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Old 09-25-2018, 11:10 AM
 
21 posts, read 45,532 times
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I might be moving to Santa Maria soon, and since there aren't any new threads on it, I figure I'd start one

People have said that it's a boring place, but I've read that its starting to improve (new shopping centers, crime is down, etc); can anyone more familiar with the area comment? In my case, I'd probably live closer to the south side/Orcutt.
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Old 09-27-2018, 10:10 AM
 
Location: Sacramento
1,231 posts, read 1,660,835 times
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I actually reside in Sacramento but have traveled to the central coast on a number of occasions on business. Therefore, I wouldn't consider myself an expert on the area so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Santa Maria has surpassed Santa Barbara to become the largest city in Santa Barbara County. Based on that statistic, much of the recent growth in the county has occurred in the Santa Maria area due to the availability of more affordable housing.

Having lived in the San Joaquin Valley for about 12 years prior to moving to Sacramento, Santa Maria reminds me of a Valley town due to the agriculture in the region. Santa Maria has more of a Hispanic demographic. There's a community college (Allan Hancock) and the closest 4-year university is in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly).

The unincorporated community of Orcutt to the south of Santa Maria appears to be more affluent. In addition, to agriculture, aerospace and service industries, a number of folks commute to the nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base.

There are several transit options. Santa Maria's bus system is called SMAT (Santa Maria Area Transit). The adjacent city of Guadalupe has a bus service that connects Santa Maria to that city. There are several regional services that connect Santa Maria with Lompoc, the Santa Ynez Valley and San Luis Obispo. Uber and Lyft are also available.
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Old 09-27-2018, 10:37 AM
 
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Santa Maria is growing like crazy. They just opened a Costco and a bunch of other stores so you won't lack for every day shopping. It has a very agricultural feel to it and you will definitely hear a lot of Spanish spoken. Be careful when driving. They seem to have a lot of car accidents there, at least lately. There is definitely a bad gang problem so you'll have to educate yourself on the areas to stay away from. Orcutt is the nicer, more affluent area.
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Old 09-27-2018, 10:47 AM
 
Location: Business ethics is an oxymoron.
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The only thing I know about Santa Maria is that it's sort of isolated and supposedly is home to the best tri tip steak in the world.


I've tried some and it was pretty damn tasty.
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Old 09-27-2018, 02:58 PM
 
21 posts, read 45,532 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AustinTraveler View Post
Santa Maria is growing like crazy. They just opened a Costco and a bunch of other stores so you won't lack for every day shopping. It has a very agricultural feel to it and you will definitely hear a lot of Spanish spoken. Be careful when driving. They seem to have a lot of car accidents there, at least lately. There is definitely a bad gang problem so you'll have to educate yourself on the areas to stay away from. Orcutt is the nicer, more affluent area.
Yeah, the crime element seems to be localized, and thus easy to avoid... my main concern would be the social element: I'd be moving there without knowing anyone. Last time I did that, I moved to Chico in 2016. It was a college town, and meetup.com was/is pretty active there, so I was able to make friends relatively easily (within several months). I'm worried that Santa Maria might be have a more 'keep to yourself' kind vibe going, or that I'd be surrounded by farmers and retirees.
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Old 10-24-2018, 07:25 AM
 
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I am going to visit Santa Maria proper this spring. Any good Mexican Restaurants there? Please name some for me. Thank you. No chains; just locally owned businesses.
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Old 10-24-2018, 11:16 PM
 
21 posts, read 45,532 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by georgste View Post
I am going to visit Santa Maria proper this spring. Any good Mexican Restaurants there? Please name some for me. Thank you. No chains; just locally owned businesses.
I just moved out there today, tried a place next to the inn I'm staying at, called Taco Roco Express. Pretty tasty!
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Old 10-26-2018, 02:38 PM
 
147 posts, read 310,760 times
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thanks for the replies everyone. I am getting a good vibe from your city. I think I will visit there in Spring.
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Old 02-08-2021, 04:54 PM
 
3 posts, read 10,686 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hye345 View Post
I just moved out there today, tried a place next to the inn I'm staying at, called Taco Roco Express. Pretty tasty!
Two years on, let us know how you like it
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