Best Places To Live And Scuba In The U.S.A.

[IndigoBlue]

My wife and I were at the outdoor pool this morning at our homeowners association, and we met two Canadians visiting our state for the first time. That began a discussion about what is the best place to live and scuba dive in the USA.

Here is the list we came up with, starting with the best:

1. Hawaii
2. Florida
3. The Carolinas
4. California
5. Oregon & Wash St.
6. Michigan
7. Texas
8. Georgia
9. New England

Thoughts?

 

[Scubaguy62]

I agree with the first two choices. Not only based on economics, but also on geographical location, however, I believe that Florida is a better choice than Hawaii. When I visited Hawaii in January 1998, gas was $2.00 per gallon then. We just hit $2.00 for premium only a few weeks ago, and we're still much closer to the Bahamas and the caribbean than Hawaii is to Palau, Truk, Micronesia, and so on.

Rick

 

[scubatim77]

Really I believe that your personal diving goals should decide your list. What type of diving do you want to do. Is topside activities important in considering your list. I have never dove off the Carolinas, but wreck diving is a big interest of mine as well as sharks, so I mayput that high on my list of places to dive, but someone who loves whales may put the upper western Pacific coast higher than me.

 

[H2Andy]

i love florida because so much diving is accessible:

1. coral reefs in the keys and lower east coast
2. limestone reef diving in the northern east coast
3. cave diving in north central florida
4. the only state where you can swim with manatees
5. wreck diving (though not so good) in gulf of mexico
6. within driving distance of gulf oil rig diving
7. within driving distance of Carolina wreck diving
8. easy and cheap access to the Caribbean

gotta love it

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Personally I wouldn't take any of those other places over where I'm living now ... when you take into account all the factors above and below the surface that affect your daily life.

At least not until I get too old to haul heavy cold water gear around ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Drew Sailbum]

My top ten has several of the territories and possessions. Lump in American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and other assorted islands to the list.

 

[seakdivers]

Right here!

Sitka, Alaska!! We have the most incredibly diverse diving around here. I can't say enough about the wildlife. We've encountered anything from humpback whales to bullheads and everything in between.

I would love to dive in a tropical area though - just to see what it's like!

 

[IslandHopper]

Sailbum is on to something ... you realize that Guam IS part of the U.S.A....

84 degree water year round with wrecks, reefs, hundreds of divesites from 25 feet to as deep as you care to go. (Challenger Deep is just a few miles off our coast )

Granted, I don't plan to live here forever, but as far as diving in the U.S. goes, I'm not sure it can be beat.

 

[H2Andy]

yeah... but the thing was "to live and dive." Guam has great diving, but
how much of a career can 99% of people find there? Same for the Virgin Islands
or Puerto Rico. Opportunities are just very limited there.

Sure they are great dive destinations, but can most of us make the same living
there we do stateside?

 

[NICKSLICK]

Southern California.

Im in boating distance of:

Catalina
Saint Nicholas Island
Coronado Islands
Channel Islands
Local Beach and Reef diving (i.e. Laguna Beach)

lest we not forget a 2-3 hour drive away from

SAN DIEGO (wreck alley)
Ensenada
Baja

These are just the top spots... there are literally thousands of spots, many are very rarely dived...

Giant kelp forest
Blue water hunting (tuna, yellowtail)
LOBSTER

IN MY OPINION, SoCal is the best dive spot on the planet... bar none.