Santa Barbara vs. La Jolla (Los Angeles, Newport Beach: condo, home, living in)
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Thanks so much for your post. I wanted to make my point about the gangs and your supermodel analogy seemed perfect. . But I am grateful for your post and point of view, having lived close by Santa Barbara. The traffic (it seemed especially around your area, Carpinteria seemd especially henous) can be bad, but is it as bad as LA?
I am curious though if your found before your move any effects from the gangs. I recently read the gangs in Carpinteria threatened an innocent by stander that say an assault and went to call 9-11. I believe from all I am reading that the increase in the gangs effecting the everyday citizenry that this is very much impacting the safety of the Santa Barbara area overall. Did you have a different experience?
I am mostly curious as I am looking to purchase housing in the Santa Barbara area and do not want to feel unsafe or even threatened in my normal day to day activities or even if I go out to a late night dinner or movie with friends. I hear these kids and the homeless have really placed a major negative impact on the quality of life there. What are your thoughts and experience here?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leasure
We lived in Carpinteria for three years and loved it except the traffic was getting worse and of course, the cost of living was high (isn't it almost anywhere in CA, though) Santa Barbara is like the supermodel, only for the privileged, select few to enjoy. The rest just struggle to survive and have no time to enjoy where they live. I have no personal experience with So Cal since moving north to Los Osos (slower paced, cool unspoiled beaches, love San Luis Obispo, less traffic) Guess your job will best help you decide. I go down to Santa Barbara occasionally to really enjoy it like a tourist and then come home to reality!
Susie in Los Osos
I hadn't realized SB has become the ghetto! We have only been gone 3 years. All cities are experiencing these types of problems, as more young people are neglected by over-worked parents. Perhaps you have had a bad personal experience. Any place that draws many tourists is also a target for crime. I still highly recommend driving up to San Luis Obispo! This town has some problems due to being a college town, but I'd take it over SB any day!
Susie
according to poster named "leasure" she would take SLO over SB any day.
I would have to say exactly the opposite. We go down to SB every other weekend to escape to 21st Century civilization, and remember how nice it was to be a part of modern living.
We are trying to sell our house so we can move there, but the market here is absolutely miserable.
SLO is everything it's nickname implies. S-L-O-W. Slow service, slow people, slow responses, slow lines, slow, slow and more slow.
It's pretty obvious to me that SLO is a place for people who have all the time in the world and not a whole lot of money, since mostly retired people on pensions and fixed budgets, and/or people who don't like working, live here or are moving here.
The idea that the wealthy are moving in and taking over is a joke. It is a myth. Don't believe it.
The idea that it is more dangerous or unsafe in Santa B is another sour grapes myth.
The idea that traffic is unbearable is ridiculous....you know this if you have ever lived in any other city.
The idea that Santa Barbara has more of a homeless problem is laughable. I have never seen more people living in filthy old rusted campers than here along the coastal towns of San Luis Obispo county ....have you been to any of the little streets inside of Morro Bay, Avila Beach or Cambria lately?
I was told there is a homeless base camp up in the hills outside San Simeon where there are hoards of them living in the woods.
The last published stats in the paper said SLO county is still made up of 65% of households (not people) making under $50,000 a year.
That is not wealth to me.
The very, very, and I mean very few who truly do have lots of money, and came here to retire and buy a winery, or become gentlemen farmers, don't stay in SLO the whole year and they spend their money elsewhere.
They travel a good deal which enables them to shop and spend in other metropolitan cities. So they don't mind the inconveniences. And look what mansions they can have here compared to anywhere else. I don't think they're dumping alot of that wealth into the aesthetics or maintenance of the town of San Luis Obispo either.
As far as the working professional people here.....well, Virtually no one who can help it works on Fridays, some closed on Saturdays (retail....if you can believe it)......and no one is ever open on Sundays, heaven forbid.
Actually, I ran out to a beauty supply store the other day, and there, posted on the door, was a new notice, ....."closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for the summer."
Good for them. Bad for me......and the rest of the consumers who live here who might have any grooming needs. It only took me 25 minutes to drive there. But surprise hand written notices on the doors of businesses telling you they are closed, "for the rest of the day" or "because of illness until further notice" is de rigeur here.
And how about those Pharmacies? For a population which is weighted with seniors, there isn't a single pharmacy open after 6 p..m, except one I found in Atascadero. Hope you drive, or have someone to drive you there from wherever you live if you have an emergency need for medicine.
But then again, lots of people like this way of life. Just read some of these posts. And they all extoll the virtues of this "paradise."
MMMMm........I just keep scratching my head. Sounds like the wonderful human survival quality we call "denial" or "rationalization," to me.
So, if you are at all the type of person who likes to be "on the ball,"
or, if you have a kid or grandchild who seems to exhibit any of these "strive to excel" qualities....................very dangerously high blood pressure will be the end result of living anywhere in SLO county.
You will be frustrated beyond belief. You will be stuck waiting, waiting and waiting everywhere, and for everyone. You will be out of things, not able to find the things you like, you will stop caring. You will stop dressing in any fashion forward way at all (if you ever did). You'll stop washing your car (probably it's a truck), you will stop trying, you will give in to mediocrity and the margaritaville style of living. Hey, maybe you'll become what we like to call a "Wino Taster."
People will minimize this. They will laugh and say, "that's the price you pay to live in paradise."
They will just shrug. They will act like it's "no big deal."
Each day you live here, you will give up a little more and a little more of your high standards, your need for excellence, your expectations of others, your trust.
You will start thinking Mediocrity is good. You'll start doing everything yourself. You'll start looking a bit tired. And you'll feel exhausted and sleep more. You will start feeling that the simple life means not having anything you don't need..... not because you don't want to buy it anymore, but because you couldn't get it anyhow, so why bother?
Also,
you'll wonder why if this is paradise you keep hearing things like:
Atascadero is called "A-trash-cadero" by many who visit there.
Los Osos is referred to as "Los Grossos" by more than a few who have lived there.
SLO county has earned the nickname, "Fresno on the water."
Please, while you are reading this, Don't kill the Messenger.
I didn't make this up.
I am just voicing my opinion and quoting some other people's.
So, as far as I'm concerned I'll take Santa Barbara any day. The gangs are no worse there than the criminal element here in SLO .....which is all over the place. Have you looked up how many sexual predators and sex offenders live in this county? Have you read how many prisoners are being released in California because of lack of space in the prisons? Are you aware of the prisons here?
When the Men's SLO County Prison lets go of these people, where do you think theyll go? To Santa Barbara? I think not.
The criminals are all over. And I personally know that many of the home invasion/gang rape crimes here are reported as "robberies" in the papers. This is probably so no one really feels unsafe.....especially the tourists.
So, I pay no heed to all of this gang stuff about SB.
It's mostly sour grapes.
And when was the last time you heard of a SLO County award called the "San Luis Obispo Beautiful Award?"
Try to get a property cleaned up in SLO county. You can't get anyone to take notice or do something about these dilapidated, unsafe, rotting, broken and dirty structures I see dotting the entire landscape of every town throughout this county. This includes even the downtown historical areas of SLO, which should be revered and treated better, if the town is so loved and endeared by all. Why is there no pride?
I guess that is quaint to some. To me? Well, I am not bragging about it.
I'll take Santa Barbara any way I can where the standards are high, the expectations are high, there is community pride, excellence, city maintenance, culture, and conveniences and resources fit for 21st century living.
We get it, you like Santa Barbara better than the **** hole you crawled into. But let's face it the economy turned and you're no longer upper crest and can no longer afford to live in paradise AKA SB.
Sour Grapes?
Obviously.
Now it's time to get a life or ***** yourself out to a wealthier sugar daddy. Ouch.
We get it, you like Santa Barbara better than the **** hole you crawled into. But let's face it the economy turned and you're no longer upper crest and can no longer afford to live in paradise AKA SB.
Sour Grapes?
Obviously.
Now it's time to get a life or ***** yourself out to a wealthier sugar daddy. Ouch.
Yeah, what a Powerful King you must be. Well, the stars say it all. When someone can't post something in these Forums without using vulgar expletives or "stars" in place of them, I usually don't respond, but I find it necessary to say something. I am not, nor ever was, "upper crust... that is what you meant to spell, right? Unless you think the term is "upper crest," which you very well may). Also, I have been living in Santa Barbara for 3 years since I wrote that post, and I have no idea what you are talking about with regard to the economy and the rest of your sentence.
I was harsh about SLO, and my experience living there, which is exactly the purpose of this Forum, which I've said many times in former posts. Truthful and detailed posts like this in a "data" Forum about places to live/not to live are very helpful to read when one is making a moving decision. Otherwise, just read your Sunset Magazine, or Forbes, or AARP newsletter. They will tell you "the best places to retire" and probably none of the reasons will apply to you. Caviat Emptor. So, no need for the bad attitude, sarcasm, vitriole, or vulgarity (not even with stars). These Forums have no need for posters like you......try AOL news feeds where you can swear up a storm, be politically incorrect til the cows come home, and even spew hatred and nobody will moderate or care.
I've lived in both and it all just depends on what you want. Santa Barbara is a beautiful place but it is also very small and there are few job opportunities but if you like towns of 150,000-250,000 (including outlaying areas) then it might be for you especially if you don't have to worry about a job and/or will be starting your own business. San Diego has more of a big city feel with more stuff to do and more job opportunities but it's also more crowded so like I said it depends on what you want.
People move to a town/city because they love it after experiencing it on a vacation or visit. Then when they move there they want to change everything. Doesn't make any sense to me, but I guess it's the herd mentality. Just follow along what everyone else does. You can just kill me now rather than make me move to any of the Beach towns/cities south of L.A. San Diego and Newport Beach are what I like to call a Messopolis. If you're old enough to have known those places 30 years ago, you can't help but mourn them now. Not one ounce of their original charm has remained. I can't even drive down there it depresses me so much. But the people who moved there and changed it all into the mega mess of infrastructures that it is today sure do love it. Different strokes for different folks.
I live about five miles from La Jolla and I'd like to inform you that there is no such city as "La Jolla, CA". La Jolla is just a zip code in the city of San Diego and the entire area is indeed part of the incorporated city of San Diego. That said I also lived in Santa Barbara for four years and I think I like it better then La Jolla if just only because there is a bit more room and less congestion. That said there are no jobs in SB so either figure out how to start a company there or have enough money so that you don't need a job.
At this point in my life, probably La Jolla. My nephew just began grad school at UCSD and I flew down there to meet him and his wife for lunch a few weeks ago before I go back to NYC and I don't know when I'll see them again. Anyway, its a very beautiful area, I was very impressed.
Santa Barbara is also incredibly beautiful. I love Montecito, reminds me of Napa, only with much nicer homes. LOL I also LOVE Santa Barbara's historic downtown area. The beaches are just the icing on an already decadent cake.
But I think at 36, I still have a hankering for big city life, for crowds, for nightlife, for an active social scene and I think La Jolla probably fulfills that need better than SB. You can have the quiet escape and still be close to the action. Which was one of my motivations for living in Alpine instead of Manhattan, and Rockridge instead of SF.
Anyway, nice comparison between two great locations.
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. But I am grateful for your post and point of view, having lived close by Santa Barbara. The traffic (it seemed especially around your area, Carpinteria seemd especially henous) can be bad, but is it as bad as LA? 
The Gangs of Santa Barbara?
