What's the truth about Santa Maria - Orcutt? (Fresno, Oxnard: low income, apartments)

[Greenchili]

Lompoc doesnt have high crime. Ive lived here 6 yrs and its a sleepy
small friendly town. Sure theres crime, but not what would be considered
"high" crime, like youve "heard".

Greenchili

[lexi]

Originally Posted by Greenchili

Lompoc doesnt have high crime. Ive lived here 6 yrs and its a sleepy
small friendly town. Sure theres crime, but not what would be considered
"high" crime, like youve "heard".

Greenchili

I misread this forum.... she or he only wanted positive feedback on Santa Maria... my mistake.
I would think someone thinking of moving somewhere would want all kinds of feedback but if you only
want good feedback then so be it.. I'll leave it to greenchili and others..

[nevergoingback]

Theses posts are hilarious!!!! In Santa Maria the schools suck. Orcutt schools are great. Move to elk horn estates or lake marie and you will love it. In SM Less than 20% proficiency in major curriculum is not uncommon. Population is 90% plus hispanic. They say 30%-40% illegal. There is not much diversity. I grew up in orcutt and it is WAAAAAY better than SM. I would NEVER try to run a business or raise a family in the SM area, it can be hard. I was always sucessful there so its not impossible. For me the younger people < 30 yrs are depressed cause everything costs so much. It doesnt take much to see that there is MAJOR drug problem there (ice). The weather I dont think is that great unless you like upper 60's lower 70's all the time. It never gets hot and it never gets cold. I sold my 1500 sq ft house in jul 06 for 400 K. My realtor said today it bring 280K, very affordable. If you are going to open a business you must cater to the hispanic population for sure, unless what you do is mail order. Like my screen name says, You couldnt pay me to move back to SM. I was lucky to get out while the gettin is good, My life is alot better out here in the SW. Lots of nature out there though I miss going to montana de oro, and pismo and jalama, that stuff still doesnt make it worth it for me though. oh yeah and Lompoc definitly has a high crime rate, as well as SM. Orcutt wins hands down. not bad at all if you got the dough.

[littleword]

"does the few miles of separation make that much difference??? Just Curious."

yes.... because houses "generally" cost hundreds of thousand more in orcutt compared to sm. also....its strange but u will see alot more cars parked on the streets of sm compared to orcutt. also.... the neighborhoods in sm look alittle more........i dont know, more worn down and lawns are not as kept when compared to most of orcutt. also, there are alot more hispanics in sm compared to orcutt, im not racist, im just pointing out a fact.

if i was to choose one place to live in all of sm i would choose the upscale housing behind marian hospital on east main street. if i was to choose one place to live in orcutt, it would be a toss up between the country club by waller park, foxenwoods (west foster road), or oakhill estates (southern orcutt up in the hills, and its gated at night). i like the country club because its close to waller park and its also close to town to got shopping and what not. i like foxenwoods cause its quiet and there are alot of retirees and u will always see ppl walking around the neighborhood walking there dog or just getting excercise walking around the neighborhood. and i like oakhill estates, because its the most secluded part of orcutt and the houses are surrounded by hills.

also, "nevergoingback" is dead on about sm/orcutt/lompoc. and one more thing about lompoc, yes it has crime and all that, but its no where "near" real crime places in other parts of the u.s. like detroit, st. louis, washington d.c., new orleans.

as far as my water levy comment. the jury is still out on that, i "think" it will be another 6 months to year+, because the "official" flood zones havent been released yet. once there released, i believe bank/insurance companys will require you to have flood insurance " if " u are in the flood zone. and guess what parts of the santa maria valley are in the flood zones? santa maria of course, and not orcutt. again, why santa maria over orcutt, its beyond me?

[caliving0071]

First of all, when looking to move to another city,taking a little trip out there really does no good unless you are with someone who really knows the area (not counting a real estate agent who may just show you listings that benefit them $). If you ended up in the "Ghetto", then you took a wrong turn somewhere. There is a point made earlier about not really knowing a place unless you live there is really true. I (an Orcutt resident) have had many an "itch" to move elsewhere, falling into the grass is greener syndrome. We have "visited" a few prospects (again I know what Im saying about just driving around town not knowing where we are going-doesnt work). However, I know the bottom line is, this area is well liked by most and offers most of what I need for raising a family and not neccessarily whats on my wish list. I am afraid if I move, I will regret it. Alot of people move looking for the bigger thrill ie trendy places to be seen, a "trendy" place to call home. Those are the one's who say they will never come back. If they do come back, they want to live in SLO or Santa Barbara (again, for the trend). Thats my opinion because I know people like that. For the record, Lompoc does not have alot of crime. Petty crime mostly. CalBerkley, we would welcome you to this area. I hope you decide to come. I think you are levelheaded enough not to compare Houston to Santa Maria (or Rome for that matter )

[Greenchili]

Originally Posted by caliving0071

First of all, when looking to move to another city,taking a little trip out there really does no good unless you are with someone who really knows the area (not counting a real estate agent who may just show you listings that benefit them $). If you ended up in the "Ghetto", then you took a wrong turn somewhere. There is a point made earlier about not really knowing a place unless you live there is really true. I (an Orcutt resident) have had many an "itch" to move elsewhere, falling into the grass is greener syndrome. We have "visited" a few prospects (again I know what Im saying about just driving around town not knowing where we are going-doesnt work). However, I know the bottom line is, this area is well liked by most and offers most of what I need for raising a family and not neccessarily whats on my wish list. I am afraid if I move, I will regret it. Alot of people move looking for the bigger thrill ie trendy places to be seen, a "trendy" place to call home. Those are the one's who say they will never come back. If they do come back, they want to live in SLO or Santa Barbara (again, for the trend). Thats my opinion because I know people like that. For the record, Lompoc does not have alot of crime. Petty crime mostly. CalBerkley, we would welcome you to this area. I hope you decide to come. I think you are levelheaded enough not to compare Houston to Santa Maria (or Rome for that matter )

Thank you for finally stating the truth about Lompoc. Im so sick of hearing
"Lompoc has high crime" . Ive lived here 6 yrs now and havent seen any
thing thats high. Yes, petty, but not high or a real serious problem.

Greenchili

[greatbasinguide]

CalBerkeley needs to work on his sense of humor, he apparently missed the reference to Sisquoc in his desire to bash Rome, and myself. Just think Cal Berkeley, I am now, once again, a Santa Maria local.... in fact, I just walked out of Costco an hour ago.

Sisquoc, it should be apparent that Santa Maria is not in that class.
quote]


LOL. GBG: this is a ridiculous statement. You sound as foolish as the poor Europeans who refer to Los Angeles as some fabulous place when those of us who have spent time in LA know the truth. A large percentage of most of the cities you name above are trash - Rome? Are you kidding? I found it hard not to step on a syringe in Rome! Let's not get silly on the posts - if anyone is looking to live in a tourist trap or in a ridiculously cold climate then the cities you are talking about are great; however, we are talking about a small coastal town here, let's compare apples to apples.

[SoCalif]

Oh man, there goes the neighborhood.

[littleword]

a friend of mine from san bernardino moved to sm and visited lompoc and he said, "u call this ghetto", and he laughed at me. his thoughts were, lompoc was a nice town when compared to san bernardino. he pointed out that there were no gang members roaming the streets, no crack houses, no prostitutes, no graffiti taggings, the streets were clean, and business' were open and thriving, the streets were well kept, and generally there wasnt a "depressed" destitute "feel" to the town. overall he liked the town and was looking into buying a house there (lompoc), but instead he bought a house in casa grande, az (south of phoenix).

just wanted to tell u guys that. however, lompoc is no comparison orcutt

[Capt. Dan]

CalBerkley-----Santa Maria is no worse than any other central coast city. When I think back on my 25+ years living out there [san Luis Obispo] I remember that from the Santa Maria area you are an easy drive to any type of outdoor recreation that you could want. On frequent trips to Santa Maria we were NEVER hassled or treated rudely. Like anywhere else in the world, in Santa Maria you are treated as you treat others. Go for it my friend!!! And GOOD LUCK!!!!