What's the truth about Santa Maria - Orcutt? (Berkeley, Arroyo Grande: renting, buying a home)
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I've been perusing this thread for awhile. My wife and I (baby on the way) are moving to the VAFB area in a few weeks. We have been looking to buy in Lompoc and SM/Orcutt, but we are focused on SM for the moment.
I have a question about a specific area in SM. The immediate area around Rice Park has some houses I'm interested in. Can anyone tell me things about this area I might not know, considering I'm currently living in the midwest and do all my research online? The streets I'm looking at are La Vonne, Nova Ct. and Charlotte Dr.
Any useful tips on the general 'feel' of the area would be useful.
I've been perusing this thread for awhile. My wife and I (baby on the way) are moving to the VAFB area in a few weeks. We have been looking to buy in Lompoc and SM/Orcutt, but we are focused on SM for the moment.
I have a question about a specific area in SM. The immediate area around Rice Park has some houses I'm interested in. Can anyone tell me things about this area I might not know, considering I'm currently living in the midwest and do all my research online? The streets I'm looking at are La Vonne, Nova Ct. and Charlotte Dr.
Any useful tips on the general 'feel' of the area would be useful.
You want to stay south of Betteravia my friend. Better yet, Orcutt or Nipomo.
Yes, I realize that the consensus on this board is that Orcutt is a placid paradise and that north of Betteravia is a cesspool, but I wonder if anyone has particular knowledge of the area around Rice Park. I ask because the houses are pretty nice (older, taken care of homes), but there seems to be more of a price drop in this area. Wonder if there's something specifically 'up' with this area.
BTW, the REAL Hitching Post is in Casmalia, They say the oak fire has been burning for 75 years straight. The Hitching Post 2 is in Buellton and not near as good IMO.
Hitching Post in Casmalia is THE best Steak House Ive ever been to. I have been to more than a few 4-5 star steakhouse and except for the atmosphere (loud cowboy) Hitching post is the best!!
Agreed! I use to drive up there from LA just to eat. Three hours! BUT, we always had such a good time. I went to the Hitching II in Buellton and was surprised. The steaks were the same, but everything else was a little different. I heard the pastries are excellent, but I wouldn't know for sure. All in all, the one in Casmalia is best.
Yes, I realize that the consensus on this board is that Orcutt is a placid paradise and that north of Betteravia is a cesspool, but I wonder if anyone has particular knowledge of the area around Rice Park. I ask because the houses are pretty nice (older, taken care of homes), but there seems to be more of a price drop in this area. Wonder if there's something specifically 'up' with this area.
I don't know if the is something specific about that area but I have friends who live just across the freeway from that area. They hate living there. They are a mixed race couple and there is some racism, more so than where they came from, Oceano. But the worst is they tell me if it's not nailed down your stuff will be stolen. And they live in a similar looking area to the area your looking at. You see a lot "wandering folks" during the day who don't fit in a neighborhood. Young healthy men who should be at work at that time, just "looking around", if you get what I'm saying. Also the freeway noise is terrible over there, it echo's off all the house walls. Donovan and College are also major traffic streets, lots of noise. If you want to see the area, Google it then hit the Street View button. You could also call the Santa Maria PD and ask about what's up in that area, if they would even give you the time of day. They don't have the best reputation.
I've been perusing this thread for awhile. My wife and I (baby on the way) are moving to the VAFB area in a few weeks. We have been looking to buy in Lompoc and SM/Orcutt, but we are focused on SM for the moment.
I have a question about a specific area in SM. The immediate area around Rice Park has some houses I'm interested in. Can anyone tell me things about this area I might not know, considering I'm currently living in the midwest and do all my research online? The streets I'm looking at are La Vonne, Nova Ct. and Charlotte Dr.
Any useful tips on the general 'feel' of the area would be useful.
I used to live on North east ave, about 3/4 mile south of rice. It was a really nice neighborhood. That area is spotted, it can vary from street to street. I will say that is was very diverse for santa maria (mexicans, black, indian, vietnamese, white) most of the north side is strictly hispanic.
Rice school is not one of best.
The home values are great right now. My old house just sold for 50% of what I sold it for 24 months ago.
For the north side of santa maria and Ca. in general, I think thats as good as it gets for the price, although I would nevergoback.
I've been perusing this thread for awhile. My wife and I (baby on the way) are moving to the VAFB area in a few weeks. We have been looking to buy in Lompoc and SM/Orcutt, but we are focused on SM for the moment.
I have a question about a specific area in SM. The immediate area around Rice Park has some houses I'm interested in. Can anyone tell me things about this area I might not know, considering I'm currently living in the midwest and do all my research online? The streets I'm looking at are La Vonne, Nova Ct. and Charlotte Dr.
Any useful tips on the general 'feel' of the area would be useful.
I bought something off of Craigslist from a young couple off of Nova (there house was for sale I noticed). We thought the neighborhood looked nice but again, like someone else posted maybe you could get the daily report from the police. I DOUBT the SM police department will be very helpful. They'll probably tell you that you need to come into the station to look at the daily report yourself. Houses are going for extremely cheap in Orcutt also - there are tons of foreclosures (we have FOUR! within a 1-block radius of our house). If you're looking for a realtor, we are extremely happy with ours who is well established and was recommended by several people who work on base. I can send you a message with the info. - what I liked is that our time was not wasted and this realtor KNOWS the area. Good luck!
I made a quick visit to Santa Maria (& Orcutt) recently to consider it as a possible living location. But I could tell right away that it was not right for me (but maybe you will like it). Here's what I found:
Orcutt and Santa Maria are very near to rural areas. I mean "near" as in there are fields right up to the edge of the city on just about every side. At first I liked the feeling, but as I spent more time there, I felt uncomfortable with the smells and the dust.
Retail is very "chainish", i.e. you will recognize just about every store name. Very little in the way of local businesses. The streets then tend to look very generic...like one big strip mall of Targets, Subways, McDs, Burger King, Payless, Exxon, etc. etc. Very convenient, but lacking in any unique culture or feel.
There are some nice housing areas sprinkled around. But even the nicer ones tend to have lots of boats, RVs, and cars-under-lengthy-repair in front of the house.
Overall, an OK place to live if you were transferred there for some sort of high paying job, but for me it's not a place I would voluntarily move to.
Hey, Nachos. Orcutt is ok. Kind of family-oriented and lots of second and even third generation folks there. Like anyplace, there a run down neighborhoods but for the most part, Orcutt is fine. Somebody mentioned the freeway. Yeah, I'd stay away but have friends who live a block from it and it doesn't seem to bother them. The Sheriff's Dept. patrols the Orcutt area and are pretty aggressive with the bad guys. Unless you're a crook, I'd consider that a good thing.
It's got to be hard to shop for an area to live by reading these posts. I suspect some people like to throw trash on these forums without really knowing what they're talking about. If you have to rent something even before you can check it out, well, that's a little disconcerting but anything with an Orcutt address (at least a block or two from the freeway) will be fine. No worrrys.
As for Santa Maria, it's a decent city. Some really nasty neighborhoods but for the most part, lots of good folks living there of all different persuasions. I'd avoid the NW part of town just because there are plenty of other areas to live without taking a chance.
The Central Coast is a great place and you'll enjoy it. I'm pretty much a Central Coast lifer and know the area well both because I've lived there (and probably will again) and spent many years working in those nasty neighborhoods that seem to be so frequently debated here.
Last edited by GregJ; 10-20-2008 at 10:56 PM..
Reason: typo
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