which city is better - Salinas or Santa Maria? (San Francisco: amusement park, hotel)

[the city]

I have 10 choices of where I want to move after college. But Salinas, Santa Maria, and San Luis Obispo are on the top of my list. The two top ones I like are Salinas and Santa Maria since they are both pretty affordible and offer a good number of oppurtunities for my career.

So what r the pros and cons for each city?

Salinas
-warmer weather
-more shopping
-near Monterey

Santa Maria
-cooler weather
-more entertainment
-near San Luis Obispo

So how are schools in Salinas compared to Santa Maria?

[semsjm]

Originally Posted by the city

Santa Maria
-cooler weather
-more entertainment
-near San Luis Obispo

SM certainly has cooler weather, and that's cool IMO .
It's fairly close to a lot of interesting places such as SLO to the north and SB to the south. There's a fair amount of some really decent wineries within a short drive, also a plus as far as I'm concerned. Also there's several good restaurants nearby, Chef Rick's being at the top of my list. It's relatively safe, especially south of Betteravia. What I don't see is much entertainment, to the point of it being a very boring city for its size. With the constant addition of big box stores I see very little to draw in out-of-towners. There is absolutely nothing quaint about SM. SLO is alive, a cool college town with great restaurants and a fantastic Thursday night farmer's market, and SB is SB. What do you see so entertaining in Santa Maria?

[the city]

Originally Posted by semsjm

SM certainly has cooler weather, and that's cool IMO .
It's fairly close to a lot of interesting places such as SLO to the north and SB to the south. There's a fair amount of some really decent wineries within a short drive, also a plus as far as I'm concerned. Also there's several good restaurants nearby, Chef Rick's being at the top of my list. It's relatively safe, especially south of Betteravia. What I don't see is much entertainment, to the point of it being a very boring city for its size. With the constant addition of big box stores I see very little to draw in out-of-towners. There is absolutely nothing quaint about SM. SLO is alive, a cool college town with great restaurants and a fantastic Thursday night farmer's market, and SB is SB. What do you see so entertaining in Santa Maria?

I guess I see more in my age group.
Boomers amusement park that also has a arcade and batting cages, the mall, the edwards cinema, the beach and dunes in guadalupe, the fairgrounds, the bowling alley, the skating rink, the crossroads at santa maria strip mall, a couple good night clubs, and then then the santa maria raceway.

Like Monterey, Santa Barbara, Berkeley, and San Francisco. San Luis Obispo is a hippy city. The most hippy-ish I think. Since SLO lacks some big-box stores, but it won't be long until SLO gets Target, Lowe's, Kohl's, and Macy's. The SLO Promenade 2 plans to get Lowe's and Larkspur Hotel, Prefumo Creek Commons will get Target, and the other shopping center next to Costco will be Kohl's. I'm hoping soon that Macy's will replace Gottschalks because Macy's is better and more urbanish.

[Winston Smith]

How bad is the gang problem in Salinas? I've heard that it's become a real struggle for that city. Were I deciding between Salinas and Santa Maria, the questions I'd ask are: 1) Which city is most focused on dealing gangs? And 2) exactly what's being done to prevent kids from joining gangs in the first place? I would gravitate to the city that's most honest with itself, and the city that has both a strong law-enforcement angle and prevention agendas, youth programs, police activity leagues, etc.

I know that there is more to Salinas and Santa Maria than gangs, but unfortunately both cities are know for this; as such it's a concern for anyone with kids, teenagers or planning a family.

[the city]

Hmm, well I think Santa Maria does not has as much shopping as Salinas.

Salinas area does seem to have more entertainment and shopping than Santa Maria. I guess Salinas is good if u can live in one of the suburbs surrounding it. But Santa Maria seems to be good if u get a home in a good part of the city and then send your kids to private school. Otherwise I like santa Maria's entertainment and shopping it offers. and plus ill be only an hour where I spent my childhood.

[happ]

I would recommend Santa Maria over Salinas. Actually there are a lot of similarities. Salinas is larger & only 15 miles from Monterey\ 35 miles from Santa Cruz. Salinas has a significant gang problem among some Hispanic youths & limited resources to deal with it but youth gangs are also present in Santa Maria [but much less]. Both are also in large agricultural regions of produce [vegetables\ wines\ nuts\ fruit].

Climate is almost identical since both cities are only 10 miles from the ocean. People think Salinas is so hot only because the Salinas Valley south of Salinas can reach 100F but the ocean breeze keeps both Salinas & Santa Maria cool\ 70's during summer & 60's during winter [very nice climates though often windy.

There's probably more entertainment near Salinas but Santa Barbara is only an hour from Santa Maria & San Luis Obispo is 30 minutes away.

[the city]

Originally Posted by happ

I would recommend Santa Maria over Salinas. Actually there are a lot of similarities. Salinas is larger & only 15 miles from Monterey\ 35 miles from Santa Cruz. Salinas has a significant gang problem among some Hispanic youths & limited resources to deal with it but youth gangs are also present in Santa Maria [but much less]. Both are also in large agricultural regions of produce [vegetables\ wines\ nuts\ fruit].

Climate is almost identical since both cities are only 10 miles from the ocean. People think Salinas is so hot only because the Salinas Valley south of Salinas can reach 100F but the ocean breeze keeps both Salinas & Santa Maria cool\ 70's during summer & 60's during winter [very nice climates though often windy.

There's probably more entertainment near Salinas but Santa Barbara is only an hour from Santa Maria & San Luis Obispo is 30 minutes away.

Monterey is a 30 minute drive to Salinas. And yes, Salinas can be cool depending on the area you live in. Monterey's area is completely different than Salinas, and thus is a different urban area. I'm not even sure where you get 15 miles from. Mapquest and yahoo driving directions both say it's 25 miles and about a 30 minute drive.

Santa Barbara (urban) to Lompoc (ex-urban) is 40 minutes. Lompoc to Santa Maria is 30 minutes.
Santa Maria (urban) to SLO (urban) is 30 minutes from each other. SLO (urban) to Paso Robles (ex-urban) is 40 minutes. PR to KC is an hour and a half.
King City (rural) to Salinas (urban) is 40 minutes. Salinas (urban) to Monterey (urban) is 30 minutes. Monterey to Santa Cruz is 45 minutes.

[Winston Smith]

Santa Maria to Santa Barbara = 75 miles.

[happ]

Originally Posted by the city

Monterey is a 30 minute drive to Salinas. And yes, Salinas can be cool depending on the area you live in. Monterey's area is completely different than Salinas, and thus is a different urban area. I'm not even sure where you get 15 miles from. Mapquest and yahoo driving directions both say it's 25 miles and about a 30 minute drive.

Santa Barbara (urban) to Lompoc (ex-urban) is 40 minutes. Lompoc to Santa Maria is 30 minutes.
Santa Maria (urban) to SLO (urban) is 30 minutes from each other. SLO (urban) to Paso Robles (ex-urban) is 40 minutes. PR to KC is an hour and a half.
King City (rural) to Salinas (urban) is 40 minutes. Salinas (urban) to Monterey (urban) is 30 minutes. Monterey to Santa Cruz is 45 minutes.

Thanks for your accuracy [I was just estimating exact miles\minutes. I do know it takes longer every year to drive in California Have family in Toro canyon\ San Benacio w/ a Salinas address but that is 2-4 miles
from Salinas proper.

I love that region [esp Monterey\ Pacific Grove\ Carmel & valley\ Big Sur is my favorite place in California. It is still wild in the Santa Lucia's. I hiked into the back country around Camp Escondido\ Arroyo Seco river [all kinds of animals trying to gain entry into our tent.

How bad were the fires in Big Sur this summer?

[guignol]

i lived 5 years in alisal, 10 in maple park and 10 in toro park, so here's my 2 cents on:

climate:

salinas certainly not what i call warm, and on a day with any heat a wind starts up the river about 1pm, you can almost set your watch by it. and it can be very foggy.

going out the hwy 68 corridor (toro, san benancio etc.) you get a very sunny microclimate, but evenings where you really want to sit outside and eat your barbecue are rare: as soon as the sun goes down it gets chilly.

gangs:

i no longer go out to alisal when i'm in town for any reason and in north salinas you have to be careful: there's even been a shootout at northridge mall! but if you're in south salinas or out towards monterey these are almost like other planets.

schools:

washington union school district is EXCELLENT. salinas high school is fine. outside that you'll almost have to go private, the rest is woeful. shameful, and may get worse. don't forget this is a town where some taxpayers think having a public library is godless communism!

commuting:

hwy 68 has become pretty bad: what used to be a 5 minute commute from toro park is now 3 times that, and from corral de tierra and points west, aie aie aie!

salinas to monterey is 19 miles, but it's not unheard of for the drive back from the beach to take an hour or more.

overall though i still consider salinas a great town!