Is santa barbara a good place to live and is it safe? (Los Angeles: apartment, renting)

[westcoastvp]

Santa Barbara is a beautiful city. Great weather, beaches, some nightlife, but very expensive. If you can afford the cost of living, then you'll be fine.

[Cabguy]

absoloutely beautiful

[missalleykay]

I go to college here in Santa Barbara even though i was born and raised here it was just too great to leave . It is very expensive to live here however, and there are not many jobs. It's mostly who you know. It is very safe to walk around even at night, I have never had any problems. The "gang" problem here is small and most of the crime is gang on gang crime. I would not worry too much about that. The only streets that i would not live on pretty much are Milpas and San Andreas.

[rimmerama]

I lived in Santa Barbara for 5 years, and then I made the worst mistake of my life - I moved.

Oh, I don't know if you care or not (I had a few black friends in S.B, and they all liked living there, and never brought it up), it's probably like 1% black, if that.

[MAXIALE02]

I am black and grew up in Santa Barbara. As far as crime goes, it's very mild. Most crime is petty theft. Violent crime, not so much. The biggest thing for you coming from the east coast will probably be culture shock. Everyone is very friendly and open-minded, something that you will not be used to. There is covert racism but after a while you will be able to recognize it.

There is lots to do not matter what your interests are; the beach, SB County Bowl is awesome for concerts, mountains, lakes, hiking and Los Angeles is 75 minutes south if you feel the need to experience more diverse cultures (I'm starting to get homesick). I think that is the draw to SB. There are city ordinances to maintain that small european feel which is why everyone flocks to it. Living near the university is Isla Vista (IV) will be great if you're just coming out of high school. It is like a community within itself. (My dad worked out there for 30 years before retiring.) A long time ago it was known as a party school but again how you feel about that depends on your age.

Santa Barbara consist of old retired people (we call them old money) and young professionals (new money) and everybody else scrounging to stay in town. My advice to you is that if you want to stay in the area, research the local industries and get highly educated in those areas. In growing up there, my take is if you're properly educated in SB and can manage to afford to live there, then you can make it anywhere.

I actually got on here to research whether to move back for my kids to grow up in Cali or move further east to Chapel Hill. Cali is going through some major issues right now and is not the same when I graduated high school 20 years ago. My cousin is going to college at Howard and hated it there when she first got there because she was in culture shock but now she loves it. Hope something I've written here is beneficial to you.

[Ulysses61]

Santa Barbara is one of the most beautiful and incredible places to live in the WORLD, never mind just Southern California. It is expensive, however.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by ayad3122

santa barbara is a place you wouldnt wanna leave, i just moved to the east coast n every day i mean ever day of me being here i regret moving. bottom line is sb is the best place u could be, nightlife, party, education, job i mean its the best you can have

SB is lovely, but I disagree with you about the job market. Everyone I know that lives there says there are no real jobs there and the few that exist pay very little. The rent/housing costs are very high, due to the abundance of old money and the desire of so many to live there. Bottom line, it is a great place to live if you can afford it. Unfortunately, most people cannot.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

SB is lovely, but I disagree with you about the job market. Everyone I know that lives there says there are no real jobs there and the few that exist pay very little. The rent/housing costs are very high, due to the abundance of old money and the desire of so many to live there. Bottom line, it is a great place to live if you can afford it. Unfortunately, most people cannot.

There used to be some high tech jobs but many have gone away.

[kljmac]

Yes, yes, yes. Santa Barbra is beautiful. I live in the Canadian equivalent, West Vancouver. It's one of those cities where 98% of the time, wherever you are, you're safe. It's a very posh place too, well, depending on what your standards of posh are. You'll have a blast living in SB, very lucky.

[macsret]

Originally Posted by kljmac

Yes, yes, yes. Santa Barbra is beautiful. I live in the Canadian equivalent, West Vancouver. It's one of those cities where 98% of the time, wherever you are, you're safe. It's a very posh place too, well, depending on what your standards of posh are. You'll have a blast living in SB, very lucky.

Is your place close to Steveston, went there to visit relatives in 2007, great place would love to live there. Our relatives moved into Vancouver but don't know where.

jOE
Angeles City
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