern areas with lots of beaches, western Sydney to surf horrendous Melbourne has a commute from the beach to work( get it that way the system works) Brisbane commute up or down th coast to surf or commute to work. Darwin. Forget it sharks and crocs ate the surf.
Perth great trips to weekend surf. Town beaches nice for swimming and white pointers,
Adelaide hour commute to nearby surf beaches 98% flatness rate at town beaches. Hobart good surf nearby heaps colder but cheaper to live but losing job opportunities other than professional.
Some good country cities but not needing Its stuff as much.

Banz, Aus is crazy big, you travel for 6 hours and barely even move on the map. Its mind blowing.

BaNZ wrote: I don't even know if I will like it

Well, we can clear that up straight away - yes, you will.

BaNZ wrote:I just hate the commute to surf since I was spoilt last year when it was only 15 mins away...

It's 15 minutes away for me too... if I walk quite slowly

BanZ, listen to DBB its amazing. I have travelled america (and lived there) and done Asia to... OZ beats them all hands down.

There nothing like sitting there in a rashy dangling your feet in crystal clear water thats 22*c..

On another note, its scarey to go out at currumbin, get dragged down towards the other bay then have to paddle back across the rivermouth across sting rays... ring a bell DBB? On the plus side I did get a pretty good wave in the process

peazz wrote:There nothing like sitting there in a rashy dangling your feet in crystal clear water thats 22*c..

Currently 27ºC.
It's bordering on too warm if you have a distance to paddle.

peazz wrote:its scarey to go out at currumbin, get dragged down towards the other bay then have to paddle back across the rivermouth across sting rays... ring a bell DBB?

I consider that my daily commute