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Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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number of people who surf vs. the number of people who sunbathe, body surf, play volleyball, jet ski, photo taking tourists or whatever is still a very small percentage of all beach goers no matter how you slice and dice it. Your comment of "surfing ends up being important to a very small percentage of people" is in line with my original point,..yes/no?
Why does LA have to be better for tanning than Miami--talking beach, not tanning salons...how about I actually lived in SoCal for 30 years and am going off of experience.....do you (or the people you know there) go to the beach to sunbathe when the temperature only reaches 62 or 64 outside on some days (sometimes lower) in December - mid March?....do the people you know sunbathe during May Gray and June Gloom when the beach is foggy most of the day?.....big difference between going to the beach and riding a bike with a sweater on or playing volleyball with a sweatshirt on during those days (and LA has more 'cooler/colder' days than SoFla) than being able to lie down and actually tan/sunbathe (because it is warm enough to do so)...not to say SoCal does not get once a month Santa Ana's during the winter months when it does heat up for a week and one can sunbathe, but a good portion of the 4 month winter stretch in SoCal is not suitable for sunbathing or going into the ocean, unlike the year-round warmer temperatures (air and water) in So Florida....heck, I used to go to Jones Beach on 45 degree days in February when I grew up in NY; does not mean I sunbathed in swim trunks nor NY is a year round beach destination just because I showed up at the beach in winter.
That might be the biggest difference between East Coast and West Coast in terms of defining a "beach day"....in SoCal, people consider it a beach day if they just show up at the beach (regardless of the weather, probably even if it rains) whereas on East Coast many define it as being able to lie out (in trunks or bikini) in the sun and actually go in the water.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Easy
I’m not a beach person but I know that people in LA go for tanning and sun and LA has to be better than Miami for that. Probably for volleyball and beach games in general as the SoCal beaches are much wider. Unless it’s a water game. Then maybe not so great here.
Also it seems to me that you’d compare the number of people that surf to number that go to the beach to get a reliable number. Not to the entire population of the country. Surfing ends up being very important to a very small percentage of people.
Last edited by elchevere; 07-09-2018 at 02:08 PM..
One thing that Miami Beach offers is 2 waterfronts, both on the ocean and the bay, along with networks of canals & islands that offer just an enormous array of water based activities.
I'm not really a beach person. I enjoy a vacation there, mostly laying out, reading and staring at the water, watching my kids play. SoCal has the worst beaches I have ever been to for that. It's cold (the water). The water and the sand are not nearly as pretty. The weather is nicer and the view away from the water is spectacular though. We don't even bother with the beach when we visit SoCal. So I pick Miami by a mile for beaches...However, for various reasons, I'd much rather live in SoCal than Florida.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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Yup...and think of the impressive Miami skyline as our view, vs mountains or cliffs, from the bay side of Miami Beach !! Equally impressive during the day or night.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl
One thing that Miami Beach offers is 2 waterfronts, both on the ocean and the bay, along with networks of canals & islands that offer just an enormous array of water based activities.
Yup...and think of the impressive Miami skyline as our view, vs mountains or cliffs, from the bay side of Miami Beach !! Equally impressive during the day or night.
I don't have to think about it; I live on the bay in Miami Beach.
I'll say this, I appreciate the warm beaches and the water better in SoFla than I do in SoCal. The beaches are more scenic in SoCal though (when there are cliffs). Overall SoCal is better. The weather is better - maybe not for the beach but for day to day living. It's in California, jobs pay more, people tend to be younger and more educated.
Never cared too much for staying past 2am partying but if you do, Miami has this on SoCal as well.
Yeah, you could compare SoCal with all of SoFL, or you could compare LA beaches with Miami. Either way, SoFL wins this category. The water is bluer, the sand is whiter, and the temperature is warmer for swimming. I agree about the interesting scenery of SoCal, and watching the sunsets.
I've been to Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Huntington Beach in Orange County. I've also been to Miami Beach.
I think the LA area beaches win. Miami Beach has the warmer water, the better water, and the party vibe.
But I adore the fun/family vibe I get from a lot of California piers. The roller coasters, the funnel cakes, the artists painting on the beach, the dogs walking lazily around or jumping in the water.
Miami's beach seems a bit more "stuck up" and more of a place to be seen, than a place TO see.
I think all coastal areas have their own special beauty.
I haven't been to Miami beach to compared. So I will choose SoCal beaches though SoCal beaches are from Santa Barbara to LA County, Ventura, Orange and San Diego County. Thats hundreds of miles of coastline.
I dont actually prefer SoCal beaches after being spoilt by Hawaii beaches with similar rocky, cliff beaches like SoCal and wide bright sandy and coral and lava rock variety beaches of Hawaii that Socal doesnt have. Also the colors of the water and fishes and sea turtles close to the shore to snorkel. But SoCal does have whales and dolphins swimming offshore like Hawaii so thats similar. Both great sunsets over the water into infinity. Hawaii has warm but not too warm waters, I was in a hot tub in Thailand water and hated it . So Hawaii has a bit of everything Miami has and SoCal.
So what do I like about SoCal beaches? I like the sealife of sealions, whales, sharks, dolphins. I like the sunsets into the sea. I like the different terrians of sandy beaches, to rocky shores for tidepools. I like the dramatic cliffs.
What I dont like? I dont like the cool waters most of the year I dont like the sandy sediment that comes from the sediment of storm runoff from the hills. I rather it be more tropical with coral sand. I dont like mostly one color of the water. I dont like all the seaweed and that you cant snorkel and see cool things.
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