Moving to Santa Barbara from NYC - commuting advice?

[RangerDuke08]

Originally Posted by EastCoasterNYC

I'm an East Coaster and my husband and I are reloacting to the Santa Barbara or LA area in the fall so he can pursue his PhD at UCSB. I work in media and will be looking for jobs or relocating in my current job to either downtown LA or Burbank. I know very little about the area and will begin to explore it in the next few months but my primary question right now is, do people recommend that we live closer to SB or LA?

Beautiful school, great education, graduated from there 2 years ago and moved home to Colorado, anywho regarding commute L.A. is WAY too far, I believe 90 miles from L.A. plus traffic! If your husband is going to attend a PhD at UCSB I suggest living somewhere nearby either Goleta, the brand spanking new grad student housing across the street, Cathedral Oaks or downtown Santa Barbara (about 15 minutes away, 30 minutes with traffic). Santa Barbara could get quite expensive but I don't think it's much different from NYC.

[GreenPlanna]

Originally Posted by EastCoasterNYC

GreenPlanna, thanks so much for your great info....nice to hear from someone who's lived in both places! We are definitely going to check out Ventura/Oxnard. Any specific neighborhoods/areas you would recommend we look at?

Hi...

There are lots of great places to live in VC... There tends to be alot of rivalry between the three towns that form the "triangle" of Camarillo Ventura and Oxnard. Generally Ventura and Camarillo are the more affluent of the three....but Oxnard has some very nice areas aswell, but it does struggle to keep up since it just doesnt have the $$ base as the other two.

I love the areas around downtown Ventura and downtown Oxnard, also both areas harbors are nice.... If you are looking for "nightlife" Oxnard doesn't really have any, Ventura has a little... Santa Barbara would have more, but from Ventura County, LA is only about a 45 min drive.

As for Oxnard, it has the best beaches, its downtown and northern half is generally considered nicer (it is). The downtown is struggling but it does have its own "transportation center" with a bus/metro link/Amtrak stop all in one. It also has a new theater(small)and one new Starbucks. It also has a nice little "heritage square" with free summer concerts thats really popular with the locals. Its the most diverse of the three and the least expensive.

Ventura has lots of great areas, the downtown of Ventura has a well established "Main Street" and historic mission and is a great place to stoll around and in general is considered the most affluent of the cities. Very nice views of the beaches since it is situated on a hillside. Ventura has much more in terms of stores and lots of eating options...a Trader Joe's, decent Sushi and Thai food.

Camarillo is also nice, but alittle farther from the beaches... like 10 min farther.. which might not make a difference to you but also ok, its alittle more conservative.

The fourth town (Ojai) set back behind Ventura is more artsy, but beauiful and has a great lake area, very senic and tiny.

Closer to SB, there is also Carpinteria, which I love is a tiny beach town, you should also check out.

Ive never lived in Santa Barbara so cant comment on SB neighbohoods, bu its a great city and had an nice downtown, pier, mission, train station, ect. but EXPENSIVE.

good luck!

[GreenPlanna]

Originally Posted by RangerDuke08

Santa Barbara could get quite expensive but I don't think it's much different from NYC.

This is true.

NYC is just as expensive, but at least in Southern California you can actually spend time outside year round so having a tiny place isn't as bad... : )

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by GreenPlanna

As for Oxnard ... The downtown is struggling but it does have its own "transportation center" with a bus/metro link/Amtrak stop all in one. It also has a new theater(small)and one new Starbucks. It also has a nice little "heritage square" with free summer concerts thats really popular with the locals. Its the most diverse of the three and the least expensive.

Don't forget the Downtown Center for the Arts, Monday night foreign film series with a gathering at the 5th Street Grill after, plus other arts events http://www.downtowncenter.org. Thursday farmers market at Plaza Park. Downtown also hosts several festivals throughout the year, including Fiesta and the Multi-Cultural Festival. Coming soon is th 5th Street Jazz Festival (attention: Latin and mainstream jazz lovers). All in downtown Oxnard! The Henry T. Oxnard Historic District is directly adjacent to downtown, the only historic district in Ventura County. The movie industry loves those old homes!

[mmouwse]

It would truly be insane to try to commute to tween LA and SB. Not possible. Transit here is virutally non-existant, not like east coast. I think it is good advice to settle close to UCSB, it is definitely doable.
LA-SB may look to you like commuting to NYC from upper eastern seaboard...but it is not.
The west coast city most like NYC is San Francisco. If you get homesick for the city, go visit there. Hard to say if you will like SB-Ventura-Oxnard, etc. Very different feel from the City. Nothing wrong with them...just very different.
Costs form SB to NYC are similar, so may not be too shocking for you.
Actually, SB does remind me of NYC in some ways.
Hope this is helpful!

[aspensummers]

Hello NYC -- I know it sounds insane to do this commute -- living in SB & working in LA, but there are a few people who do...I was one of them, and I'll soon be doing it again My office is in Burbank, but we're beach people and so living in the hot and smoggy valley has never been an option for us. What I found during my years of commuting to and from work while living in LA, is that the time it takes to trek through the traffic from within the city is not so different from the time it takes to drive from SB and I'd rather be at home in SB, then at home anywhere in LA. I've had to make adjustments to make it work - I leave early, rolling out of bed in my gym clothes, sip tea in the car, listen to Sirius or iPod audiobooks and drive along the beautiful coast toward LA. I joined a gym near the office so I get ready there & avoid the regular morning traffic jams that way. I leave the office anywhere from 5-6pm, and if work needs me I just do a conference call from the car. There are days when it does "feel" too far, but when I compare the time in car, it's really not that different from people who live in LA. Many commute to Burbank from Anaheim, Manhattan Beach, Laguna Niguel, Huntington -- all over, and I know they're spending the same time in their cars! Even Santa Monica to Burbank can take an hour.

LA is so spread out that truly enjoying all that LA has to offer is a bit of a myth...you end up staying in your neighborhood because leaving it means a long / frustrating drive. At least if you're home in SB, it will be like living a vacation every weekend. I think the hard part for you will be that after having lived in NYC, you're not "car people" and that might mean a really big adjustment. I've been commuting my entire adult life and so it feels more normal for me...

Anyway, I agree with the poster that mentioned Ventura. It's a great in-between, but your husband will struggle going north from Ventura to SB - it is bumper to bumper going north because so many people live in Ventura and work in SB. Leaving SB to go south is going opposite of the traffic...hope this helps!

[Petrala]

Originally Posted by EastCoasterNYC

Hi, I just registered for this site and have posted this same message in a few different threads...but I'm just trying to maximize my chance of getting some answers! I'm an East Coaster and my husband and I are reloacting to the Santa Barbara or LA area in the fall so he can pursue his PhD at UCSB. I work in media and will be looking for jobs or relocating in my current job to either downtown LA or Burbank. I know very little about the area and will begin to explore it in the next few months but my primary question right now is, do people recommend that we live closer to SB or LA? If we live near SB it looks like my commute into and out of LA will be brutal. If we live closer to LA maybe I can take public transit and my husband can be the one who commutes (and maybe it will be less painful?). Or we could live somewhere in between, but coming from New York City we're afraid we might go crazy in a town like Ventura or Oxnard. Any preliminary recommendations? We're so used to not having a car, this will be a big change for us! Thank you so very much.

Maybe you could just find a job in SB?

I know some people commute from from SB to LA and LA to SB but are you planning on doing this daily? Can you telecommute? If gasoline goes to $5/gal and unless you have a hybrid, you'd be spending how much a month on gasoline, not to mention time in traffic.

[mmouwse]

I've lived in NYC and SB and experienced Ventura, Oxnard, etc.
For me, the choice would be clear to live in SB. You can walk anywhere in town and walk to wherever in town. I lived in the "Riviera" (SE foothills) and also on the NW, west of the frwy. I found it an easy walk to downtown or the beach from either location. SB has great restaurants, shopping, and culture downtown (runs along State St.) This is the most cosmopolitan area.
The commute between SB and LA would be the lesser of all evils because most folks live south and head north into SB for work, then home from SB south at the end of the day. If your wife HAD to work in LA, then at least she would be doing an opposite commute from the majority of people. The commute north in the a.m. and the commute south in the p.m. is crazy! Literally bumper-to-bumper for 3 hours! And if there is a collision...forget it! There is no way around it!
The other thing is that if you live in SB, at least one of you will have time to do the daily chores at home daily. And, think of where you want to actually live and experience your time off and call home.
The only way you will know for sure what works for you is to be here and try the options that appeal most to you. With the price of gas skyrocketing, more alternative transpotation is going online.
BTW...nothing wrong with Ventura. Just a different character. It all depends upon what you like.
I hope this post has been helpful!