Santa Barbara vs Santa Monica (Oxnard, Goleta: job market, movie theaters, college)

[suebr]

I am considering moving to SoCal and wonder which is better and more affordable....Santa Barbara or Santa Monica; I've heard good things about both.

[Snort]

Neither is affordable. I prefer Santa Barbara. Rachel begs to differ.

[Winston Smith]

Depends what you're after. The two cities are different. Santa Monica is much busier and hectic than Santa Barbara. Let us know some of your likes/dislikes, work/housing needs, budget, etc. and you'll get more specific responses.

Between the two, I prefer Santa Barbara because it's smaller, closer to nature, less of a car-culture pace, and in many ways not as pretentious. Though SB has plenty of pretentiousness to go around, it seems easier to escape there than Santa Monica.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by suebr

I am considering moving to SoCal and wonder which is better and more affordable....Santa Barbara or Santa Monica; I've heard good things about both.

Where is the job?

[Cool Aaron]

What exactly are you looking for? Santa Monica you can probably find cheaper places in and around. Santa Barbara is pretty expensive all around. Would you need access to LA?

[ehcsrop]

+1 on 2 different places. SB is really expensive, but SM ain't on the cheap side.

[enlightenme]

You will be more isolated from city life in Santa Barbara which is why most of us live there! People in Santa Barbara live there to escape the hectic LA life, but still have it within a reasonable enough drive. Santa Monica is far more urban, crowded, busy, LA beach scene. Santa Barbara is more retiree/college age people. I personally loved Santa Barbara (Ventura & Ojai & Santa Ynez valley) for my lifestyle, but enjoyed visiting Santa Monica, Venice and Malibu. I could never deal with that scene on a daily basis! Jobs will probably be harder to come by in SB because it is smaller and more isolated from other major cities. You pretty much have Ventura, Goleta, Oxnard which also don't have a high job market. Not to mention the traffic on the 101 sucks going south from SB because many people live Ventura area since it is less expensive. I imagine housing is comparable to SB in Santa Monica, but you may have an easier time finding the deal in a bigger city like Santa Monica. Deals are hard to come by in SB. I had one going on for years, but it isn't common. If you are a city person, you will like Santa Monica better. If you are more low key, like the beach, hiking, enjoy some decent restaurants, concerts at the SB Bowl and movie theaters SB is great.

[majoun]

Both are amongst the most expensive places in the whole state.

[Cool Aaron]

I've found that after living in SB for about 3 years now I really love it but I'd like to move back down south do do another solid comparison. I tend to have a lot of friends in and around So Cal and I'm involved with several music scenes down there so I find myself commuting a lot. SB is >* but I do tend to feel like I'm running about in circles after a while, not to mention if you are social everyone is sort of in on your personal business.

[WhoaNelly]

Santa Barbara is for nature lovers, but the beaches are lousy when compared to those big broad wonderful stretches of sand on the Santa Monica Bay. It's gotten much more crowded than it used to be and much phonier, too, and it always was kind of phony and pretentious, being one of the richest communities in SoCal. Don't get me wrong. I still love the place and always have, but I'll never shake the bitter feelings I retain about its provincial aspects. If you know don't know the right people, they can and will shun you most cruelly. I was a young nature photographer when we lived there and was absolutely dedicated to my craft. That, I think, was the problem. Other than featuring some of my best work in an exhibit at the Natural History Museum, they wouldn't cut me the slightest break because my parents weren't rich locals who could afford to send me to Brooks Institute of Photography. As a result, all of the years I spent there were wasted as far as my career was concerned. I graduated from UCLA with a degree in Zoology, too, but that didn't mean squat to those smug bastards. I hate them. Are you a rich movie star or something? You know, like Robert Mitchum, Oprah Windrey, Bo Derek, or Michael Jackson? If so, they'll slobber all over you. Otherwise, forget it. That town will turn your kids into spoiled brats with a drug problem.