Don't go to Santa Barbara not a safe city (Oxnard: crime rate, home)

[miracle]

Well, is not far from Los Angeles and is in California, a state in the US, so is normal that at least once a year someome die on street shooting, it happens everywhere in this country, call it gang crime or simply street violence, Santa Barbara is not a small town, is a small metro area with 400K inhabitants, so is normal any gangs there, not all latinos, is not a latino problem is a city countrywide problem.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by newportbeachsmostwanted

Beautiful small city but with some long-ignored problems.. gang graffiti popping up daily.. public schools overrun by Spanish-speakers.. begging on State St... and not to mention the high housing cost.

"Santa Barbara ... overrun by Spanish speakers…" now there's a conundrum.

Anyway, can we connect the dots of the other points? High cost of housing, long-ignored problems, graffiti, begging… Are these mutually exclusive and unrelated to crime, gang or not? When mommy and daddy are out working three jobs just to make ends meet by manicuring lawns, dusting off the mantle, and cooking gourmet meals for the super rich in Montecito, what's Jr. up to? When "gangs in Santa Barbara" was a notion that until recently not even the PTA wanted to discuss, what should we expect?

[puffle]

Great reply! If we all let these random acts get to us, we would just as well stay in our homes and never go out. Same goes for driving...someone might hit you, or walking across a street. You live consciously, not fearfully or you are not living at all.

[enlightenme]

Originally Posted by hedgefundpirate

I am not worried in santa barbara.I think it is one of the least dangerous places you could go.The worst thing that could happen is a college kid might puke on your shoes stumbling out of one of the bars.

So not true. Well, okay I guess you could be puked on by a drunk kid, but it really isn't this perfect place the rich people like to pretend it is. I grew up there and just recently left. I actually was nervous getting my mail at night and leaving my dogs out in our yard. I have been robbed by gunpoint. We have had our cars broken into quite a few times in the last 30 years. A large majority of the public schools are low performing. Tons of homeless people and begging. It seems like the graffiti is getting worse each year. I would try to find a newspaper stand that wasn't tagged on my walks and it was near impossible to find. Girls have to be careful with on & off campus rapes. It isn't LA, but it isn't picture perfect either. I didn't live in the mansions, but I also wasn't in the "ghetto" neighborhood either. You would be surprised what living in the "bowels" of Santa Barbara is really like once you leave the tourist spots. Don't get me wrong, if I could own a house I would have stayed in SB, but you do have to be careful there. The beautiful buildings, beaches and mountains do a good job of covering things up.....

[Sorcerer68]

SB is one of the least dangerous places in California, a place with which I am intimately familiar. It's always had an open-door policy for homeless people, that's nothing new. They typically have their hangouts, the "big tree" by the train station and they are usually stationed on State St...if you don't like them, just ignore them. If all the homeless people and those (gasp!) brown people were cleared out of SB, I'd be willing to let them wall it off along with a couple of other boring, sanitised places...although who'd clean houses, pools and do yards and nanny service? As it is, it's a lovely place. I partucularly enjoy downtown and the Zoo. SB is picturesque and clean...I'd be shocked if it had zero crime as it's a decent sized town. Good antique shopping too!

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

Gangs are not usually found where homes cost a million +.
Nevermind the second highest priced real estate market in the USA.

If I was mayor, I would shut the homeless door ASAP. No services=No homeless.

[Sorcerer68]

Newport has a gang task force as well, working pretty diligently I might add...still has gang activity.

[francophile]

Originally Posted by Stevedr83

Santa Barbara is not safe, just a bunch of Mexican gangs killing. They even do it in broad daylight in front of the police, very bad city.

Can you tell us more about this? I'm a native Californian and have been visiting Santa Barbara for years. This is the first I've heard of gang activity. Is it all over town? I would really like to know more.

[Roma]

Maybe Santa Barbara needs a "gang injunction" like what Oxnard did a couple of years ago. If it's that bad. Just a thought.
I love Santa Barbara, it's beautiful. I love the airport there too, soooo Santa Barbara looking. It's a spanish style building with mexican tile flooring/pavers. I like, I like, I like.

[CynHunt]

Santa Barbara is still one of the best places to live in south and central California, but I wouldn't want to raise my kids there. Unfortunately there is gang violence and crime everywhere, even in sterile and homogenized Orange County!
The street people/homeless situation in Santa Barbara is getting out of hand. It has always been a haven for the homeless because the city has been liberal in their attitude toward them but it is pretty crazy now, to have to step over sleeping or passed out bodies when you are strolling down State St.
The high schools my niece and nephew go to are 75% Spanish speaking, with child care offered for the children of students. My brother said the classes are in chaos.
Those who can afford the pricey private schools send their kids to them.
But it is still a beautiful city with a lot of wonderful things to offer.