They sit roughly on the same latitude to California, do they have that kind of beach and surfing culture you would associate with California?
They sit roughly on the same latitude to California, do they have that kind of beach and surfing culture you would associate with California?
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Can only speak to North Carolina and southeast Virginia – but yes
ETA: I’ll add that I live on the NC/VA border and I’ve also lived in California. There is competitive surfing in SE VA and North Carolina. Lots of people surf. Teenagers surf and hang out at the beach in the summer. There are surf shops. Every kid I know has been surfing at least once. However, fishing is the more pervasive beach-related hobby. In California, there are better waves and better opportunities, so the surf culture is more pervasive across the entire state coastline in that way, even up to Northern California. In both places, beach culture is a big influence on the overall area, although California is generally a bit more casual.
In general the East Coast does not have a remotely comparable surf culture to the west coast. Florida is probably an exception but I don’t hear much down there. The size of the waves are just different between the east and west coast. Also Georgia’s coast is basically forgotten, not much happens there, with the exception of Savannah, which is more of a river-front city than an ocean-front city.
North Carolina’s coast is more popular, but it’s giant sand bars that go miles out into the ocean. I imagine there’s some surfing there since the ocean is pretty rough, but again it’s nothing comparable to California.
Another reason is that the west coast has these long uninterrupted stretches of beach, but on the east coast you’ll notice the coasts are very jagged. You either have sandbars, or many inlets and sounds, or islands or jagged peninsulas. Meanwhile, California’s coast is smooth with few exceptions. This also creates way more opportunities for beach life over there and surfing as well.
Beach – yes.
Surf – not really.
East Coast surfing is extremely choppy and fussy. It relies heavily on storm season in late Fall. California surfing is much more year-round (winter more than summer, but far more consistent overall).
i live in coastal georgia. i don’t see or hear people talk about surfing. we have a beach (a shitty one) and people like to go there. i personally don’t go there because i can drive up to south carolina and go to hilton head which is a better beach.
Yes. However the larger waves we associate with surfing are not regularly present on the east coast of the US due to the prevailing direction of the wind vs the direction of the waves and the continental shelf. The west coast has better conditions for consistent waves for surfing.
Still happens on the east coast but not as much as you see in California.
Not really surfing. The only surfing I’ve seen in NC is my dad’s friend from Hawaii.
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The water is warmer and people do surf but it’s not great surf. I think it’s because the terrain is too gradual.
No, because latitude isn’t everything and waves there aren’t really consistently good to surf.
Beach, yes. Virginia to Florida has lots of popular beach locations.
Surfing happens but isn’t nearly as popular. Waves are generally smaller on the East Coast of the US compared to the West Coast due to a combination of factors; primarily the continental shelf and prevailing winds. The East Coast’s broader and shallower continental shelf absorbs wave energy more gradually than the narrower, steeper shelf of the West Coast, diminishing wave size by the time they reach the shore. Additionally, prevailing winds on the East Coast often blow against incoming waves, reducing their energy and size.
You’ve never heard of the Outer Banks? Over here on the east coast, you can’t go 30 sec without seeing a car with those decals on it.
Surfing in New England mainly happens in the fall and winter, which is when the waves are big enough. But only sometimes, and usually at weird times of day. It’s a very niche (though dedicated) subculture here.
Beach culture, on the other hand, is a big deal, all summer long.
There’s beach culture in NC, but not anything like California’s surf culture.
I’m not saying either is better either. In NC the ocean can be 80 degrees in the summer, while the Cali ocean is always cold.
Another difference is beach music. There’s a ton of beach music coming out of the Carolina’s (historically), but a different type of beach music (like The Beach Boys) coming out of California.
You know there are more than 73 countries you can surf in. And you can surf in lake Michigan.
Ireland has surfing.
The first surfing in the US proper was the Hawaiian princes who traditional surfed down the San Lorenzo river to Santa Cruz.
Ask me about surfing.
Cocoa Beach, Florida had a surfing scene back in Kelly Slater’s heyday.
The East Coast waves aren’t terribly surfable, not like California or Hawaii surfing. We do have surfing here in NC, but it has a much lesser place in everyday life.
One actually GOOD thing about my state of Alabama (let’s be honest, there’s not much good here) is it’s coastline. Beautiful sugary beaches and beaautiful with still the “smallish town” feel. Gulf shores and orange beach.
The Outer Banks in NC is a pretty notable beach
I know a coworker that is an avid surfer and is from Cape Hatteras. He’s not a member of “Surf Culture” though.
I lived in that region for a long time. In short, yes. The people that live by the coast there have a special love for the beach and the ocean. You probably won’t see much of a surfer culture there, though. What you will find are boating activities, fishing, chilling at the beach, beach bonfires, and some bbq. Other than the bbq, what differs from California would be that the area is Southern. So really, it’s like coastal Southern California, but Southern, a bit more conservative/traditional, and minus the surfer culture. I miss it.
I love where I live, but the only thing I’m missing is the ocean. People that grow up near the ocean develop a connection with it that is difficult to describe 🌊
Weirdly, there is something of a surf culture in NYC and coastal NJ. Those areas have barrier islands rather than sandbars like the Carolinas, so we have both beach and surf. It’s mostly seasonal, but Coney Island and the Rockaways in NYC and the entire Jersey shore are well-known beach destinations. Surfing is kind of niche and the colder months require that you have a quality wetsuit to not die of hypothermia, but it is definitely something that exists up here. I have a coworker in NYC who closely monitors the surf reports and if they’re just right, he will hit the surf in the early mornings and telecommute from a Starbucks in the Rockaways.
The East Coast in general doesn’t have as much good surf as the West Coast, especially California, but there are popular surf spots all up and down the East Coast, Rhode Island around Newport and Narangansett, Long Island from Rockaway all the way out to Montawk, the Jersey Shore, Virginia Beach, Cape Hatteras/Nags Head, Wilmington, and of course Atlantic Florida especially around Cocoa Beach/Jupiter Inlet.
Go to YouTube and search for East Coast surfers you’ll see the culture on display. It exists but is limited and local.
The book Barbarian Days discusses east coast surf culture in one section specifically the New York City/Long Island scene.