Santa Barbara/UCSB for 26-year-old single dude? (Oxnard, Thousand Oaks: 2009, apartments)

[asdf444]

Hi,

I am considering to accept an offer to go to graduate school at UCSB. The program would be for about 5 years in a fairly difficult subject. I've read many of the existing threads on Santa Barbara, but haven't gotten a good feel for how it might be for me.

Is UCSB/Santa Barbara a good place for a 26 year old single guy who probably won't have too much $$$ to spend? Is the area of Isla Vista to Santa Barbara just 18-21 year olds and old rich people? Are there many people between the ages of 22-32 in the area? Are there many people between these ages who aren't grad students? How is dating in this area? Are the girls pretty? What do young people do for fun (drink? dance? beach? parks? something else?)?

These things matter to me as I'm going to be spending the rest of my 20's here if I choose to go. I want to learn, yes, but I want to have fun too! Any opinions? Any advice? I would highly appreciate any information you guys have.

[happ]

Obviously there are many students in Santa Barbara who are on limited budgets but seem to be happy. Isla Vista did have a reputation as a "party" school & a crazy student ran over & killed some other students while driving drunk a few years ago.

Santa Barbara is a safe city & a beautiful beach\ lots of attractive women & some great sports bars on State St.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by asdf444

Hi,

I am considering to accept an offer to go to graduate school at UCSB. The program would be for about 5 years in a fairly difficult subject. I've read many of the existing threads on Santa Barbara, but haven't gotten a good feel for how it might be for me.

Is UCSB/Santa Barbara a good place for a 26 year old single guy who probably won't have too much $$$ to spend? Is the area of Isla Vista to Santa Barbara just 18-21 year olds and old rich people? Are there many people between the ages of 22-32 in the area? Are there many people between these ages who aren't grad students? How is dating in this area? Are the girls pretty? What do young people do for fun (drink? dance? beach? parks? something else?)?

These things matter to me as I'm going to be spending the rest of my 20's here if I choose to go. I want to learn, yes, but I want to have fun too! Any opinions? Any advice? I would highly appreciate any information you guys have.

I went to UCSB grad school when I was 33 for two years. I lived in Isla Vista in the graduate student housing (the Santa Ynez apartments). Most of the people in Santa Ynez were older but not many as old as the early 30s. In fact, there is one set of buildings at Santa Ynez for married people with kids. However, I did meet people my age in Santa Barbara in cycling clubs and hiking clubs.

Consider going out for a sport. I did crew. I was rowing with 18-22 year old guys and women but it was a lot of fun. There's also lacrosse and ultimate frisbee.

Finally, no matter where you attend graduate school, you will be confronted by these challenges you describe. The thing is, you will be hard pressed to find many schools better than UCSB for academics, atmosphere, healthy environment, beauty, and proximity to a fun town (Santa Barbara).

[rc251dc]

Originally Posted by happ

Isla Vista did have a reputation as a "party" school & a crazy student ran over & killed some other students while driving drunk a few years ago.

It wasn't a "few" years ago (2001), and it had nothing to do with drunk driving (He had no alcohol in his system). Go to Daily Nexus and put "Attias" into the search and you'll find a ton of articles on David Attias and his arrest and trial. There was a marijuana charge added during the trial, but he was found not guilty on that. He was found guilty on second degree murder and found legally insane and is now in Patton State Hospital. A lot of people tried to initially blame alcohol (and I guess that rumour still persists) as a way to crack down on Isla Vista.

Originally Posted by Charles

I went to UCSB grad school when I was 33 for two years. I lived in Isla Vista in the graduate student housing (the Santa Ynez apartments).

USCB also opened a new complex exclusively for grad students here:

http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/prospect...yer2009-10.pdf

I assume you'll probably want to ignore the Isla Vista party scene since it's mostly undergrads but a lot of my TAs mentioned having a lot of fun heading to downtown Santa Barbara on the weekeneds...

[happ]

Originally Posted by rc251dc

It wasn't a "few" years ago (2001), and it had nothing to do with drunk driving (He had no alcohol in his system). Go to Daily Nexus and put "Attias" into the search and you'll find a ton of articles on David Attias and his arrest and trial. There was a marijuana charge added during the trial, but he was found not guilty on that. He was found guilty on second degree murder and found legally insane and is now in Patton State Hospital. A lot of people tried to initially blame alcohol (and I guess that rumour still persists) as a way to crack down on Isla Vista.



USCB also opened a new complex exclusively for grad students here:

http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/prospect...yer2009-10.pdf

I assume you'll probably want to ignore the Isla Vista party scene since it's mostly undergrads but a lot of my TAs mentioned having a lot of fun heading to downtown Santa Barbara on the weekeneds...

Thanks for the clarification. It seems his father was in the movie industry, if not mistaken.

[rc251dc]

Yup you're right. His father is Dan Attias:

Dan Attias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BayAreaHillbilly]

An excellent place for grad school. Both academically and socially I cannot think of too many places on par or better. You'll find IV to be quite diverse. Also, there are parts of Goleta and SB proper where you might be able to rent within budget. Nice vibe for social stuff, outdoor activities (particularly cycling, running, surfing, scuba, rock climbing, hiking) in all portions of the SB conurbation. You can literally hike from the edge of SB out into the wilderness - Los Padres NF beckons.

[asdf444]

I was wondering...are there many 20-somethings that hang out/live in Oxnard/Thousand Oaks area? I'm wondering, because I don't mind spending a couple years in Santa Barbara, but I could see myself getting bored after 6 years or it. I wouldn't mind commuting a few days a week for school.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by asdf444

I was wondering...are there many 20-somethings that hang out/live in Oxnard/Thousand Oaks area? I'm wondering, because I don't mind spending a couple years in Santa Barbara, but I could see myself getting bored after 6 years or it. I wouldn't mind commuting a few days a week for school.

There are some, but TO doesn't have the reputation of a 20 something hang out place. It is expensive and it seems most people who live in the Conejo Valley are SFR homeowners with kids.

Ventura might be more like it.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

IV (and parts of Goleta) are OK for being a starving student. SB proper is much more difficult. Truth be known, the low pay versus high cost issue really only hits those who are done with school. Bad, bad place to be in the early high growth career phase. But good place overall during school itself.