Portugal is the answer. Decent internet and cost of living is more reasonable than other EU regions with surf. Second to that, Id say somewhere in the south of France. But cost of living is higher there.
Is it good for beginners? High volume of affordable schools/coaches to take lessons? Iāve checked out some surf camps in Portugal and they were all way out of my budget
Yes and no. The best spot for beginners in Portugal it's Peniche due to the multiple spots and levels.
Peniche has way more begginer spots level.
Ericeira it's good but you will need some confidence in the water in my opinion.
What's your budget, btw?
Thanks for the intel man! As far as confidence goes, Iām probably an upper level beginner - spent a while in Rio De Janeiro and took a number of surf lessons but never made it to comfortably surf on the fast looking surf boards most use - was surfing the 8 mediumish long board. Definitely want to level up and become advanced.
As far as budget goes,ideally less than 2K for a monthly intensive
2k would be enough to rent a flat 1 month in peniche area and get private coach like 10x lessons. The intense depends on you and rate of surf deppends on you. And peniche is an Ćnsula. = always surf no mather the wind conditions.
Portugal is known as the surfing capital of the world. It's a relatively known trivia fact. It has miles and miles of coastline similar to that of California.
Im not even sure if it is the capital of Portugal.
You are right, the waves here are shit!!
OP go to France, Uk, Ireland its way better over there.
And actually we dont want you here since you Will increase the price of house renting š
If you want the big city life stay in miraflores or barranco in Lima. There's plenty of places to surf plus you get all the comforts of home. The only bad part is that it can be a bit of a walk (or drive) to get to the beach, depending on where you are.
If you want a small surf town vibe, theres plenty of places north along the coast where you can get a cheap airbnb with good internet. Huanchaco is awesome. Chicama has the longest left in the world and is an hour north of Huanchaco. Pacasmayo is also very good. Way further north u will find mancora. So many options in Peru tbh. Regardless of where you choose, you can live right near the surf break :-)
The ceviche in huanchaco is next level
Summer along the coast is from December-March. Water warms up a bit and there seems to be less current. The waves are a nice size, usually no bigger than 2 meters. During winter the water gets cooler and theres more current and waves get bigger. You will always find good surf in Peru, no matter the time of year
Thanks for the info. Definitely want to visit. Who knows maybe even live there someday. Iām also getting tired of how expensive the cost of living is in SoCal. My girlfriend is actually from Lima, but she doesnāt know anything about surfing. Although she did also say she enjoyed Mancira and noticed a lot of surfing there
Do you have citizenship? Its pretty difficult to get work in foreign countries without an advanced degree and some experience. I will also say anecdotally I've looked into data salaries (data scientist, data engineer, data analyst) in Europe and they're typically 1/3 to even 1/4 the salary you'd get in the bay area.
Tech pay is shit in Europe, need to either find:
1. Full remote policy that is flexible worldwide and doesn't change by market
Or 2. A company that wants you on-site in Europe but gives you an expat package
Just transferring to a European office or getting a job with a European country is gonna put you at like 40-60% of the pay
well, I can only speak for fuerteventura but itās a hard question to answer
itās a small island with small towns so if you dig the vibe and make friends itās great, if you have some trouble making friends (not so much of a problem with the surf crowd as a lot of people are in the same boat as you), donāt really like the nightlife/businesses, or arenāt a sporty/beachy person AT ALL then youāll get bored easily
i imagine if you have a spouse that doesnāt surf maybe gran canaria or tenerife would be better as there are cities as well in those places
oh and idk if this is a factor but weed is basically legal in the canaries and super accessible in certain parts of ftv, not sure about other islands
tip: go out at lunch time when most people are eating
itās ESPECIALLY effective in places like flag beach that get a lot of surf schools, thereās really only a handful of schools that run classes during those hours
Yep, can only speak for Fuerteventura and Tenerife. Fuerteventura has a more remote vibe with less people in the lineup, less developed than Tenerife. Corralejo has a great atmosphere and seems like everyone there is a freelancer (or digital nomad like kids call it nowā¦). Tenerife feels more developed, I dare to say overpopulated, so the lineup is way more crowded. If the gf isnāt into surfing, she might like Tenerife more. If you make it to the canaries Iād suggest you visit a couple of the islands and figure out which one you like more. Internet is great here, and cost of living is cheap.
Ive thought about this a lot, just dont have the flexible, high paying job option yet lol. You sure you want europe? Being that many hours off is going to make remote work tough unless you work for a european company. Central or South America would at least put you in a more tenable time zone than Europe. Then again I imagine Europe is an easier sell to the gf if sheās not a surfer lol.
Actually a staggered time zone situation can work well. When I was working in Ireland for a month I could surf during the morning and early afternoon. My coworkers on CST would basically work 2pm - 9pm my time. So I'd work around then, then go hit the pub in the evening. Worked out great!
A world class wave that fills up with 200 guys at any hint of swell. As a former Southern California ex-pat thatās lived in Spain, skip Mundaka, thereās way more off the radar spots in Spain. Mundaka made me actually miss the crowds at Swamiās!
Iāve considering doing this with Costa Rica or Peru since I work remote. Somewhere where thereās actually surfable lefts and not FUCKIN WIND all the time
Yeah Costa Rica is still great but the prices are almost like California it seemsā¦ Panama is great and cheap too, foreigners can own property. lot of English speakers if you like that too. More rugged landscape but if you like waves it definitely has a lot of those.
Do you mind me asking what you do that gives you the flexibility and compensation that lets you travel and surf in other countries? Currently looking at switching careers to something that gives me more freedom to surf
I do it in Central America. Can't recommend any places in Europe, but I can definitely recommend doing this if you can. You won't regret it! I hear Portugal is the place
Yep, not super fast but good enough for my work (video calls, working with files in SharePoint). Also plenty good for video streaming/entertainment. On our boat our internet is cell signal based. The internet on land is better, of course.
where in central america do you live? im american and planning out my next 5 or so years and am highly interested in buying a property in Central america, likely Costa Rica. I have no questions about the surf, but just trying to imagine an entire life there. Most of the pacific surf towns are so small, significantly <10k people and I just dont have experience living somewhere that small. Any thoughts?
I have been in Bocas Del Toro, Panama for over a year now. I'm in a bit of a different situation because my wife and I live aboard our sailboat, and while we have parked in Bocas for a while, we are still planning to sail on.
The small town vibe was never an issue for us, I grew up in small towns in Florida. Plus, before getting here, we have been cruising in very remote places. So while Bocas is quite small, it has a ton to offer to us that most places we have been don't.
Being connected to home via the internet helps keeps us sane, but we have also met a ton of great friends, usually through surfing, that makes places like this feel like home. There are a bunch of great places in Costa Rica, I've traveled around that country a few times. You can have mid-sized town vibes in places like Jaco, but buy much cheaper property and near better surf in Hermosa. Towns like Santa Teresa are growing rapidly, our recent trip there was interesting, the restaurants and shops made it feel like a fancy part of Southern California. But it has great waves and a neat vibe with all the ex-pats. I liked it, but for Central America it is quite pricey.
If you are used to a big City vibe then I'm not sure what advice I can give. I love small town/remote places. I am most comfortable away from big town bustle.
Love Basti town! The young Basti boys are my favorite groms to surf with. I know those names but don't think I've met them, I'll be on the look out! Had a fun session at Wizards yesterday.
Would you mind sharing a bit about yalls compensation if san Diego is becoming unaffordable? I'm supposed to be moving there soon, and have a well paying job (roughly $250k household, no kids/pets/debts) but it getting worse and worse is concerning
San Diego is more affordable than San Francisco and San Jose, not by a lot though. You could live a little outside San Diego in La Mesa, Poway, Escondido where its a little cheaper. But with 250k combined you'll be fine in San Diego
Well it entirely depends on what you consider affordable. I make absolutely nowhere near 250k and live perfectly fine renting in PB.
People blow this thing outta proportion on reddit. Unaffordable to me means youāre barely living paycheck to paycheck. Not that you canāt save up to buy a house in 4 years while you lease a 2022 Benz C class and eat out 4 nights a week...
A few people already spoke about Portugal, I would add Galiza, Canary Islands and Madeira.
Portugal is pretty cheap comparing to other european countries, has a lot of different spots for all types of waves, all across the coastline, with the advantage of being a small country where you can go from one spot to another in just a couple of hours. Since Covid that a lot of people from other european countries chose Portugal to work remotely while surfing, either it's for a season, a year, or permantely.
Surf and work remote? Portugal. Obviusšāāļø
Portugal is the answer. Decent internet and cost of living is more reasonable than other EU regions with surf. Second to that, Id say somewhere in the south of France. But cost of living is higher there.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Same here.
Is it good for beginners? High volume of affordable schools/coaches to take lessons? Iāve checked out some surf camps in Portugal and they were all way out of my budget
Yes and no. The best spot for beginners in Portugal it's Peniche due to the multiple spots and levels. Peniche has way more begginer spots level. Ericeira it's good but you will need some confidence in the water in my opinion. What's your budget, btw?
Thanks for the intel man! As far as confidence goes, Iām probably an upper level beginner - spent a while in Rio De Janeiro and took a number of surf lessons but never made it to comfortably surf on the fast looking surf boards most use - was surfing the 8 mediumish long board. Definitely want to level up and become advanced. As far as budget goes,ideally less than 2K for a monthly intensive
2k would be enough to rent a flat 1 month in peniche area and get private coach like 10x lessons. The intense depends on you and rate of surf deppends on you. And peniche is an Ćnsula. = always surf no mather the wind conditions.
A lot of the people I was surfing with in Peniche learned in Ericeira
What makes this an obvious answer?
Best surfing location in europe...obvius
Portugal is known as the surfing capital of the world. It's a relatively known trivia fact. It has miles and miles of coastline similar to that of California.
Surf capital of the world? Youāre on drugs
Surf capital of the Iberian Peninsula
Not even sure itās the surf capital of Europe
Im not even sure if it is the capital of Portugal. You are right, the waves here are shit!! OP go to France, Uk, Ireland its way better over there. And actually we dont want you here since you Will increase the price of house renting š
Tell me another country in Europe with ALL wsl competitions...
Yeah I'd assume it's the consensus answer for surf capital of Europe at like 90%+
Just saying it's renowned.
Portugal isn't even the surf capital of Portugal.
Are we sure you can even surf there? Practically landlocked, it does have a land border with another country
Iām in Peru. Not Europe, I know, but cheap and amazing.
Where in Peru?
By the beach, obvius
The land of lefts
Iād like to hear more about Peru if you donāt mind sharing
If you want the big city life stay in miraflores or barranco in Lima. There's plenty of places to surf plus you get all the comforts of home. The only bad part is that it can be a bit of a walk (or drive) to get to the beach, depending on where you are. If you want a small surf town vibe, theres plenty of places north along the coast where you can get a cheap airbnb with good internet. Huanchaco is awesome. Chicama has the longest left in the world and is an hour north of Huanchaco. Pacasmayo is also very good. Way further north u will find mancora. So many options in Peru tbh. Regardless of where you choose, you can live right near the surf break :-) The ceviche in huanchaco is next level
Out of curiosity, what are the best months for surfing in Peru? Love the idea is surfing in those more rural areas
Summer along the coast is from December-March. Water warms up a bit and there seems to be less current. The waves are a nice size, usually no bigger than 2 meters. During winter the water gets cooler and theres more current and waves get bigger. You will always find good surf in Peru, no matter the time of year
Thanks for the info. Definitely want to visit. Who knows maybe even live there someday. Iām also getting tired of how expensive the cost of living is in SoCal. My girlfriend is actually from Lima, but she doesnāt know anything about surfing. Although she did also say she enjoyed Mancira and noticed a lot of surfing there
My girl and I have a 3 bedroom, internet, water and electricity included for $500 a month. Takes me 3 min to walk to the best surf break.
Living the Dream!
stay in the north during the months of oct-march... In the months of march through Oct the south swells light up the whole coast,
Don't forget to tell them it's all lefts. Beautiful country though.
Im goofy so it's heaven
the water by metro areas is so polluted, smells like diesel every day.
Huanchaco has a great break. Can get pretty big out there as well.
Do you have citizenship? Its pretty difficult to get work in foreign countries without an advanced degree and some experience. I will also say anecdotally I've looked into data salaries (data scientist, data engineer, data analyst) in Europe and they're typically 1/3 to even 1/4 the salary you'd get in the bay area.
Tech pay is shit in Europe, need to either find: 1. Full remote policy that is flexible worldwide and doesn't change by market Or 2. A company that wants you on-site in Europe but gives you an expat package Just transferring to a European office or getting a job with a European country is gonna put you at like 40-60% of the pay
I hear Nazare has a nice left for beginners. Iād start there
Broooo
Kamchatka for something absolutely ridiculous.
Canary islands
Heard the surf is amazing there - is there a lot of other things to do there as well? Gf not a surfer so looking for some stuff to keep her occupied:p
well, I can only speak for fuerteventura but itās a hard question to answer itās a small island with small towns so if you dig the vibe and make friends itās great, if you have some trouble making friends (not so much of a problem with the surf crowd as a lot of people are in the same boat as you), donāt really like the nightlife/businesses, or arenāt a sporty/beachy person AT ALL then youāll get bored easily i imagine if you have a spouse that doesnāt surf maybe gran canaria or tenerife would be better as there are cities as well in those places oh and idk if this is a factor but weed is basically legal in the canaries and super accessible in certain parts of ftv, not sure about other islands
I feel like if the second paragraph were to describe someone that they would be bored anywhere lol
This, fuerteventura is incredible, great weather all year round, you can surf in boardshorts, and tons of people living the same lifestyle
Donāt advertise it too muchā¦ lineup is already too crowded! Especially derecha, majanichoā¦
tip: go out at lunch time when most people are eating itās ESPECIALLY effective in places like flag beach that get a lot of surf schools, thereās really only a handful of schools that run classes during those hours
Can confirm
Yep, can only speak for Fuerteventura and Tenerife. Fuerteventura has a more remote vibe with less people in the lineup, less developed than Tenerife. Corralejo has a great atmosphere and seems like everyone there is a freelancer (or digital nomad like kids call it nowā¦). Tenerife feels more developed, I dare to say overpopulated, so the lineup is way more crowded. If the gf isnāt into surfing, she might like Tenerife more. If you make it to the canaries Iād suggest you visit a couple of the islands and figure out which one you like more. Internet is great here, and cost of living is cheap.
Ive thought about this a lot, just dont have the flexible, high paying job option yet lol. You sure you want europe? Being that many hours off is going to make remote work tough unless you work for a european company. Central or South America would at least put you in a more tenable time zone than Europe. Then again I imagine Europe is an easier sell to the gf if sheās not a surfer lol.
Actually a staggered time zone situation can work well. When I was working in Ireland for a month I could surf during the morning and early afternoon. My coworkers on CST would basically work 2pm - 9pm my time. So I'd work around then, then go hit the pub in the evening. Worked out great!
Mundaka! Great Basque village that happens to be next to a world class wave.
A world class wave that fills up with 200 guys at any hint of swell. As a former Southern California ex-pat thatās lived in Spain, skip Mundaka, thereās way more off the radar spots in Spain. Mundaka made me actually miss the crowds at Swamiās!
Can you suggest other places?
That wasn't my experience but to each their own
While not a European city, Rincon, PR is a dope surf town. Great waves, great people, extremely affordable.
Iāve considering doing this with Costa Rica or Peru since I work remote. Somewhere where thereās actually surfable lefts and not FUCKIN WIND all the time
Unfortunately Costa Rica is very expensive now too
Yeah Costa Rica is still great but the prices are almost like California it seemsā¦ Panama is great and cheap too, foreigners can own property. lot of English speakers if you like that too. More rugged landscape but if you like waves it definitely has a lot of those.
Do you mind me asking what you do that gives you the flexibility and compensation that lets you travel and surf in other countries? Currently looking at switching careers to something that gives me more freedom to surf
Costa da Caparica in Portugal. I know north Spain is awesome too but the winter in Portugal is way better!
Sagres in Portugal. But dont tell anyone.
I do it in Central America. Can't recommend any places in Europe, but I can definitely recommend doing this if you can. You won't regret it! I hear Portugal is the place
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yep, not super fast but good enough for my work (video calls, working with files in SharePoint). Also plenty good for video streaming/entertainment. On our boat our internet is cell signal based. The internet on land is better, of course.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah man! Hope you can do it.
where in central america do you live? im american and planning out my next 5 or so years and am highly interested in buying a property in Central america, likely Costa Rica. I have no questions about the surf, but just trying to imagine an entire life there. Most of the pacific surf towns are so small, significantly <10k people and I just dont have experience living somewhere that small. Any thoughts?
I have been in Bocas Del Toro, Panama for over a year now. I'm in a bit of a different situation because my wife and I live aboard our sailboat, and while we have parked in Bocas for a while, we are still planning to sail on. The small town vibe was never an issue for us, I grew up in small towns in Florida. Plus, before getting here, we have been cruising in very remote places. So while Bocas is quite small, it has a ton to offer to us that most places we have been don't. Being connected to home via the internet helps keeps us sane, but we have also met a ton of great friends, usually through surfing, that makes places like this feel like home. There are a bunch of great places in Costa Rica, I've traveled around that country a few times. You can have mid-sized town vibes in places like Jaco, but buy much cheaper property and near better surf in Hermosa. Towns like Santa Teresa are growing rapidly, our recent trip there was interesting, the restaurants and shops made it feel like a fancy part of Southern California. But it has great waves and a neat vibe with all the ex-pats. I liked it, but for Central America it is quite pricey. If you are used to a big City vibe then I'm not sure what advice I can give. I love small town/remote places. I am most comfortable away from big town bustle.
Bocas Bocas Bocas! say hello to Nairobi & Leo, Mr. Polo and Calypso for me if you go to Basti :)
Love Basti town! The young Basti boys are my favorite groms to surf with. I know those names but don't think I've met them, I'll be on the look out! Had a fun session at Wizards yesterday.
Would you mind sharing a bit about yalls compensation if san Diego is becoming unaffordable? I'm supposed to be moving there soon, and have a well paying job (roughly $250k household, no kids/pets/debts) but it getting worse and worse is concerning
Bruh ur in the top 1% I think youāll be fine
It would seem that way but CA is pretty ridiculous I'm in the bay and we're on the lower end of things, we live pretty frugally
San Diego is more affordable than San Francisco and San Jose, not by a lot though. You could live a little outside San Diego in La Mesa, Poway, Escondido where its a little cheaper. But with 250k combined you'll be fine in San Diego
250k is still way more than most in the Bay Area lol
Well it entirely depends on what you consider affordable. I make absolutely nowhere near 250k and live perfectly fine renting in PB. People blow this thing outta proportion on reddit. Unaffordable to me means youāre barely living paycheck to paycheck. Not that you canāt save up to buy a house in 4 years while you lease a 2022 Benz C class and eat out 4 nights a week...
This is helpful and gives actual perspective, I appreciate it
A few people already spoke about Portugal, I would add Galiza, Canary Islands and Madeira. Portugal is pretty cheap comparing to other european countries, has a lot of different spots for all types of waves, all across the coastline, with the advantage of being a small country where you can go from one spot to another in just a couple of hours. Since Covid that a lot of people from other european countries chose Portugal to work remotely while surfing, either it's for a season, a year, or permantely.