Moving to Santa Barbara from NYC - commuting advice? (Los Angeles: find a job, neighborhoods)

[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.

[BRinSM]

there's always the metrolink Metrolink :: Welcome. regardless, you may want to look into a job in Santa Barbara, as its over an hour away from most of LA without any traffic, and odds are you won't be able to avoid it.

[Sassberto]

You don't want to commute from SB to LA for any reason. Find a job in SB or other Central CA cities. Even Ventura is probably an option.

[laysayfair]

If you lived in my are (Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks) you'd be about
halfway between LA and Santa Barbara. You'd both have to
commute plus or minus an hour. You'd take the 101 South and he'd
take the 101 North.

[SoCalif]

I would agree with laysayfair, but let me add this, your commute would be tougher going down to LA then your husband's commute going up to SB. Now if you could get a job in SB, you could live somewhere north of SB like Santa Ynez, or Buellton. I don't know what you mean by media, are you a news reporter? There are two stations, one in SB called KEYT which is an ABC affiliate, then there's KCOY in Santa Maria, (one hour north of SB) which is a CBS affiliate.

[GreenPlanna]

Hi!

Youll love living in Santa Barbara.. I grew up in Ventura Co..(Oxnard) but after college moved to NYC or grad school and have lived here for 6 years. Knowing both cities... In my opinion, if you are gonna move all the way to CA from NYC, you should not live in LA. Even though it might seem like an easier transition from NYC..it will just amplify the differences...LA is not urban like NY is urban... In my opinion just embrace the best of what So Cal has to offer and live in SB....its going to be a better quality of life...slow pace, beautiful, clean... With luck you will find work closer to SB and if not the commute to LA wont be that awful..there is METROlink that goes from Carpenteria... but it is no where as convenient what NYC has..not even close to the frequency or ease of LIRR or Metro North ...because LA is not centralized like Manhattan, the public transit will always be more difficult because there is no central HUB area that everyone wants to get to...

Also, don't rule out Ventura or some of the Oxnard Beaches.... they are really nice and also there is lots to offer in those areas if you are open to it.... and more affordable... even though not as trendy as gentrified SB which is overpriced and kinda homogeneous.... but it is VERY nice if you can afford it!

As far as what others opinions of VC may be, as someone who actually lives in NYC and grew up in Ventura CO.....and knows both places well.... ALL of Ventura County and Santa Barbara county are "safe".... and all would be no worse than living out on some of the nicer suburbs of Long Island like Great Neck or Port Washington or Manhasset. None of it is "urban" or even close to being a "city".... its all auto-beachy-suburbs-coastal cities....


good luck!

get ready for feeling like your on a "perpetual vacation" with all the great weather!

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by laysayfair

If you lived in my are (Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks) you'd be about halfway between LA and Santa Barbara. You'd both have to commute plus or minus an hour. You'd take the 101 South and he'd
take the 101 North.

Laysayfair is correct. It would be crazy/insane to commute from SB to LA although a weekly commute (Monday AM, Friday PM) would work.

Your only hope to make it work is to live in the middle. Get a map and a ruler. Measure the distance between UCSB and LA work site. Divide by two and draw an "X" on the map. Live as close to that as possible.

But you'll still both have long commutes, probably as stated above.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by EastCoasterNYC

...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.

You may go crazy in Ventura or Oxnard as compared to NYC, but you will have to make some sacrifices given your specifications. It's 90 miles between L.A. and Santa Barbara, and all commute routes will be crowded. You're not used to having a car commute, which means even more sacrifices. So given these factors, from the Ventura/Oxnard area you at least have public transportation options to both Santa Barbara (VISTA bus) and L.A. (Metrolink train).

Also from Ventura County you are close enough to L.A. to get there fairly easily for big-city culture. Lastly, just a thought, but coming from NYC, Santa Barbara -- population 90,000 -- will probably drive you crazy, too. Hope this info helps a little.

[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?

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by EastCoasterNYC

We are definitely going to check out Ventura/Oxnard. Any specific neighborhoods/areas you would recommend we look at?

Search the C-D California and Los Angeles forums for Oxnard/Ventura. There's a lot of existing information on both cities. Also consider Camarillo, as it's still within public transpo range to Santa Barbara (with a short drive to Oxnard or Ventura). Camarillo is closer to L.A. for the train, as well.