Beachbreak barrels in OZ ??

[jaffa1949]

Just thought you'd like to plan a bit, rents in Avalon range from $400 per week up to over $2000 depending on what you want.
Cronulla is similar in price! But has a train to Sydney, Avalon is a nightmare to get into the city .
Great music scene in Ireland, Indo you get 3 months but can extend. Australia you get 3 and you are going to need that working visa. OH and in Australia and Ireland we drive on the other side of the road.

[dtc]

There are places in Indo where you can live in a 'cheap' surf camp or homestay, all meals and surf to your heart's content for $30 per day including (some) beer. Even in Bali.

Never been to this place and know nothing about it, was something that came up googling - its more upmarket than you could get yourself but you get guides etc. $USD300 per week: http://www.rapturecamps.com/bali-surfca ... ng-prices/

Just saying, if surfing is what you really want and what you really want to concentrate on, you could get all the surfing you want in Indo, plus food plus guide, for less than just renting a house in Aust (and that doesnt even cover needing a car etc etc).

I live in Australia so I'm not putting the country down, come here, its great. But if I was focused on surfing and had 6 months spare (and was good enough), I would be tempted to spend most of it in Indo/Bali. There is a huge ex pat community, you wont feel lonely (although its a transient community).

[garbarrage]

Don't get me wrong mate... if all surfing here was like that, I wouldn't ever get out. We have between 2 and 5 swells that size a year. Below are some typical examples of Irish surf, there is everything from 1ft beachbreaks to 50ft reefs and all things in between. Surprised PapaW hasn't thrown his 2cents in with some vids of the North coast. Lefts far outweigh Rights in number but not in quality. From the centre of Ireland the whole coast wouldn't be more than a 2 and a half hour drive. I live in the Northwest and can hit half the west coast in less than an 2 and a half hours if I leave early enough. But I rarely need to go more than an hour away. There are a few towns Ballybunion (south), Lahinch (West), Strandhill (Northwest), and Bundoran (30 mins North of Strandhill) all with cool local crews, and each crew tends to know each other. If you do come here, I'd suggest Lahinch as the music scene is a bit more buzzing down that way. Also, the last thing I need, is another surfer better than me taking waves lol.

[nasolovesyou]

jaffa- I totally forgot about driving on the other side of the road! That would take some getting used to... I would definitely want to learn how to drive a backwards car I'd also be the rarity with a couple cars that are backwards to everyone else's.

dtc- I am definitely planning to spend some time like that in places like Indo and Bali and Mentawais but I haven't been very specific. The plan is to travel around a country with plenty of coast for roughly 4 years, from a central location, hitting the waves any swell there is, so going with enough money to sustain myself while I work a bit, but not too much work, or maybe work a night job often but with flexible management, until I've found a wave I fancy. From there, I plan on getting together the funds to buy up a small place permanently, and living the dream. I am looking to permanently live in the place where I can find a nice wave, and I've changed my mind about the beachbreaks. I would like a reef (probably not too shallow though) where a permanent wave model is formed, and the only factor in changes to the wave is the wind and swell size. I love learning things, so my dream is to learn a wave. Another change to my plan is that I probably don't want to live in Australia, unless it's southern OZ, due to the huge crowds, but even in the south, you guys have le great whites :/ Due to this thread, I've pretty much so far set the new destination as Ireland, as I could live in the center for the first few years and simply drive around everywhere figuring out which waves I like, and then narrowing down my selection with places that get consistent swell. Apparently also in Ireland, I also won't have to worry about living far from a city where I can play my music live and find people to be in bands with, as everywhere is so close to each other, relative to places in Australia. Plus, crowds are at a minimum due to the cold water.

So yea, pretty much looking at Ireland now. Thank you all for all the help!

garbarrage- Thank you for all of your help, and I'll most likely be over your way within 10 years, unless someone in this thread dissuades me or something comes up in that time. I want to get everything straightened out before leaving, as moving to another country is a pretty big commitment. I'll be visiting a few times first, for sure. I have some Irish friends, too, that would love to visit with me

[dtc]

I wouldnt say that Aust breaks are that crowded. Some are ridiculous (Snapper Rocks) but there are plenty of pretty good breaks that have hardly anyone. NSW South Coast, for example.

Anyway, good luck in chasing your dreams, when you get to my age its always something you wish you had done just a little bit more. That and surfing (shouldnt have played cricket all summer every summer for 20 years...).

The only practical tip = check out the visa situation before you become too fixed on a particular country - you wont get to live in Australia for 4 years for example, unless you marry someone - 12 months with a working holiday is your best bet. No idea what Irish visa requirements are like.

There is a growing trend for Australian miners to work 3 weeks in a mine in the middle of nowhere and then run a house in Bali and live there for their 2 weeks off. If I could put up with mine work, and had anything remotely in the way of useful skills, that could be a good life.

[garbarrage]

Visiting first is a good idea try aiming for late Sept, early November and you should get here for the start of the swell season, when it's still reasonable more often than not, and the water is pleasantly cool. Should give you an idea of what surfing in rubber is like. If you like it, stick around till late Dec Jan, when its a little more hardcore, I've never seen a real surfer kept out of the water because of the cold when the waves are good so have no doubts that, the cold won't make a difference.

[nasolovesyou]

dtc- I'll keep that in mind, about the visa. Though I'm sure there are less crowded breaks in Australia, I think Ireland is just sounding all-around better. First off, I would like to have the choice of my wave, and not have to be deterred by the crowds. Also, no great whites lol. If I lived there I would still surf, but I get freaked out by small sharks. Seeing something bigger than me that wants to feed on things my size might really freak me out. And then there's the visa situation. Above all though, I didn't realize all of Ireland was so close to coastline, and I really like the idea of being able to catch waves even when my local spot has no swell. Just a quick drive and I can catch waves somewhere else.

garbarrage- I actually love surfing in wetsuits. It gets cold enough here in the winter to warrant a thin suit, but not full rubber. The thing that would be new to me would be the freezing water, but like you said, the cold wouldn't keep a soul surfer out of the water. People surf in Antarctica. I just looked up water temps, and it pointed out something I heard a couple days ago about the North Atlantic Drift keeping the temps around 8 degrees celcius warmer than other places in the world of similar latitude. That's pretty cool. I could stand 50 or 60 degree water! At least it won't feel like ice hitting my face.

[garbarrage]

We do have flat spells here to though, going through a bad one at the moment, but looking like its going to break on Sunday. Wind is the biggest surf killer here, but when you know the coastline a bit, a protected spot is not usually far away. It's a lot warmer than Canadian winters, Gulf Stream does its job, but still pretty hardcore come Jan-Feb. the hardest thing to get used to is the hood and gloves (although I rarely bother with gloves, unless its brutally cold out, and if its not windy I keep my hood down). Quick sessions are a must... I usually give myself a 10 wave limit, to keep my core warm enough for another surf. Get in, catch 10 waves (good ones... one's that fatten out dont count) and get out. Flask of tea, on the way to the next spot and car heater on full... Repeat until arms don't work, or daylight fades.

[nasolovesyou]

I wouldn't mind paddling in after 10 good waves and having some hot tea before going out again... that sounds awesome! I'm gonna start doing that here during winters haha but that is sort of a buzz kill that you HAVE to come in to avoid missing surf later on. Would I be right in assuming that's not the case during summers? I'd like as much time in the water as possible.

Our breaks are very short paddles out, so we get pushed right to shore after every ride. It's cool for water breaks, but I'd rather be out in the water for a long time.

[garbarrage]

Spring Summer and Autumn you can stay in for as long as you like, as often as you like. And even the winter November and December, you can stay in till your arms give up. It's only really Jan Feb and the beginning of March that are tough on the cold side. Summers tend to be a little on the small side though, but there are one or two swell magnets that make a lot out of a little.

[nasolovesyou]

I also skimboard, so I'm sure in the off-season I could just start trying to find good skim breaks, as they require smaller swells unless we're talking sider connections (aka long outgoing lines breaking off of rocks, wedging into the next incoming wave).

But hey, I heard something about terrorist attacks in Ireland... something maybe between protestants and catholics? Like what they see in the middle east? Please correct me; let me be wrong. I don't want to deal with watching where I travel, under the threat of being killed...

Also, is there a way for the mods to change the title of this thread? I'd like some more input on other places, rather than the thread being skipped over by most who don't live in or know of Australia.

[garbarrage]

The terrorist attacks stopped a long long time ago. And even when the trouble was in full flight, I never encountered it, not even once in my life, other than the odd time a town or super-market got closed because of a bomb hoax.

[nasolovesyou]

Well that's good to hear. I wish we could all just be friends