Thoughts on Santa Barbara?

[Anonymous]

I know this is the LA forum, but does anyone here have any thoughts on Santa Barbara as a place to settle? We've moved around a lot for career reasons but are now at a point where the next move will be for good/to stay (through death, presumably). DH is from LA and wants to be close to his family there. I prefer anywhere but LA. We've compromised with Santa Barbara (or thereabouts).

Our kids will be in high school when we move, so we'll need a place that has good public schools. Our oldest has asthma so air quality is very important. We plan on retiring in this community, so we want a place with good medical care and retirement amenities, including a decent airport. We like yoga, hiking, gardening, reading/learning, and fine wine. Home budget will be about a million (cash) and we'd rather not have a mortgage. DH can work remotely so access to employment is not a critical factor.

TIA!

[Anonymous]

Stunning
Charming
Expensive!!!!
Jealous

[Anonymous]

I prefer San Diego or Orange County. SB, to me, is overrated.

Also, there are more amenities in San Diego and OC .

[Anonymous]

IMHO, Santa Barbara is one of the most overrated cities in coastal California.

I would never settle there permanently. I’d look to San Diego. Better road connections to LA and beyond. Better school options. Better housing options. Better beaches. Better (and more) hiking options. Better and more accessible medical care and opportunities for retirees.

Santa Barbara is ridiculously expensive for what it offers.

[Anonymous]

Santa Barbara is nice if you don't like crowds and have tons and tons of money.

Its a small town full of it self, but got a nice university town vibe, playground of the rich, and decent weather.

But the ocean is full of tar, is always cold, so its a miserable beach

[Anonymous]

1MM for housing with no mortgage won't get you far in SB.

[Anonymous]

Not that LA isn't but Santa Barbara is expensive and as others have said, smaller with some amenities but not a ton.

I would just prefer to be in LA suburbs (valley). OC and SD aren't my personal vibe. Air quality isn't fantastic no matter how you slice it, especially during fire season. SB has had a ton of fire related issues (both fires themselves and slides that come after).

That said, I love to go there on weekends (the Four Seasons is my go-to so I don't go a ton).

[Anonymous]

Decent airport? The closest international is LAX and that’s a long trip with traffic, which can be quite terrible.

[Anonymous]

If you care about schools and being closer to LA, maybe the Westlake/TO area is a better fit? Conejo Valley Unified School District.

[Anonymous]

I love SB and would love to live there! I would never live in LA except for maybe Santa Monica. I’m from the east coast and to me SB is gorgeous - both the architecture and the scenery - whereas LA is suburban sprawl. I haven’t been to San Diego.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love SB and would love to live there! I would never live in LA except for maybe Santa Monica. I’m from the east coast and to me SB is gorgeous - both the architecture and the scenery - whereas LA is suburban sprawl. I haven’t been to San Diego.

I meant to add - the airport isn’t great. It has maybe eight destinations. But LAX and Burbank and John Wayne are within a couple hours. So there are options. LAX is probably two hours inyou timenit right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love SB and would love to live there! I would never live in LA except for maybe Santa Monica. I’m from the east coast and to me SB is gorgeous - both the architecture and the scenery - whereas LA is suburban sprawl. I haven’t been to San Diego.

I meant to add - the airport isn’t great. It has maybe eight destinations. But LAX and Burbank and John Wayne are within a couple hours. So there are options. LAX is probably two hours inyou timenit right.

No. It’s two hours if you get lucky, which will not happen most of the time.

SBA is a small airport. Most flights are on regional aircraft to major hubs in the western US.

[Anonymous]

My favorite place on earth!

I’d choose Montecito (town right next to Santa Barbara) bot both are truly heaven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is the LA forum, but does anyone here have any thoughts on Santa Barbara as a place to settle? We've moved around a lot for career reasons but are now at a point where the next move will be for good/to stay (through death, presumably). DH is from LA and wants to be close to his family there. I prefer anywhere but LA. We've compromised with Santa Barbara (or thereabouts).

Our kids will be in high school when we move, so we'll need a place that has good public schools. Our oldest has asthma so air quality is very important. We plan on retiring in this community, so we want a place with good medical care and retirement amenities, including a decent airport. We like yoga, hiking, gardening, reading/learning, and fine wine. Home budget will be about a million (cash) and we'd rather not have a mortgage. DH can work remotely so access to employment is not a critical factor.

TIA!

You absolutely will not find a house or condo in Santa Barbara for one million.

But everything else you want in there! Great public school and much better air quality than San Diego.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I prefer San Diego or Orange County. SB, to me, is overrated.

Also, there are more amenities in San Diego and OC .

+1 I'm from Socal, have a friend who lives in SB.

" good medical care and retirement amenities, including a decent airport. " -- SB is not it. They don't have a major airport, and SB is pretty secluded. If you look at the map, it's fairly buffeted by the Las Padres National forest, and it's a pretty small area. SD is much bigger, with a major airport and easier access to OC which has better medical facilities. I love SB, but when I go visit my friend, it's always quite a trek to get out of LA up to SB.

It's also warmer in SD.