There are plenty of places to surf around the world, Hawaii, Indonesia, Portugal, Central America just to name a few, but economics makes Puerto Rico a great place to start. United States citizens don't need a passport to travel to Puerto Rico and there are direct flights into Aguadilla airport (BQN) from New York, Miami and Boston.
I guess it comes down to how much time and money you have. A surfing vacation to Nicaragua sounds "epic", but with the cost and time it takes to get there, it better be. Many California surfers don't know about the great Caribbean surfing because they can travel to surf in Mexico or Hawaii, but many surfers from the East Coast hop on a plane and enjoy a 3 or 4 day surf vacation in Puerto Rico a few times a year.
Did I mention the water? Caribbean surfing means warm, clear water, surf with sea turtles and see the coral below your board. And of course, "leave your wetsuit behind!"