Sitting in my home in Sydney in Australia I listened to the Beach Boys unfathomably cute hit, California Girls. Though I was confused about whether they wanted all the girls from the world to live in California or girls from California to live all over the world I understood one thing: California girls equal good.
Not known for their quality of surf but iconic when you think of surfing in Australia. Bondi and Manly are the ideal switch for the Venice-based surfer. You can still surf, you can definitely drive to good surf but most importantly you can attend parties and other social gatherings with an emboldened status as a surfer. Localism can be tough from not so well-intentioned millionaire property owners who think they have a claim to the beach because they moved closeby 10 years ago. Expect crowds and plenty of social media.
Is there anything sexier than glitz and glam? I don’t know what those words really mean, but they feel nice to write. The Florida surfer can head to the Gold Coast for a slice of Miami with waves. Fake tans, gold chains, g-strings and casinos, it’ll be enough to help you forget that your own state stabbed you in the back in getting the small-handed misogynist across the line. The Gold Coast is tropical, holds good swells, and plays host to a lot of white people that are heavily into rap music.
If you don’t mind wearing a steamer for most of the year and long bowl-y rights then Victoria might be more your ticket. In Bells Beach the Santa Cruz surfer can enjoy a laidback lifestyle with crowds that aren’t quite as bad as in the cities but still pretty bad. Ugg boots go great and you’ll see spots of corduroy every now and again to help you feel at home.
Heading over to the West Coast of the country, Margaret River could have been seen as Australian surfing’s hidden gem until the launch of the WSL event. San Fran natives will be heartened by the close proximity to good wine and a rough and rugged coast line. The surf gets big and the crowds ain’t too bad, so think Ocean Beach but it lasts for a couple of hundred kilometers…and you see kangaroos everywhere.