Santa Barbara (Los Angeles, Orange, Vista: townhouse, safe area, school)

[rose22]

I am from Spain, and I don't know if Santa Barbara belongs to Orange County or not, I think it doesn't, but I want to ask something about this town and I didn't know where to write it lol.

I am a student who is thinking in going to USA or Canada to improve my English. The fact is: Do you think Santa Barbara is a good, "peaceful" and safe place to go to study? What's your opinion?

The last thing is if you could choose, where would you prefer to go to Santa Barbara or Vancouver,BC? (I know that it is from another country, but just asking your opinion )

I'll wait for your replies.

Thankss all!!

[MKW]

You'll want to post this in the Los Angeles forum, as there is no SB county forum.
I really like Santa Barbara. Most of the city is very safe and peaceful, and very expensive. I don't know, however, how "peaceful" UCSB would be to study. It does tend to have a party school reputation. Good Luck.

[califantastic]

You should post this in the California forum.

If you want a seaside paradise go to Santa Barbara. If you want a cool big city surrounded by nature, go to Vancouver. You won't go wrong with either one.

[Havasu]

Santa Barbara is very very expensive.Its not Orange County. Santa Barbara is about 90 miles North of Los Angeles. Its a safe place and a pretty place just to expensive for me. My Home

[youngmoney]

Santa Barbara is nice but not as nice as OC. There are visible homeless people there and illegals that hang out on the main drag. You don't see that at Fashion Island.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by rose22

I am from Spain, and I don't know if Santa Barbara belongs to Orange County or not,



I am a student who is thinking in going to USA or Canada to improve my English.

There are cheaper ways of learning a foreign language (and geography).

Are there other reasons why you want to move?

[rose22]

Originally Posted by Charles

There are cheaper ways of learning a foreign language (and geography).

Are there other reasons why you want to move?

Well I don't want to move, I just want to spend some months living in one of these two countries, because I think that it could be a nice and interesting experience. And as I have to choose among the options that the agencies offer, I have decided that Santa Barbara and Vancouver would be two good options. That's why I ask all of you, that know the country much better than me.

[Clay Lady]

I love Santa Barbara, it is one of the most beautiful cities in the US. UCSB may be known as a partying school but it is also known as a great place to get an education. There is a community -Isla Vista (spelling of Isla may be wrong) that is near the campus where the majority of students live. You will find cheaper housing there than in SB. Santa Barbara has nice weather. I have gone to the beach year round there. I would say it is a safe area. I use to check the tides and have my Mom drop me off at one beach and I would walk the coast line for many miles before I would call and let her know where to pick me up. Goleta is another town closer to the campus that may have cheaper housing than SB.

[cabolissa]

Santa Barbara is a beautiful, coastal, scenic, peaceful and wonderful place to come and get a feel for California - much better than either LA or Orange County! I fully recommend it! Great place!

[Drowningintherain2]

If it was me I would go to Santa Barbara. Beautiful mild weather, quaint, peaceful. Vancouver is very different. It has mild weather too, but it rains...alot. If you choose Vancouver I would come in late spring. That is when the sun decides to come out of hibernation. The summer here is beautiful, and not to hot. Most of Vancouver is very safe, although we do have some sketchy notorious areas (downtown eastside) and the west side of the city is much nicer and more serene than the grittier eastside. Many people prefer the eastside though and the grit does not mean that it dangerous. If you come here I recomend the westside(kitsalano,dunbar,kerrsdale,point grey) or downtown. The westside has beaches, University of British Columbia, and lots of shopping. Downtown and the westside are very pricey though. Bring lots of cash. I pay $2600 for a three bedroom townhouse but I pay it because I find this area to be the best that Vancouver has to offer. If I had to stay here this is the only area that I would want to live.
Vancouver is pretty diverse, although it's many caucasians and a very large number of asians. We have a sprinkling of pretty much every other culture/ethnicity as well though.
If you want a bigger city with an urban expierence I'd go with Vancouver, if you want beautiful weather, proximity to L.A and the California feel go with SB. I would go with SB but maybe that's because I'm over Vancouver.