A mostly off topic question: I’m applying for a teaching job at Santa Monica Community College…partly for the experience of getting my application materials together, but the topic is right up my alley, and it gets me back west and near the ocean.
Anybody gone to Santa Monica CC–did you like it? Are the students motivated and do the professors seem to care?
How is living in Santa Monica? I’ve spent most of my life in/around Santa Cruz, CA (only moved to Ithaca for grad school, and I hopefully will be done in a few months!), and someday I’d like to move back there. I suspect cost of living is pretty high…do I have hope of finding a rental house with a garage for my workshop?
I went there in the early 80’s. It was the 13th grade. An extension of high school. I heard it got better, but that wouldn’t be hard to do considering where it started.
The students were barely motivated, at the time. A lot of, “I don’t know what to do with myself.”
The professors (if you could call them that) were pretty bad. First year teachers with no communication skills. Had one Economics professor who ended up on the evening news for his racist views. Ernst Bucholtz. Straight from the Fatherland.
No amount of complaints from the students to the administration had any effect. In some of the worse classes, class would start with 50 or so students. By the end of the semester we would be down to 10. Not sure who was smarter, those that dropped out or me and the other nine! Imagine a class where 4 out of 5 students dropped. The administration could never figure that the teacher might have something to do with it. After that, I transfered to CSUN. What a difference that made!
I’m in Santa Barbara working for a few months. Spoke to a local engineer who went to Santa Barbara City College for his first two years. He said it was the real deal as far as two year schools go. But keep to business, the distractions are numerous.
Howzit cyclox, Just orth of ther you can get some fun little wave where Sunset Blvd meets PCH. We used to surf there back in the early to mid 60s and lways had fu even if it was small. From there north it is nothing but surf and fun. Aloha,Kokua
I went to SMC between Claremont McKenna and Pepperdine. It really depends on the class. The core classes that help you get into a 4 year college are taught by decent teachers filled with interested students. and then there are some classes where you can buy yourself an “A” with a surf lesson or two.
Santa Monica is crowded. but it is on the border of locales with some decent surf from time to time. and an hour or so away from some of the best beach breaks on the planet ( all I will say is north). and you can join the crowd at the 'bu.
If you don’t know what it was like 40 years ago, It could be a great place to live and a 10 year stint to get a few waves might be good for some. Unfortunately for my wife and I, there isn’t enough elbow room anymore.
I live in Manhattan Beach, about 25 minutes south of Santa Monica, so I know the area pretty well. Santa Monica is a pretty cool place and there is a lot to do entertainment-wise, but little surf-wise in the city itself. For waves that aren’t 500 yard closeouts, you are gonna have to do a little driving north or south. In Manhattan Beach the waves can be pretty fun on the good days. You can fight the crowds at El Porto if you want or find a less crowded peak further south. If you like log jammin’, then driving north to the Malibu area is your best bet where there are quite a few points, reefs, and a few beach breaks, but they are mostly south facing and better in the summer time, when the crowds are out of control.
Santa Monica is not cheap. Expect to pay at least $1000 per month for a 1 bed/1 bath apartment in the city. I don’t know how much houses would rent for, check craigslist for an idea. Surrounding areas might be a little cheaper and of course the further east you go, the cheaper it gets. Just make sure you don’t have to drive too far on the freeways cuz traffic there is hell. Santa Monica is a different world than Santa Cruz. I spent a lot of time in Santa Cruz over the last year since my girl went to UCSC, so I know what its like. Santa Monica is a lot more superficial, groomed, and paved. Both places have a high population of very liberal people, but the ones in Santa Monica are more Hollywood types and like to spend a lot of money on the latest trendy green/eco-friendly products/cars/etc. Personally, I love Santa Cruz and would much rather live there than anywhere in LA.
I don’t know much about community/city colleges since I went straight to UC Santa Barbara out of high school and just graduated in June, but I have a few buddies who went to SMC and transferred to good schools, like UCs and USC, so at least some of the students will have motivation. All my friends who went there seemed to like it alright and I think you get a fair amount of kids from wealthy families there too, although those kids might not be the most motivated ones.
SM just got awarded one of the ten best beach cities by national geographic. I have a 1bdrm with a garage. Ideal setup for the few boards a year. It was a steal at 1500/month. With the economic downturn places are going for 500 less than two years ago. Walking around here there are tons of for rent signs. Even though I can walk to the beach, it takes a car ride or at least a bike to get to any decent surf. SM is basically in the most deep and protected part of the bay.
I live a bit North West of SM, but worked there a lot when I was younger.
Socially it all depends on you. Being a large urban sprawl, you can seek out any type of people you want.
Surfwise, take PCH and head North (I don’t have much experience South of SM). Rinse and repeat 'till you find spots you like. Waves aren’t as big as often, but tend to be better overall conditions. Most Northern LA spots are crowded (Think Steamer type crowds at the big name points), but as you dial in swell / tide / wind factors you can find some out of the way corners.
Water Temp - don’t throw away your 4/3 just yet. If your hair is thin (or non-existent like mine!) a hood is nice to have for dawn patrols. Most spots are low 50’s right now (53-55 today, according to surflie). Depending on El Nino & La Nina factors, summers don’t get as warm as people think - Summer 2010 rarely saw 60 at County Line, even in late September.
Pollution is a factor too. I’m still paying for surfing Rivermouth 24 hours after the last rain storm with a bad sinus infection - technicolor snot and some nasty antibiotic stuff to spray up my nose every few hours…
Howzit Otis, Have they done something to change the break,I know it's been over 40 years since I surfed it but it was a rocky shoreline and dont remember if it was a sand bottom. It wasn't the greatest wave back then but it was fun for the big boards we were riding then. Aloha,Kokua
It was always a sand filled rocky point. Good for lonboards, sloppy slow, more flat spots than a desert road, but occ. gem days for shortboards during select summer swells and big winter swells.
Those days are for the most part gone or greatly diminished. The sand fronting the point and along it has washed away, the hill has been cut into by the waves. Its a shell of its former so-so self.
But its still a good beginner spot. Weepy crumbly lines.
Howzit Otis, Well I can see how it has changed from your description and that's to bad. We must have caught it on some of it's better days even though it was kind of slow but walled up made it fun but since there was never anybody else around I never knew it was a beginner spot because none of us were beginners but just guys looking for fun waves, plus I didn't have drivers license yet so I went where the ride took me. For the old long boards it was a fun wave and we surfed anywhere's from just north of Rincon to Baja's Quatro casas. Aloha,Kokua
Sunset used to break as a point along the rocks. Now it break more towards the bay club but it still gets fairly decent on a big west. It breaks out further and you can get some faster sections. When it’s small it is totally frustrating now. It just rolls and rolls and the wave hardly even breaks. and when it does it immediately starts backing off. It does take some of the crowd pressure off Topanga and the 'bu.
Thanks for the feedback so far…it looks like the couses I might teach would be pretty cool…and honestly, 1 hour to surfing would be slightly dissappointing, but nothing compared to the 6-8 hours I’ve got currently! I figured it wouldn’t be like Santa Cruz (but one can always hope).
Just moved away from SM in Sep 2009. I personally loved it. I lived in th Ocean park area on 4th and Hill. I love walking to main st. or Abbott Kinney. They both have great restaurants and bars. Lots of Hotties too. I met my wife there! I could ride my skateboard to the skate park, to restaurants, bars, and the promenade. I mean Venice is fun, santa monica is fun, malibu is great for hiking and stuff. There are so many things going on there. You can ride your bike to Manhattan beach in 1.5 hours. Catch a surf in the Southbay and grab a steak sandwich at Hennessey’s. I’m all over the place but I just wanted to show you that It’s so much fun. The surf is crap but you can get wet and work a few shoulders. The bonus is Hollywood and Downtown is just 15 minutes away. Catch a Lakers game, hit a party in the Hills, then cruz home to the beach via Sunset, and take your hotties you met at The Woods for a little late night skinny d.
Did I mention… It’s a freakin’ fun town! I live in NC now and it is boaring as shit. You can’t go anywhere unless you’re in a car. There are no skateboards or beach cruzers anywhere! I live at the beach too… WTF?