Santa Barbara for the winter?

[mr.loverman]

What is Santa Barbara like? I'm living on the east coast right now and was thinking of heading out there for the winter. It seems like it has all the benefits of SoCal without the craziness of places like la and san diego.

I'm 24, love the beach, working out, healthy food, surfing, pretty girls. artist by profession. I have money to live on for the winter. I had thought about boston or nyc but there is no opportunity to enjoy nature, so entertainment usually means spending money.

Any ideas?

 

[A Y]

It is nice, but it is expensive. The beach is not very comfortable in the winter, and the water really only gets warm enough around August and September, and sometimes you have to deal with the natural tar that leaks out. There's lots of good hiking and other outdoor activities that're available year round, though.

It's also a small town, for better and for worse, but LA is only 90 minutes away.

--Andre

 

[Icarus]

Miami or Caribbean

 

[foodguy]

unless daddy did well ... or maybe granddaddy did well ... there is no such thing as "money to live on" in santa barbara. wow is it expensive. the only place worse is probably montecito. that said, santa barbara is a really nice town, though the beaches are almost always cold even in the warmest months.

 

[A Y]

Yes, it's very expensive, but you can make it work. I know lots of people making less than 1/10th the nominal SF household income (ie. <$25K/year) who are doing OK here.

--Andre

 

[mr.loverman]

I can afford $1500/month in rent. I guess my question is are there a reasonable amount of girls and guys my age around to have fun with? (cute girls most important) I'm not a hard partier but like I said enjoy the beach, surfing, working out, etc.

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by mr.loverman

I can afford $1500/month in rent. I guess my question is are there a reasonable amount of girls and guys my age around to have fun with? (cute girls most important) I'm not a hard partier but like I said enjoy the beach, surfing, working out, etc.

ucsb is nationally famous for its parties. that's why i woudln't send my daughter there. (sigh: she ended up at humboldt anyway).

 

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by mr.loverman

I can afford $1500/month in rent. I guess my question is are there a reasonable amount of girls and guys my age around to have fun with? (cute girls most important) I'm not a hard partier but like I said enjoy the beach, surfing, working out, etc.

Miami is often said to have the most beautiful women in the country.

 

[Lighthouse]

Charleston, Miami, Savannah.

Santa Barbara is beautiful but I don't think you will find enough of what you're looking for in winter. The Pacific can get cold. The cool thing about S.B. is the shoreline runs east/west-- European style.

Miami is full of horribly shallow people (the velvet rope crowd) but you should at least visit Haulover Beach

.

 

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Lighthouse

Miami is full of horribly shallow people (the velvet rope crowd) but you should at least visit Haulover Beach

.

Definitely true, hence the proliferation of enormous houses and all the ultra-flashy autos (I have never seen so many rolls royces like in Florida). In any case, the women there are very beautiful, and I even remember them being ranked by some newspaper or magazine as the most beautiful in the country. I personally prefer the crystal clear water and the fishing, not as good on the pacific coast (moreso the water than the fishing).