RI has a number of beaches that top anything in MA, and especially the few (Hampton, Rye/Jenness, etc) in NH (not to mention the amazing food right by gansett, scarborough, matunuck, 1st/2nd in Newport, etc — 'Gansett followed by Crazy Burger, or Scarborough followed by Iggy's or Aunt Carrie's is tough to top. I grew up in Bonnett, admittedly one of the worse ones as far as the surf goes, but the beach+boardwalk itself is great)
I've since fled RI, thank God, but I sure do miss the food and beaches
(I "grew up" in Bonnet in the sense that my grandparents lived there, so I spent summers and weekends there, and also lived there a couple years during college. But I really grew up in Warwick, cousins in Cranston)
edit - also worth noting that Newport isn't as high-brow/ritzy as most think. Yes, it has the mansions, so there's definitely a lot of wealth there; but it's also one of the poorest areas/cities in the state once you get away from Thames, or the Cliffwalk/mansion area around Bellevue
Water is actually warmer in RI/MA area than SoCal (currents — west coast currents flow south from the northern hemisphere = cold water; east coast water flows north in the Atlantic from the equator. Obviously freezing in the winter (though still surfable w/ a good wetsuit - my cousin went last week), but summer months, RI beaches are typically around 72+ degrees in the ocean. I'm in NH now and the water's too cold for my liking until about August though, but it's similar to water temps in SoCal when I visited)
Shhh....locals only
RI has a number of beaches that top anything in MA, and especially the few (Hampton, Rye/Jenness, etc) in NH (not to mention the amazing food right by gansett, scarborough, matunuck, 1st/2nd in Newport, etc — 'Gansett followed by Crazy Burger, or Scarborough followed by Iggy's or Aunt Carrie's is tough to top. I grew up in Bonnett, admittedly one of the worse ones as far as the surf goes, but the beach+boardwalk itself is great)
I've since fled RI, thank God, but I sure do miss the food and beaches
Probably closer than you think
(I "grew up" in Bonnet in the sense that my grandparents lived there, so I spent summers and weekends there, and also lived there a couple years during college. But I really grew up in Warwick, cousins in Cranston)
edit - also worth noting that Newport isn't as high-brow/ritzy as most think. Yes, it has the mansions, so there's definitely a lot of wealth there; but it's also one of the poorest areas/cities in the state once you get away from Thames, or the Cliffwalk/mansion area around Bellevue
I think South Cali beaches are too cold, can't imagine how cold it is up there. I'm off to Costa Rica.
Ya, well, it is January 1st.
Water is actually warmer in RI/MA area than SoCal (currents — west coast currents flow south from the northern hemisphere = cold water; east coast water flows north in the Atlantic from the equator. Obviously freezing in the winter (though still surfable w/ a good wetsuit - my cousin went last week), but summer months, RI beaches are typically around 72+ degrees in the ocean. I'm in NH now and the water's too cold for my liking until about August though, but it's similar to water temps in SoCal when I visited)