What prevents you from diving after OW Certification?

[Basking Ridge Diver]

For those without regular buddies - Don't know if this would work for you but I can think of 2 scenarios -
1) go to the Regional Forums and Dive Clubs section of Scubaboard and try posting there - I have met up with some folks from Scubaboard (won't call them regular buddies just yet but you can meet folks for dives). Have a couple dive buddies for those times one can not make your schedule.
2) try going to a local dive spot if you can find one (if not ask your LDS) and sit there some weekend - if salt water make it just before high tide and see if anyone looks friendly enough to approach... Introduce yourself and get some contacts - even if it is a future dive... Best place to meet active divers could be at the place you want to dive locally.

Most divers I have met will at least let you know if they are comfortable taking you out for a dive or two.
Good Luck.

 

[Jackter45]

I did my junior advanced open water straight after my OW but the main issue is some places would be the cold temperatures. In my area it is close to necessary to dive in a dry suit and that is part of the AOW course.

 

[boulderjohn]

I did a Discover Scuba while on vacation in Hawai'i when I was 35. I loved it and would have gotten certified after my return to the mainland were it not for the cost and the time obligations I had to a young, growing family. When I finally did get certified, I had reached the point that I could include at least vacation diving, and my family was grown enough that those concerns were largely gone.

I have two sons, both married and with families of their own. One says the same thing--the cost is too high, and he has to think of his young family. The other is also concerned about time, for he barely has enough for what he is dong now. I certified both his wife and his older son, but living in Colorado, they don't have much in the way of local options, and can only dive on an annual vacation--if it is taken in a place where diving makes sense.

I used to teach a lot of scuba refreshers courses, and it was very common to have students who had gotten certified a decade or more before and then quit for those same reasons--cost and the demands of a growing family.