Is santa barbara a good place to live and is it safe?

[enlightenme]

I grew up there, went to college and even found a decent job in Santa Barbara! Then, I decided I wanted to buy a house....leaving Santa Barbara is the only regret I have in my life. I should have continued renting an over-priced shack and stayed. Getting back there seems impossible now. You will be safe and you will love it in Santa Barbara.

[uptdreaded]

Originally Posted by 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.

Thats sounds cool, thanks for the advice. What type of changes is California going through? i would really like to know

Thank all of you guys for your response i appreciate it.

[rimmerama]

Originally Posted by enlightenme

I grew up there, went to college and even found a decent job in Santa Barbara! Then, I decided I wanted to buy a house....leaving Santa Barbara is the only regret I have in my life. I should have continued renting an over-priced shack and stayed. Getting back there seems impossible now. You will be safe and you will love it in Santa Barbara.

Yep, I'd trade my house for my crappy old apartment in Goleta in a heart beat...

[MAXIALE02]

Originally Posted by uptdreaded

Thats sounds cool, thanks for the advice. What type of changes is California going through? i would really like to know

Thank all of you guys for your response i appreciate it.

IN MY OPINION (as I open a can of worms), there is severe imbalance of resources, as in there are more "squatters" in California than can be absorbed by the resources.

to the OP, I could not begin to cover that question in this one space so I copied a link:

Non-Californians ask: What's the matter with California? - latimes.com