Torn between SF and SD. How often would you say there's decent surf in SF? (Santa Cruz: shops, beach)

[tstieber]

sav858 is right about there being limited surf culture in NorCal, except for pockets of it. Mostly Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay, there is some in SF, and you'll see some surfing in Marin County, which is much nicer than SF. I'm no surfer, but i love the ocean and I know the big surfing spots you mentioned are popular. Linda Mar is much more scenice and nice than Ocean Beach, and it has fewer rip currents. You'll also see people our in the water at Stinson Beach, and it's a great beach (a real beach, not a filthy urban beach like SF), but the surf there is really for beginners and very gentle. But, I mean, you see surfers out at all these spots almost every day.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Woof

\San Francisco is more to my liking - never really bad, lots of sunshine and clouds and fog mixed up. Plus it's much easier to find a good Linzer torte.
.

Where would I find a good Linzer torte? I love it and have never seen it anywhere! I certainly wouldn't say SF is any sort of Linzer torte capital, but if you know a place or two, please tell!

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

My God why do people keep saying this??? If this is true then why is it clear in between? Once you pass Irvine coming south the air clears up a lot and remains that way until about Del Mar or so. SD generates it's own pollution so blaming it all on LA is getting tired.

Yeah, SD is like 120 miles from LA, and prevailing winds blow west to east. Inland Empire is what gets LA's smog. People don't even have a clue. SD air quality is probably better than San Jose, I'd say.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by skyway31

I didn't keep track of water temps. I can tell you that, for me, it was always cold enough that I wanted a wetsuit. I swam some without it-like in late summer-and it was still uncomfortable for me.

Weather being "better" is a subjective matter. Objectively, the eastern parts of SF absolutely have been sunnier than the coastal areas (1 mile from beach) in L.A. or SD counties where I have lived. It is chillier and windier in those parts of SF, but, I'd prefer that over a bit warmer but more overcast. And the coastal stratus being lower when it rolls in to SF is no biggie. It's actually kind of entertaining to watch in SF, whereas it's just blah in SoCal.

I mention all of this because I've got to believe the OP is going to consider more than just surfing alone when picking a place. Sure, it's a bit more comfortable at the beach in SD than in SF.But, the differences in climate are not nearly as different as many outisders likely assume. Given that, and the huge differences in other aspects of life in SF and SD, and the choice may be different depending on OP preferences.

Water temps depend on the year. I've seen SD water temps in the upper 70s for a few days one year (missed it though). This year, it's barely cracked the 70 degree mark and has been in the low 60s most of the summer. But it makes for nice cool evenings, very pleasant!

[mayorhaggar]

Yeah surfers tend to be kind of macho jerks who don't like outsiders, but I expect you find that in a lot of places around the world. Some surfer gang in La Jolla of all places killed some guy a few years ago in a fight:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...as-not-murder/

[Woof]

Originally Posted by tstieber

Where would I find a good Linzer torte? I love it and have never seen it anywhere! I certainly wouldn't say SF is any sort of Linzer torte capital, but if you know a place or two, please tell!

Well ..... I have to admit it just popped into my head, I'd been looking up tortes recently, trying to recreate my mom's, and saw a picture of a Linzer Torte. I've never had a Linzer torte. I don't know if there are any in SF. It was just an example of something fancy ..... I think you can find pretty much anything fancy in San Francisco.

I was BS-ing.

Edit: here are two places that sometimes have Linzer tortes, but right now are offering different kinds: http://www.schroederssf.com/ http://www.gaumenkitzel.net/

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by Woof

It's probably true that not all of you can be "analytical". That shows in the way you compared the coastal part of LA County with the entirety of San Diego - of course I assumed that was a typo, that's not how one does valid statistical comparisons. For example, if one were trying to get at international cheese-eating habits, one would not compare the consumption of Camembert cheese in Golden Gate Park with that of the entire city of Paris - one would instead compare the entire city of SF with the entire city of Paris.

San Diego air was clear and didn't seem polluted any time I was there. My time in LA was from much further back during the heyday of smog, so it might have changed, but other than that the only hard data I have is from the link I gave, and you have given me no reason to think otherwise.

And it means nothing to me that you heard someone say this or that some time ago. Feel free to put some hard numbers on the table if you have them, though, comparing coastal LA with coastal SD.

Well, aside from anecdotal views, I've lived in both cities. On almost every day, the air is in the good range in SF. Most of the time, the air is in the moderate range in SD during the summer months. Even in the east bay area (worst air in the bay area), the air is in the good range more frequently than in SD.

[Woof]

Yes, I also remember San Francisco air as being clean.

[pbrb]

Wow, you guys, this is awesome info. I wasn't able to check this for a while, but thank you!

Originally Posted by sav858

But the OP doesn't seem to care about temperature or weather, in that case I'd say he'd be fine in SF as far as surfing. SoCal has the culture and atmosphere but there are still plenty of good waves in Northern CA imo. If urban city living and public transit are important to the OP and weather and water temps don't matter much, then SF probably would be better overall I'd think.

sav858, you nailed it. I surf the great lakes, where the best season is fall to spring. I'm talking surfing in a 6/5/4 with 7 mil boots/gloves in the middle of a snow storm, and having to sit in your car with the heater on full blast to thaw your suit out before you can take it off. I think I'll be alright in SF. Surf is the main reason I'm moving, but SD with the car culture kind of reminded me of the suburbs. The urban city living is very important to both my girlfriend and I, and as long as is there is decent surf in SF (more consistency is the big thing), I think it's a good trade off. Not to mention the job market in SF is much better for both my gf and I (advertising/marketing and finance/tech). I don't plan on leaving my current position, but it would make finding another job if I were ever to get fired much easier.

When I visited SF I took a trip down to Santa Cruz and didn't notice any real localism except from the guy who rented me my board. He was a huge dick and warned me to stay away from steamers lane. The localism stuff really bothers me. As far as localism in SD, I've heard it's way more laid back and after that incident where the guy was killed at Bird Rock it has really toned down. I would usually be surfing in the early am anyway, when it's less crowded, and hopefully it wouldn't take too long for the locals to warm up to me. But, I agree, the whole white trash surfer gang douches are important to avoid. It sounds like there's less of that in SF based on everyone's responses.

Now, if only SF could have the weather from SD!

[pbrb]

Also, I can probably find this by searching through other threads, but where is the closest area to SF to go and get some "real" beach time in? I'm talking nice, warm, sunny beach time. I've read that you can drive an hr in any direction to get away from the cold/overcast weather in SF if you really need to, but where would you guys go to sit on a beach?