What's the truth about Santa Maria - Orcutt? (Los Angeles, San Francisco: real estate, property taxes)

[CalBerkeley2002]

Originally Posted by SMCS

We've lived in Santa Maria for almost 3 years and love it. I really think there are two Santa Marias. People living in Northern Santa Maria and those living in South Santa Maria/Orcutt. We haven't seen any problems with gangs but my co-worker who lives in the Northern part of SM has.

100K should be adequate to live on. That is about what my husband and I make and we live nice here. DH is in the oil industry and I am in civil service. I'm not too sure about the education system here. We first lived in the Santa Maria school district when we moved so we enrolled our kids at Valley Christian academy. Now we are in Orcutt school district but we've been extremely happy with VCA so I haven't tested the public schools here yet.

Shopping isn't the best but San Luis Obispo is a ways off and since you'll be working the oil patch, you'll probably spend some time in Bakersfield where the shopping is better. My one complaint is the lack of a big book store. The mall has two bookstores but their selection isn't too good.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Glad to hear the people actually living in SM speaking up! That's what I thought I was going to get when I originally posted. Truth is, I've lived in Fresno and now Houston for all of my post-college days - believe it or not I like Houston much more than I did Fresno. That being said, I was relatively happy in both cities because I was happy at work and at home - I think if you are with your family you can be happy anywhere if you let yourself. I'm really looking for a better climate which I'm sure you all can agree that SM has a great climate (esp. when compared to Fresno or Houston). The worst thing about living in the gulf coast is the lack of topography, haven't seen a hill since I went to San Antonio in Feb.! Well, I'm coming next spring and I'm looking forward to it - noticed the welcoming posts were from the locals and I think that speaks volumes. Thanks everyone.

[lexi]

Originally Posted by CalBerkeley2002

Glad to hear the people actually living in SM speaking up! That's what I thought I was going to get when I originally posted. Truth is, I've lived in Fresno and now Houston for all of my post-college days - believe it or not I like Houston much more than I did Fresno. That being said, I was relatively happy in both cities because I was happy at work and at home - I think if you are with your family you can be happy anywhere if you let yourself. I'm really looking for a better climate which I'm sure you all can agree that SM has a great climate (esp. when compared to Fresno or Houston). The worst thing about living in the gulf coast is the lack of topography, haven't seen a hill since I went to San Antonio in Feb.! Well, I'm coming next spring and I'm looking forward to it - noticed the welcoming posts were from the locals and I think that speaks volumes. Thanks everyone.

Well, that changes things. I was comparing Santa Maria to other desireable
cities in California. Santa Maria beats a lot of towns and cities in California!
The weather IS great and you're close to the beach, you can drive to Santa
Barbara for shopping or San Luis Obispo. Right now though they are having
a major housing price collapse... lot's of foreclosures. I lived in Pismo
Beach and loved the area. Good Luck to you, if you buy keep in mind
prices are still on the way down.

[corndog67]

Hey guys, I'm moving to Santa Maria in about a month, maybe month and a half. I've been renting in Oceano for a few years. 3 years ago, I thought that I couldn't afford a house in Central CA, the average was $605,000. Unbelievable. Now, houses in SM are down in the mid-$200's. 3 houses I made offers on this past week were all in the mid-400's, now they are mid-2's. Never could have done it without all the people that took out all their equity to buy boats, toyhaulers and $100,000 trucks, also the people that got stated income loans thinking they were going to make $250,000 profit in 2 years, except the market tanked. Then their Adjustable Rate Loans rolled over and all of the sudden they have $4000 monthly payments they can't make. Thanks a lot people, you got me into a house. I'll stop gushing about it now.

The Gangs. Santa Maria has a serious gang problem, some people seem to be trying to sugarcoat it, but just watch the news every morning. Someone gets shot or stabbed there every day. Take a drive around, its real obvious. Some neighborhoods you just stay out of. The houses I made offers on are in nice neighborhoods, I won't need to put up security cameras. Maybe. Maybe I will any way. There is also a major problem with unlicensed/uninsured drivers there. And illegal aliens are a major problem too. 70,000 population? I bet 40 or 50% higher than that due to the illegals. And the highest unmarried teen pregnancy rate in the nation.

But its not all bad news. El Toro and Su Mesa have the best mexican food I've ever eaten. Have a Sears and Costco, too. People are griping about the cowboys, or hicks like they are calling them. In my experience, real cowboys are the most straightforward, honest people I have ever met. I'm not sure what they are sniveling about. Soem good ole boys, some pretty friendly Mexicans. Decent weather. I can ride my motorcycle year round, and if it rains, I ride my dirtbike either at Ballinger Canyon off of 166 or Pozo, by Hwy 58. I'm going to give it a shot. Maybe I can make that $250,000, except I hope that I would be smart enough not to spend the equity on toys, well, not too many toys, anyway.

Good luck and have fun.

[VickyVicky]

I can only speak as a person who visited Santa Maria several times a year for about 12 yrs. It personally did not appeal to me. It felt sort or dingy, overcast often, and I didnt like the scenery much either. Just passing thru it on the freeway there is nothing visibly special about it. It actually seemed to be a lot of migrant farm workers and lower income families the parts I was in.

I like areas surrounding, I will stop in Solvang and Pismo Beach, but Santa Maria just does nothing for me.

[greatbasinguide]

Corndog, you came up with some great reasons to live in the Santa Maria area, as you are aware "the hicks" run the economy, own the farms and ranches.

The Mexicans are like anyone else, some good, some bad. The gangs are an unfortunate response to poor economic conditions. The easiest way to rid an area of gangs is to bring up the living standards of the potential gang members, few architects or store owners in gangs.

[caliving0071]

To anyone who wants some idea of living in Santa Maria/Orcutt area:

I have lived here about 20 yrs, orginally born and raised in Santa Barbara. My experience has been good. Now I am married and raising children of my own and feel quite safe in my neighborhood. Now Santa Maria doesnt have all the glamour and excitement of a large city (LA or San Fran) but if you are looking for a family community, you will fit right in. For the other stuff, it is a short drive to SLO or Santa Barbara to fulfill your needs. There are some great places to explore here as well.Crime (in certain areas) are no higher than most cities. Many would say that we dont experiance it firsthand because it is centered around certain areas of SM and neighborhoods in which you never have to frequent unless you have a need to be in those areas. Living in Orcutt myself, there is California Distinguished Award winning schools. I have been extremely happy with my childrens school. I have not yet heard of anyone being unhappy with the Orcutt School District. The Santa Maria District Schools have not faired as well in the past but I have heard they are getting better. In your $income, you should look into areas in Orcutt, ie Foxenwoods (nice to very nice homes, manicured lawns etc), even more upscale include Lorraine Estates, Deerfield estates, Elkhorn Est, Oakhill Est and even some new home developments in Orcutt are nice as well. Weather is great, SM is within driving distance to Pismo/Avila Beach, SLO, Santa Barbara, Solvang. It is overall a good choice to settle down.
Greatbasing guide (I think thats the name) should be ashamed of himself coming from a so called pioneer family. Santa Maria has and is growing although not so rapidly as other cities. Many want the town to remain a small town atmosphere, not congested with overdevelopment (although population is close to 100k now). It is mostly a conservative town. He mentioned there are lots of Hick Western Stores (I think there are 2 Western Wear stores that I could count). I think GBG feels the need to be the center of forum attention and be the spark of controversy. I am almost postive he must be on other forums doing the same and really needs to get a life IMO.

[greatbasinguide]

Greatbasing guide (I think thats the name) should be ashamed of himself coming from a so called pioneer family. Santa Maria has and is growing although not so rapidly as other cities. Many want the town to remain a small town atmosphere, not congested with overdevelopment (although population is close to 100k now). It is mostly a conservative town. He mentioned there are lots of Hick Western Stores (I think there are 2 Western Wear stores that I could count). I think GBG feels the need to be the center of forum attention and be the spark of controversy. I am almost postive he must be on other forums doing the same and really needs to get a life IMO.

Yawwwwn. I have been fortunate to live in a number of cities and towns in America and Europe. I have "been around". I also lived in Santa Maria when it had 15,000 people, and lived nearby through my childhood.
I do realize that most people just want a house in a neighborhood just like everyone elses. However there are those who want a town that reflects their sense of esthetics and culture. If Santa Maria reflects your sense of esthetics and culture you will also be happy in Firebaugh, Visalia, Porterville, Fresno etc.

If not, Santa Maria will not be a satisfying place to live. I see the cookie cutter subdivisions around not only Santa Maria but most other towns, and frankly I would rather shoot myself than live in one of those. There is a term for those folks, Sheeple

as you are aware "the hicks" run the economy, own the farms and ranches.

It was one of those hicks, my brother, who appears to have coined the phrase, "Santa Maria is Fresno on the Pacific". Another one of those hicks is myself, with my 4x4 F350 etc. I grew up with the Elks Rodeo, where my old man was an even judge (a side note, if you like tri tip, thank Daddy, he and his barbecue buddies invented the cut)

If you measure Santa Maria against certain other towns, Carmel, Nevada City, Alturas, Arcata, San Francisco, Boston, Quebec City, Venice, Rome, Paris, Perugia, Siena, Sisquoc, it should be apparent that Santa Maria is not in that class.

But, finally in my estimation aside from the Italian hill towns and Venice, towns are simply a place to find needed supplies, groceries, hardware etc. A man, of which there are few left in 21st century America should be found in the hills, either alone or with his family, his horse and his 4x4, chop wood, carry water, good buddhist simplicity.

The great majority of sin occurs in cities.

I had the misfortune of having to drive to LA last week. I hit bumper to bumper stop and go traffic on the Conejo grade on 101, it took me an hour and a half to get to West Los Angeles. I thought, these people do this each day, again I would shoot myself before I did that.

And finally, if you actually read my posts I can find much good about most places. Salinas, Santa Maria, and the San Joaquin Valley are tough though.

[lexi]

Greatbasinguide was telling of his view of Santa Maria. Actually, he's dead on in my
opinion. I've also lived in many places and although I think Santa Maria is a decent
place to live, it wouldn't be for me for the exact reasons he stated.. Personally when
I'm considering moving or visiting a place I want the negatives pointed out to me. The
positives of a place are easy to see, it's the negitives that take a little more effort.

[littleword]

the truth about santa maria-orcutt is this..........nobody living in orcutt would want to move to santa maria, and everybody in santa maria would love to move to orcutt, that is the plain truth of the matter. imo, the unofficial demarcation of santa maria-orcutt is betteravia road. when i think of "santa maria" i think north of betteravia road, when i think of "orcutt", i think south of betteravia road.

btw, my relatives living in santa maria, use our address in orcutt, so they can send there kids to schools in the orcutt unified school district vs. the santa maria school district (no comparision). if you want to make everything into a "generality", i would say, that you have alot more mexicans in the smsd vs the ousd, and that is just a plain fact, sorry.

if anybody is moving into the santa maria valley, i just dont understand how anyone could choose santa maria "over" orcutt, its beyond me?

[caliving0071]

Hello GreatBasinguide,

Just a quick response regarding your less than desirable opinion of Santa Maria. I realize that you have lived in many places and have been fortunate to do so however you are comparing SMaria with places like Venice,Rome,Paris in which I would think MOST cities in the world cannot compare. Not a fair opinion, I think. Yours comes from a perspective of "esthetics and culture" and that is why you have a more biased opinion with the more exclusive cities of wealth, art and culture. Sounds wonderful to many however I think most would say they just want a decent place to call home and raise a family and the feedback they might be looking for are coming from that perspective.