I’m loading up the truck and heading out west. I have lived on the gulf coast of Florida for the past seven years. I have only been to southern California a handful of times and I’m not sure where on the coast I want to live. The main two reasons I want to move to California are it does not go flat for months and I want to build surfboards for a living. I have worked at a surf shop for the past three years and have done ding repair for the past four years in a small town on the gulf coast of Florida. If anybody has any words of wisdom or any leads on a job or any advice at all I’m listening.
Southern California: Surf from a variety of directions, easy access. Lots of crowds, pollution, and lots of work opportunities. Central California: Surf is more fickle, but more power.less crowded, less polluted, fewer work opportunities. Northern California: Surf is gnarly, less crowded, little pollution, no work. Yes, these are broad sweeping generalizations. It’s a big beautiful, diverse state. Good luck with your move. Work hard and you’ll do fine in California. Mike
Southern California: Surf from a variety of directions, easy access. Lots of crowds, pollution, and lots of work opportunities. Central California: Surf is more fickle, but more power.less crowded, less polluted, fewer work opportunities. Northern California: Surf is gnarly, less crowded, little pollution, no work. Yes, these are broad sweeping generalizations. It’s a big beautiful, diverse state. Good luck with your move. Work hard and you’ll do fine in California. Mike
I think Roster (Mike) comments pretty correct. Your most likely used to warmer water? Northern California has a more powerful coast line. Southern California is Softer and more playful. Althought there are days from time to time that will kick your butt! From a working stand point you have so many Surf Gettho’s:
Here are a few:
live the dream,you are the dream.
good fortune to you
follow the path with heart.
to quote a Mose allison Lyric
" if you are goin up to the city
there are just two things I hope,
dont take money from a woman
and dont start messin 'round
…with dope.
…ambrose…
It’s been flat in the South Bay for months.
…Roland? the Argentinian?
man, that proves that all is possible in California…last year I check about 15 Roland s…very poor build, etc
like 15 - 20 years ago with the Brazilians that worked in every factory in California and still do
and some put their own bussiness (like Xanadu, Zouvi) or even in the N Shore
(happened the same with the martial arts and the Brazilians) there s lots of ingenuity there and some guys from other Countries
have other “visions” of the reality and they re intrepids and dont blahbling around to do the work (like the gloss thread…jeez)
so, in few months the guy turns essential to x factory
why??, because these guys learnt the hard way and have easy answers for most of the steps in the trade and of course they re intrepids
-the key is like Rooster say
if you work hard and your pretty good you conquer whatever factory
there s too much people who dont want work too much
That was a pretty informative post. It could be the beginning of the handbook for people looking to break into the board building biz in So Cal… kinda like the “blackbook” for the entertainment industry. If you included more names and contact info… and more about what happens north of ventucky… you could include it as a resource on sways. I bet you’d get support from the board-building community to complete it.
Dodge LA, too congested.
Quote:
and lots of work opportunities.
This is bullshit.
It’s never been slower, or more cut throat than it is now. How small can you cut the pie?
yeah we’re in the downturn of an economic cycle, not the best
time to uproot. But, we are entering a good surf season–Fall.
You can always have ‘surf bum’ to fall back on.
Howzit Epac-man, Talk about slow, here in Havasu City it's dead. All the construction has basically come to a standstill, they had 4 building permits taken out in August. Went to dinner on Friday night and we thought the restaurant was closed since there was no one there. Can't wait to get back to Kauai on Thursday. Aloha,Kokua
good for you. i saw a couple young kids at the beach here in FL a while ago that were real passionate about surfing. i wanted to tell them that if you really love surfing and you’re serious about it quit pulling you dicks and get the fuck out of here. i didn’t but maybe you received my wondertwin telepathy instead!
no matter where you move in CA you’re going to feel like you died and woke up on the north shore compared to florida- especially if you’re a gulf sucka. having moved to east coast FL after many years in northern CA i can attest to what they all say. yes its true- it sucks here. the right coast is the wrong coast. its flat and very soft even when a swell does show. its especially painful having to listen to the rants and raves as if we landed on the moon for the first time or the war is over when a titty high swell shows!
i’d recommend north county san diego such as encinitas/ leucadia/oceanside. tons of industry and decent surf. best of all you’re not going to sweat like a whore for 8 months of the year. its still the same- ‘head west for opportunity’. best of luck to you. im not far behind
north county SD for sure
We’ve had 2 construction sites, high end resorts . Closed for months , they were financed by American banks that went bust. Alot of workers have to move to follow the work . Takes a lot of revenue out of the economy.Might have to move to California myself.
from what i’ve seen of oz, i don’t think i’d move from there to cali., unless you like lots of people everywhere(unless you move to the central/northern part)
Yeah, you’ll get a job as a tourism ambassador.
Howzit pandanus, Location, location,location, Famous words that ring true. The trick is to find a place that the bad economy doesn't affect as bad.Kauai is one good place because if a person can afford to buy here then they probably well off financially. There are other places that are the same all over the world. I tell people a story about 2 people who have the same skills but live in different places. 1 lives in an financially good place and the other in some not so good financially place. Now remember they are equal in capabilities and hold the same kind of job,but guess who making the good money and who is not. Just something for people to think about when considering a move.Aloha,Kokua
The business is very slow indeed - for surfboard sales that is. The SUP business is very strong here locally, but for those who didn’t want to get involved early on, they might not be around by Xmas. Some are already gone. Nobody has any money except buyers that can afford $2K for a new SUP with fins, paddle, bag, etc (not to mention the lessons my 16 year old son markets). Many SUP’s are going out of state to freshwater/still water paddlers. Some guys who got in this early realized that they couldn’t build fast enough to keep up with demand, and went to Asia for production. The only jobs with them are sticking on shipping labels. The profit margin here for high-end longboards is about 35% during good times, less for shortboards. Even used boards are not selling. However, I can personally confirm that the repair business is very good. Looks like all those “economic stimulus” checks we got this summer just helped pay off credit card debt for most. If you’re going to be unemployed, or even work at a job you hate, do it at some place that at least has waves. The key to succesful business here is to find something that nobody else can or will do, and you do it. Good luck, follow your instincts.
Howzit Pete,Well said and very true. When surfers can't buy new boards they get dings fixed. Same thing in the construction business,they can't afford to build or remodel so they just get things fixed. Now is the time for repair guys in any profession to make $.Aloha,Kokua