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Old 10-03-2011, 01:06 PM
 
Location: Keene, NH
3 posts, read 6,892 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello, I am 26 y o single male that has taken a position in Santa Maria. I would like some advice as to areas to live in or around SM. I have looked at some other forums and found that they weren't that in depth. I am looking for something safe, affordable, and close to my work on Stowell Rd. I was thinking of buying, as I would stay in the area at least 3 years. Also, I speak spanish so that would be a plus. It would be cool to be by the ocean, but I don't want to be isolated from things to do/ people my age either. Any insight would help me alot. Let me know if you have questions. Thank you.
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Old 10-03-2011, 03:12 PM
 
Location: San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties
6,390 posts, read 9,684,265 times
Reputation: 2622
south Santa Maria or Orcutt
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Old 10-04-2011, 03:38 PM
 
4,321 posts, read 6,283,984 times
Reputation: 6126
If I were working in Santa Maria as a single young professional, I definitely wouldn't live there. I'd rather commute from Pismo Beach or SLO.
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Old 10-07-2011, 09:09 AM
 
Location: Keene, NH
3 posts, read 6,892 times
Reputation: 10
Cool, thanks. I haven't made up my mind yet, and seeing there are a lot of places, I will probably wait till I get there to decide. You all know of any auction houses in the area??
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Old 10-08-2011, 11:52 PM
 
231 posts, read 814,053 times
Reputation: 237
i would live in SLO, you will get bored in Santa Maria and then in 6 months you will be starting threads such as, "Santa Maria sucks"
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Old 12-04-2012, 02:31 AM
 
Location: Northern Colorado
4,932 posts, read 12,761,515 times
Reputation: 1364
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasGuy22 View Post
i would live in SLO, you will get bored in Santa Maria and then in 6 months you will be starting threads such as, "Santa Maria sucks"
And if you live in SLO you start threads saying "SLO really isn't the happiest town in America"

SLO is overpriced. You could live in a cheaper, more family friendly town and own a house and visit SLO for it's hiking and downtown. Honestly, about 32,000 families and retirees live in SLO and the rest are college students and many of those people rent.

Even Santa Barbara has more people living there that are not just college students.

To to his own choice of city, town, and suburb. But do not bash my city-Santa Maria.

Anyways to the OP:
Natural Cafe, Starbucks, Panera Bread, Chipotle, Trader Joe's and Lassen's, gyms, parks, the movie theater, bowling alley, a couple hiking trails, PCPA and some art galleries, and a mini golf course is where the young people go hang. Or drive to the beach in Pismo or Guadalupe.
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Old 12-04-2012, 02:46 AM
 
370 posts, read 1,564,762 times
Reputation: 254
This thread is a little old. I think it would be interesting to hear what the young man has to say if he actually made the move! By now he knows that Santa Maria is not ON the ocean but can be accessed in about twenty minutes. I think that commuting from SLO or Santa Barbara would be a mistake. I do agree that Orcutt or South Santa Maria (Foxenwood area) might be a nice area. There is a good size community college there but I don't recall a lot of college related activities. There is always Santa Maria style BBQ if you're a foodie! Your job would dictate how much recreational time you have. Of course, it's been a couple of years since I've been back and even more years since I was a college student!!

Last edited by nightnurse613; 12-04-2012 at 02:56 AM..
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Old 12-04-2012, 03:38 AM
 
Location: Northern Colorado
4,932 posts, read 12,761,515 times
Reputation: 1364
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightnurse613 View Post
This thread is a little old. I think it would be interesting to hear what the young man has to say if he actually made the move! By now he knows that Santa Maria is not ON the ocean but can be accessed in about twenty minutes. I think that commuting from SLO or Santa Barbara would be a mistake. I do agree that Orcutt or South Santa Maria (Foxenwood area) might be a nice area. There is a good size community college there but I don't recall a lot of college related activities. There is always Santa Maria style BBQ if you're a foodie! Your job would dictate how much recreational time you have. Of course, it's been a couple of years since I've been back and even more years since I was a college student!!
When I went to Hancock they would have dances and they had a good amount of clubs that took trips. Plus Hancock has it's own football team.
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Old 12-04-2012, 09:49 AM
 
24 posts, read 54,218 times
Reputation: 23
As a young professional myself moving to Santa Maria in a few weeks from Texas I found that there were a lot of nicer looking apartments along Miller Road. I would agree with what others have said, stick with the southern end of SM. You could live in SLO but even the rather short commute to SM everyday would add up with gas $3.50 plus a gallon.
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Old 12-04-2012, 01:18 PM
 
Location: California
2,211 posts, read 2,616,055 times
Reputation: 2136
There are a lot of people who will put down Santa Maria, but the truth to the matter is, there is much more good things going on there then bad, but most people will only talk about the bad.

Like every city of over 100,000 people there are good areas and bad, I chose to live in a good area and I’m very happy where I live.

Santa Maria has a great community college in Hancock J.C. which doesn’t have any accreditation issues like another local one does from time to time. Santa Maria has one of the best, if not the best public library between LA and SF. SM has many clubs and lodges to join with one being the Santa Maria Elks Lodge 1538 one of the best in the country.

A nice youth center in the Able Maldonado center where kids can go and play in a nice safe environment. Santa Maria's softball facility Hagerman Field is the best on the Central Coast bar none!! Where both adults and the youth can enjoy!! They host many weekend end tournaments where out of town teams come to play and have fun.

Santa Maria has the best park on the Central Coast in Waller Park where you can enjoy a great family day at the park to go fishing and feel like you are in the woods somewhere, when in reality you are in the middle of town.

There is not a place in Santa Maria where you have to pay for parking unlike some other local towns, not even at the Santa Maria Public Airport do you have to pay for parking, and you can now fly directly to Hawaii from there!!

Then of course there is the famous Santa Maria Style BBQ where on any given weekend you can drive down Broadway and find a local organization or charity BBQing tri-tip, chicken or beef ribs where you can buy a plate at a reasonable price.

There are so many more positives I can talk about, like reasonable housing prices, but I will keep this as short as possible. (Might be too late for that J)

Now for the negatives, some will not like SM because of the high population of Hispanics living there working the fields to pick the fruits and vegetables that we all enjoy.

And some might say SM has a gang problem, but just because someone is Hispanic, doesn’t make them a gang member. And for those few that truly are gang members, they only cause problems amongst themselves, not your normal average citizen. I would even go as far as to say, that there is not a random violent crime problem in Santa Maria.

Last edited by Just One of the Guys; 12-04-2012 at 02:46 PM..
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